Tips for Working with 'Gear Heads'

摘要

Pop quiz: Does the word "switch" refer to a PBX or a device that operates on the data link layer of the OSI model?rnAnswer: If you're going to survive the convergence of voice and data teams, you'd better get accustomed to using "switch" to mean a device on the data link layer.rnLearning to redefine basic terms that you've used since the dawn of your career in telecom is one of the toughest challenges in mastering IP telephony, says Mary Allan, regional telecom manager at Philadelphia-based Comcast Cable Communication Inc. And "switch" is one of the terms likely to mess you up the most.rnFar from being daunted by the move to IP telephony, Allan saw it as an opportunity for advancement. She was a senior telecom administrator at Towson, Md.-based Black & Decker with six years of telecom experience under her belt when she went back to school to get her master's degree in Information and Telecommunication Systems from Johns Hopkins University.