ACA exam — how hard is the SBC configuration section really?

by sophie_m 53 views4 replies
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sophie_mOP
May 26, 2026

I'm a network engineer who works with AudioCodes gear regularly and I'm preparing for the Audiocodes Certified Associate exam. I've been doing voice infrastructure work for about 5 years, mostly SBC deployment and Teams Direct Routing configurations. I figured the exam would be relatively straightforward given my background, but I'm not so sure after doing some practice questions.

The SBC configuration questions I've seen in prep materials are more conceptual than I expected. It's not configure X feature — it's more about understanding why a specific parameter matters in a given topology and what happens if you get it wrong. The media realm and IP profile questions in particular require you to know the logic behind the settings, not just where they live in the interface.

I'm currently scoring about 72% on practice sets, which feels borderline. I've been studying for 3 weeks at around 45 minutes a day. My plan is to extend that to 2 hours a day for the next 2 weeks before my exam date. The codec and transcoding sections feel manageable, but the regulatory compliance pieces around SIP recording and lawful intercept are areas where my day-to-day work doesn't overlap much.

Anyone who's recently passed the ACA — did you find the lab scenario questions weighted heavily toward the SBC side or more balanced across the product line? I want to allocate my final 2 weeks wisely.

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devonte_h
May 26, 2026

The media realm configuration questions are tricky because the answers often hinge on network topology assumptions that aren't spelled out in the question. Make sure you're thinking about NAT traversal and media anchoring scenarios specifically — those came up a lot.

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ingrid_p
May 28, 2026

Lawful intercept and SIP recording are tested but not deeply. I got maybe 3–4 questions on compliance topics total. Don't spend more than a few hours there — put your time into SBC and IP profile logic instead.

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nico_b
May 29, 2026

The SBC section is definitely weighted heaviest in my experience. I'd estimate about 40% of the questions I saw were SBC-related. If you're already at 72% overall, going deeper on SBC logic will probably push you over 80% comfortably.

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rashid_c
May 29, 2026

2 hours a day for 2 weeks on top of 3 weeks of prior study should be more than enough. I passed with a 79% after about 5 weeks total and my SBC background was similar to yours. The exam rewards people who understand the why rather than just the configuration steps.

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