Cisco IP Telephony CIPT
Cisco IP Telephony CIPT
Cisco IP Telephony CIPT
Cisco Press
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Indianapolis, IN 46240 USA
ii
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or Cisco Systems, Inc., cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affect-
ing the validity of any trademark or service mark.
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Dennis Hartmann, CCIE No. 15651, CCVP, CCIP, CCNP, MCSE, is a consultant for White Pine
Communications. He has been a technical instructor teaching Cisco classes for Global Knowledge
and providing network architecture work for customers. He teaches all of the classes associated
with the CCVP certification, as well as all classes associated with the CCNP, CCIP, and optical
specialist certifications.
Kevin Wallace, CCIE No. 7945, CCSI, CCVP, CCNP, CCDP, MCSE 4, CNE 4/5, is a full-time
instructor for Thomson NETg. With 17 years of Cisco internetworking experience, Kevin has been
a network design specialist for The Walt Disney World Resort and a network manager for Eastern
Kentucky University. Kevin holds a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from the
University of Kentucky. Among Kevin’s publication credits are Cisco Voice over IP (CVoice)
Authorized Self-Study Guide, Second Edition; Voice over IP First-Step; CCDA/CCDP Flash
Cards and Exam Practice Pack (coauthored with Anthony Sequeira); CCIE Routing and Switching
Flash Cards and Exam Practice Pack (coauthored with Anthony Sequeira); and Cisco IP
Telephony Flash Cards and Exam Practice Pack, all of which are available from Cisco Press.
Additionally, Kevin authored the Cisco Enterprise Voice over Data Design (EVoDD) 3.3 course,
was a contributing author for the Cisco IP Telephony Troubleshooting (IPTT) 2.0 course, and has
written for Packet magazine from Cisco Systems. Kevin also holds the IP Telephony Design
Specialist, IP Telephony Operations Specialist, and IP Telephony Support Specialist CQS
certifications.
vi
Dedications
First and foremost, I’d like to thank Jesus Christ who continues to bless me in every way and keeps
me from killing myself by doing something stupid. You will always be at the core of everything I
do. Second, to my darling wife, Susan: Thank you for your support through all these projects that
keep me glued to a computer screen through all hours of the day and night. You are a more
wonderful companion than I could have ever hoped for. I love you! To the cricket chirping in the
room right now: I hate you. If I ever find you, I’m going to feed you to my fish and dance merrily
around the room as they eat you slowly. To my cat, Snuggles: Thanks for being soft. To the dog,
Buttercup: I have nothing to say to you at this time, but at least I’ve acknowledged your existence.
To all my readers: Be warned; this is what happens to you after months of writing hundreds of
pages.
vii
Acknowledgments
I’d like to give special recognition to Kevin Wallace, Larry Roberts, Michael Coffin, and Dennis
Hartman for providing their expert technical knowledge in editing the book. As usual, they’re not
afraid to tell you when you’re wrong.
A big “thank you” goes out to the production team for this book. Brett Bartow and Andrew Cupp
have been incredibly professional and a pleasure to work with. I couldn’t have asked for a finer
team.
viii
Contents at a Glance
Foreword xxvi
Introduction xxvii
Part I: Cisco CallManager Fundamentals 3
Index 832
x
Contents
Foreword xxvi
Introduction xxvii
Part I: Cisco CallManager Fundamentals 3
Chapter 1 Introduction to Cisco Unified Communications and Cisco Unified
CallManager 5
Cisco Unified Communications 6
Understanding Cisco Unified CallManager 7
Cisco Unified CallManager and IP Phone Interaction 8
The Components of Cisco Unified CallManager 10
Cisco Unified CallManager Servers 11
Summary 12
Review Questions 12
Chapter 2 Cisco Unified CallManager Clustering and Deployment Options 17
The Two Sides of the Cisco Unified CallManager Cluster 17
The SQL Database Cluster 17
Intracluster Run-Time Data 18
Cluster Redundancy Designs 19
1:1 Redundancy Design 19
2:1 Redundancy Design 21
Call-Processing Deployment Models 23
Single-Site Deployment 23
Multisite Deployment with Centralized Call Processing 25
Multisite Deployment with Distributed Call Processing 27
Clustering over the IP WAN 30
Summary 31
Review Questions 32
Chapter 3 Cisco Unified CallManager Installation and Upgrades 35
Cisco Unified CallManager 4.x Clean Installation Process 35
Installation Disks 35
Installation Configuration Data 36
Sample Configuration Data Worksheet 38
Postinstallation Procedures 40
Activating Cisco Unified CallManager Services 41
Upgrading Prior Cisco Unified CallManager Versions 45
Summary 47
Review Questions 47
xi
Si
IP
Communication Headphones SIP Server PC Multilayer Switch Access ISDN/Frame Relay
Server with Text Server Switch
Gateway Router Bridge Branch Office Cisco Unity Cisco CallManager Catalyst
Switch
■ Boldface indicates commands and keywords that are entered literally as shown. In actual
configuration examples and output (not general command syntax), boldface indicates
commands that are manually input by the user (such as a show command).
■ Italic indicates arguments for which you supply actual values.
■ Vertical bars (|) separate alternative, mutually exclusive elements.
■ Square brackets [ ] indicate optional elements.
■ Braces { } indicate a required choice.
■ Braces within brackets [{ }] indicate a required choice within an optional element.
xxvi
Foreword
Cisco IP Telephony (CIPT), Second Edition is an excellent self-study resource for the CCVP CIPT
exam. Whether you are studying to become CCVP certified or are simply seeking to gain a better
understanding of VoIP and PSTN components and technologies, you will benefit from the
information presented in this book.
Cisco Press Self-Study Guide titles are designed to help educate, develop, and grow the
community of Cisco networking professionals. As an early-stage exam preparation product, this
book presents a detailed and comprehensive introduction to the technologies used to install,
configure, and support Cisco CallManager 4.1 in a Cisco network, including such features as
security and video. Developed in conjunction with the Cisco certifications team, Cisco Press
books are the only self-study books authorized by Cisco Systems.
Most networking professionals use a variety of learning methods to gain necessary skills. Cisco
Press self-study titles are a prime source of content for some individuals and can also serve as an
excellent supplement to other forms of learning. Training classes, whether delivered in a
classroom or on the Internet, are a great way to quickly acquire new understanding. Hands-on
practice is essential for anyone seeking to build, or hone, new skills. Authorized Cisco training
classes, labs, and simulations are available exclusively from Cisco Learning Solutions Partners
worldwide. Please visit http://www.cisco.com/go/training to learn more about Cisco Learning
Solutions Partners.
I hope and expect that you’ll find this guide to be an essential part of your exam preparation and
a valuable addition to your personal library.
Don Field
Director, Certifications
Cisco Systems, Inc.
August 2006
xxvii
Introduction
Professional certifications have been an important part of the computing industry for many years
and will continue to become more important. Many reasons exist for these certifications, but the
most popularly cited reason is that of credibility. All other considerations held equal, the certified
employee/consultant/job candidate is considered more valuable than one who is not.
One key methodology used in this book is to help you discover the exam topics that you need to
review in more depth, to help you fully understand and remember those details, and to help you
prove to yourself that you have retained your knowledge of those topics. So, this book does not try
to help you pass by memorization, but helps you truly learn and understand the topics. The Cisco
IP Telephony exam is just one of the foundation topics in the CCVP certification and the
knowledge contained within is vitally important to consider yourself a truly skilled voice engineer
or specialist. This book would do you a disservice if it didn’t attempt to help you learn the material.
The placement of CallManager in the CCVP series of exams is unique in that it could be one of
the very first CCVP exams you take, or it could be one of the last. It stands as an isolated product
in the CCVP series of exams. This means you could be getting into this book with an extensive
knowledge of voice gateways, switches, and quality of service (from reading the CVOICE and/or
QoS books) with a basic CCNA-level knowledge. Regardless, your learning curve will be the
same; CallManager is configured differently, troubleshot uniquely, and managed distinctively
from the rest of the voice network.
So why should you want to pass the CCVP Cisco IP Telephony exam? Because it is one of the
milestones toward getting the CCVP certification; no small feat in itself. What would getting the
xxviii
CCVP mean to you? A raise, a promotion, recognition? How about to enhance your résumé? To
demonstrate that you are serious about continuing the learning process and that you are not content
to rest on your laurels. To please your reseller-employer, who needs more certified employees for
a higher discount from Cisco. Or one of many other reasons.
Chapter 3, “Cisco Unified CallManager Installation and Upgrades”—This chapter covers the
requirements to perform a CallManager server installation, the CallManager installation and
upgrade process, and postinstallation procedures.
Chapter 4, “Cisco IP Phones and Other User Devices”—This chapter examines the basic
features of all Cisco IP Phones, the entry-level, midrange, and upper-end Cisco IP Phone models,
the IP Phone startup process, and audio codec communication.
Chapter 6, “Cisco IP Telephony Users”—This chapter covers the addition of IP telephony users
to the CallManager LDAP database, associating users with devices, and allowing users to access
the User Options web page to configure common features.
xxix
Chapter 7, “Cisco Bulk Administration Tool”—This chapter covers the features and
components of the BAT application, the installation of BAT, and the configuration of BAT to apply
bulk moves, adds, and changes to the Cisco CallManager cluster.
Chapter 8, “Cisco Catalyst Switches”—This chapter examines the functions that Catalyst
switches perform in a Cisco IP telephony solution, the three options for powering Cisco IP Phones,
the two types of power supplied by PoE switches, inline power configuration, dual VLAN
configuration, and CoS configuration.
Chapter 9, “Configuring Cisco Gateways and Trunks”—This chapter discusses the role of the
gateway in the IP telephony infrastructure, core gateway requirements, and gateway
communication protocols; it also examines the configuration of analog and digital gateways, Cisco
CallManager trunk configuration, and enabling the CallManager to use SIP capabilities.
Chapter 10, “Cisco Unified CallManager Route Plan Basics”—This chapter covers the
fundamentals of the Cisco CallManager route plan, including the identification of the route plan
building blocks, the configuration of route groups, route lists, and route patterns, and the design
of a basic route plan.
Chapter 11, “Cisco Unified CallManager Advanced Route Plans”—This chapter covers the
concepts and configurations behind route filters, digit discard instructions, transformation masks,
translation patterns, and route plan reports.
Chapter 12, “Configuring Hunt Groups and Call Coverage”—This chapter examines the call
distribution components and algorithms supported by CallManager; examines call hunting
concepts; discusses the concepts and configurations of line groups, hunt lists, and hint pilots; and
provides a scenario-based design discussion for hunting and forwarding calls.
Chapter 15, “Media Resources”—This chapter examines the necessary Cisco CallManager
resources you should use as media resources, the configuration of conference bridges, media
termination points, transcoders, and music on hold.
xxx
Chapter 16, “Configuring User Features, Part 1”—This chapter discusses the core Cisco IP
Phone features supported by Cisco CallManager along with the enhanced IP Phone features
configurable by an administrator; this chapter also examines the configuration of softkey
templates, call park, call pickup, call back, barge, shared line appearances, and IP Phone services.
Chapter 17, “Configuring User Features, Part 2”—This chapter covers the configuration of the
Cisco CallManager Extension Mobility service, FAC and CMC call accounting and restrictions,
call display restrictions, malicious caller ID, and multilevel precedence and preemption.
Chapter 19, “Configuring Cisco IP Manager Assistant”—This chapter covers the features of
Cisco IPMA and the two modes of operation, the IPMA components, and the configuration of
Cisco IPMA for shared-line mode installations.
Chapter 20, “Securing the Windows Operating System”—This chapter examines the security
threats to the Windows operating system, the Cisco security and hotfix policy, the included
enhanced security scripts, and the antivirus protection options for the CallManager server. This
chapter also covers the suggested administrative password policy, the protection of the server from
common exploits, the Cisco Security Agent, and the not-recommended security settings for the
Cisco CallManager server.
Chapter 22, “Preventing Toll Fraud”—This chapter examines the vulnerability of legitimate
devices to be used for fraudulent use in the IP telephony network, the use of partitions and calling
search spaces to restrict call forwarding, the blocking of specific area codes, the configuration of
CallManager to route calls based on time-of-day, the implementation of FAC to implement user
authorization, and the restriction of conference call features to limit toll fraud.
Chapter 23, “Hardening the IP Phone”—This chapter covers the potential threats against IP
Phones and the attack tools and methods a hacker can use, signed firmware images, CallManager
IP Phone security techniques, and IP Phone authentication and encryption.
xxxi
Chapter 25, “Understanding the Public Key Infrastructure”—This chapter examines the
problem of secure, scalable distribution of public keys, the concepts behind a trusted introducer,
certificates, CAs, certification paths, certificate enrollment, and certificate revocation.
Chapter 28, “Introducing IP Video Telephony”—This chapter covers the functions and
components of the Cisco IP video telephony solution, the connection of a video call, H.323 versus
SCCP video signaling, the two factors in determining the bandwidth requirement for video, and
video call admission control.
Chapter 29, “Configuring Cisco VT Advantage”—This chapter discusses the features and
function of the VT Advantage, placing and receiving calls with VT Advantage, configuring the
Cisco CallManager to support video, and the VT Advantage client installation process.
Chapter 30, “Introducing Database Tools and Cisco Unified CallManager Serviceability”—
This chapter examines the database structure and replication status of broken database connection,
the services provided by CallManager Serviceability, the CallManager Control Center, the
CallManager Service Activation window, and the various tools used to monitor Cisco
CallManager listed by function.
Chapter 31, “Monitoring Performance”—This chapter defines performance objects, covers the
Microsoft Event Viewer and Performance Monitor, and the Cisco Real-Time Monitoring Tool.
Chapter 32, “Configuring Alarms and Traces”—This chapter identifies the functions of the
Cisco CallManager Alarm interface, and discusses the configuration of alarms and traces, the trace
analysis process, and the Bulk Trace Analysis tool.
xxxii
Chapter 33, “Configuring CAR”—This chapter discusses the usage, features, and operations of
the CAR tool; the contents of CDR and CMR records; the three levels of CAR users and their
reporting capabilities; the configuration of CAR system parameters, system schedule, and alerts;
and the generation of user reports using CAR.
Chapter 34, “Using Additional Management and Monitoring Tools”—This chapter examines
the use of SNMP, Syslog, and CiscoWorks ITEM in remotely managing and maintaining a Cisco
CallManager system, the use of dependency records, the Password Changer tool, the Dialed
Number Analyzer, and the Quality Reporting tool.
Finally, Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions,” contains the solutions to the review
questions throughout the book.
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Part I: Cisco CallManager
Fundamentals
A Cisco IP telephony deployment relies on Cisco Unified CallManager for its call-processing
and call-routing functions. Understanding the role that Cisco Unified CallManager plays in a
converged network from a system, software, and hardware perspective is necessary to
successfully install and configure Cisco Unified CallManager. This chapter discusses Cisco
Unified Communications and the Cisco Unified CallManager functions, hardware
requirements, software requirements, and installation and upgrade information.
NOTE With the recent launch of the new Cisco Unified Communications portfolio, Cisco
AVVID has become an obsolete term because it no longer accurately describes the breadth of
Cisco’s converged, unified communications offerings. This chapter still occasionally makes
reference to Cisco AVVID in historical contexts, but for the most part uses the term Cisco
Unified Communications. You might find them used interchangeably during this transition
period.
NOTE Cisco has recently changed the name of the Cisco CallManager product to Cisco
Unified CallManager to reflect the Cisco Unified Communications campaign. For brevity, this
book mainly uses the shortened name of Cisco CallManager or just CallManager.
6 Chapter 1: Introduction to Cisco Unified Communications and Cisco Unified CallManager
Figure 1-1 shows the four standard layers of the Cisco Unified Communications voice
infrastructure model: the infrastructure layer, which lays the foundation for network components;
the call-processing layer, which maintains PBX-like functions; the applications layer, where
applications that provide additional network functionality reside; and the client layer, where end-
user devices reside.
Figure 1-1 The Cisco Unified Communications Model for Voice Networks
Client
IP
Distributed
Adaptive
Video Cisco IP Communicator IP Phone PC
Applications
Call Processing
Manageable
Infrastructure
Each of the major areas of the Cisco Unified Communications architecture has a similar model
focused around the technologies of voice, video, and data. The key points about the four standard
layers of the voice model are as follows:
■ Infrastructure layer—The infrastructure carries data between all network devices and
applications and consists of routers, switches, and voice gateways.
■ Client layer—The client layer makes the voice applications available to the user, whether the
end device is a Cisco IP Phone, a PC using a Cisco IP Communicator, or a PC delivering
converged messaging.
At first, this might seem like just another model to commit to memory; however, understanding
Cisco’s design of this model allows you to make the most of your voice network. The OSI model
creates a standard for communication across networks. In addition, it allows vendors to isolate
network functionality and specialize in equipment working at a specific layer. Likewise, one of the
huge benefits of using an IP telephony system over a PBX system is the open standards for
protocols and equipment. A vendor could specialize and design devices that work only at the client
layer of the Cisco Unified Communications voice model. These devices could use an open
standard protocol to communicate with the Cisco CallManager at the applications layer.
NOTE Because of the flexibility of the Cisco IP telephony network, many organizations have
created their own custom applications for the voice network. Cisco has made a Cisco
CallManager Software Development Kit (SDK) freely available to aid in the process of creating
custom Extensible Markup Language (XML) applications.
■ Call processing—Call processing refers to the complete process of originating, routing, and
terminating calls, including any statistical collection processes.
■ Signaling and device control—Cisco CallManager sets up all of the signaling connections
between call endpoints and directs devices such as phones, gateways, and conference bridges
to establish and tear down streaming connections.
■ Dial plan administration—The dial plan is a set of configurable rules that Cisco
CallManager uses to determine call routing. Cisco CallManager provides the ability to create
flexible dial plans for users.
TIP Most Cisco 7900 IP Phones ship with a software image, allowing them to use the Skinny
protocol to communicate with the Cisco CallManager. Cisco has also made a Session Initiation
Protocol (SIP) image that allows Cisco IP Phones to be used with a third-party management
system. Cisco CallManager does not support controlling the IP Phones using the SIP image as
of Cisco CallManager 4.1. However, Cisco has added this support in the Cisco CallManager 5.0
release.
Understanding Cisco Unified CallManager 9
You can better understand how Cisco CallManager performs call processing and signaling
functions by tracking a basic IP telephony call, as shown in Figure 1-2.
Figure 1-2 Cisco CallManager Basic Call Processing and Signaling Capabilities
Cisco CallManager
IP IP
IP Phone IP Phone
Party A Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) Media Path Party B
In Figure 1-2, Party A (left IP Phone) wants to call Party B (right IP Phone). Party A picks up the
handset and dials the number of Party B. In this environment, dialed digits are sent to Cisco
CallManager, the call-processing engine. Cisco CallManager finds the address and determines
where to route the call.
Using the Skinny protocol, Cisco CallManager signals the calling party over IP to initiate a ring
back, and Party A hears ringing. Cisco CallManager also signals the destination phone to initiate
ringing.
When Party B picks up the telephone, the RTP media path opens between the two stations. Party
A or Party B can now initiate a conversation. Because the IP Phones manage this RTP media path
themselves, the Cisco CallManager is able to move out of the call-processing functions for this
call. The IP Phones require no further communication with Cisco CallManager until either Party
A or Party B invokes a feature, such as call transfer, call conferencing, or call termination. Even
if the Cisco CallManager were to fail during the course of the call, the RTP stream would continue
until one of the parties involved in the call decided to disconnect the call.
TIP The Skinny (SCCP) protocol uses TCP port 2000, whereas the RTP bearer stream uses
dynamically negotiated even UDP port numbers in the range from 16,384 to 32,767.
10 Chapter 1: Introduction to Cisco Unified Communications and Cisco Unified CallManager
■ DC Directory
Cisco CallManager server relies on Microsoft Windows 2000 for its operating system and
Microsoft Structured Query Language (SQL) Server 2000 for its database (both provided by Cisco
Systems). The operating system version that Cisco provides is called the Cisco IP Telephony
Operating System. For example, Cisco CallManager 4.1(2) requires Cisco IP Telephony
Operating System Version 2000.2.6 (or later) and the latest Cisco IP Telephony Server Operating
System service release. The latest operating system updates and service releases can be obtained
from Cisco using an authorized CCO login.
Cisco CallManager uses DC Directory as an embedded LDAP directory. This directory stores
authentication and authorization information about users and is standard with Cisco CallManager
(it does not require any special configuration or installation). Maintaining a user database for your
IP telephony system is optional, as the phone system will work just fine without requiring users to
log in to the system. However, if you want to deploy any of the advanced features such as
Extension Mobility or the Cisco IP SoftPhone, user authentication is necessary. Authentication
establishes the right of the user to access the system, whereas authorization identifies the
telephony resources that a user is permitted to use, such as a specific telephone extension.
The Cisco Customer Directory Plugin allows you to integrate Cisco CallManager with one of the
following enterprise directories:
The Cisco IP Telephony Backup and Restore System (BARS) can be used to back up Cisco
CallManager. Cisco BARS is installed separately from Cisco CallManager.
Understanding Cisco Unified CallManager 11
All of these servers, with the exception of the 7815-I1, are rack-mountable and do not include a
monitor, mouse, or keyboard. Cisco designed the Cisco MCS for local setup, rack mounting, and
remote administration.
NOTE The higher-end Cisco servers (beginning with the MCS 7835-I1) also include
redundant power supplies and hard disk configurations.
12 Chapter 1: Introduction to Cisco Unified Communications and Cisco Unified CallManager
Summary
At the turn of the millennium, Cisco moved forward with a new company direction described in
the acronym of AVVID: Architecture for Voice, Video, and Integrated Data. Under this new
banner, all three methods of communication would collapse under a single network infrastructure.
The evolved term to describe this converged, IP-based environment is now Cisco Unified
Communications. Standing at the forefront of the voice technology is the Cisco CallManager, the
Cisco call-processing system that controls and manages converged voice over data networks.
Cisco CallManager runs on a foundation of Windows 2000 and SQL 2000 and can integrate with
many popular directory services for user authentication purposes. Ever since the 3.x versions of
Cisco CallManager, Cisco restricted the hardware platforms capable of running Cisco
CallManager to the MCS series. This ensures a consistent hardware platform to provide stable
support for the critical voice services of an organization.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
1. The Cisco Unified Communications strategy is primarily focused around what goal?
a. to create a new line of routers and switches equipped with increased processor and
memory resources to handle a converged network environment
b. to design network equipment equipped with the hardware resources and software fea-
tures to handle a converged network environment
c. to allow voice, video, and data to flow smoothly across the Internet
d. to upgrade WAN links between locations to a speed capable of handling increased net-
work traffic
2. In which layer of the voice infrastructure model does the Cisco Unified CallManager reside?
a. infrastructure layer
b. call-processing layer
c. applications layer
d. client layer
Review Questions 13
3. Which of the following functions are performed by the Cisco CallManager server?
(Choose three.)
a. call processing
b. directory services
c. PBX integration and signaling
d. cial plan administration
e. RTP audio processing
4. Which of the following protocols does the Cisco CallManager use to communicate with Cisco
IP Phones?
a. H.323
b. MGCP
c. Skinny
d. SIP
5. Which of the following functions is the Cisco CallManager responsible for when setting up
a phone call between Cisco IP Phones? (Choose three.)
a. receiving dialed digits
b. initiating ring tones on dialed IP Phone
c. streaming RTP audio between devices
d. handling call-processing functions when the calling party presses the Hold button
6. Which of the following software components constitute the foundation operating system of
Cisco CallManager? (Choose two.)
a. Windows 2000
b. Windows 2003
c. SQL 2000
d. Exchange 2000
e. Solaris
7. If you decide not to integrate Cisco CallManager into your company LDAP-compliant
directory, what built-in option does Cisco CallManager provide to store user information?
a. DC Directory
b. Active Directory
c. LW Directory
d. Cisco LM Directory
14 Chapter 1: Introduction to Cisco Unified Communications and Cisco Unified CallManager
8. You have purchased a Cisco MCS 7825 server. What is the maximum number of Cisco IP
Phones you will be able to support?
a. 250
b. 500
c. 1000
d. 2500
e. 7500
9. Maintaining a user directory is essential to the day-to-day operation of the IP telephony
network. (True/False)
10. Cisco IP Phones can use which of the following signaling protocols? (Choose two.)
a. H.323
b. Skinny
c. SIP
d. MGCP
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This chapter covers the
following topics:
After you understand the clustered relationship of Cisco CallManager, you can plan your
deployment strategy using the four deployment models provided by Cisco CallManager. This
chapter discusses the cluster relationship and deployment options provided by the Cisco
CallManager and the options available to enterprises to deploy a highly available IP telephony
network.
A Cisco CallManager cluster is two or more servers grouped together to support a Cisco IP
telephony network. The cluster relationship between Cisco CallManager servers provides
redundancy and load balancing for the voice network. Cisco defines this cluster relationship in
two ways: the SQL database structure and the intracluster run-time data.
provided by Microsoft SQL Server makes clustering possible by allowing the same database to be
on multiple machines. Database replication makes it appear as if a single machine is handling call
processing along with other functions of the voice network and ensures that standby processors
(Cisco CallManager servers) can seamlessly step in and fulfill the functions if the primary
processor fails. This SQL database replication also ensures that all clustered Cisco CallManager
servers have access to the same information.
You must have at least two Cisco CallManager servers to obtain this redundancy, and one of these
servers must be a publisher database server. The publisher database server manages the only
writable copy of the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 database. The subscriber database servers
maintain read-only copies of the database. You can have only one publisher server and up to eight
subscriber servers per cluster. It is these database servers that are able to actively participate in the
call-processing functions of the Cisco voice network. This SQL limitation is also a key factor in
determining the maximum size of a cluster, which is covered later in this chapter.
When you make changes to the Cisco CallManager configuration, these changes are made directly
to the publisher server database. The publisher then replicates these changes to the subscriber
servers. When the publisher server is offline, the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 database
automatically locks, and thus prevents any database changes. The IP telephony network continues
to operate, but you will not be able to add or configure any devices that are managed by Cisco
CallManager. The only exception to this rule is the Call Detail Records (CDRs), which record
information regarding the calls occurring within the cluster. When the publisher is down, the
subscribers store CDRs until the publisher comes back online, and then the subscribers update the
publisher with the CDRs.
In Cisco CallManager Release 3.3 and later, a single cluster is capable of handling approximately
30,000 Cisco IP Phones. This cluster limitation does not restrict the size of the voice over IP (VoIP)
network. By creating additional clusters, you can increase the network size. However, the more
clusters you create in a network, the more management the network requires to operate.
NOTE The 30,000 IP Phone maximum cluster size is only possible if you are using the MCS-
7845 servers throughout your cluster deployment.
cluster, “Hey everyone, a new phone just registered with me! I’ve given it the extension 4003.” (IP
address 10.5.5.1 in this example). All the other servers now know to send calls directed at
extension 4003 to the Cisco CallManager at the IP address 10.5.5.1, which, in turn, makes the
Cisco IP Phone ring.
After the initial phone registration, the Cisco IP Phone sends keepalive messages to the primary
Cisco CallManager server every 30 seconds and sends a TCP connect message (which is
technically a TCP three-way handshake) to its secondary Cisco CallManager server to ensure it is
online and ready to accept a device failover, if necessary. When the Cisco IP Phone detects the
failure of its TCP keepalive messages with the primary Cisco CallManager, the device attempts to
register with a secondary Cisco CallManager server. The secondary Cisco CallManager server
accepts the registration from the device and announces the new registration (using intracluster run-
time data) to all of the Cisco CallManager servers in the cluster.
NOTE If the Cisco CallManager service is ever stopped manually (through the Services
Windows 2000 Control Panel or a system shutdown), the Cisco CallManager server will clear
all of its active TCP connections with the IP Phones. This causes them to failover immediately
to their backup server rather than wait for the keepalive failure.
Cisco IP Phone registration is just one example of intracluster run-time data. You will discover
many other types of intracluster communication as this book introduces new concepts in
upcoming chapters.
design considerably limits the maximum cluster size and can be cost-intensive for the initial Cisco
CallManager deployment.
Each cluster must also have a designated TFTP server. Depending on the number of devices that
a server is supporting, you can combine this TFTP server functionality with the publisher or
subscriber Cisco CallManager servers, or you can deploy the TFTP functionality on a separate,
standalone server. The TFTP server is responsible for delivering IP Phone configuration files to
each telephone, along with streamed media files, such as music on hold (MOH) and ring files;
therefore, the TFTP server can experience a considerable network and processor load.
In the example shown in Figure 2-1, a Cisco 7835 Media Convergence Server (MCS) is used
because each Cisco CallManager server installed on that platform supports a maximum of 2500
Cisco IP Phones.
Primary 1 to 1 to
1 to 2500 2500 2500
Backups Backups
2501 to 2501 to
Backup
5000 5000
5001 to
7500
Backups
7501 to
10,000
The shading in the figure divides up the functions performed within a cluster. The lighter shading
(outside the Primary/Backup server area) represents the server that is not participating in call
processing. This is the SQL publisher server, which is also acting as a TFTP server. In cluster
environments with less than 1000 IP Phones, the SQL publisher can also participate in the call-
processing functions. However, in clusters larger than 1000 devices, you should isolate the SQL
publisher because it will be quite busy handling updates to the SQL database and TFTP requests.
Cluster Redundancy Designs 21
The darker shaded box (containing the Primary/Backup servers) represents Cisco CallManager
servers handling the call-processing functions (intracluster run-time data) of the cluster. In the
example showing cluster design for 2500 IP Phones, a single Cisco CallManager is the primary
server, with a secondary server acting as a dedicated backup. The primary or backup server can
also serve as the Microsoft SQL publisher and the TFTP server in smaller IP telephony
deployments.
TIP Be sure you understand how the two types of intracluster communication apply to the
Cisco CallManager cluster design. The publisher and subscriber relationship relates to the SQL
database replication. The Primary and Secondary server roles (shown in Figure 2-1 as Primary
and Backup) relate to the intracluster run-time relationship and device registration. The Primary
and Backup servers will be SQL subscribers if you isolate the SQL publisher from call-
processing functions.
When you increase the number of IP Phones, you must increase the number of Cisco CallManager
servers that are required to support the telephones. Some network engineers might consider the
1:1 redundancy design excessive because a well-designed network is unlikely to lose more than
one primary server at a time. With the low possibility of server loss and the increased server cost,
many network engineers elect to use a 2:1 redundancy design. However, other engineers choose
to deploy the 1:1 redundancy to ensure maximum uptime of the IPT network. In addition, you can
load-balance your IP Phones between the primary and backup servers in a 1:1 redundancy design.
If any one server fails, only half of the phones must failover to the backup server (which provides
a faster failover process).
NOTE Figure 2-2 assumes that each Cisco CallManager server can support a maximum of
2500 IP Phones.
22 Chapter 2: Cisco Unified CallManager Clustering and Deployment Options
Primary 1 to 1 to
1 to 2500 2500 2500
Backup Backup
2501 to 2501 to
Backup
5000 5000
5001 to
7500
Backup
7501 to
10,000
Network administrators use this 2:1 redundancy model in most IP telephony deployments because
of the reduced server costs. If you are using a Cisco MCS 7835 (shown in the figure), that server
is equipped with redundant, hot-swappable power supplies and hard drives. When you properly
connect and configure these servers, it is unlikely that multiple primary servers will fail at the same
time, which makes the 2:1 redundancy model a viable option for most businesses.
Because of tight budgets, some network administrators are forced into 3:1 and even 4:1
redundancy designs (three or four primary servers supported by a single backup server). Cisco
does not support these designs because of the high risk involved.
TIP The Cisco CallManager architecture limits a cluster to nine servers (one publisher and
eight subscribers) that have access to the SQL database. Only these servers can participate in
call-processing functions. The redundancy model and server platform you choose has a huge
impact on the total size of your Cisco CallManager cluster. Although it might be possible to
create a cluster capable of supporting a tremendous amount of IP Phones by minimizing
redundancy, Cisco TAC only supports a maximum cluster size of 30,000 IP Phones. If you reach
this maximum cluster size, you will need to divide your network into multiple clusters.
Call-Processing Deployment Models 23
■ Single-site deployment
Single-Site Deployment
In a single-site deployment model, all Cisco CallManager servers, applications, and IP Phones are
in the same physical location. A single Cisco CallManager cluster can support a maximum of
30,000 IP Phones. If you need to support more IP Phones at the site, you can implement multiple
clusters within the single location and interconnect them through intercluster trunks (intercluster
trunks are covered in Chapter 10, CallManager Route Plan Basics). Gateways that connect directly
to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) handle external calls. If an IP WAN exists
between sites, it is used to carry data traffic only; no telephony services are provided over the
WAN. Figure 2-3 shows a typical network diagram of a single-site deployment.
24 Chapter 2: Cisco Unified CallManager Clustering and Deployment Options
Applications
Cisco
CallManager
Cluster
IP
V
PSTN
V
IP
■ You must understand the current calling patterns within the enterprise. How and where are
users making calls? How many calls are intersite or interbranch versus intrasite? If calling
patterns dictate that most calls are intrasite, use the single-site model to deploy IP telephony
and make use of the relatively inexpensive PSTN. This design also simplifies the dial plans
and avoids provisioning dedicated bandwidth for voice in the IP WAN.
■ The IP Phones should use the G.711 coder-decoder (codec). Because the call will stay in the
LAN, G.711 is a simple and high-quality codec for deployment. It does not require dedicated
Digital Signal Processor (DSP) resources for transcoding (which means converting between
codec types, such as between G.711 and G.729), and older voice-mail systems might support
only G.711. You can allocate these DSP resources to other functions, such as conferencing
Call-Processing Deployment Models 25
and Media Termination Point (MTP). Although the 64 kbps per-call bandwidth that G.711
consumes is higher than that of other commonly used codecs, it is not a concern in this design
because the call is not traversing the WAN, where bandwidth is generally limited.
■ All off-net calls will be diverted to the PSTN or sent to the legacy PBX for call routing if the
PSTN resources are being shared during migratory deployments.
■ Use Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) gateways for the PSTN if the network does
not require H.323 functionality. Centralize the gateway dial plans by using H.323 gatekeepers
when deploying multiple clusters, rather than using MGCP gateways. In addition, PSTN
gateway redundancy should also be a consideration because a single gateway failure could
affect the inbound and outbound PSTN calls for an entire corporation.
Application
Servers
SRST-Enabled
Cisco PSTN Router
IP
CallManager
Cluster
IP
V
IP WAN Branch A
IP IP IP
Headquarters
SRST-Enabled
Router
IP
IP
Branch B
Routers that reside at WAN edges require QoS mechanisms, such as low latency queuing (LLQ)
and traffic shaping, to protect voice traffic from data traffic across the WAN (where bandwidth is
typically scarce).
To avoid oversubscribing the WAN links with voice traffic (thus causing deterioration of the
quality of established calls), the network might need a call admission control scheme. With the
introduction of Cisco CallManager Release 3.3, centralized call-processing models can take
advantage of automated alternate routing (AAR) features. AAR allows Cisco CallManager to
dynamically reroute a call over the PSTN if the call exceeds the WAN bandwidth.
You can provide PSTN access for the voice network through a variety of Cisco gateways. When
the IP WAN is down, the users at remote branches can place their calls through the PSTN using
the Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST) feature that is available for Cisco IOS
gateways that can provide call processing during the outage.
Call-Processing Deployment Models 27
■ Installations adopting the centralized call-processing deployment model are limited to hub-
and-spoke topologies because the locations-based call admission control mechanism used in
centralized call-processing deployments records only the available bandwidth in and out of
each location.
■ There is no limit to the number of IP Phones at each individual remote branch. However, the
capability that is provided by the SRST feature in the branch router limits remote branches to
720 Cisco IP Phones using a 3845 router during failover. Smaller platforms have lower limits.
SRST is covered in its entirety in Chapter 14, “Implementing Multiple-Site Deployments.”
■ When communicating over the IP WAN, the G.729 compressed codec should be used to save
considerable WAN bandwidth.
When deciding between a centralized or distributed call-processing model, you will usually base
your decision on two factors: how many phones must you support at each site and what features
does the company require to be available during failover. If you are using a smaller number of IP
Phones and only require basic call-processing functionality, the centralized call-processing model
might be most appropriate. If you are using a larger number of IP Phones or require more advanced
features (such as call center applications), a distributed model might be more appropriate.
28 Chapter 2: Cisco Unified CallManager Clustering and Deployment Options
Cisco
Application CallManager
Servers Cluster
Cisco PSTN
V
CallManager
Cluster
IP IP IP
Branch A
V
IP WAN
IP IP IP GK
Application
Gatekeeper Servers
Headquarters
Cisco
CallManager
Cluster
IP IP IP
Branch B
Depending on your network design, an individual site in the distributed call-processing design
might consist of the following:
■ A single site with its own call-processing agent, which can be a Cisco CallManager or a
third-party call agent
■ A centralized call-processing site (and all of its remote sites) that the network views as a
single site for distributed call processing
■ A legacy PBX with a VoIP gateway or a legacy PBX that is attached using a time-division
multiplexing (TDM) interface to a VoIP gateway
The distributed call-processing model requires all sites to be connected through an IP WAN. Cisco
considers a site connected only through the PSTN to be a standalone site.
Multisite distributed call processing allows each site to be completely self-contained. In the event
of an IP WAN failure or insufficient bandwidth, the site does not lose call-processing service or
functionality. Cisco CallManager simply sends all calls between the sites across the PSTN.
Call-Processing Deployment Models 29
■ Cost savings when you are using the IP WAN for intersite calls. The IP Phones and voice
gateways can compress calls using the G.729 codec, reducing the bandwidth required for the
audio and increasing efficiency over the standard PSTN connections.
■ Toll-bypass savings when you are using remote gateways to drop off into the PSTN (known
as “tail end hop off,” or TEHO). For example, if one of your sites is located in Arizona, all the
other sites can forward calls across the IP WAN to obtain toll-bypass when calling a number
in Arizona.
The multisite WAN with distributed call-processing deployment model is a superset of the single-
site and multisite WAN with centralized call-processing models. You should follow the best-
practices guidelines mentioned previously for single-site and multisite deployments in addition to
those listed here, which are specific to this deployment model.
The H.323 gatekeeper or Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) proxy servers are among the key
elements in the multisite WAN with distributed call processing. Both provide centralized dial plan
resolution, with the gatekeeper also providing call admission control.
A gatekeeper is an H.323 device that provides call admission control and centralized dial plan
resolution. Otherwise, the network administrator at each of the sites must configure a full dial plan
to reach all devices on the network. Additional gatekeeper guidelines include the following:
■ Cisco recommends that you use backup gatekeeper support to provide a gatekeeper solution
with high availability. It is also recommended that you use multiple gatekeepers to provide
spatial redundancy within the network.
■ Cisco recommends that you use a single WAN codec. This design makes capacity planning
easy and does not require you to overprovision the IP WAN to allow for worst-case scenarios.
SIP proxy servers provide resolution of dialed numbers (also called E.164 numbers) as well as SIP
uniform resource identifiers (URIs) to enable endpoints to place calls to each other. Cisco
CallManager supports the use of E.164 numbers only.
■ Ensure that the SIP proxies have the capacity for the call rate and number of calls required in
the network.
30 Chapter 2: Cisco Unified CallManager Clustering and Deployment Options
For more detail on bandwidth capacity planning and call admission control for each deployment
model, refer to the Cisco IP Telephony Solution Reference Network Design (SRND) for Cisco
CallManager 4.0 at: http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/solution/esm/iptele/index.htm.
Cisco
CallManager Cluster
Voice-Mail Voice-Mail
Server Server
IP IP
IP IP
IP Phones IP Phones
Los Angeles San Diego
Although there are stringent requirements, this design offers the following advantages:
■ Single point of administration for users for all sites within the cluster
■ Feature transparency; features such as call transfers and conference calls work seamlessly
using an internal dialing scheme
■ Shared line appearances over a WAN connection, which allows multiple phones to share a line
instance
■ Extension mobility within the cluster, allowing users to log in to remote phones and have their
phone profile follow them
This design is useful for customers who require more functionality at remote sites than the limited
feature set that is offered by SRST. This network design also allows remote offices to support more
Cisco IP Phones than SRST in the event that the connection to the primary Cisco CallManager is
lost.
Summary 31
Although the distributed single-cluster call-processing model offers some significant advantages,
it must adhere to these strict design guidelines:
■ Two Cisco CallManager servers in a cluster must have a maximum round-trip delay of 40 ms
between them. In comparison, high-quality voice guidelines dictate that one-way end-to-end
delay should not exceed 150 ms. Because of this strict guideline, you can use this design only
between closely connected, high-speed locations (Metropolitan Ethernet would be a good
example of this connectivity type).
■ For every 10,000 Busy Hour Call Attempts (BHCAs) within the cluster, you must support an
additional 900 kbps of WAN bandwidth for intracluster run-time communication. The BHCA
represents the number of call attempts made during the busiest hour of the day.
■ Up to eight small sites are supported using the remote failover deployment model. Remote
failover allows you to deploy the backup servers over the WAN. Using this deployment
model, you can have up to eight sites with Cisco CallManager subscribers being backed up
by Cisco CallManager subscribers at another site.
■ SRST can function in this model but is not necessary to protect against Cisco CallManager
failure. The telephones can failover across the WAN to other Cisco CallManager servers. This
design may require significant additional bandwidth, depending on the number of telephones
at each location.
NOTE If the WAN connection between sites fails, users will receive a fast busy signal for any
intersite call. This might be confusing to users who are used to ringing followed by voice mail.
Summary
This chapter covered the key factors you must consider when you are initially designing a Cisco
CallManager–based IP telephony deployment. The key to understanding your deployment options
is first understanding the Cisco CallManager cluster relationship as defined by the Microsoft SQL
replication and intracluster run-time data. The Cisco CallManager cluster provides redundancy
and failover in an IP telephony environment. This redundancy can be implemented using the 1:1
server redundancy design, which offers the most redundancy available, or a 2:1 redundancy
design, which balances the cost factors with overall redundancy. The chapter ended with a
discussion of the four call-processing deployment models:
■ Single-site deployment
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
1. Which four of the following are IP telephony deployment models that are supported by Cisco?
(Choose four.)
a. a single site with one call-processing agent
b. multiple sites with centralized call processing
c. multiple sites each with its own call-processing agent
d. a single cluster with distributed call processing
e. multiple clusters with no call-processing agent
2. A 1:1 redundancy design offers _________.
a. increased redundancy; however, the increased server cost is often prohibitive
b. some redundancy; however, a server reboot is required after an upgrade
c. maximum uptime; however, no more than a 20-ms round-trip delay can exist between
servers
d. high availability; however, you might overwhelm the backup servers
3. A single cluster that spans multiple sites can have which two benefits compared to a branch
office in a multisite WAN with a centralized call-processing deployment? (Choose two.)
a. completely self-contained individual sites
b. WAN bandwidth cost savings
c. a common dial plan across all sites
d. more IP Phone features during failover
e. scalability to hundreds of sites
4. Which two of the following enable the cluster to achieve redundancy? (Choose two.)
a. Windows clustering
b. database replication
c. at least two servers
d. directory access
5. When configuring the SQL database relationship between Cisco CallManager servers, how
many publisher servers should you configure for the cluster?
a. It depends on the server platform; you should have one publisher for each group of
phones followed by a backup.
b. You should have only one publisher server for the entire cluster.
Review Questions 33
c. You should have at least two publisher servers to provide database redundancy.
d. You must configure a publisher for each subscriber you install.
6. What is the maximum number of SQL subscribers that can exist in a Cisco CallManager
cluster?
a. 3
b. 5
c. 8
d. 9
e. 12
7. To support a centralized, multisite Cisco CallManager design, what feature should be
employed at the remote offices?
a. QoS
b. SRST
c. Classification
d. SQL database replication
8. When using a multisite, single-cluster Cisco CallManager design, it is not necessary to
employ SRST features to support the IP Phones in the case of Cisco CallManager failure.
(True/False)
9. When designing a distributed, multicluster Cisco CallManager design, what pieces of
equipment might be necessary to ensure the IP telephony network maintains a consistent and
centralized dial plan? (Choose two.)
a. H.323 gatekeeper
b. H.323 gateways
c. SIP proxy server
d. Cisco CallManager
10. What is the maximum Cisco CallManager cluster size Cisco will support using Cisco
CallManager 4.x?
a. 7500 IP Phones
b. 10,000 IP Phones
c. 12,000 IP Phones
d. 15,000 IP Phones
e. 30,000 IP Phones
This chapter covers the
following topics:
When Cisco first announced that the Cisco CallManager platform would use Microsoft
Windows 2000 as a foundation operating system and Microsoft SQL 2000 as a database store,
concern arose that the Cisco administrator would require a thorough understanding of these
applications to successfully operate a Cisco IP telephony network. Although an understanding
of these components can be useful for monitoring and troubleshooting purposes, it is not
necessary for Cisco CallManager installation and setup. Cisco has done a fantastic job of
“wizard-izing” and scripting the complete installation of both Windows 2000 and SQL 2000,
hiding any complexity behind a friendly Next button.
The upgrade process of Cisco CallManager is not quite as friendly as a clean install; however,
if you keep the potential pitfalls in mind, a Cisco CallManager upgrade can go quite smoothly.
This chapter discusses both the clean install and upgrade process of Cisco CallManager.
Installation Disks
All Cisco MCSs and customer-provided servers that meet approved Cisco configuration
standards ship with a blank hard drive. When you purchase a Cisco IP telephony application,
you use the appropriate disks to install or upgrade the operating system and application:
■ Disk 2: Cisco IP Telephony Server Operating System Installation and Recovery Disk—
Installs the operating system. Use only one of the server-specific Cisco IP Telephony Server
Operating System Installation and Recovery disks that come in your software kit. Depending
on your platform, the Operating System disc could be CD-ROM or DVD-based. After the
operating system installation, a prompt instructs you to insert the appropriate Cisco
CallManager software disk into the drive.
■ Disk 3: Cisco CallManager 4.1 Software Disk— This disk installs the Cisco CallManager
application on the server.
You might also receive a Cisco IP Telephony Server Operating System Upgrade Disk. Use this
disk to upgrade the operating system on existing (not new) servers in the cluster. You do not need
to use this disk if you are performing a new operating system installation.
■ New installation or server replacement—Choose this option if you are installing the Cisco
IP telephony application for the first time, overwriting an existing installation, or replacing a
server. To replace the server, you must store the data to a network directory or tape device
before the operating system installation. Choosing this setting erases all existing drives.
■ Cisco product key—Cisco supplies a product key when you purchase a Cisco IP telephony
product. The product key is based on a file encryption system that allows you to install only
the components that you have purchased. It also prevents you from installing other supplied
software for general use. The product key consists of alphabetical characters only.
■ Username and organization name—The system will prompt you for a username and an
organization name to register the software product that you are installing. Do not leave the
field blank. You can enter letters, numbers, hyphens (-), and underscores (_).
■ Computer name—The system will prompt you to assign a unique computer name, using 15
characters or fewer, to each Cisco CallManager server. The computer name can contain
alphabetic and numeric characters, hyphens, and underscores, but it must begin with a letter
of the alphabet. Follow your local naming conventions, if possible. If you want to change the
computer name after the application installation, you must completely reinstall the operating
system and the application.
Cisco Unified CallManager 4.x Clean Installation Process 37
■ Workgroup—The system will also prompt you for a workgroup name. A workgroup consists
of a collection of computers that share the same workgroup name. Computers in the same
workgroup can more easily communicate with each other across the network. Ensure that this
entry, which must also be 15 characters or fewer, follows the same naming conventions as the
computer name.
■ Domain suffix—When prompted, you must enter the Domain Name System (DNS) suffix in
the format “mydomain.com” or “mycompany.mydomain.com.” If you are not using DNS, use
a fictitious domain suffix, such as fictitioussite.com.
■ TCP/IP properties—You must assign an IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway when
installing a Cisco CallManager server. Changing the Cisco CallManager IP address after you
install the software can be a tedious process, so be sure to plan accordingly.
CAUTION It is strongly recommended that you choose static IP information, which ensures
that the Cisco CallManager server obtains a fixed IP address. With this selection, Cisco IP
Phones can register with Cisco CallManager when the telephones are plugged into the network.
Using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) can cause problems, including failure of
the telephony system.
■ DNS—You can identify a primary DNS server for this optional field. By default, the
telephones will attempt to connect to Cisco CallManager using DNS. Therefore, you must
verify that the DNS server contains a mapping of the IP address and the fully qualified domain
name (FQDN) of the Cisco CallManager server. If you do not use DNS, use the server IP
address, instead of a server name, to register the telephones with Cisco CallManager.
NOTE Before you begin installing multiple servers in a cluster, you must have a name
resolution method in place, such as DNS, Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS), or local
name resolution using a configured LMHOSTS file. If you use DNS, you must verify that the
DNS server contains a mapping of the IP address and the hostname of the server that you are
installing. This verification must take place before you begin the installation. If you use local
name resolution, ensure that the LMHOSTS file is updated on the existing servers in the cluster
before you begin the installation on the new subscriber server. You must add the same
information to the LMHOSTS file on the new server during installation.
TIP Although it might seem tedious, Cisco considers the creation of LMHOST file IP address
to hostname mappings on each Cisco CallManager server a better practice. Using DNS services
introduces another point of failure for the voice network.
38 Chapter 3: Cisco Unified CallManager Installation and Upgrades
■ Database server—You must determine whether you will configure this server as a publisher
database server or as a subscriber database server through a radio button selection during the
Cisco CallManager installation. This selection is permanent. You must reinstall the Cisco
CallManager server if you want to reassign the database server type at a later date.
NOTE You must install a Cisco CallManager publisher server before you can install any
subscriber servers. When you are configuring a subscriber database server, ensure that the server
that you are installing can connect to the publisher database server during the installation. This
connection facilitates the copying of the publisher database to the local drive on the subscriber
server. You must supply the name of the publisher database server and a username and password
with administrator access rights on that server. The installation will be discontinued if, for any
reason, the publisher server cannot be authenticated.
■ New password for the system administrator—Cisco CallManager Releases 3.0 and later
support password protection. A prompt at the end of the installation procedure will ask you
to supply a new password for the system administrator.
NOTE For Cisco CallManager database replication, you must enter the same Administrator
account password for the publisher and all of the subscribers in the cluster. The installation
wizard will request this password.
Configuration Data
Username
Configuration Data
Computer name
Workgroup
Postinstallation Procedures
After you complete the Cisco CallManager software installation, the installation wizard will
prompt you to change all passwords used in the Cisco CallManager cluster. These passwords
should be the same on all servers you install into the cluster. In addition, many supporting services
are running on your server that you might be able to stop. The fewer services you have running on
your server, the more server resources you will have available to support the IP telephony network.
In addition, running more services on the Cisco CallManager server introduces more security
vulnerabilities for the underlying Windows operating system. You should stop all of the following
services on both the Publisher and Subscriber servers in your cluster and set them to manual-start
status unless they are otherwise needed on the system:
■ DHCP client
■ Fax service
■ Computer browser
By default, the installation wizard configures all Subscribers with Internet Information Server
(IIS) Services running. This allows you to make changes to the cluster by accessing the web
interface on your subscriber servers. Even though you are accessing the web interface on the
Subscriber server, the changes are actually being made on the Publisher server (because it has the
only writable copy of the database). In addition, allowing the web services to run on all Subscriber
servers introduces more security risk as there are now multiple points of access for the Cisco
CallManager administration interface. Because of this, it is usually best to save the Subscriber
resources by stopping the web services on all servers except the Publisher. You can accomplish
this by stopping the following services:
You can stop all of these services through the Windows 2000 Services console. To open this
console, click Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > Services. When the console opens,
Windows lists all services in alphabetic order. Right-click on the service you want to disable and
choose Properties. In the Properties window shown in Figure 3-1, use the drop-down box to select
Cisco Unified CallManager 4.x Clean Installation Process 41
either a Manual startup or to Disable the service. These will take effect the next time you reboot
the Cisco CallManager server. You can also choose to stop the service without restarting the server
from this page.
TIP Because Cisco CallManager requires these services to be active when upgrading to new
Cisco CallManager versions, setting them to a state of Manual is suggested.
It is recommended that you activate only the required components for each server in the cluster.
Each component that you activate adds to the server load.
42 Chapter 3: Cisco Unified CallManager Installation and Upgrades
If you are upgrading Cisco CallManager, the services that you have already started on your system
will start after the upgrade.
Each service performs specific functions for the IP telephony network. Some services might need
to run on a single Cisco CallManager server in a cluster; other services might need to run on all of
the Cisco CallManager servers in the cluster.
CAUTION Be sure to activate at least the Cisco CallManager service before you apply any
configuration to your Cisco CallManager server. Failure to do so can lead to unpredictable
results, potentially leading to a server reinstall.
The following information briefly describes each available Cisco CallManager service:
■ Cisco TFTP—Activates a TFTP server on Cisco CallManager. The TFTP service delivers
Cisco IP Phone loads and configuration files to IP Phones, along with streamed media files,
such as music on hold (MOH) and ring files.
■ Cisco MOH Audio Translator—Allows Cisco CallManager to convert MP3 or WAV audio
files into voice codec format used for MOH.
■ Cisco Database Layer Monitor—Monitors aspects of the Microsoft SQL 2000 database, as
well as call detail records (CDRs).
■ Cisco CDR Insert—Allows Cisco CallManager to write CDRs to the local database and
replicates CDR files to the Microsoft SQL publisher at a configured interval.
■ Cisco CTL Provider—Works with the Cisco Certificate Trust List (CTL) client to change the
security mode for the cluster from nonsecure to secure (called mixed mode).
You must activate the Cisco CallManager services from the Service Activation web interface
rather than the Windows 2000 Services control panel. To access this interface, perform the
following steps:
Step 4 Click the server that you want to configure from the Servers column. Next
click the services that you want to activate, and click the Update button.
(You will experience a slight delay.) The Service Activation window will
refresh when the process is complete.
Upgrading Prior Cisco Unified CallManager Versions 45
TIP The method shown is just one way to access the Cisco CallManager Serviceability pages.
If you are working on the Cisco CallManager itself, you can get there quicker by using the
Windows 2000 Start menu (Start > Programs > Cisco CallManager > Cisco CallManager
Serviceability) or by accessing https://<CallManager-IP-Address>/CCMService.
CAUTION Remember to activate the Cisco CallManager services from the Service
Activation web interface. Activating the services through the Windows 2000 Services console
will produce unpredictable and unstable results.
When you click the Set Default button in the web interface, the Service Activation tool chooses
the services required to run Cisco CallManager based on a single-server configuration. This is the
bare minimum to have a working Cisco CallManager–based IP telephony network. Because Cisco
highly advises against single-server installations, you will most likely use the Set Default button
in a lab environment.
NOTE Cisco CallManager 4.1(3) is the most recent version available at the time of this
writing. If you are upgrading to a more recent version, refer to the specific upgrade instructions
provided in the documentation for the more recent Cisco CallManager version.
If your server runs a version of Cisco CallManager Release 3.2 or earlier, you must first upgrade
every server in the cluster to the latest version of Cisco CallManager Release 3.3 before you can
upgrade to a version of Cisco CallManager Release 4.1. This is because the database structure and
storage system changes from versions prior to release 3.3. (Earlier versions use SQL 7.0 rather
than SQL 2000.)
Before you perform any upgrade procedures, it is strongly recommended that you install the latest
operating system upgrade and service release, SQL service releases and hotfixes, and Cisco
CallManager service release for the versions that currently run in the cluster. Cisco provides the
service release and corresponding “readme” documentation on Cisco.com. To obtain these
documents, go to http://www.cisco.com/kobayashi/sw-center/sw-voice.shtml (CCO login is
required).
46 Chapter 3: Cisco Unified CallManager Installation and Upgrades
NOTE Cisco releases all service packs, hotfixes, and Windows operating system upgrades
through the CCO website. Updates released by Microsoft should never be applied to the Cisco
CallManager server as they can potentially cause the Cisco CallManager software to become
unstable or to crash. Cisco guarantees that they will release any critical operating system patch
within 24 hours of the Microsoft announcement. Noncritical patches are rolled up into a monthly
update.
Cisco requires that you install Cisco IP Telephony Server Operating System Version 2000.2.6
(available from Cisco CCO) before you upgrade to Cisco CallManager Release 4.1.
CAUTION Because the foundation operating system components might change, the upgrade
procedure will many times require you to back up the database on the Publisher server, reimage
Cisco CallManager completely (using the clean installation method discussed earlier in the
chapter), and then restore the SQL data from backup. If your version of Cisco CallManager
requires this, be absolutely sure to install the newer backup software on the Cisco CallManager
you are upgrading before you initially back up the database. Many times, the backup software
changes between the 3.x and 4.x versions of Cisco CallManager. Because of this, you will
usually find the latest version of the backup software in the /backup folder on the first Cisco
CallManager Installation CD-ROM. If you do not install the new backup software before
performing the Cisco CallManager upgrade, your backup file (and SQL data) might be
unreadable in the new Cisco CallManager version.
Because many of the Cisco CallManager servers are equipped with RAID 1 configurations
(mirrored hard disks), a common upgrade strategy is as follows:
Step 1 Remove the mirrored hard disk from the production Cisco CallManager
server.
Step 2 Boot a lab server using the mirrored hard disk.
Step 3 Perform the Cisco CallManager software upgrade on the mirrored hard
disk.
Step 4 During a scheduled window of downtime, reboot the production server
using the upgraded, mirrored drive.
Step 5 The hard drive running the older Cisco CallManager version will become
the new, backup mirrored drive.
Review Questions 47
By using this upgrade process, you can reduce the amount of voice network downtime to the
amount of time it takes to reboot the Cisco CallManager server on the upgraded drive.
CAUTION The upgrade process described will cause a loss of any database changes
performed from the time you have removed the mirrored drive until the time you reboot your
Cisco CallManager server using the new version. Plan your upgrade windows accordingly.
Summary
This chapter covered the Cisco CallManager installation and upgrade process. When you purchase
a Cisco MCS and Cisco CallManager software, you will receive a number of CDs (and even
DVDs). Of those, you will only need three discs for the installation: the hardware detection CD,
the operating system CD/DVD, and the Cisco CallManager installation CD/DVD. The installation
itself is very automated and disk image-based. It requires very little knowledge of the foundation
Windows 2000 operating system and SQL 2000 database store. After the installation completes,
you should stop any unnecessary services running on your Cisco CallManager and start the Cisco
CallManager services required for your network.
The upgrade process for Cisco CallManager varies wildly depending on the version of Cisco
CallManager you are using. The process can be as simple as inserting the Cisco CallManager
installation disk and following a step-by-step wizard or as complex as a complete reimage of all
servers in the cluster. The key is to make sure that you have backed up all data from the SQL server
with the newest version of the backup software available from the Cisco CallManager installation
CD-ROM or the Cisco website.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
2. Why is it recommended that you stop IIS on the subscriber servers? (Choose two.)
a. enhances server call processing and redundancy
b. maximizes the number of devices in a cluster
c. disables the use of remote terminal services
d. helps prevent unauthorized access to the server
e. makes more resources available for critical voice services
3. When you first install Cisco CallManager software, which CD-ROM should you use to boot
the server to determine the correct CD-ROM to insert next?
a. Cisco CallManager 4.0 Software Disk
b. Cisco IP Telephony Server Operating System Hardware Detection Disk
c. Cisco CallManager Installation, Upgrade, and Recovery Disk
d. Cisco IP Telephony Server Backup and Restore Disk
e. Cisco Extended Services and Locales Disk
4. If you are not using DNS, what must you configure to resolve server names for the Cisco
CallManager installation process?
a. DHCP
b. backup server
c. LMHOSTS file
d. DNS reverse lookup
5. Which of the following represent Windows services that you are able to stop on both
Publisher and Subscriber servers? (Choose three.)
a. computer browser
b. DHCP client
c. database layer monitor
d. CTL provider
e. FTP Publishing Service
6. If you want to set up a Cisco CallManager as a single-server configuration in a lab
environment, what button can you click on the Service Activation web page to start the
necessary services?
a. Single Server
b. Lab
c. Set Default
d. Minimal Service
Review Questions 49
7. You have just completed the installation of a Cisco CallManager server, entered the new
passwords for all accounts, and restarted. What is the next step you should take?
a. Configure the Cisco CallManager server settings to send IP address information to the
IP Phones rather than hostname.
b. Activate the necessary services through the Service Activation web page.
c. Upgrade the backup software to the latest version.
d. Apply the latest operating system service pack from the Cisco website.
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Part II: IPT Devices and Users
Thus far, you have focused on the Cisco Unified CallManager server as the management system
of the Cisco IP telephony network. It is now time to focus on the devices that Cisco CallManager
controls. An important task of implementing and supporting an IP telephony deployment is
managing the end-user devices, or endpoints. You should be able to distinguish among the
various Cisco IP telephony end-user devices that you might encounter during the course of
deploying and administering a Cisco IP telephony network.
This chapter explains the various models of Cisco IP Phones and how they work within a Cisco
IP telephony solution. You will learn the basic features of Cisco IP Phones, analog adapters, and
conference stations; the IP Phone power-up and registration process; and the audio coders-
decoders (codecs) that are supported by Cisco IP Phones.
Cisco IP Phones
To the user, the telephone is the most visible component of the voice communications network.
Cisco IP Phones are next-generation, intelligent communication devices that deliver essential
business communications. Fully programmable, the growing family of Cisco IP Phones
provides the most frequently used business features.
Each Cisco IP Phone provides toll-quality audio. Because it is an IP-based phone, you can
install it in any location on a corporate local or wide-area IP network. Some corporations have
even made the Cisco CallManager publicly available on the Internet (with appropriate firewall
platforms in place), allowing Cisco IP Phones to register from any location that has an Internet
connection.
54 Chapter 4: Cisco IP Phones and Other User Devices
■ Cisco inline power, powered patch panel, or local power option support via a power cube (the
same power supply as the Cisco IP Phone 7910, 7940, or 7960)
The following list briefly describes the major features of each entry-level Cisco IP Phone:
NOTE Even though it might appear from the figure that the Cisco IP Phone 7902G has an
LCD display, Cisco has equipped this low-end IP Phone with a piece of paper for a user to label
key buttons and phone numbers.
■ Cisco IP Phone 7905G and Cisco IP Phone 7912G—The Cisco IP Phone 7905G provides
single-line access and four interactive softkeys that guide a user through call features and
functions via the pixel-based liquid crystal display (LCD). Use this IP Phone for employees
who do not need a full-featured phone or for a common area such as a hallway, manufacturing
floor, break room, reception space, or office cubicle. The Cisco IP Phone 7912G includes an
integrated Ethernet switch that provides LAN connectivity to a collocated PC (allowing only
a single cable drop to each location). The following briefly describes the major features of the
Cisco IP Phone 7905G and Cisco 7912G:
— Support for IEEE 802.3af and Cisco proprietary inline power standards
— Enhanced memory and XML application support similar to the Cisco IP Phone 7970
— Support for enhanced security features
■ Cisco IP Phone 7910G+SW—The Cisco IP Phone 7910G+SW is for common-use areas that
require only basic features, such as dialing out, accessing 911, and intercom calls. Locations
that might benefit from these limited features include lobbies, break rooms, and hallways. The
Cisco IP Phone 7910G+SW includes a two-port switch for use in applications where you
require basic IP Phone functionality and a collocated PC. The following briefly describes the
major features of the Cisco 7910G+SW:
NOTE Cisco has positioned the Cisco IP Phone 7912G to replace the Cisco IP Phone
7910G+SW. The Cisco 7910+SW should reach End-of-Life (EOL) in January 2006.
A description of features that are common to all midrange and upper-end IP Phones follows:
Cisco IP Phones 57
■ Multiline capability
■ Large pixel-based displays, which allow for the inclusion of XML and future features
■ Built-in headset connection and quality full-duplex speakerphone (does not come with a
headset)
■ Adjustable foot stand (flat to 60 degrees) for desktop use or appropriate kit included for wall
mounting
■ An EIA/TIA-232 port for options, such as line expansion and security access
NOTE The 79XXG-GE IP Phone models offer features identical to the 79XXG models with
the exception of the integrated two-port switch. The 79XXG-GE models have integrated, two-
port 10/100/1000 switchports, whereas the 79XXG models have integrated, two-port 10/100
switchports.
■ Cisco IP Phone 7941G and 7941G-GE—The Cisco IP Phone 7941G and 7941G-GE is for
medium traffic and has these features:
— Six lines and programmable feature buttons, and four interactive softkeys
— PoE compatible (Cisco prestandard PoE and IEEE 802.3af industry standard)
— Increased memory for advanced applications
— Higher resolution display
— Backlit screen and line keys
■ Cisco IP Phone 7970G—The Cisco IP Phone 7970G is one of Cisco’s current high-end
devices featuring a high resolution, full-color display that can make a passerby look twice. It
has the following features:
— Ideal for executives, decision makers, and high-visibility areas of your organization
— Eight lines and programmable feature buttons, and five interactive softkeys
— Larger, color display with touch-screen capabilities
— 3.5-mm stereo jack sockets for connection to PC-style speakers or headphones, and
microphone
— PoE compatible (Cisco prestandard PoE and IEEE 802.3af industry standard)
— Advanced XML development platform for more dynamic applications
■ Cisco IP Phone 7971G-GE—The Cisco IP Phone 7971G looks identical to the 7970G with
the following differences:
— Ideal for executives, decision makers, and high-visibility areas of your organization
(such as conference rooms)
— Provides a desktop video phone making instant, face-to-face communication
possible using the H.264 video codec
— Offers an integrated, two-port 10/100 Ethernet switch
— Enables digital clarity video
Cisco IP Phones 59
— PoE compatible (IEEE 802.3af PoE only; does not support Cisco prestandard PoE)
TIP Cisco has recently upgraded the 7940G and 7960G IP Phones to the 7941G and 7961G.
The primary features Cisco added are the support for the IEEE 802.3af PoE standard, higher
resolution and backlit display, multiple color line buttons (to support different line states), and
advanced XML application support. All other features remain the same.
Cisco ATA 186 and 188 Cisco 7914 Expansion Module Cisco Wireless IP Phone 7920
IP telephony network. Users make calls from their Cisco IP Phones using familiar phone
interfaces, but calls are enhanced with video on a PC, without requiring any extra button
pushing or mouse clicking. When registered to Cisco CallManager, the Cisco VT Advantage–
enabled IP Phone has the features and functionality of a full-featured IP videophone. System
administrators can provision a Cisco IP Phone with Cisco VT Advantage as they would any
other Cisco IP Phone, which can greatly simplify deployment and management.
■ Cisco Analog Telephone Adaptor (ATA) 186 and 188—The Cisco ATA 186 and Cisco ATA
188 interface analog devices with your IP-based telephony network. These adapters are useful
for customers who have existing analog devices, such as fax machines or telephones, that they
do not want to replace after they have migrated to VoIP. The Cisco ATA 186 provides two
voice ports, each with its own independent telephone number, and a single 10BASE-T
Ethernet port for network connectivity. The Cisco ATA 188 provides two voice ports and two
10/100-Mbps Ethernet connections, which allows for network connectivity and the ability to
collocate a network device with the analog voice equipment.
■ Cisco IP Phone 7914 Expansion Module—The Cisco IP Phone 7914 Expansion Module
extends the capabilities of the Cisco IP Phone 7960G, 7961G, 7970G, and 7971G-GE with
additional buttons and an LCD display. The Cisco IP Phone 7914 helps administrative
assistants and others who must monitor, manage, and cover the various status of a number of
calls beyond the line capability of the standard Cisco IP Phone models. This expansion
module enables you to add 14 buttons to the existing buttons of the Cisco IP Phone 7960G,
Cisco IP Phones 61
7961G, 7970G, and 7971G-GE, increasing the total number of line and speed dial buttons
available. You can use up to two Cisco 7914 Expansion Modules on each of the Cisco IP
Phones listed previously.
TIP The 7914 Expansion Module cannot receive inline power and requires a local power
supply. A single power supply can power both 7914 expansion modules attached to an IP Phone.
■ Cisco Wireless IP Phone 7920—The Cisco Wireless IP Phone 7920 is an easy-to-use IEEE
802.11b wireless IP Phone that provides comprehensive voice communications in
conjunction with Cisco CallManager and the Cisco Aironet 1200, 1100, 350, and 340 Series
of Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11b) access points and their related security standards (such as TKIP/
MIC, WPA, LEAP, and so on). The Cisco Wireless IP Phone 7920 is designed for ease of use,
with a pixel-based display to access calling features and two softkeys, support for up to six
directory numbers, a four-way rocker switch, a Hold key, a Mute key, and a Menu key that
allows quick access to information such as directories, call history, and phone settings. The
phone also offers XML support on models with a recent firmware upgrade.
Table 4-1 provides a feature-by-feature comparison of the various Cisco IP Phone models. This
table comes from “Cisco IP Telephony Solution Reference Network Design (SRND) for Cisco
CallManager 4.0 and 4.1” (http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/voicesw/ps556/
products_implementation_design_guide_book09186a00805fdb7b.html) and is printed with
permission from Cisco Systems.
Feature 7902G 7905G 7910G 7910 +SW 7912G 7920G 7935G, 7940G 7960G 7970G
7936G
Ethernet Y1 Y1 Y1 Y2 Y2 N Y3 Y2 Y2 Y2
Connection
Ethernet Switch N N N Y Y N N Y Y Y
Cisco Power- Y Y Y Y Y N N Y Y Y
Over-Ethernet
(PoE)
IEEE 802.3af N N N N N N N N N Y
Power-Over-
Ethernet (PoE)
Localization N Y N N Y N N Y Y Y
Directory 1 1 1 1 1 6 1 2 6 8
Number
Liquid Crystal N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Display
continues
62 Chapter 4: Cisco IP Phones and Other User Devices
Feature 7902G 7905G 7910G 7910 +SW 7912G 7920G 7935G, 7940G 7960G 7970G
7936G
Caller ID N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Call Waiting N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Caller ID on N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Call Waiting
Call Hold Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Call Transfer Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Call Forward Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Auto-Answer Y Y N N Y Y N Y Y Y
Ad Hoc Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Conference
Meet-Me N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Conference
Call Pickup N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Group Pickup N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
4 Y4 Y4 Y4 Y4
Redial Y Y Y Y Y Y
Speed Dial Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y
On-hook N Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Dialing
Voice Mail Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y
Access
Message Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y
Waiting
Indicator
(MWI)
Video call N N N N N N N Y Y Y
Survivable Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Remote Site
Telephony
(SRST) Support
Music on Hold Y Y Y Y Y Y5 Y Y Y Y
(MoH)
Speaker N Y6 Y6 Y6 Y6 N Y Y Y Y
Headset Jack N N N N N Y7 N Y Y Y
Mute N N Y Y N Y Y Y Y Y
Cisco IP Phones 63
Feature 7902G 7905G 7910G 7910 +SW 7912G 7920G 7935G, 7940G 7960G 7970G
7936G
Multilevel Y Y Y Y Y N N Y Y Y
Precedence and
Preemption
(MLPP)
Barge N N N N N N N Y Y Y
cBarge N Y N N Y N N Y Y N
Disable General Y Y Y Y Y N N Y Y Y
Attribute
Registration
Protocol
(GARP)
Signaling and N N N N N Y8 N Y Y Y
Media
Encryption
Signaling N N N N N N N Y Y Y
Integrity
Manufacturing- N N N N N N N N N Y
Installed
Certificate
(X.509v3)
Field-Installed N N N N N N N Y Y N
Certificate
Third-Party N Y N N Y N N Y Y Y
XML Service
External N N N N N N N N N Y
Microphone and
Speaker
Dial Plan N N N N N N N N N N
Mapping
Signaling 0x60 0x68 0x68 0x68 0x60 0x68 0x68 0x60 0x60 0x60
Packet ToS
Value Marking
Media Packet 0xB8 0xB8 0xB8 0xB8 0xB8 0xB8 0xB8 0xB8 0xB8 0xB8
ToS Value
Marking
Skinny Client Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y Y
Control
Protocol
(SCCP)
continues
64 Chapter 4: Cisco IP Phones and Other User Devices
Feature 7902G 7905G 7910G 7910 +SW 7912G 7920G 7935G, 7940G 7960G 7970G
7936G
Session N Y N N Y N N Y Y N
Initiation
Protocol (SIP)
H.323 N Y N N N N Y N N N
Media Gateway N N N N N N N Y Y N
Control
Protocol
(MGCP)
G.711 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
G.723 N Y N N N N N N N N
G.726 N Y N N N N N N N N
G.729 Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Voice Activity Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Detection
(VAD)
Comfort Noise Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Generation
(CNG)
1 One 10 Base-T
2 Two 10/100 Base-T
3 One 10/100 Base-T
4 Last Number Redial
5 Supports only unicast MoH
6 One-way listen mode
7 The only supported headset for the Cisco IP Phone 7920 is one with a 2.5 mm jack, available at
http://www.cisco.getheadsets.com.
8 Signaling and Media Encryption are available with Static WEP and LEAP security configurations.
4 1 3
IP
2
The following list explains the normal boot process of a Cisco IP Phone:
IP Phone with voice VLAN information, if you have configured that feature
(voice VLANs are also discussed in Chapter 8). The IP Phone will then tag
all its traffic with the appropriate voice VLAN information.
Step 4 Obtain the IP address and TFTP server address—Next, the IP Phone
broadcasts a request to a DHCP server. The DHCP server responds to the
IP Phone with a minimum of an IP address, a subnet mask, the default
gateway, and the IP address of the Cisco TFTP server.
TIP A DHCP server can give a Cisco IP Phone the location of a TFTP server in
two different ways:
■ DHCP Option 66—Gives the Cisco IP Phone the hostname of the TFTP
server (requires DNS resolution)
■ DHCP Option 150—Gives the Cisco IP Phone the IP address of the TFTP
server
The DHCP administrator must add one or both of these options to the DHCP scope
used for the Cisco IP Phones. If you cannot use the DHCP server to distribute this
information, you must hard code the IP address of the TFTP server manually on
each IP Phone. Cisco recommends using DHCP Option 150 because it allows you
to configure the IP Phone to use multiple TFTP server addresses for redundancy.
Step 5 Contact the TFTP server for configuration—The IP Phone then contacts
the Cisco TFTP server. The TFTP server has configuration files (.cnf file
format or .cnf.xml) for telephony devices, which define parameters for
connecting to Cisco CallManager. The TFTP server sends the configuration
information for that IP Phone, which contains an ordered list of up to three
Cisco CallManagers. In general, any time that you make a change in Cisco
CallManager that requires a phone (device) to be reset, a change has been
made to the configuration file of that phone. If a phone has an XML-
compatible load, it requests an XMLDefault.cnf.xml configuration file;
otherwise, it requests a .cnf file. If you have enabled auto-registration in
Cisco CallManager, the phones access a default configuration file
(sepdefault.cnf.xml) from the TFTP server. If you have manually entered
the phones into the Cisco CallManager database, the phone accesses a
.cnf.xml file that corresponds to its device name. The .cnf.xml file also
contains the information that tells the phone which image load that it should
be running. If this image load differs from the one that is currently loaded
on the phone, the phone contacts the TFTP server to request the new image
file, which is stored as a .bin or .sgn (secured load) file.
Cisco IP Phone Codec Support 67
Step 6 Register with Cisco CallManager—After obtaining the file from the
TFTP server, the phone attempts to make a TCP connection to a Cisco
CallManager, starting with the highest-priority Cisco CallManager in its
list. After the phone registers with the Cisco CallManager, it receives an
extension number and becomes operational.
Because converted audio streams can consume a significant amount of bandwidth over slower
WAN connections, many of the audio codecs also provide a level of compression, which can
considerably reduce the bandwidth that they consume. However, different types of compression
can cause degraded voice quality, which is why the different audio codecs offer different
compression algorithms and quality levels.
Although this configuration is ideal for many network environments, you might eventually
encounter a codec mismatch. A codec mismatch occurs when two devices cannot negotiate a
common codec or when the network administrator has forbidden the use of their common codec,
such as using G.711 over the WAN. Regardless of the cause, you now have a need for transcoding.
Transcoding resources perform conversions between the audio codecs. These resources are often
costly and can introduce significant delay and quality degradation into your IP telephony network.
When designing a voice network, you should attempt to limit the amount of transcoding that takes
place between devices.
Although it is not mentioned often, the Cisco 7900 IP Phone models support the Wideband codec.
This is a Cisco proprietary codec that consumes four times the amount of bandwidth as the G.711
codec, using 256 kbps for the audio payload. The codec delivers extremely high-quality 16-bit
audio that gives a clean, crisp sound to voice and music on hold.
68 Chapter 4: Cisco IP Phones and Other User Devices
Summary
This chapter covered IP Phones and other end devices in a Cisco IP telephony network. Although
there are many similarities between the Cisco IP Phone models, there are also marked differences
as you move through the ever-expanding line of IP Phone models. Each of these phones fit a niche
in businesses worldwide. The entry-level Cisco IP Phones include the 7902G, 7905G, 7910G+SW,
and 7912G. The midrange and upper-end Cisco IP Phones include the 7941G and 7941G-GE,
7961G and 7961G-GE, 7970G and 7971G-GE, and 7985. The additional IP telephony devices
include the Cisco Conference Station 7936, Cisco IP Communicator, Cisco ATA 186 and 188,
Cisco 7920 wireless phone, and Cisco 7914 Expansion Module.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
1. Which of the following two codecs do current Cisco IP Phones support? (Choose two.)
a. G.711
b. G.723
c. G.728
d. G.729
2. Which of the following PoE standards does the Cisco IP Phone 7961G support?
(Choose two.)
a. Cisco Pre-Standard Inline Power
b. 802.11af
c. 802.11b
d. 802.3af
3. Which of the following devices has a built-in Ethernet switch? (Choose three.)
a. Cisco IP Phone 7905
b. Cisco IP Phone 7912
c. Cisco IP Phone 7970
d. Cisco ATA 186
e. Cisco ATA 188
Review Questions 69
4. Which of the following Cisco IP Phones provides video-processing capabilities without the
VT Advantage software?
a. Cisco 7970
b. Cisco 7971
c. Cisco 7980
d. Cisco 7936
5. Place these steps in the order that an IP Phone must go through before it can register with
Cisco CallManager.
a. Obtain power.
b. Get configuration from TFTP server.
c. Load firmware image.
d. Obtain VLAN information.
6. Which of the following options can you configure on a DHCP server to deliver the IP address
of a TFTP server to a Cisco IP Phone?
a. Option 6
b. Option 66
c. Option 150
d. Option 170
7. Most Cisco IP Phones provide built-in ______ processing, which allows them to read data
stored in this industry standard format.
a. XML
b. HTTP
c. TXT
d. SQL
8. What is the difference between the Cisco IP Phone 7960 and Cisco IP Phone 7961?
(Choose two.)
a. The 7961 provides a 10/100/1000 built-in switch, whereas the 7960 provides only a 10/
100 built-in switch.
b. The 7961 adds support for the VT Advantage.
c. The 7961 supports six extensions, whereas the 7960 only supports four extensions.
d. The 7961 supports both the Cisco prestandard and 802.3af inline power, whereas the
7960 supports only the Cisco prestandard.
70 Chapter 4: Cisco IP Phones and Other User Devices
9. A company wants to migrate to a VoIP network, but it has an expensive all-in-one voice-fax-
copier device that it wants to connect to the VoIP network. Which device would you
recommend?
a. Cisco Conference Station 7936
b. Cisco IP SoftPhone
c. Cisco ATA 188
d. Cisco 7905G
e. Cisco 7914 Expansion Module
10. A firm wants to install a Cisco IP Phone in the lobby area. The IP telephony network runs only
the G.729a codec. The IP Phone should support a single line and all standard features. An
LCD display is not required because cost is a concern. Which IP Phone would best meet these
requirements?
a. Cisco IP Phone 7902G
b. Cisco IP Phone 7905G
c. Cisco IP Phone 7910G+SW
d. Cisco IP Phone 7912G
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This chapter covers the
following topics:
This chapter describes the Cisco CallManager configuration to support Cisco IP Phones. You
will learn how to configure Cisco CallManager to manually and automatically add IP Phones
and assign directory numbers (DNs). You will also learn how to configure device pools to
provide a convenient way to define a set of common characteristics that can be assigned to
devices, such as date or time zone, codec use, and other functionalities.
1. Cisco IP Phone obtains an IP address from the DHCP server along with the IP address of
the TFTP server.
2. The Cisco IP Phone contacts the TFTP server and downloads its configuration.
3. The Cisco IP Phone registers with the Cisco CallManager.
These steps (along with a few others) were presented in the preceding chapter. Now you might
be wondering, “The Cisco IP Phone downloads its configuration from the TFTP server.
74 Chapter 5: Configuring Cisco Unified CallManager to Support IP Phones
So…where does that configuration come from?” Great question! It comes from you. As you
configure the Cisco CallManager, it will generate a configuration file that it places on the TFTP
server for the IP Phone to download. In that configuration file will be a list of up to three Cisco
CallManagers for the Cisco IP Phone to contact.
One of the most common problems that occur in the field is a Cisco IP Phone failing to register
with the Cisco CallManager because it cannot resolve the Cisco CallManager’s hostname to an IP
address. This is because, by default, the Cisco CallManager puts a list of up to three Cisco
CallManager hostnames the Cisco IP Phone can contact. If you have not configured the IP Phones
for DNS name resolution (or the IP Phones cannot reach the DNS server), the phone registration
will fail.
Because of this, changing the name of the selected server to the IP address of the server in the
Cisco CallManager Administration window is the first step in configuring Cisco CallManager to
support Cisco IP Phones.
■ It allows IP Phones and other devices to find Cisco CallManager on the network without
having to query the Domain Name System (DNS) server to help resolve the server name to
an IP address.
■ It prevents the IP telephony network from failing if the IP Phones lose the connection to the
DNS server.
■ It decreases the time that is required when a device attempts to contact Cisco CallManager.
Step 1 In Cisco CallManager Administration, choose System > Server. The Find
and List Servers window appears. Click Find to display a list of available
servers.
Step 2 Click a server name. The Server Configuration window appears.
Step 3 Remove the hostname and enter the IP address for the server in the Host
Name/IP Address field. Click Update.
Step 4 Repeat Steps 1-3 for every Cisco CallManager in the cluster.
Configuring Intracluster IP Phone Communication 75
After the Cisco CallManager hostnames are changed to the appropriate IP addresses, the Cisco
CallManager automatically updates the configuration file on the TFTP server, causing the IP
Phones to contact the Cisco CallManagers via the IP address rather than the hostname. Figure 5-1
illustrates the Server Configuration screen.
NOTE There are other places where server names must be changed to IP addresses to fully
remove DNS resolution from the cluster. Most of these can be found in the Service > Enterprise
Parameters options.
To create a new device pool, you must first create (or use default settings where applicable) the
following minimal mandatory components:
■ Date/time group
■ Region
■ Softkey template
NOTE The SRST Reference field allows you to specify the IP address of the Cisco SRST
router. Cisco SRST enables routers to provide call-handling support for Cisco IP Phones when
they lose their connection to remote Cisco CallManager installations or when the WAN
connection is down.
These components (except for the SRST reference) are covered later in this chapter. SRST is
covered in Chapter 14, “Implementing Multiple-Site Deployments.”
The device pool combines all of the individual configurations that you have created into a single
entity. You will eventually assign this entity to individual devices, such as IP Phones. This process
will configure these devices with most of the configuration elements that they need to operate
efficiently in your IP telephony network.
For example, configuring 100 different Cisco IP Phones to use the Arizona time zone, the English
language, and the classical-style music on hold (MOH) option is tedious. Instead, you can create
a device pool, named “Arizona,” that configures the correct time zone, language, and MOH, and
you can make a single assignment of the Arizona device pool to each IP Phone.
Step 1 Choose System > Device Pool. The Find and List Device Pools window opens.
Step 2 Click the Add a New Device Pool link to open the Device Pool Configuration
window shown in Figure 5-2. Choose, at a minimum, the Cisco CallManager
group, date/time group, region, and softkey template.
You can configure many options through a device pool. Some of these options are shown here;
others are fully explained later in the book. Table 5-1 provides a quick reference for each of the
configuration options in the device pool.
Field Description
Device Pool Name* Describes a name for the device pool.
Cisco CallManager Group* Selects a redundancy group for the device pool. This redundancy
group can contain a maximum of three redundant Cisco
CallManager servers.
Date/Time Group* Assigns the correct time zone to the device.
Region* Determines the coder-decoder (codec) selection used by the device,
depending on the end location of the call.
Softkey Template* Defines the type and order of the softkeys that are displayed on the
liquid crystal display (LCD) of a Cisco IP Phone.
SRST Reference* Configures SRST and selects the gateway that will support the
device if the connection to the Cisco CallManager is lost.
continues
78 Chapter 5: Configuring Cisco Unified CallManager to Support IP Phones
Field Description
Calling Search Space for Defines whom an IP Phone is able to call if it auto-registers with the
Auto-registration Cisco CallManager.
Media Resource Group List Assigns media resource support to a device for functions such as
conferencing, transcoding, or MOH.
Network Hold MOH Audio Selects the audio that Cisco CallManager should play when a user
Source presses the Transfer or Conference button on the Cisco IP Phone.
User Hold MOH Audio Selects the audio that Cisco CallManager should play when a user
Source presses the Hold button on the Cisco IP Phone.
Network Locale Defines the tones and cadences that the device uses.
User Locale Defines the language that the device uses.
Connection Monitor Defines the amount of time that the IP Phone monitors its
Duration connection to Cisco CallManager before it unregisters from SRST
and reregisters to Cisco CallManager. This is to ensure that the link
is stable (not “flapping”). The default for the enterprise parameter
specifies 120 seconds, which can be modified on a device-pool basis
or left at the default value.
MLPP Precedence and Manages Multilevel Precedence and Preemption (MLPP) settings:
Preemption Information
MLPP Indication: Specifies whether devices in the device pool that
are capable of playing precedence tones will use the capability when
the devices plan an MLPP precedence call
If you make changes to a device pool, you must reset the devices in that device pool before the
changes will take effect.
You cannot delete a device pool that has been assigned to any device or one that is used for device
defaults configuration. To find out which devices are using the device pool, click the Dependency
Records link in the Device Pool Configuration window. If you try to delete a device pool that is
in use, an error message is displayed. Before deleting a device pool that is currently in use, you
must perform one of the following tasks:
Configuring Intracluster IP Phone Communication 79
■ Delete the devices that are assigned to the device pool that you want to delete.
Step 1 Choose System > Cisco CallManager Group. The default group that was
created by Cisco CallManager during the installation appears.
Step 2 Choose Add New Cisco CallManager Group to create a new Cisco
CallManager group.
Step 3 Move the “Available” Cisco CallManager servers to the “Selected” Cisco
CallManagers using the left and right arrows to place them in the group.
You can change the order of Cisco CallManager servers using the up and
down arrows, which adjusts the priority of the Cisco CallManager servers
where the top server will be the primary server of the group and the bottom
server will be the tertiary server of the group.
In Figure 5-3, you can see the Cisco CallManager group called “Arizona” has three Cisco
CallManager servers. You would assign the Cisco CallManager group to a device pool, and you
then assign this device pool to the Cisco IP Phone. The IP Phone uses the Arizona Cisco
CallManager as its primary Cisco CallManager, the California Cisco CallManager as its
secondary, and the Michigan Cisco CallManager as its tertiary. Cisco CallManager Administration
will present an error message if you attempt to add a fourth Cisco CallManager (for example, the
EAST1A Cisco CallManager) to the list.
NOTE The Auto-registration Cisco CallManager Group check box (shown in Figure 5-3)
dictates that all devices that auto-register will receive the current Cisco CallManager Group
assignment. You can only designate a single Cisco CallManager Group as the auto-registration
group. Auto-registration is covered thoroughly at the end of this chapter.
80 Chapter 5: Configuring Cisco Unified CallManager to Support IP Phones
NOTE The sample Cisco CallManager group configuration is an example of clustering over
the IP WAN because only Cisco CallManagers in the same cluster can be added to a Cisco
CallManager group. More commonly, Cisco CallManager clustered servers reside in the same
physical location. You can then configure Cisco CallManager groups based on the servers within
your data center. For example, the server Arizona_SUB1 could be the primary, Arizona_SUB2
could be the secondary, and Arizona_PUB could be the tertiary server in a Cisco CallManager
group.
Cisco CallManager has a default date/time group called CMLocal. The CMLocal date/time group
synchronizes to the active date and time of the operating system on the Cisco CallManager server.
You can change the settings for CMLocal after installing Cisco CallManager.
Configuring Intracluster IP Phone Communication 81
NOTE All Subscriber Cisco CallManager servers in a cluster synchronize their time with the
Publisher server through a Microsoft process known as W32TIME. Cisco highly recommends
using the Microsoft NTP client on the Publisher server to synchronize its time with a more
accurate source.
Step 1 Choose System > Date/Time Group. The default CMLocal group appears.
Step 2 Choose Add a New Date/Time Group to insert additional date/time
groups as required.
Figure 5-4 illustrates the addition of a California date/time group.
TIP For a worldwide distribution of Cisco IP Phones, you will want to create one named date/
time group for each of the time zones where you have deployed Cisco IP Phones.
82 Chapter 5: Configuring Cisco Unified CallManager to Support IP Phones
Region Configuration
The region is typically the most confusing item of the device pool configuration. When you create
a region, you specify the audio codec that can be used for calls between devices (such as IP
Phones) within that region and between that region and other regions. As of Cisco CallManager
Release 4.0, you can also specify the video call bandwidth.
You can create regions to modify the codec selection for any reason; however, most network
administrators create regions based on geographical areas. The default voice codec for all calls
through Cisco CallManager is G.711. If you do not plan to use any other voice codec, you do not
need to use regions. The system will use the default region.
For example, in Figure 5-5, there are four regions: Arizona, California, Default, and Michigan; the
configuration of the Michigan region is displayed. If a device that is assigned to the Michigan
region calls another device in the Michigan region, the devices use the G.711 codec. However, if
a device assigned to the Michigan region calls a device that is assigned to the Arizona region, the
devices use the G.729 codec. Cisco CallManager creates the Default region during the installation
process. You can rename the Default region to a more logical name to avoid confusion, or you can
ignore it and use only regions that you have created.
Step 1 Choose System > Region. The default region that was created during the
Cisco CallManager installation appears.
Step 2 Choose Add a New Region to configure the regions, and choose the codec
and video bandwidth as appropriate between the regions. Click Insert to
save your changes.
To access the Softkey Template Configuration window, open the Cisco CallManager
Administration window and choose Device > Device Settings > Softkey Templates. Cisco
CallManager comes with a few default softkey templates shown in Figure 5-6, which are discussed
fully in future chapters. You cannot modify or delete these default templates; however, you can
make copies of them for your own use by clicking the Copy icon located to the right of the
template name.
84 Chapter 5: Configuring Cisco Unified CallManager to Support IP Phones
After you have made a copy of the softkey template you want to use, you can modify the softkeys
available, and assign the template to a device pool. The full configuration of the softkey templates
are covered in future chapters.
You must assign at least one line per IP Phone; usually this line is button 1. Depending on the
Cisco IP Phone model, you can assign additional lines.
Before adding any IP Phones to the system, create phone button templates with all of the possible
combinations for all IP Phone models. An IP Phone model can have various combinations; for
example, a Cisco IP Phone 7960 supports six lines and can use the following phone button
template combinations:
To create a phone button template from Cisco CallManager Administration, click Device > Device
Settings > Phone Button Template. Click the Find button to see the default templates included
with Cisco CallManager (shown in Figure 5-8).
TIP There are additional methods to add speed dial capabilities to a Cisco IP Phone; you are
not limited to just the phone button template buttons. These mechanisms are discussed in future
chapters.
As with the softkey templates, you are unable to modify the default phone button templates.
Rather, you can make copies of the default templates (by clicking on the Copy icon) and saving
them under a unique name.
Create easily recognizable naming conventions for the phone button template. A suggested best
practice is to use the model number of the Cisco IP Phone followed by the number of lines and
speed dials. For example, a phone button template named “7960 1-5” would indicate a Cisco 7960
IP Phone with one line and five speed dial buttons.
IP Phone Configuration 87
■ Region Configuration: Arizona_REG (selects G.711 for calls within Arizona, G.729 for
calls elsewhere)
You would then create additional device pools based on location, Cisco CallManager Groups, or
other unique configurations. The final step is to assign the device pools to the Cisco IP Phones that
will use them. As of yet, you have yet to add these IP Phones to the Cisco CallManager database.
IP Phone Configuration
The bulk of your initial Cisco CallManager configuration comes in adding Cisco IP Phones to the
SQL database. After you add the phones to the database, you can manage and configure them
through the Cisco CallManager interface. You can add the phones to the database using one of
three methods:
■ Manual entry
■ Automatic registration
This chapter discusses the manual and automatic methods of adding IP Phones to the database.
BAT is covered in Chapter 7, “Cisco Bulk Administration Tool.”
Cisco CallManager uses the IP Phone MAC address to track the phone in the voice network. Cisco
CallManager ties all IP Phone configuration settings to the IP Phone MAC address. Before you
can perform any configuration on a Cisco IP Phone through Cisco CallManager, you must find the
MAC address of that IP Phone. Use the following guidelines to locate a MAC address:
■ You can find the MAC address in the text and Universal Product Code (UPC) form, which is
imprinted on the shipping box for the IP Phone. Some administrators use bar code scanners
to simplify the process of adding multiple IP Phones.
■ You can also find the MAC address in the text and UPC form on the back of the IP Phone, on
the middle sticker near the bottom.
■ If you boot the IP Phone, you can press the Settings button on the face of the phone. Use the
arrow keys to navigate, and choose Network Configuration. The MAC address will be
displayed on line 3 of the network configuration.
You can continue the Cisco IP Phone configuration on the Cisco CallManager configuration after
you have the MAC address of the IP Phone, as follows:
Step 1 In Cisco CallManager Administration, choose Device > Phone to open the
Find and List Phones window.
Step 2 Choose Add a New Phone in the upper-right corner of the window.
Step 3 Choose the model of the IP Phone from the drop-down menu, and click
Next.
Step 4 At a minimum, you must configure the MAC Address, Device Pool, and
Phone Button Template fields; then click Insert.
Step 5 Cisco CallManager prompts you to add a DN for line 1; then click OK.
Step 6 When the Directory Number Configuration window appears, enter the DN
of the IP Phone in the appropriate field, and click Insert.
Figures 5-9 and 5-10 illustrate the IP Phone and directory number configuration screens,
respectively.
IP Phone Configuration 89
You should carefully evaluate auto-registration before implementing it because its use can pose a
security risk to the network. Auto-registration allows anyone with physical access to the voice
network to connect an IP Phone and use it, regardless of whether they are authorized. For this
reason, many organizations, as part of their security policy, disable the use of auto-registration or
use auto-registration in a secure staging environment for initial Cisco CallManager configuration.
Complete these steps to configure the Cisco CallManager server to support auto-registration:
Step 1 From Cisco CallManager Administration, choose System > Cisco CallManager.
Step 2 From the list of Cisco CallManager servers, select the server that you want to
support auto-registration.
Step 3 Under the Auto-Registration Information Configuration section, enter the
appropriate DN range in the Starting and Ending Directory Number fields.
Step 4 Ensure that the Auto-registration Disabled on this Cisco CallManager check
box is unchecked.
Step 5 Click Update to save your changes.
Figure 5-11 shows the auto-registration configuration window.
Installing Cisco CallManager automatically sets device defaults. You cannot create new device
defaults or delete existing ones, but you can change the default settings. Use device defaults to set
the default characteristics of each type of device that registers with a Cisco CallManager. The
device defaults for a device type apply to all auto-registered devices of that type within a Cisco
CallManager cluster. You can set the following device defaults for each device type to which they
apply:
■ Device load—Lists the firmware load that is used with a particular type of hardware device
■ Device pool—Allows you to select the device pool that is associated with each type of device
■ Phone button template—Indicates the phone button template that is used by each type of
device
When a device auto-registers with a Cisco CallManager, it acquires the device default settings for
its device type. After a device registers, you can update its configuration individually to change the
device settings.
CAUTION Updating device load files and performing a phone reset can affect a large number
of devices and cause significant WAN utilization as firmware files are sent to remote phones.
Cisco recommends saving these large device resets for network off-hours.
company has deployed a centralized Cisco CallManager cluster of three servers: AZ_CCM1 (SQL
Publisher), AZ_CCM2 (SQL Subscriber), and AZ_CCM3 (SQL Subscriber). You must configure
the central Cisco CallManager cluster to support phones at both locations.
There is no better way to get a firm grasp on the concept of device pools than to put it in action.
This scenario shows the perfect example of a centralized Cisco CallManager deployment where
the remote site does not have enough phones to justify a multicluster configuration, nor does it
have enough bandwidth to support running a cluster split over the IP WAN. In this scenario, the
customer network will require two device pools to appropriately configure the devices. This is
because the IP Phones reside in two different time zones and will need to use different codecs
when communicating (G.711 uncompressed for the LAN and G.729 compressed for the WAN).
Table 5-2 illustrates the configuration of the device pool elements.
• Name—Widget_CG
— Primary CCM server—AZ_CCM3
— Secondary CCM server—AZ_CCM2
— Tertiary CCM server—AZ_CCM1
Notice that the SQL Publisher server (AZ_CCM1) is listed last. This is
because you want to keep as much device registration and support load
off the Publisher as possible.
Date/Time Group This network requires two date/time groups to support the phones in
differing locations:
• Name—Widget_AZ_DT
— Time zone—(GMT-07:00) Arizona
— Date format—M-D-Y
— Time format—12-hour
• Name—Widget_MO_DT
— Time zone—(GMT-06:00) Central time
— Date format—M-D-Y
— Time format—12-hour
continues
94 Chapter 5: Configuring Cisco Unified CallManager to Support IP Phones
• Name—Missouri_RG
— Audio Codec (within Missouri_RG)—G.711
— Audio Codec (to Arizona_RG)—G.729
• Name—Arizona_RG
— Audio Codec (within Arizona_RG)—G.711
— Audio Codec (to Missouri_RG)—G.729
Phones assigned to the Missouri_RG will now use a compressed codec
when communicating with phones assigned to the Arizona_RG, and vice
versa.
Softkey Template Because Widgets, Inc., specified no special requirements for the users,
they should be able to use the Standard User softkey template, which
provides a basic set of functions to the IP Phones.
SRST Reference Although the SRST reference is discussed in later chapters, this scenario
requires you to create a SRST reference for the phones in Missouri. The
SRST reference would allow the router in Missouri to support the IP
Phones and provide basic PSTN calling if the connection to the
centralized Cisco CallManager cluster were lost. In this case, we will
assume you created a SRST reference called Missouri_SRST that
pointed to the Missouri gateway IP address 10.5.1.1.
Now that the device pool elements are created, you can create the two device pools:
Device Pool 1
Name—Arizona_DP
Cisco CallManager Group—Widget_CG
Date/Time Group—Widget_AZ_DT
Region—Arizona_RG
Softkey Template—Standard User
SRST Reference—Disabled
Summary 95
Device Pool 2
Name—Missouri_DP
Cisco CallManager Group—Widget_CG
Date/Time Group—Widget_MO_DT
Region—Missouri_RG
Softkey Template—Standard User
SRST Reference—Missouri_SRST
All that is left is to assign the Cisco IP Phones in each location to the correct device pool.
Summary
This chapter covered the configuration of Cisco CallManager to support Cisco IP Phones. Starting
off, the first configuration administrators typically attack is to change the Cisco CallManager
server configuration to distribute server IP addresses to the IP Phones rather than to hostnames.
This eliminates the IP Phone reliance on DNS. From there, you must configure device pools,
allowing you to assign the correct configuration to the Cisco IP Phones. The required elements of
the device pool were covered in this chapter. They are as follows:
■ Date/Time Group
■ Region
■ Softkey Template
After you have created these elements, you can group them together in one or more device pools
and assign them to the devices.
The Cisco IP Phones can be added to the Cisco CallManager SQL database manually,
automatically, or by using the Bulk Administration Tool. This chapter discussed the manual and
auto-registration addition of IP Phones. Auto-registration allows the Cisco CallManager to assign
phone extensions like DHCP addresses; however, this configuration is only good for a “green
field” deployment where there are no preexisting phone extension assignments. Most of your day-
to-day administration will consist of adding IP Phones manually to the Cisco CallManager
configuration.
96 Chapter 5: Configuring Cisco Unified CallManager to Support IP Phones
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
1. Which five settings are required to configure a device pool? (Choose five.)
a. Media Resource Group List
b. Cisco CallManager group
c. date/time group
d. region
e. softkey template
f. SRST reference
g. phone template
h. phone load
i. device defaults
2. Which of the following combinations is a valid phone button template configuration for a
Cisco IP Phone 7960?
a. 0 lines, 6 speed dials
b. 2 lines, 4 speed dials
c. 6 lines, 1 speed dial
d. 4 lines, 4 speed dials
3. Which navigation path would you use to configure Cisco CallManager to automatically
register an IP Phone?
a. System > Server
b. System > Cisco CallManager
c. Service > Service Parameters
d. Device > Phone
e. System > Device Pool
4. How does Cisco CallManager tie configuration information to the IP Phones in the Microsoft
SQL database?
a. IP address
b. unique GUID
c. hostname
d. MAC address
e. device pool ID
Review Questions 97
5. Which of the following device pool characteristics allows you to configure the codec the
Cisco IP Phone will use when communicating with other devices?
a. Region
b. Softkey Template
c. Compression
d. Compression Group
6. By default, the IP Phones will receive a list of Cisco CallManager hostnames they can use to
register from the TFTP server. How can you modify this so the IP Phone receives a list of
Cisco CallManager IP addresses from the TFTP server?
a. You must manually edit the IP Phone configuration files on the TFTP server, replacing
hostnames with IP addresses.
b. You must access the Cisco CallManager server configuration from System > Server
and change the hostnames to IP addresses. The Cisco CallManager will automatically
update the TFTP server.
c. The IP Phones must use hostname resolution to communicate with the Cisco CallMan-
ager. Ensure DNS redundancy is in place.
d. In the Cisco CallManager, access the Service > Service Parameters window and
change the preferred resolution method to IP addresses rather than hostnames.
7. Which of the following device pool elements allows you to configure a redundant group of
Cisco CallManager servers your IP Phone can use for registration?
a. Cisco CallManager Servers
b. CallManager List
c. CallManager Gaggle
d. CallManager Group
8. The Cisco CallManager has one date/time group by default. What is this date/time group?
a. RegionalDT
b. Pacific Time
c. CMLocal
d. CCMServerClock
98 Chapter 5: Configuring Cisco Unified CallManager to Support IP Phones
9. You want to remove the Hold button from a user’s IP Phone. Which device pool configuration
item would you use to accomplish this?
a. IP Phone Button Template
b. Softkey Template
c. Feature Restrictions
d. Feature Template
10. What three locations can you use to find the MAC address of a Cisco IP Phone?
a. You can find the MAC address in the UPC form, which is imprinted on the shipping box
for the IP Phone.
b. You can find the MAC address in the text and UPC form on the back of the IP Phone, on
a sticker near the bottom.
c. You can find the MAC address by pressing the Settings button on the face of the phone,
using the arrow keys to navigate, and choosing Network Configuration.
d. You can find the MAC address by telnetting to the IP address of the Cisco IP Phone and
issuing the show interface command.
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This chapter covers the
following topics:
After you have configured the Cisco CallManager to support the various Cisco IP Phones
deployed around your network environment, your next logical step is to configure the IP
telephony users. Configuring users for the voice network is not a mandatory step; however, it
will ease your network administration load considerably because (with proper training) voice
network users can configure their own IP Phones for common features such as speed dials and
call forwarding without adding another support call to the help desk group. In addition, Cisco
CallManager requires user configuration to support many of the advanced features, such as
Cisco Auto Attendant, IP Manager Assistant (IPMA), and Extension Mobility, which are
discussed in Chapters 17-19.
This chapter describes the Cisco CallManager configuration to support voice network users. You
will learn how to add these users to the Cisco CallManager user database and assign these users
access to their respective IP Phone. From there, the chapter discusses the process an end-user
would go through to configure their phone through the Cisco CallManager user web pages.
By default, Cisco CallManager uses an embedded LDAP directory that installs with the
CallManager software image. This directory is called DC Directory. However, you can also
choose to use your existing corporate directory as the CallManager user database. CallManager
supports the following directory integrations as of version 3.3(3) and 4.0(1)sr2:
Although integrating Cisco CallManager with the corporate directory provides tremendous
advantages, there are equally tremendous caveats to this configuration:
■ To integrate with a corporate directory, the network administrator must modify the schema of
that directory. This is a networkwide change that affects all servers participating in the
replication of the corporate directory and might cross political boundaries in the organization.
■ The CallManager servers must be able to access the corporate directory servers at all times.
Failure of this communication will result in authentication failures (and equipment
inoperability) in the voice network.
■ The additional read/write operations on the corporate directory will result in additional load
for the servers maintaining this directory. An overlay of the voice network to your network
infrastructure can potentially double the number of requests to the corporate directory servers.
NOTE Because the process of integrating the Cisco CallManager into an LDAP corporate
directory differs greatly depending on the type of directory service you are using and its
configuration, we will assume you are using the embedded DC Directory service for the
remainder of this text. The Cisco website and CallManager SRND documentation provides
detailed instructions if you are considering this integration.
The following CCO link also provides excellent information about Active Directory integration:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/voicesw/ps556/
products_implementation_design_guide_chapter09186a0080447505.html#wp1043120
Adding a User
Figure 6-1 shows an example of adding a user to the Cisco CallManager directory database by
using Cisco CallManager Administration. To add a user in Cisco CallManager Administration,
choose User > Add a New User from the CallManager CCMAdmin web pages.
Cisco CallManager User Configuration 103
■ First name
■ Last name
■ User ID (username)
■ Telephone number or DN
■ Department
If the user is going to access the Cisco SoftPhone application, Cisco Auto Attendant, or any other
computer telephony integration (CTI) application, check the Enable CTI Application Use check
box.
When you are first setting up a user, assign a simple password (at least four characters) and a
personal identification number (PIN), which must be at least five digits, for the user to use on the
initial login. The user can then change the initial password and PIN from the Cisco CallManager
104 Chapter 6: Cisco IP Telephony Users
User Options page. The Cisco CallManager uses the user password and PIN for different functions
in the voice network. For example, the user can use their password to log in to the User Options
web pages while they can use their PIN to access a phone using Extension Mobility (which is
covered in Chapter 17, “Configuring User Features, Part 2”).
After the directory information is added, you can associate the user with a device or devices.
To assign devices to a user, access the User Configuration window for that user and then complete
the following steps to assign the devices:
Step 1 In the Application Profiles pane on the User Configuration page, click
Device Association.
Step 2 Limit the list of available devices by entering the search criteria in the
Available Device List Filters section, if desired, and click Select Devices.
Step 3 Check the check box of one or more devices that you want to associate with
the user. You can assign one primary extension from the devices to which
the user is assigned by clicking the radio button in the Primary Ext. column
for that device.
Step 4 When you have completed the assignment, click Update Selected to assign
the devices to the user.
TIP You can use the following sections in the book (which walk through the user configuration
options) as a model when creating your organization user training manual.
https://<server_name>/ccmuser
The server name is the hostname or IP address of the Cisco CallManager server.
TIP It would be very beneficial to use a network policy, such as the Active Directory Group
Policy options, to automatically add a desktop shortcut or Microsoft Internet Explorer favorite
linked to the CCMUser web pages for all PCs in the network.
106 Chapter 6: Cisco IP Telephony Users
At the Cisco CallManager User Options page (shown in Figure 6-3), enter the correct username
and password. If this is the first time that the user is logging on, the user should obtain the URL,
username, and password from the administrator.
From any page within Cisco CallManager User Options web pages, a user can change the
language of the page by choosing the language (locale) from the View Page In drop-down menu,
if additional locales have been configured.
A web location allowing users to customize Cisco IP Phone settings, such as adding speed dials
and forwarding calls means that users can be more productive in their work environment. For
example, when a user is not going to be in the office to receive an important call, the user can
access the Cisco CallManager User Options web page from home and forward calls from the
Cisco IP Phone to a cellular telephone or any other DN.
From here, this user can forward all incoming calls on line 1 of a device to either voice mail or
another number.
If the user is forwarding calls to another number, the calling search space of the device using Call
Forward All (CFA) will restrict which numbers will be valid. Also, if the number is forwarded off-
net, the user must enter the number as if dialing from that telephone device. For example, a user
who wants to work from home wants all calls to the office telephone to forward to the home
number. If the user dials 92145550122 to call home from the office, the user must enter
92145550122 as the forwarding number.
Depending on the device, the number of speed dials is limited based on settings in the phone
button template. The user can enter a number and label for each available speed dial button.
Buttons are available if the user is not using them for lines or services.
As you can see from Figure 6-6, the speed dial configuration window is divided into two sections:
Speed Dial Settings on Phone and Speed Dial Settings not associated with a phone button. The
settings on a phone represent the speed dials that correspond to a physical button on the IP Phone.
For example, if the user is using a Cisco IP Phone 7960 with the default template, they will have
two line buttons and four speed dial buttons. These four speed dial buttons represent the buttons
programmable from the “Speed Dial Settings on Phone” section. The settings not associated with
a phone button are accessed when the user first presses the AbbrDial softkey on their Cisco IP
Phone then dials the corresponding number. For example, to access the speed dial listed in field 5
shown in Figure 6-6, the user would press AbbrDial on the phone, then press the 5 button on the
numeric keypad. The user can also perform the reverse steps to activate the speed dial number (for
example, dial 5 followed by pressing the AbbrDial softkey).
When programming speed dials, enter the number precisely as it is dialed from the device. If the
number 9 must be dialed before the telephone number, the 9 must be part of the speed dial number
110 Chapter 6: Cisco IP Telephony Users
that is entered. For example, if the telephone number is 4805550199 and the access code for an
outside line is 9, the speed dial number must be entered as 94805550199.
TIP In older versions of CallManager, the Cisco IP Phone required a restart to update speed
dial configurations. Since CallManager version 3.3, a restart is no longer necessary.
You can configure a number of IP Phone services for user subscription. For example, you could
configure services that store telephone numbers, meeting room availability, traffic reports, and
more. The user can then use the Subscribe/Unsubscribe IP Phone Services page in Cisco
CallManager User Options to subscribe to or unsubscribe from any of the Cisco IP Phone Services
that you have configured. IP Phone service configuration is covered in Chapter 16, “Configuring
User Features, Part 1.”
User Logon and Device Configuration 111
For example, if you have configured a service that looks up the stock price of a company, a user
can subscribe to that service from the Subscribe/Unsubscribe IP Phone Services page in
CallManager User Options. To view the stock price of a company, the user can press the Services
button on a Cisco IP Phone 7970, 7960, or 7940 and view the stock price on the IP Phone liquid
crystal display (LCD). You can also associate a service with one of the line/speed dial buttons to
allow quick access to XML applications, such as a corporate directory or speed dial list.
The Personal Address Book and Fast Dial features are not available from the base Cisco IP Phone
feature set. Rather, Cisco has implemented them as XML services. You must configure these
services in the Cisco CallManager Service Configuration web interface before the CallManager
will make them available for user subscription. Chapter 16 covers XML Service configuration.
Users can configure the Personal Address Book and Fast Dial features from the Personal Address
Book page in Cisco CallManager User Options. After subscribing to these services, a user can
access the Personal Address Book and Fast Dial codes from the Cisco IP Phone by pressing the
Services button.
Figure 6-8 shows the Find/List Address Book Entries page. To display this page, choose the
Configure Your Cisco Personal Address Book link in the User Options main menu. From the
Find/List Address Book Entries page, users can add a new Personal Address Book entry, create or
modify Fast Dial codes to reach address book entries, or search for address book entries by using
either complete or partial strings.
112 Chapter 6: Cisco IP Telephony Users
Figure 6-8 Cisco CallManager User Options: Address Book and Fast Dial Window
Figure 6-9 Cisco CallManager User Options: Message Waiting Lamp Policy Window
■ Japanese (Japan)
■ Korean (Korea)
■ Norwegian (Norway)
■ Polish (Poland)
■ Portuguese (Portugal)
■ Russian (Russia)
■ Spanish (Spain)
■ Swedish (Sweden)
If a user locale is not selected, the systemwide locale is used.
Figure 6-10 shows the Select a User Locale for Your Phone page. To display the language selection
pages, click the Change the Locale for This Phone or Change the Locale for These Web Pages
link in the User Options main menu. These options allow the user to modify the language selection
for the Cisco IP Phone or the web pages, respectively.
Summary
This chapter covered the configuration of the user database for the Cisco IP telephony network.
Although a functional voice network does not require a user database, there are many applications
you will be missing. In addition, adding a user database allows your users to configure many of
the everyday options, such as call forwarding and speed dials, on their IP Phone through an easy-
to-use web interface.
To support a user database, you must first decide whether you will use the integrated DC-Directory
LDAP-compliant database that ships with CallManager or integrate the CallManager with one of
the supported directory services that are already running for your data network environment. After
making this decision, you can perform the user configuration and device association from the
CCMAdmin web interface. After you have associated the user with one or more IP Phones, the
user can access the CCMUser web interface (https://<CCM IP Address>/CCMUser) to manage the
devices.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
1. Which of the following URLs can you use to access the Cisco CallManager User web pages
assuming the CallManager IP address is 10.1.1.1?
a. https://10.1.1.1/CCMAdmin
b. https://10.1.1.1/CCMUser
c. https://10.1.1.1/CCM
d. xml://10.1.1.1/CCMAdmin
e. xml://10.1.1.1/CCMUser
f. xml://10.1.1.1/CCM
2. The Cisco CallManager DC Directory is a/an _______-compliant database. (Choose the best
answer.)
a. SQL
b. Oracle
c. LDAP
d. Standards
3. For the Cisco CallManager–based IP telephony network to function correctly, you must add
users to an LDAP-compliant database. (True/False)
116 Chapter 6: Cisco IP Telephony Users
4. Which of the following fields are required to create a user who is able to use a Cisco
Softphone application? (Choose five.)
a. First Name
b. Last Name
c. User ID
d. Password
e. PIN Number
f. Manager User ID
g. Department
h. Enable CTI Application Use
i. SoftPhone Support Enabled
5. Before a user is able to configure a Cisco IP Phone through the CCMUser web pages, what
must be true? (Choose two.)
a. The user must have a valid user account.
b. The user must have Java support enabled on their workstation.
c. The user account must be associated with at least one Cisco IP Phone.
d. The user must use a Windows-based operating system.
6. You receive a technical support call from a troubled user of the IP telephony network. The
user has configured a personal address book through the CCMUser pages for their Cisco IP
Phone 7960. They are unable to figure out how to access this personal address book from their
Cisco IP Phone. What do you tell them?
a. You can access the personal address book by pressing the Directories button on the
Cisco IP Phone.
b. You can only view the personal address book through the CCMUser web pages.
c. You need to press the PAB softkey on your Cisco IP Phone.
d. You must first subscribe to the personal address book service and can then access it by
pressing the Services button on your IP Phone.
7. Which of the following is the default Message Waiting Lamp policy for the Cisco
CallManager system configured on each Cisco IP Phone? (Choose the best answer.)
a. Use System Policy
b. Light and Prompt
c. Light Only
d. Prompt Only
Review Questions 117
8. By default, Cisco CallManager supports three language selections for users: English,
Spanish, and French. (True/False)
9. A user can configure their IP Phone with up to _____ fast dial codes.
a. 20
b. 50
c. 99
d. 150
10. Which of the following options are available for a user who wants to forward their IP Phone
using the CCMUser web pages? (Select all that apply.)
a. Call Forward All
b. Call Forward Busy
c. Call Forward No Answer
d. Call Forward Selected
This chapter covers the
following topics:
Adding, updating, and deleting phones, users, and gateway ports are important functions in the
day-to-day activities of a Cisco CallManager administrator. When you use Cisco CallManager
Administration, each database transaction requires an individual manual operation. Manually
adding and configuring large numbers of these entities can be time consuming and tedious. The
Cisco Bulk Administration Tool (BAT) automates the process and achieves faster add, update,
and delete operations so that the system administrator can focus on more business- and network-
critical activities.
As a supplement to BAT, you can further ease the load of adding new phones to the network
through the Tool for Auto-Registered Phones Support (TAPS). You can use TAPS in conjunction
with BAT to update MAC addresses and download a predefined configuration for new phones
after a user has walked through an automated process. This chapter discusses the design and
implementation of both BAT and TAPS.
You can use BAT to work with the following types of devices and records:
■ Add, update, and delete Cisco IP Manager Assistant (IPMA) managers and assistants
■ Add, update, and delete ports on a Cisco Catalyst 6000 FXS Analog Interface Module
120 Chapter 7: Cisco Bulk Administration Tool
BAT provides an optional application, TAPS, which retrieves the predefined configuration for
auto-registered telephones. By using TAPS, CallManager no longer assigns auto-registered
phones random extension numbers from the pool. Instead, after the user enters their extension
number through an automated process, the TAPS system retrieves the complete configuration you
have created for that user.
BAT Components
Every device includes a multitude of individual attributes, settings, and information fields that
enable the device to function in the network and provide its telephony features. Many devices have
the same attributes and settings in common, whereas other values, such as the directory number
(DN), are unique to a user or to a device.
For bulk configuration transactions involving the Cisco CallManager database, the BAT process
uses two components: a template for the device type that includes settings that devices have in
common and a data file in comma-separated values (CSV) format that contains the unique values
for configuring a new device or updating an existing record in the database. The CSV data file
works in conjunction with the device template.
For instance, when you create a bulk transaction to import a group of Cisco IP Phones, you set up
the CSV data file that contains the unique information for each phone, such as the DN and MAC
address. In addition, you set up or choose the BAT template that contains the common settings for
all phones in the transaction, such as a Cisco IP Phone 7960 template. By combining the unique
settings defined in the CSV file with the common settings created in the IP Phone template, you
have everything you need to import a group of IP Phones successfully.
CAUTION Because bulk transactions can affect Cisco CallManager performance and call
processing, use BAT only during off-peak hours.
The Cisco Bulk Administration Tool 121
BAT Installation
BAT must be installed on the same server as the publisher database for Cisco CallManager. During
BAT installation, the setup program stops the following services:
■ FTP publishing
When BAT is installed, the Microsoft Excel file BAT.xlt file for the BAT spreadsheet is placed on
the publisher database server at the following path: C:\CiscoWebs\BAT\ExcelTemplate\. You can
use this file to generate the necessary CSV files used to import groups of devices into the Cisco
CallManager SQL database.
NOTE You must install BAT directly on the publisher server (either through the console
directly or using a program such as VNC); do not use Windows Terminal Services.
Step 1 Using administrator privileges, log in to the system running the publisher
database for Cisco CallManager.
Step 2 Choose Application > Install Plugins from the CallManager
Administration web interface. The Install Plugins window is displayed, as
shown in Figure 7-1.
122 Chapter 7: Cisco Bulk Administration Tool
Step 3 Click the setup icon for the Cisco Bulk Administration Tool.
Step 4 A standard Windows dialog box appears. Determine whether to copy the
BAT installation executable to the system or run it from the current
location.
If an existing version of BAT is detected on the server, you are prompted to
confirm the reinstallation or upgrade. To reinstall BAT or to upgrade from
a previous version, click OK.
Step 5 The Welcome screen appears. Click Next, and the Current Settings window
appears.
Step 6 Click Next to install to the default location C:\CiscoWebs\BAT\. BAT
installs to C:\CiscoWebs\BAT\. You cannot change this path. The Start
Copying Files window appears. The setup program begins copying files.
Step 7 The Setup Complete window appears. You have successfully installed BAT.
Step 8 To close setup, click Finish.
The Cisco Bulk Administration Tool 123
Step 9 After you have installed BAT, from Cisco CallManager Administration,
choose Application > BAT to access BAT. If after you have installed BAT,
BAT is not visible under the Application menu, refresh your browser.
Step 1 Set up the template for data input. You can create BAT templates for the
following types of device options:
• Phones—All Cisco IP Phone models and Cisco ATA 186, Cisco VGC
phones, CTI ports, and H.323 clients
• Gateways—Cisco VG200 and ports for the Cisco Catalyst 6000 FXS
Analog Interface Module
• User device profiles—Cisco IP Phone 7900 Series and Cisco SoftPhone
Step 2 Define a format for the CSV data file. You can use the BAT Excel
spreadsheet or a text editor to create the CSV data file.
Step 3 Validate the data input files with the Cisco CallManager database. Cisco
CallManager runs a validation routine that checks the CSV file and the
template for errors against the publisher database.
Step 4 Insert the devices into the Cisco CallManager database.
■ Phones
■ Users
■ Managers/Assistants
■ Gateways
■ Pickup Group
■ Export Phones—Locate and export specific phone records or all phone records
■ CAPF Configuration—Locate and modify or delete the digital certificates (called locally
significant certificates [LSCs]) issued by the Cisco Authority Proxy Function (CAPF) server
to IP Phones
When you choose a step from the task list, you open a configuration window such as the Phone
Template Configuration window. The configuration window provides the entry fields for defining
a template.
Prior to creating the template, make sure that phone settings, such as device pool, location, calling
search space, button template, and softkey templates, have already been configured in Cisco
CallManager Administration. You cannot create new settings in BAT.
The first steps in configuring an IP Phone template are to give the phone template a unique name,
and choose an IP Phone (device) type in the Phone Template Configuration window, as shown in
The Cisco Bulk Administration Tool 127
Figure 7-5. Choose the template that encompasses all of the IP Phones in the group. If you have
multiple telephone types in a given group, you must create multiple templates.
Next, assign the template to a device pool. After you have configured the initial template
information, click Insert to add the template to the BAT utility.
After configuring the initial template settings, you can modify specific line configurations. From
the initial template window, choose a line to configure, and a new configuration window appears.
These general configuration settings can apply to multiple IP Phones, such as partitions, calling
search spaces, and call waiting settings. BAT obtains line configurations that are specific to the
user from the imported Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
When you are adding a group of phones that have multiple lines, you can create a master phone
template that provides multiple lines and the most common values for a specific phone model. You
can use the master template to add phones that have differing numbers of lines, but do not exceed
the number of lines in the master phone template. For example, you can create a master phone
template for a Cisco IP Phone 7960 that has six lines. You can use this single template to add
phones that have one line, two lines, or up to six lines (because the template provides the base
configuration for up to six lines).
128 Chapter 7: Cisco Bulk Administration Tool
You can create CSV files in one of two ways: by using the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet BAT.xlt
file or by using a text editor such as Microsoft Notepad. The BAT Excel spreadsheet simplifies the
creation of CSV data files. You can add multiple devices and view the records for each device in
a spreadsheet format. It allows you to customize the file format within the spreadsheet and
provides validation and error checking automatically to help reduce configuration errors.
Experienced BAT users who are comfortable with working in a CSV-formatted file can use a text
editor to create a CSV data file.
Figure 7-6 shows the BAT.xlt Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. You can find this spreadsheet in the
directory C:\CiscoWebs\BAT\ExcelTemplate\ on the publisher database server. You probably do
not have Microsoft Excel running on the publisher, so you must copy the file to a local machine
(using either a floppy disk or a mapped network drive). After you have copied the file, double-click
BAT.xlt. When prompted, click Enable Macros.
TIP After you have installed BAT, a BAT shared folder is created automatically on the
publisher. This can provide easier access to the BAT files; to access the share, click Start > Run
and type \\<CCM Server Name or IP Address>\BAT.
The BAT spreadsheet includes tabs along the bottom of the spreadsheet for access to the required
data input fields for the various devices and user combinations in BAT. The CSV data file works
in combination with the BAT template. For example, when you choose the Phone tab in the BAT
spreadsheet, you can leave Location, Forward Busy Destination, or Call Pickup Group blank. The
values from the BAT phone template are used for these fields; however, if you specify values for
Forward Busy Destination or Call Pickup Group, those values override the values for these fields
that were set in the BAT phone template.
The Cisco Bulk Administration Tool 129
After entering the data into the BAT spreadsheet, click Export to BAT Format to create the CSV
file. The format for CSV files is <tabname><timestamp>.txt. The system saves the file to
C:\XLSDataFiles\ or to a folder of your choice. You must move the converted CSV file from the
C:\XLSDataFiles\ folder on your local computer back to the publisher, where BAT can access the
CSV file and place it in the appropriate folder under C:\BATFiles. (For example, you could save
a phone CSV data file to the C:\BATFiles\Phones\Insert\ folder on the publisher database for Cisco
CallManager.)
Using a text editor is the other way to create a CSV file. When using a text editor, follow these
steps:
Step 1 Create the customized file format using the BAT File Format Configuration
window shown in Figure 7-7. The file format specifies the order in which
you enter values in the text file. This allows you to add attributes to the file
format that are also in the BAT template, and override the template entry
with a specific attribute for a device. For instance, you can choose the route
partition attribute for your file format and enter different partitions for each
phone in the CSV data file.
130 Chapter 7: Cisco Bulk Administration Tool
Earlier versions of BAT supported only a default file format with a fixed and limited number of
attributes and settings for each device and an All Details format that includes all attributes and
settings for each device.
Step 2 Create the CSV data file using a basic text editor that follows the file format
you defined in Step 1.
Step 3 Associate the file format with the CSV data file in Cisco BAT. You can
associate only one file format with a CSV data file. Use the Add File Format
window, shown in Figure 7-8, to choose the name of the CSV data file
<CSVfilename>.txt from the File Name drop-down menu. Next, you
choose your file format from the File Format Name drop-down menu. The
data in the CSV data file must match the custom file format that you have
chosen.
The Cisco Bulk Administration Tool 131
■ Specific Details—For validating records that follow the default or custom file format
■ All Details—For validating records from a file that was generated with the export utility by
using the All Details option
132 Chapter 7: Cisco Bulk Administration Tool
When you choose Validate, the system runs a validation routine to check for errors against the
publisher database. These checks ensure the following:
■ Fields, such as description, display text, and speed dial label, use valid characters.
■ Cisco CallManager groups, device pools, partitions, and other referenced attributes are
already configured.
■ The number of lines that are configured on a device does not exceed the device template.
Validation does not check for the existence of a user or for mandatory or optional fields that are
BAT-defined, such as the dummy MAC address.
Step 1 In the File Name field, choose the CSV data file that you created for this
specific bulk transaction.
Step 2 To enable the use of applications such as Cisco IP SoftPhone, check the
Enable CTI Application Use check box (for CTI ports only).
NOTE CTI application use is not required for the Cisco IP Communicator.
Step 3 Choose the Insert option that corresponds to your CSV data file.
Step 4 In the Phone Template Name field, choose the BAT phone template that
you created for this type of bulk transaction.
Step 5 If you did not enter individual MAC addresses in the CSV data file, check
the Create Dummy MAC Address check box.
This field automatically generates dummy MAC addresses in the following format:
XXXXXXXXXXXX, where X represents any 16-character, hexadecimal (0 to 9 and A
to F) number. You can update the phones or devices later with the correct MAC
address by manually entering this information into Cisco CallManager
Administration or by using TAPS.
134 Chapter 7: Cisco Bulk Administration Tool
Figure 7-11 shows the Update Phones window. To update phone settings, such as changing or
adding a device pool or calling search space for a group of similar phones, choose Phones >
Update Phones in the BAT Configure window.
You can locate the existing phone records by using a query or a custom file containing the device
names or DNs. You can query using any number of fields, such as the model, device name, DN, or
description. You can also specify search criteria such as “begins with,” “contains,” or “is exactly.”
The Cisco Bulk Administration Tool 135
Choose View Query Result to check that the query returns the information that you need. Choose
Clear Query to remove the query items.
After you have defined the query or custom file to search for phones, follow this procedure to
update the IP Phones or users to the Cisco CallManager database in bulk:
If the status bar indicates a failure, click View Latest Log File to display a window that will help
you to determine where the operation failed.
136 Chapter 7: Cisco Bulk Administration Tool
■ Update MAC addresses and download predefined configuration for new phones
When new phones are added to Cisco CallManager, TAPS works in conjunction with BAT to
update phones that were added to BAT using dummy MAC addresses. After BAT has been used
to bulk-add the telephones with dummy MAC addresses to Cisco CallManager Administration,
you can plug the telephones into the network. You or the user of the telephone can dial a TAPS
directory number that causes the phone to download its configuration. At the same time, the
telephone is updated in Cisco CallManager Administration with the correct MAC address. You
must make sure that auto-registration is enabled in Cisco CallManager Administration (System >
Cisco CallManager) for TAPS to function.
Prior to BAT Release 5.0(1), TAPS installation and uninstallation for Cisco CallManager was part
of the BAT installation program. With BAT Release 5.0(1) and later, TAPS is installed separately.
In addition, for TAPS to operate, you must also install the Cisco CallManager Extended Services
CD (which ships with current CallManager 4.x versions or can be downloaded from Cisco CCO)
or have purchased the Cisco Customer Response Application (CRA) server, which is typically
used in call center environments.
During TAPS installation or reinstallation on the publisher database server, the setup program
halts the following services:
■ FTP publishing
You cannot use Windows Terminal Services to install TAPS. You must install TAPS directly from
the Cisco CallManager publisher server and the CRA server (if you are using a CRA server).
NOTE In earlier versions of CallManager (prior to 4.x), CRA servers were required to be
separate from the CallManager server. In the 4.x versions, Cisco CRA services can reside on the
same server as Cisco CallManager. Cisco CRA allows CallManager integration with outside
applications.
Using the Tool for Auto-Registered Phone Support 137
■ Make sure that the publisher database for Cisco CallManager is configured and running. The
publisher database can reside on its own server or on the same server as Cisco CallManager.
■ Before installing TAPS, ensure that the latest BAT release is installed on the publisher
database server for Cisco CallManager.
■ Have the IP address for the Cisco CallManager publisher server and the private phrase for the
installation procedure.
■ If you are not using the CallManager Extended Services CD, ensure that the Cisco CRA
server is configured. The Cisco CRA application can reside on its own dedicated server or can
be colocated on the same server as Cisco CallManager.
■ Be sure to use the locale installer to create the country-specific TAPS prompts.
NOTE Because TAPS relies on advanced CallManager configuration concepts, many of the
details in the steps pertaining to the TAPS installation and configuration, such as CTI ports and
route points, move outside of the CIPT material. Detailed information about TAPS can be found
in the Cisco CallManager Bulk Administration Guide available on the Cisco website.
Step 1 Log in with administrator privileges to the system that is running the
publisher database for Cisco CallManager (where you installed BAT).
Step 2 Access BAT.
Step 3 Choose Applications > Install Plugins.
Step 4 Double-click the TAPS setup icon.
Step 5 Determine whether to copy the TAPS installation executable to the system
or run it from the current location.
Step 6 The Welcome window for the installation wizard opens. This installation
program installs TAPS on the Cisco CallManager publisher server and the
CRA applications server at the same time, if applications are colocated on
the same server. Click Next.
NOTE When you are installing TAPS in a network with a dedicated CRA server, you must
run the TAPS installation program again on the CRA server. Use CRA online help for assistance
with installation and configuration.
138 Chapter 7: Cisco Bulk Administration Tool
Step 7 Enter the private phrase for the Cisco CallManager publisher server in the
Installing Cisco CallManager Components window and click Next. The
Installing TAPS on CCM window displays a progress bar that shows the
status of the installation.
Step 8 The Installation Completed window is displayed when the installation
ends. Click Finish.
After you have completed the TAPS installation, you must configure TAPS by adding a Computer
Telephony Interface (CTI) route point, CTI ports, and users in Cisco CallManager Administration.
One CTI route point and at least one CTI port are required for TAPS.
The following procedure describes how to configure TAPS in Cisco CallManager Administration:
NOTE To use TAPS, verify that auto-registration is enabled in Cisco CallManager. Because
TAPS can replace a DN, you can protect certain DNs from being overwritten by using the
Secure TAPS option. Turning on Secure TAPS keeps a user from overwriting an extension that
is already in use.
NOTE TAPS supports a maximum number of simultaneous sessions equal to the number of
CTI ports that are configured for TAPS. For example, if you have configured five CTI ports, up
to five users can dial into TAPS at the same time. The sixth caller cannot connect to TAPS.
Review Questions 139
Summary
This chapter discussed the Bulk Administration Tool (BAT) and the Tool for Auto-Registered
Phone Support (TAPS) utilities from Cisco. These tools ease the administrative load of Cisco
CallManager in a huge way by allowing you to make bulk adds, deletes, and changes to the devices
in the CallManager database. By combining a Comma Separated Value (CSV) text file containing
unique values with a template, you can insert devices (or users) in bulk into the CallManager
system. In addition, you can use BAT to define a query matching multiple existing devices and
perform a mass update to chance settings across your IP telephony network.
Cisco has provided TAPS to create a semiautomated system to add IP Phones to your network.
Using TAPS, new IP Phones auto-register with the Cisco CallManager and receive a generic
extension assignment. When you assign a user to an IP Phone, they dial the TAPS number and
walk through an automated process in which they type in the extension number you have assigned
them. TAPS then queries the data from your imported CSV file to find the specific settings that
CallManager should apply to the IP Phone and sets it up with the correct extension and
configuration settings.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
1. Which of the following configurations can you add to the CallManager database in bulk using
BAT? (Choose three.)
a. Route Groups
b. Route Patterns
c. Users
d. IP Phones
e. Phone Templates
f. Device Profiles
2. For TAPS to function correctly, what must you enable on at least one Cisco CallManager
server?
a. Voice Media Streaming Application service
b. Auto-Registration
c. Cisco IPCC
d. All of the above
140 Chapter 7: Cisco Bulk Administration Tool
3. Which two pieces of information are required to perform a successful device import using
BAT? (Choose two.)
a. a tab-delimited text file
b. a comma-separated text file
c. a valid device template
d. CallManager 4.x or later
4. When you install BAT, the installation process stores an Excel template on the hard drive of
the CallManager server. Where is the file located?
a. C:\Cisco\BAT
b. C:\Program Files\Cisco\BAT
c. C:\BAT
d. C:\CiscoWebs\BAT\ExcelTemplate
5. On which CallManager server should you install the Cisco BAT utility?
a. the Publisher server
b. a Subscriber server participating in call processing
c. a Subscriber server not participating in call processing
d. a CallManager server not performing database replication
6. You have created an entry in a CSV file that defines an IP Phone with two lines. You combine
this CSV file with a BAT device template that defines an IP Phone with six lines. What
happens?
a. The BAT utility inserts the IP Phone into the CallManager database with only the two
lines defined in the CSV file.
b. The BAT utility inserts the IP Phone into the CallManager database with the six lines
defined in the device template.
c. The BAT utility rejects the configuration and produces an HTTP 4xx error.
d. The BAT utility prompts you for the configuration for the additional four lines.
7. You are using the BAT Excel template to define a CSV file for a bulk import. You notice a
check box in the template that says “Create Dummy MAC Address.” What does this check
box accomplish?
a. It assigns all IP Phones a MAC address of 0000.0000.0000 until the IP Phone auto-reg-
isters.
b. It enters the IP Phones into the CallManager database without a MAC address.
c. It generates random MAC addresses for the IP Phones until the administrator changes
them.
d. It is for use for updates only with the TAPS utility.
Review Questions 141
8. You want to perform a bulk update to change the music on hold setting for all Cisco IP Phones
to a classic Frank Sinatra song. How do you specify the IP Phones to change in the BAT
utility?
a. by specifying a range of DNs
b. through a query process
c. using a drop-down menu
d. by checking the Select All check box
9. What additional application does CallManager require to support TAPS?
a. Microsoft Exchange 2000
b. Customer Response Application
c. SQL 2000
d. additional phone ports
10. What two methods can you use to create CSV files? (Choose two.)
a. the Microsoft Excel Template
b. the CSV file generator downloadable from CCO
c. the query utility included with BAT
d. a text editor
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Part III: IPT Network Integration
and Route Plan
Deploying IP telephony requires planning how you will power the IP Phones and how the voice
network traffic will mix with the data network while ensuring that the data traffic does not
degrade the quality of the voice calls.
Cisco Catalyst switches provide three features that aid an IP telephony deployment: inline
power, voice VLANs, and class of service (CoS). Using the Cisco Catalyst switch to power IP
Phones can save on wiring costs and simplifies management. Enabling multiple VLANs in a
single port and placing voice packets in one VLAN and data in another VLAN saves money by
reducing the number of switch ports. Extending CoS to the IP Phone improves voice quality by
ensuring that voice packets receive priority over data.
This lesson discusses the three major functions that Cisco Catalyst switches perform in an IP
telephony network and describes how to configure a Cisco Catalyst switch to enable these
functions.
■ Inline power—Inline power capabilities allow a Cisco Catalyst switch to send power
through the Category 3 (or better) copper cabling to a Cisco IP Phone or other inline power-
compatible devices (such as wireless access points) without the need for an external power
supply. Inline power is also referred to as Power over Ethernet (PoE). Inline power was
developed in 2000 by Cisco to support the emerging IP telephony solution and was later
standardized by the IEEE as the 802.3af standard.
■ Class of service (CoS) marking—CoS marking is data link layer (Layer 2) marking that is
used to prioritize network traffic. Prioritizing voice traffic is critical in IP telephony networks.
If voice traffic is not given priority, poor voice quality may result because voice frames wait
in the switch queue behind large data frames. The switch can use existing CoS marking to
prioritize network traffic and can also classify and mark traffic that it receives.
■ PoE—With PoE, the phone plugs into the data jack that connects to the switch, and the user
PC in turn connects to the IP Phone. Power-sourcing equipment (PSE), such as Cisco Catalyst
PoE-capable modular and fixed-configuration switches, insert power over the Ethernet cable
to the powered device, for example, an IP Phone or 802.11 wireless access point.
■ Midspan power injection—Because many switches do not support PoE, the powered device
must support a midspan power source. This midspan device sits between the LAN switch and
the powered device and inserts power on the Ethernet cable to the powered device. A technical
difference between the midspan and inline power mechanism is that power is delivered on the
spare pairs (pins 4, 5, 7, and 8). An example of midspan PSE is a Cisco Catalyst Inline Power
Patch Panel.
■ Wall power—Wall power needs a DC converter for connecting the IP Phone to a wall outlet.
NOTE You must order the wall power supply separately from the Cisco IP Phone. This can
increase the cost of the end devices significantly. Before you decide to use wall power rather than
PoE to power the Cisco IP Phones, be sure to verify the total cost of this decision.
Because Cisco was the first to develop PoE, there was not an established PoE industry standard to
which Cisco could conform. Because of this, the industry considers Cisco’s original
implementation PoE as prestandard and proprietary. Although Cisco will eventually discontinue
this prestandard implementation, Cisco devices will continue to support it for many years to come.
The Cisco prestandard PoE implementation supports the following features:
■ Provides –48 V DC at up to 6.3 to 7.7 watts (W) per port over data pins 1, 2, 3, and 6.
■ Supports most PoE-capable Cisco devices (IP Phones and wireless access points).
Powering the Cisco IP Phone 147
■ Uses a Cisco proprietary method of determining whether an attached device requires power.
Power is delivered only to devices that require power.
Since first developing PoE, Cisco has been driving the evolution of this technology toward
standardization by working with the IEEE and member vendors to create a standards-based means
of providing power from an Ethernet switch port. The IEEE 802.3af committee has ratified this
capability. The IEEE 802.3af PoE standard supports the following features:
■ Specifies –48 V DC at up to 15.4 W per port over data pins 1, 2, 3, and 6 or the spare pins 4,
5, 7, and 8 (a PSE can use one or the other, but not both).
■ Standardizes the method of determining whether an attached device requires power. The PSE
delivers power only to devices that require power. This type has several optional elements,
such as power classification, where powered devices can optionally support a signature that
defines the maximum power requirement. PSE that supports power classification reads this
signature and budgets the correct amount of power per powered device, which will likely be
significantly less than the maximum allowed power.
Without power classification, the switch reserves the full 15.4 W of power for every device. This
behavior might result in oversubscription of the available power supplies so that some devices will
not be powered even though there is sufficient power available.
0 (default)—15.4 W reserved
1—4 W
2—7 W
3—15.4 W
4—Reserved for future expansion
All Cisco IEEE 802.3af-compliant switches support power classification.
TIP The Cisco Power Calculator is an online tool that enables you to calculate the power
supply requirements for a specific PoE configuration. The Cisco Power Calculator is available
to registered Cisco.com users at www.cisco.com/go/poe.
capable device. When a switch port that is configured for inline power detects a connected device,
the switch sends an Ethernet Fast Link Pulse (FLP) to the device. The Cisco powered device (IP
Phone) loops the FLP back to the switch to indicate its inline power capability. The switch then
delivers –48 V DC PoE (inline) power to the IP Phone or other inline power-capable endpoint.
Pin3
FLP Pin6
Rx
Switch Pin1 FLP
It is an inline device. Pin2 Tx
A Cisco Catalyst IEEE 802.3af-compliant switch detects a Cisco IP Phone, wireless access point,
or other inline power-capable device through a very similar process. The PSE (Cisco Catalyst
switch) detects a powered device by applying a voltage in the range of –2.8 V to –10 V on the cable
and then looks for a 25K ohm signature resistor rather than using the Cisco proprietary FLP signal.
Compliant powered devices must support this resistance method. If the appropriate resistance is
found, the Cisco Catalyst switch delivers power.
■ Cisco Catalyst modular switching—The Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series delivers a 96-port
10BASE-T/100BASE-T line card and 48-port 10BASE-T/100BASE-T and 10BASE-T/
100BASE-T/1000BASE-T line cards. The Catalyst 6500 Series offers a modular PoE
daughter card architecture for the 96-port card and the 48-port 10/100/1000 card. The Cisco
Catalyst 4500 Series delivers 48-port 10/100 and 10/100/1000 line cards. All line cards
Powering the Cisco IP Phone 149
support both IEEE 802.3af and Cisco prestandard inline power. The cards are compatible with
any Cisco Catalyst 6500 or 4500 chassis and Supervisor Engine. The Cisco Catalyst modular
chassis switches can deliver 15.4 W per port for all 48 ports on a module simultaneously.
■ Cisco Catalyst stackable switching—The Cisco Catalyst 3750 Series offers 48- and 24-port
Fast Ethernet switches that comply with IEEE 802.3af and Cisco prestandard PoE. The Cisco
Catalyst 3560 Series offers 48- and 24-port Fast Ethernet switches that support both the
industry standard and Cisco standard PoE.
■ Cisco EtherSwitch modules—The Cisco 36- and 16-port 10/100 EtherSwitch modules for
Cisco 2600 and 3700 Series routers offer branch office customers the option to integrate
switching and routing in one platform. These modules can support Cisco prestandard PoE and
provide straightforward configuration, easy deployment, and integrated management in a
single platform. The Cisco 2600 Series requires a separate external PoE power supply; the
Cisco 3700 Series integrates the power supply. Cisco has also released EtherSwitch modules
for the newer Integrated Service Routers (ISRs). These new EtherSwitch modules support
both the Cisco prestandard PoE and the IEEE 802.3af PoE.
TIP The switches that are listed here also support multiple VLANs per port and QoS
capabilities.
NOTE The pace of change in IP telephony is intense. By the time you are reading this text,
Cisco will have most likely introduced multiple new product lines and switch models that
support PoE and many other features. Always be sure to check the Cisco website for the latest
product information.
150 Chapter 8: Cisco Catalyst Switches
Configuring PoE
By default, PoE is enabled on all Cisco devices that support the PoE feature. The default mode for
PoE is auto, which means the switch will automatically detect if a device is PoE capable and
supply power, if necessary. If you are using a switch that is running Cisco Catalyst Operating
System software (CatOS), use the following syntax to modify the default PoE settings:
The two modes are auto and off. In the off mode, the switch does not power up the port even if an
unpowered phone is connected. In the auto mode, the switch powers up the port only if the
switching module has discovered the phone. Examples of devices running Cisco CatOS include
the Cisco Catalyst 6500, 4500, and 4000 Series.
TIP It can be useful to turn PoE capabilities off on ports that you are sure will never use the
feature. If the power supply your switch is equipped with is unable to extend power to all ports,
you can specify ports that should receive power. Otherwise, the switch will allocate power to
ports with lower port numbers until it exhausts the available power supply leaving the higher
port numbers unpowered. The switch allocates power to ports configured with the “auto” setting
regardless of whether the port is using the power.
If you are using a switch that is running Cisco IOS (NativeIOS), use the following syntax to
modify the default PoE settings:
Use the power inline command on switches that are running native Cisco IOS software (examples
include the Catalyst 6500, 4500, 3750, and 3560 switches). The powered device-discovery
algorithm is operational in the auto mode. The powered device-discovery algorithm is disabled in
the never mode. Other modes exist for allocating power, depending on the version of Cisco IOS,
for example, the ability to allocate power on a per-port basis with the allocation milliwatt
command.
NOTE The Catalyst 6500 Series can run either Cisco Catalyst Operating System software or
native Cisco IOS software if the switch Supervisor Engine has a Multilayer Switch Feature Card
(MSFC). Otherwise, these switches can run only Cisco Catalyst software. The Cisco Catalyst
4500 and 4000 Series can also run Cisco Catalyst software or native Cisco IOS software,
depending on the Supervisor Engine. Generally, late-edition Supervisor Engines run native
Cisco IOS software; however, you should check the product documentation to determine the
Supervisor Engine and the operating system that is supported on your specific model.
Powering the Cisco IP Phone 151
Verifying PoE
You can use the following command to display a view of the power allocated on Cisco Catalyst
switches running the CatOS:
You can use the following command to display a view of the power allocated on Cisco Catalyst
switches running the NativeIOS:
Output Description
Port Identifies the port number on the module
Inline Powered Admin Identifies the port configuration from using the set
inlinepower mod/port [auto | off] command
Oper Identifies whether the inline power is operational
Power Detected Identifies whether power is detected
Allocated
mWatt/Watts Identifies the milliwatts (CatOS) or Watts (NativeIOS)
supplied on a given port
mA @42V Identifies the milliamps at 42 V supplied on a given port (the
actual voltage is –48 V)
152 Chapter 8: Cisco Catalyst Switches
NOTE The Cisco Catalyst software (CatOS) refers to this new voice VLAN as the auxiliary
VLAN for configuration purposes.
The placement of nondata devices (such as IP Phones) in a voice VLAN makes it easier for
customers to automate the process of deploying IP Phones. IP Phones will boot and reside in the
voice VLAN if you configure the switch to support them, just as data devices boot and reside in
the access (data) VLAN. The IP Phone communicates with the switch via Cisco Discovery
Protocol when it powers up. The switch provides the telephone with the appropriate VLAN ID.
NOTE Although a voice VLAN is not required, it is encouraged by Cisco to isolate voice
traffic for QoS and security purposes. It might also be impossible to put more devices on the
existing data VLAN due to address space depletion in the data subnet DHCP scope, in which
case, the voice VLAN becomes imperative.
Administrators can implement multiple VLANs on the same port by configuring trunk port. A
tagging mechanism must exist to distinguish among VLANs on the same port. 802.1Q is the IEEE
standard for tagging frames with a VLAN ID number. The IP Phone sends tagged 802.1Q frames.
The PC sends untagged frames and the switch adds the access VLAN tag before forwarding
toward the network. When the switch receives a frame from the network destined for the PC, it
removes the access VLAN tag before forwarding the frame to the PC.
■ This solution allows for scalability of the network from an addressing perspective. IP subnets
usually have more than 50 percent (often more than 80 percent) of their IP addresses
allocated. A separate VLAN (separate IP subnet) to carry the voice traffic allows you to
introduce a large number of new devices, such as IP Phones, into the network without
extensive modifications to the IP addressing scheme.
■ This solution allows for the logical separation of data and voice traffic, which have different
characteristics. This separation allows the network to handle these two traffic types
individually.
■ This solution allows you to connect two devices to the switch using only one physical port
and one Ethernet cable between the wiring closet and the IP Phone or PC location.
Data and Voice VLANs 153
Syntax Description
[mod/port] Number of the module and (optional) ports
vlan Number of the VLAN; valid values are from 1 to 1000
untagged Keyword to specify that the IP Phone 7960 sends untagged packets without 802.1p
priority
dot1p Keyword to specify that the IP Phone 7960 sends packets with 802.1p priority
none Keyword to turn off auxiliary VLAN tagging
For example, if you want to configure a 6500 switch using the CatOS with a voice VLAN of 222
for all 48 ports on Module 7, you can use the command in Example 8-1.
You can check the status of the auxiliary VLAN on a port or module in one of two ways:
■ Use the show port auxiliaryvlan vlan-id command to show the status of that auxiliary VLAN
and the module and ports where it is active.
■ Use the show port [module[/port]] command to show the module, port, and the auxiliary
VLAN and the status of the port.
functionality as setting a port to use an auxiliary VLAN on a Cisco Catalyst switch that is running
Cisco Catalyst software.
Table 8-4 Configuring Dual VLANs Using the NativeOS Command Descriptions
Command Description
switchport mode access Configures the switchport to be an access (nontrunking) port.
switchport voice vlan Configures the switchport with the voice VLAN (261 in this example)
voice-VLAN_ID to be used for voice traffic. The range is 1 to 4094.
switchport access vlan Configures the interface as a static access port with the access VLAN
data_VLAN_ID ID (262 in this example); the range is 1 to 4094.
spanning-tree portfast Causes a port to enter the spanning-tree forwarding state immediately,
bypassing the listening and learning states. You can use PortFast on
switch ports that are connected to a single workstation or server (as
opposed to another switch or network device) to allow those devices
to connect to the network immediately.
You can verify your voice VLAN configuration on the Cisco Catalyst switches that are running
native Cisco IOS software by using the show interfaces mod/port switchport command, as
displayed in Example 8-3.
The multi-VLAN port also receives packets from the devices (PCs and workstations) that are
connected to the PC port of the IP Phone. The attached device, if it is not in the native VLAN, can
send packets with a CoS equal to or higher than the packets that are being sent by the IP Phone,
which can cause severe voice quality problems on your IP telephony network. This can be done
only if the device is not in the access VLAN or is sharing the same VLAN as the IP Phone.
Cisco Catalyst switches have the ability to extend the boundary of trust to the IP Phone. You can
use the switch to instruct the IP Phone to accept the CoS value of frames that are arriving from
connected devices (trust) and allow the CoS to remain unchanged. Alternatively, you can choose
not to trust the attached device and set the CoS to 0 or set the CoS to a configured value that you
determine.
The Cisco Catalyst switch uses Cisco Discovery Protocol to send this configuration information
to the IP Phone. The switch sends an additional Cisco Discovery Protocol packet to the IP Phone
whenever there is a change in the CoS configuration.
The switch uses its queues, which are available on a per-port basis, to buffer incoming and
outgoing frames. The switch can use the CoS values to place the frames in the appropriate queues.
Voice frames should be placed in the priority queue for minimal delay.
NOTE Setting CoS markings represents one small piece of the big picture of QoS. For
detailed information regarding QoS design and configuration, check out Cisco QOS Exam
Certification Guide, Second Edition published by Cisco Press (ISBN: 1-58720-124-0) and the
online Cisco QoS Solution Reference Network Design Guide (SRND) at http://www.cisco.com/
go/srnd.
You can configure the switch with different QoS settings on a per-port basis. In the CatOS, use the
set port qos [mod/port] cos command to set the default value for all packets that have arrived
through an untrusted port. For example, the command set port qos 3/1 cos 3 sets the CoS value to
3 on port 3/1. The cos-value specifies the CoS value for a port; valid values are from 0 to 7. Seven
is the highest priority. The default is 0 (not trusted).
156 Chapter 8: Cisco Catalyst Switches
Use the set port qos [mod/ports] trust-ext {trusted | untrusted} command to either extend trust
to the PC by specifying that all traffic received through the access port passes through the phone
switch unchanged, or to not trust the port and change the CoS value to 0.
In the NativeIOS, use the switchport priority extend {cos cos-value | trust} interface
configuration command to set a port priority for the incoming frames received by the IP Phone
connected to the specified port. The cos-value is used to set the IP Phone port to override the
priority received from the PC or the attached device. Valid values for the cos-value are from 0 to
7. Seven is the highest priority. The default is 0 (not trusted). Alternatively, the trust keyword
causes the IP Phone port to trust the priority received from the PC or the attached device, that is,
to not change the CoS value. Figure 8-2 provides a visual representation of the different CoS
behaviors the IP Phone can support.
CoS = 7 CoS = 7
PC is trusted
IP
Summary
This chapter covered the role of the Catalyst switch platform in a Cisco IP telephony design. To
support the new voice data traversing the network, Cisco has equipped their mainline switch
platforms with three new capabilities:
■ The ability to support inline power—Allows a Cisco Catalyst switch to send power through
the Ethernet copper to a Cisco IP Phone or other inline power-compatible devices using either
the Cisco prestandard PoE or the IEEE 802.3af industry standard PoE.
These capabilities play a vital role in ensuring the voice network operates seamlessly with the
highest possible quality and reliability.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
1. Which command enables inline power on port 3 of module 2 of a Cisco Catalyst 6000 Series
switch that is running Cisco Catalyst software?
a. power inline in global configuration mode
b. power inline auto in interface configuration mode
c. set port inline power default
d. set port inline power 3/2 802.3
e. set port inline power 2/3 auto
2. Cisco Catalyst switches can provide which three functions in an IP telephony deployment?
(Choose three.)
a. Convert SCCP signaling packets from the IP Phone to MGCP.
b. Power IP Phones through the same Ethernet cable that carries data.
c. Enable the classification and prioritization of voice packets at Layer 2.
d. Instruct the IP Phone to change the CoS of an incoming data frame.
e. Determine available bandwidth before placing a call over the WAN.
3. What are three requirements for configuring dual VLANs on a single port that is attached to
an IP Phone? (Choose three.)
a. Configure the interface for access and voice VLANs.
b. Tag the voice packets with a voice VLAN identifier.
c. Extend the CoS boundary to the IP Phone.
d. Ensure that the IP Phone has an internal switch.
e. Ensure that the IP Phone is inline power-capable.
4. What three methods can you use to power all PoE-capable Cisco IP Phones?
a. wall power
b. solar power
c. Cisco prestandard PoE
d. IEEE 802.3af PoE
e. Cisco Inline Power Patch Panel
158 Chapter 8: Cisco Catalyst Switches
10. How does the Cisco IP Phone mark traffic from an attached PC?
a. The Cisco IP Phone trusts the CoS marking coming from the attached PC.
b. The Cisco IP Phone does not trust the CoS marking and sets it to 0.
c. The Cisco IP Phone does not trust the CoS marking and sets it to 3.
d. The Cisco IP Phone does not support CoS markings for data traffic.
This chapter covers the
following topics:
Voice gateways and trunks provide the bridge between an IP telephony network and the public
switched telephone network (PSTN), and between Cisco CallManager clusters. This chapter
prepares you for integrating Cisco gateways and trunks in a Cisco CallManager solution.
You will learn about analog and digital gateways, recommended gateway requirements, gateway
protocols, the types of trunks that Cisco CallManager supports, and how to configure gateways,
intercluster trunks, and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunks.
NOTE This chapter provides an overview of the voice gateways that you can use with the
Cisco CallManager system and describes their basic configuration. For more information on
configuring voice gateways, refer to Authorized Self-Study Guide: Cisco Voice over IP
(CVOICE), Second Edition (ISBN: 1-58705-262-8) or Cisco Voice Gateways and
Gatekeepers (ISBN: 1-58705-258-X) from Cisco Press.
device such as a fax machine, or a link to a PBX. Regardless of the connection, analog ports only
permit one voice path per line. There are two categories of analog gateways:
■ Access analog trunk gateways—Access analog trunk gateways connect Cisco CallManager
to PSTN central office (CO) or PBX trunks. Trunk gateways provide Foreign eXchange Office
(FXO) ports for PSTN or PBX access and E&M (known by various names, primarily receive
and transmit, or ear and mouth, or earth and magneto) ports for analog trunk connection to a
legacy PBX. Analog Direct Inward Dial (DID) is also available for PSTN connectivity.
Depending on the cards you have installed into a gateway, it could fill both station (FXS) and trunk
(FXO) roles.
On the flip side, digital gateways typically allow multiple calls per port. These gateways connect
the Cisco CallManager to the PSTN or to a PBX via digital trunks, such as PRI common channel
signaling (CCS), BRI, T1 channel-associated signaling (CAS), or E1. Digital T1 PRI trunks might
also connect to certain legacy voice-mail systems. Regardless of the connection type, you will
typically use a digital gateway to provide a high-capacity connection to an alternate network type.
Any IP telephony gateway that you select for an enterprise deployment should support these core
requirements. In addition, every IP telephony implementation has its own site-specific feature
requirements, such as analog or digital access, DID, and capacity requirements.
■ H.323—H.323 uses a peer-to-peer model. You perform most of the configuration through
Cisco IOS software on the voice gateway device. With the peer-to-peer model, Cisco
CallManager does not have control over the gateway, which limits the Cisco CallManager
feature support on H.323 gateways. For example, H.323 gateways do not support call
survivability, and only devices that support H.323 version 2 (H.323v2) can take advantage of
Cisco CallManager supplementary services, such as hold, transfer, and conference features.
However, H.323 gateways support additional Cisco IOS features outside of Cisco
CallManager that the other gateways do not, such as call admission control, fractional PRI
support, FXO caller-id support, NFAS signaling, and Cisco Survivable Remote Site
Telephony (SRST).
Examples of Cisco gateway devices that support H.323 include the Cisco VG224 Analog
Phone Gateway (FXS only), Cisco 2600, Cisco 2800, Cisco 3700, and Cisco 3800 devices.
■ MGCP—MGCP uses a client/server model, with voice-routing intelligence that resides in a
call agent (the Cisco CallManager). Because of its centralized architecture, MGCP simplifies
the configuration of voice gateways (the gateway requires no advanced dial-peer
configuration) and supports multiple (redundant) call agents in a network. MGCP gateways
provide call survivability (the gateway maintains calls during failover and fallback). If the
MGCP gateway loses contact with its Cisco CallManager, it falls back to using H.323 control
to support basic call handling of FXS, FXO, T1 CAS, and T1 and E1 PRI interfaces. In
addition, MGCP controlled gateways can support the Q Signaling (QSIG) protocol, which is
used to communicate with many PBX systems.
Examples of Cisco gateway devices that support MGCP are the Cisco VG224 (FXS only),
Cisco 2600, Cisco 2800, Cisco 3700, and Cisco 3800 devices. Examples of non-IOS
devices that support MGCP are the Cisco Catalyst 6000 WS-X6608-T1 and -E1.
164 Chapter 9: Configuring Cisco Gateways and Trunks
Examples of Cisco devices that support SCCP are the Cisco VG224 Analog Phone
Gateway (FXS only) and the Cisco VG248 Analog Phone Gateway. The Cisco VG224
gateway is 24-port gateway for analog phones, fax machines, modems, and speakerphones
using Cisco CallManager or Cisco CallManager Express. The Cisco VG248 device is a 48-
port gateway.
NOTE SIP can also be used as a gateway control protocol. Most Cisco IOS images that
support H.323 and MGCP also support SIP. Cisco CallManager 4.x supports SIP trunks to
connect CallManager to distributed SIP networks.
Most gateway devices support multiple gateway protocols. Selecting the protocol to use depends
on site-specific requirements and your installed base of equipment. You might prefer MGCP to
H.323 because of the simpler configuration of MGCP or its support for call survivability during a
Cisco CallManager switchover from a primary to a secondary Cisco CallManager. In addition, you
might prefer H.323 to MGCP because of the interface robustness of H.323 or the ability to use it
with call admission control or SRST. The Cisco-recommended best practices direct corporations
to use MGCP unless they have a specific reason to choose another protocol.
NOTE This section focuses on configuring the CallManager to communicate with the
gateway. You must have also configured the gateway to communicate with the CallManager and
additional networks such as a PBX or the PSTN. Although this book presents brief configuration
examples, the full gateway configuration is covered in depth in Authorized Self-Study Guide:
Cisco Voice over IP (CVOICE), Second Edition and Cisco Voice Gateways and Gatekeepers.
Configuring Access Gateways 165
Step 1 Choose Gateway from the Device menu in the Cisco CallManager
Administration window.
Step 2 Click the Add a New Gateway link and choose H.323 Gateway from the
Gateway Type menu.
Step 3 Cisco CallManager automatically populates the Device Protocol field with
H.225. Click Next.
Step 4 In the Device Name field shown in Figure 9-1, enter the IP address
(recommended to remote DNS reliance) or hostname of the Cisco router
that will be acting as the gateway.
TIP The prior configuration allows you to add an H.323 gateway to the CallManager
configuration. However, many more configuration options are available. For information on all
the settings available in the Gateway Configuration window, refer to the Cisco CallManager
“Help for this Page” option (available from the CCMAdmin Help menu). This page provides a
brief explanation for each configuration field available.
Because H.323 is a peer-to-peer protocol, you must configure most of the gateway configuration
using Cisco IOS software on the gateway itself. Table 9-1 lists the Cisco IOS commands you can
use to configure an H.323 voice gateway.
Command Description
H323_GW(config)# gateway Enables H.323 VoIP gateway functionality. After you enable the
gateway, it attempts to discover a gatekeeper by using an H.323
gatekeeper request message.
H323_GW(config)# voice class Creates an H.323 voice class that is used to configure a TCP
h323 tag timeout duration.
H323_GW(config-class)# h225 Configures the H.225 TCP timeout duration in seconds. Possible
tcp timeout seconds values are 0 to 30. The default is 15. If you specify 0, the H.225
TCP timer is disabled.
Table 9-1 Cisco IOS Commands to Configure an H.323 Voice Gateway (Continued)
Command Description
H323_GW(config-dial-peer)# Configures the gateway to use out-of-band DTMF relay. DTMF
dtmf-relay h245- relay sends DTMF tones across the signaling channel, instead of
alphanumeric as part of the voice stream. DTMF relay is needed when you are
using a low-bit-rate coder-decoder (codec) for voice
compression, because the potential exists for DTMF signal loss
or distortion.
Example 9-1 shows an H.323 gateway that has been configured for Cisco CallManager
redundancy.
Call Classification
The Call Classification feature, introduced in Cisco CallManager Release 4.1, provides the ability
to configure gateways and trunks as on the network (OnNet) or off the network (OffNet) at the
device or at the global level. As a result, a call through these devices is classified as either OnNet
or OffNet. With these classifications, Cisco CallManager provides the ability to restrict OnNet-to-
OffNet transfers and to drop an ad hoc conference when no OnNet parties remain in the
conference. This field provides an OnNet or OffNet alerting tone when the call is classified as
OnNet or OffNet, respectively.
The corresponding Call Classification field in the gateway and trunk configuration windows,
shown in Figure 9-2, marks the corresponding devices as OnNet or OffNet or Use System Default.
168 Chapter 9: Configuring Cisco Gateways and Trunks
The default Call Classification settings are OnNet for all IP Phones and intercluster trunks and
Use System Default (which is OffNet) for other gateways.
In Cisco CallManager 4.X releases, Cisco defined a new, global service parameter called Call
Classification. The default value of this parameter is OffNet. When Use System Default is
selected at the device level for a particular gateway or trunk, the value of the service parameter
(defined using the Service > Service Parameters > Cisco CallManager menu option in
CCMAdmin) is used to judge the device as OnNet or OffNet. Therefore, gateways are classified
as external (OffNet) by default.
FXS ports and IP Phones are not configurable and are always treated as OnNet.
Configuring Access Gateways 169
The parameters that determine whether a transfer is allowed or restricted are as follows:
■ The Call Classification setting and Allow Device Override check box setting on the route
pattern. If the Allow Device Override check box is checked, the Call Classification setting
on the gateway or trunk takes precedence.
■ The Service parameter Block OffNet to OffNet Transfer. When this parameter is set to False,
the transfer is not restricted. When this parameter is set to True (the default) and the transfer
is initiated between two OffNet parties, the transfer is blocked.
NOTE The ability to restrict external transfers and to drop an ad hoc conference when no
OnNet parties remain on the call help to prevent toll fraud. Preventing toll fraud and many other
IP telephony security considerations are covered in detail in Chapter 22, “Preventing Toll
Fraud.”
Step 1 Choose Gateway from the Device menu in the Cisco CallManager
Administration window.
Step 2 Click the Add a New Gateway link and choose one of the various MGCP-
capable devices from the Gateway Type menu.
NOTE Selecting a Cisco router by the actual model of router from the Gateway Type drop-
down menu automatically chooses the MGCP protocol for communication.
Step 3 Cisco CallManager automatically populates the Device Protocol field with
the MGCP protocol. Click Next.
Step 4 For the Domain Name field, shown in Figure 9-3, enter the unique
hostname (or fully qualified domain name [FQDN]) of the Cisco device
that will be acting as the gateway.
170 Chapter 9: Configuring Cisco Gateways and Trunks
Command Description
Router(config)# hostname Assigns a unique name to the voice gateway so that the Cisco
MGCP_GW CallManager server can identify it. This name must be unique
throughout the network.
MGCP_GW(config)# mgcp Enables MGCP on the voice gateway.
MGCP_GW(config)# mgcp Identifies the primary Cisco CallManager for the gateway.
call-agent ip-address
MGCP_GW(config)# ccm- Indicates to the gateway that the Cisco CallManager is using
manager mgcp MGCP.
MGCP_GW(config)# ccm- Specifies the secondary and tertiary Cisco CallManager servers
manager redundant-host ip- that are used for Cisco CallManager redundancy.
address1 ip-address2
MGCP_GW(config)# ccm- Specifies how the gateway behaves if the primary server
manager switchback {graceful becomes unavailable and later becomes available again. The
| immediate | schedule-time keywords and arguments are as follows:
hh:mm | uptime-delay
minutes} • graceful—Completes all outstanding calls before returning
the gateway to the control of the primary Cisco CallManager
server.
• immediate—Returns the gateway to the control of the
primary Cisco CallManager server without delay, as soon as
the network connection to the server is reestablished.
• schedule-time hh:mm—Returns the gateway to the control
of the primary Cisco CallManager server at the specified
time, where hh:mm is the time according to a 24-hour clock.
If the gateway reestablishes a network connection to the
primary server after the configured time, the switchback
occurs at the specified time on the following day.
• uptime-delay minutes—Returns the gateway to the control
of the primary Cisco CallManager server when the primary
server runs for a specified number of minutes after a network
connection is reestablished to the primary server. Valid
values are from 1 to 1440 (from 1 minute to 24 hours).
MGCP_GW(config)# mgcp Configures the gateway to use out-of-band DTMF relay for all
dtmf-relay voip codec all mode codecs. If this command is not configured, DTMF tones will
out-of-band not be regenerated correctly on remote endpoints.
MGCP_GW(config)# dial-peer Creates a POTS dial peer.
voice tag pots
continues
172 Chapter 9: Configuring Cisco Gateways and Trunks
Table 9-2 Cisco IOS Commands to Configure an MGCP Voice Gateway (Continued)
Command Description
MGCP_GW(config-dial-peer)# Configures the dial peer to use the MGCP application. The
application MGCPAPP MGCPAPP option is case sensitive in some Cisco IOS
software releases. Unless you know that your version is not
case sensitive, always issue this command in uppercase. You
can check whether your version is case sensitive after you
configure this command by looking at the output of the show
running-config command.
MGCP_GW(config-if)# isdn Places a PRI or BRI ISDN interface under CallManager control
bind-l3 ccm-manager (known as backhauling the interface). This allows CallManager
to control all L3 (network layer) communication of the PRI/
BRI line. This command is entered under the interface
configuration mode for the PRI/BRI connection.
Example 9-2 shows an MGCP gateway that has been configured for Cisco CallManager
redundancy placing one FXS port under CallManager control.
function using the CatalystOS operating system. If you are operating in this type of environment,
you will need to configure the CallManager to communicate with the 6500 as a Non-IOS MGCP
Gateway. Complete the following steps to add a non-IOS MGCP gateway to Cisco CallManager:
Step 1 Choose Gateway from the Device menu in the Cisco CallManager
Administration window.
Step 2 Click the Add a New Gateway link and choose one of the various non-IOS
MGCP devices from the Gateway Type menu. If you have selected the
Cisco Catalyst 6000 T1 or E1 VoIP Gateway module (WS-X6608), the
Device Protocol field provides you with the option of specifying either
digital access PRI or digital access T1. After you have made your selection,
click Next.
Step 3 Add the MAC address to the MAC Address field.
Cisco CallManager associates with a non-IOS MGCP gateway (such as the
Cisco Catalyst 6608 T1 or E1 blade) through the MAC address of the port.
The show port module command from enable mode on the Cisco Catalyst
6000 is a quick way to identify and list the MAC addresses of each digital
gateway port on the Voice T1/E1 and Services (WS-X6608) module:
show port 3
Cat6000(enable)s
Port DHCP MAC-Address IP-Address Subnet-Mask
-------- ------- ----------------- --------------- ---------------
3/1 disable 00-30-b6-3e-8e-c4 172.16.10.121 255.255.255.0
3/2 disable 00-30-b6-3e-8e-c5 172.16.20.122 255.255.255.0
3/3 disable 00-30-b6-3e-8e-c6 172.16.30.123 255.255.255.0
3/4 disable 00-30-b6-3e-8e-c7 172.16.40.124 255.255.255.0
3/5 disable 00-30-b6-3e-8e-c8 172.16.1.125 255.255.255.0
3/6 disable 00-30-b6-3e-8e-c9 172.16.1.126 255.255.255.0
3/7 disable 00-30-b6-3e-8e-ca 172.16.1.127 255.255.255.0
3/8 disable 00-30-b6-3e-8e-cb 172.16.1.128 255.255.255.0
To display detailed information about a specific port on the module, use the
show port mod/port command.
Step 4 Assign the gateway to a device pool.
Step 5 Configure additional parameters as desired, and click the Insert button
when finished.
Step 6 Repeat Steps 1 through 5 for each T1 or E1 port that you want to add as a
gateway in Cisco CallManager administration.
After you add the gateway to the database, Cisco CallManager creates a configuration file in the
cluster on the Cisco TFTP server, and this file is where the T1 or E1 port downloads its
configuration details, which include an ordered list of Cisco CallManager servers.
174 Chapter 9: Configuring Cisco Gateways and Trunks
On the gateway itself (Cisco Catalyst 6500 T1 or E1 port), it is recommended that you statically
configure the IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, and TFTP server address of each T1 and
E1 port that is used as a digital gateway. The TFTP server address should be the IP address of the
Cisco CallManager to which you want the port to register and download its configuration file. The
following command statically configures the following voice port settings: IP address, subnet
mask, VLAN ID, TFTP server IP address, and default gateway:
Cat6000 (enable) set port voice in 3/1 dhcp disable 172.16.1.121 255.255.255.0
vla n 1 tftp 17 2.16.1.5 ga teway 172.16 .1.1
NOTE When a port resets, the module has the ability to reset the adjoining port because all
eight ports on the WS-X6608 module share the same XA processor. This reset process creates
a domino effect, and all of the ports on the module reset, creating the following error message:
%SYS-4-MODHPRESET:Host process (860) mod_num/port_num got reset asynchronously
If you are not going to use a port, you should either disable the port or configure and register it
to Cisco so that it does not continually perform an asynchronous reset.
When you have successfully placed an individual 6608 T1 port under CallManager MGCP
control, you will see the following output:
locate an endpoint. For example, you could create an intercluster trunk from your CallManager
cluster containing 3XXX extensions to another CallManager cluster containing 4XXX extensions.
When a user in your cluster (extension 3505) dials an extension in the other cluster (extension
4505), the local CallManager signals over the trunk to the remote CallManager. This signaling
occurs to locate the IP address of extension 4505. After this IP address has been found, the audio
path opens directly between the local extension 3505 and the remote extension 4505.
Your choices for configuring trunks in Cisco CallManager depend on whether the IP WAN uses
gatekeepers to handle call routing and on the types of call-control protocols that are used in the
call-processing environment.
TIP Because the intercluster trunk format is Cisco proprietary, Cisco recommends using
H.225 gatekeeper trunks wherever possible. The gatekeeper-controlled intercluster trunk option
remains for backward compatibility with early CallManager versions.
specify the IP addresses or hostnames of the remote devices. To use this method, choose
Device > Trunk and choose Inter-Cluster Trunk (Non-GateKeeper Controlled) in Cisco
CallManager Administration.
■ SIP trunk—Cisco CallManager Release 4.x supports a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)
trunk for interworking with a SIP network or gateways, but it currently does not allow SIP IP
Phones to register directly with Cisco CallManager. To use this method, choose Device >
Trunk and choose SIP Trunk in Cisco CallManager Administration.
NOTE You can create a network of enormous size using only intercluster trunks; however,
because the trunks are a full-mesh configuration, it can become increasingly difficult to manage
the larger your network gets. Intercluster trunks also lack the ability to perform call admission
control, which could result in the WAN becoming swamped with VoIP traffic.
A gatekeeper provides call admission control by using the H.225 Registration, Admission, and
Status (RAS) protocol message set that is used as a central point for call admission control,
bandwidth allocation, and dial pattern resolution (call routing). The gatekeeper provides these
services for communications between Cisco CallManager clusters and H.323 networks. Note that
the voice path is between the endpoints; no RTP audio travels through the gatekeeper.
You can configure gatekeepers and trunks in Cisco CallManager Administration to function in
either of the following ways:
specify the IP addresses of the remote devices. To use this method, choose Device > Trunk
and then choose Inter-Cluster Trunk (Non-Gatekeeper Controlled) in Cisco CallManager
Administration.
Cluster Cluster
1 2
IP WAN
Cluster Cluster
3 4
Cluster Cluster
1 2
Gatekeeper
Cluster Cluster
3 4
This configuration works well in large and smaller systems. For large systems in which
many clusters exist, this configuration helps to avoid the configuration of individual
Intercluster Trunks between each cluster. To use this method, choose Device > Trunk and
choose Inter-Cluster Trunk (Gatekeeper Controlled) in Cisco CallManager
Administration.
178 Chapter 9: Configuring Cisco Gateways and Trunks
Step 1 Choose Trunk from the Device menu in the Cisco CallManager
Administration window.
Step 2 Click the Add a New Trunk link and choose Inter-Cluster Trunk (Non-
Gatekeeper Controlled) from the Trunk Type drop-down menu.
Step 3 Cisco CallManager populates the Device Protocol field with the
appropriate protocol. Click Next to continue.
Step 4 The Trunk Configuration window appears, as shown in Figure 9-6. Add the
device name. It does not have to be the IP address, but it must be unique
throughout the cluster.
Step 5 At the bottom of the Trunk Configuration window, you can add the IP
addresses of up to three Cisco CallManager servers in the remote cluster.
You must add the IP address for at least one remote CallManager.
SIP is an ASCII-based, application-layer control protocol that can be used to establish, maintain,
and terminate multimedia sessions, such as Internet telephony calls between two or more
endpoints. SIP works in client/server relationships and in peer-to-peer relationships.
SIP is a VoIP signaling protocol (as are SCCP, MGCP, and H.323) with the following capabilities:
■ Determines the availability of the target endpoint—If a call cannot be completed because
the target endpoint is unavailable, SIP determines whether the called party is connected to a
call already or did not answer in the allotted number of rings. SIP then returns a message
indicating why the target endpoint was unavailable.
■ Establishes a session between the originating and target endpoints—If the call can be
completed, SIP establishes a session between the endpoints. SIP also supports midcall
changes, such as the addition of another endpoint to the conference or the changing of a media
characteristic or codec.
■ Handles the transfer—SIP supports the transfer of calls from one endpoint to another.
During a call transfer, SIP establishes a session between the transferee and a new endpoint
(specified by the transferring party) and terminates the session between the transferee and the
transferring party.
■ Terminates call—At the end of a call, SIP terminates the sessions among all parties.
SIP Components
A SIP network in a Cisco CallManager environment uses the following components, as shown in
Figure 9-7:
■ Cisco SIP proxy server—The proxy server works as an intermediate device that receives SIP
requests from a client and then forwards the requests on behalf of the client. Proxy servers can
provide functions such as authentication, authorization, network access control, routing,
reliable request retransmission, and security.
180 Chapter 9: Configuring Cisco Gateways and Trunks
■ Redirect server—The redirect server provides the client with information about the next hop
or hops that a message should take, and the client then contacts the next-hop server or user
agent server directly.
■ Registrar server—The registrar server processes requests from user agent clients (UACs) for
registration of their current location. Redirect or proxy servers often contain registrar servers.
■ User agent—A combination of UAC and user agent server (UAS) that initiates and receives
calls. A UAC initiates a SIP request. A UAS is a server application that contacts the user when
it receives a SIP request. The UAS then returns a response (such as ring, busy, connected, or
no answer) on behalf of the user. Cisco CallManager can act as both a server or client (a back-
to-back user agent) and can initiate and accept calls simultaneously.
SIP Proxy
IP
SIP User
Agents SIP User
Agents
SIP-GW
NOTE In the Cisco implementation of the Cisco SIP proxy server, all of the functions of the
Redirect and Registrar servers are implemented in a single box. The user agents are shown as
any end-user device capable of supporting the SIP protocol.
Identification of users in a SIP network is by a SIP URL that takes the form sip:user@host. The
user part is a username, telephone number, or E.164 address. The host part is either a domain name
or a numeric network address.
SIP and Cisco CallManager 181
Conf
Xcode
IP
VMail
Apps
IP
Microsoft Cisco SIP Cisco IOS
SCCP Messenger IP Phone SIP Gateway
Phones IP
Step 1 Choose Device > Trunk > SIP Trunk in Cisco CallManager
Administration to display the Trunk Configuration window.
Step 2 Click Add a New Trunk and choose SIP Trunk from the Trunk Type
drop-down menu. The Device Protocol field is automatically filled in.
182 Chapter 9: Configuring Cisco Gateways and Trunks
Step 3 Assign the SIP trunk to the device pools, location, and automated alternate
routing (AAR) group as appropriate (example shown in Figure 9-9). The
system checks the Media Termination Point Required check box by
default, and you cannot uncheck it.
Step 4 The Destination Address field indicates the IP address, fully qualified
domain name (FQDN), or Domain Name System (DNS) server address of
the proxy server. It applies to outgoing calls only; incoming calls do not use
the destination address.
Step 5 The Destination Port field indicates the port through which to send SIP
traffic to the proxy server. The default specifies port 5060, which can be
changed to any unique value from 1024 to 65,535.
Step 6 The Incoming Port field is the port that Cisco CallManager listens to for
incoming SIP traffic. The default specifies port 5060, which can be changed
to any unique value from 1024 to 65,535.
Review Questions 183
NOTE The Destination and Incoming SIP ports act as a positive/negative configuration
between the communicating devices. If the destination SIP port is set to 5061, the incoming port
on the receiving device must be 5061.
Summary
This chapter covered the addition of voice gateways and trunks to the Cisco CallManager
configuration. Voice gateways have the ability to connect your Cisco CallManager cluster to
networks outside of the local VoIP system. These networks could include the PSTN or other,
remote VoIP networks managed by Cisco CallManager or some other third-party vendor.
Cisco CallManager supports direct communication with H.323, MGCP, and SCCP gateways. To
support voice networks, gateways should run a software version capable of supporting core voice
requirements: DTMF relay, supplementary services, server redundancy, and call survivability.
These voice gateways can host analog and digital trunks, allowing them to connect to traditional
voice networks. Analog trunks allow a single voice path per port, whereas digital trunks allow a
single port to support many voice paths.
In addition to supporting voice gateway configurations, Cisco CallManager also allows you to add
trunking mechanisms between voice networks. Trunks perform very similar functions to voice
gateways by providing logical paths to other voice networks. However, trunks do not carry voice
data (RTP streams). Instead, they provide connection information for devices to contact each other
directly, establishing RTP streams without the need for intermediary devices. New to CallManager
in versions 4.x is the ability to support SIP trunks, which allows the Cisco CallManager to connect
to many third-party voice systems.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
1. Which of the following represent an interface you would find on an analog gateway?
(Choose two.)
a. FXS
b. E&L
c. T1
d. FXO
e. E1
184 Chapter 9: Configuring Cisco Gateways and Trunks
2. Which of the following is not a core voice gateway requirement? (Choose two.)
a. DTMF Relay
b. inline power support
c. supplementary service support
d. SIP trunk support
e. call survivability
3. Which of the following devices use Skinny signaling? (Choose two.)
a. Cisco Catalyst 6500 (CatalystOS)
b. VG224
c. Cisco IP Phone 7970
d. Cisco 2801 with a VIC-2FXS interface
4. Which of the following commands could you use to assign all four-digit extensions starting
with the number 3 (for example, 3152, 3521, and so on) to a port on an H.323 gateway?
a. destination-pattern 3
b. destination-pattern 3 ext 3
c. destination-pattern 3 ext 4
d. destination-pattern 3...
e. destination-pattern 3xxx
5. CallManager 4.1 introduced a new Call Classification feature when configuring gateways.
What does this feature accomplish?
a. It provides advanced logging functions, categorizing the higher importance calls near
the top of the log.
b. It allows or denies calls based on the class of user making the call.
c. It allows you to restrict conference calls or transfers between local devices and devices
off the network.
d. It allows you to isolate log files for each gateway in the CallManager configuration.
6. You are viewing the configuration of an MGCP router and come across the line ccm-manager
redundant-host 10.1.1.5 10.1.1.6. What does the IP address 10.1.1.5 represent?
a. the IP address of the primary Cisco CallManager
b. the IP address of the secondary Cisco CallManager
c. the IP address of the tertiary Cisco CallManager
d. the IP address of the SRST Failover Cisco CallManager
Review Questions 185
7. What protocol(s) could you use to communicate with a Cisco Catalyst 6500 switch running
the NativeIOS image? (Select all that apply.)
a. MGCP
b. H.323
c. Non-IOS MGCP
d. Skinny
8. What is the difference between configuring a gateway and a trunk in the Cisco CallManager?
a. Gateways have more security capabilities.
b. Gateways carry voice traffic; trunks do not.
c. Trunks allow more flexibility with your connections.
d. Gateways can only connect to Cisco equipment; trunks can connect to third-party
equipment.
9. What is the advantage of using an H.323 gatekeeper in a Cisco IP telephony environment?
a. Gatekeepers provide more redundancy for your connections.
b. Gatekeepers ease configuration of Intercluster Trunk connections.
c. Gatekeepers provide a more centralized security scheme for the voice network.
d. all of the above
10. What protocol does the H.323 gatekeeper use to provide call admission control?
a. H.245
b. H.225
c. H.225 RAS
d. SIP
This chapter covers the
following topics:
To determine where to route calls, Cisco CallManager requires knowledge of the patterns of
digits that users dial to reach a particular telephone number. These patterns include access
codes, area codes, and combinations of the digits that are dialed. The route plan is the set of
configurable lists that provide Cisco CallManager with the knowledge of where to route calls.
Related to call routing is call distribution, which, simply put, is the ability to specify the order
and other factors in which Cisco CallManager extends calls to members of a group.
This chapter discusses the basic components of a route plan within Cisco CallManager. Basic
components of a route plan include route groups, route lists, and route patterns.
IP Phones are not the only devices that can place and receive internal calls; any device that
registers a DN with Cisco CallManager can place and receive internal calls. Examples of other
devices include the Cisco IP SoftPhone/IP Communicator and analog telephones that are
attached to Media Controller Gateway Protocol (MGCP) or Skinny Client Control Protocol
(SCCP, or Skinny)–based gateways.
When a Cisco IP Phone dials a number that does not match a registered DN, it assumes that the
call is an external (or off-cluster) call. Cisco CallManager then searches its external route table
to determine where to route the call. Cisco CallManager uses the concept of route pattern and
translation pattern tables to determine where and how to route an external call. The route pattern
and translation pattern tables are very similar to the routing table that a Cisco router maintains
for routing data.
188 Chapter 10: Cisco Unified CallManager Route Plan Basics
You can create external route plans based on a three-tiered architecture that allows multiple layers
of call routing redundancy as well as digit manipulation. Route patterns match external dial
strings, in which a corresponding route list will select available paths for the outbound call based
on priority. Cisco refers to these paths as route groups, which are very similar to the trunk group
concept in traditional PBX terminology. You can think of a route pattern as a static route with
multiple paths that you can prioritize. Figure 10-1 depicts the three-tiered route plan architecture.
Route pattern:
• Matches dialed number for external calls Route
• Performs digit manipulation (optional) Pattern
• Points to a route list for routing
Route list:
Route
• Chooses path for call routing List
• Points to prioritized route groups
First Second
Configuration Order
Choice Choice
Route group:
Route Route
• Performs digit manipulation Group Group
• Points to the actual devices
First Second
Choice Choice
GK V V
In addition to facilitating multiple prioritized paths for a given dialed number, the route plan can
also provide unique digit manipulation for each path, based on the external network requirements.
Digit manipulation involves adding or subtracting digits from the original dialed number to
accommodate user dial habits and to ensure that the external network or PSTN receives the correct
digits to place a call.
Even though the CallManager processes these route plans from the top down (a user dials the route
pattern, which directs the call to a route list, then to the preferred route group, and finally to the
device), the configuration of the route plan occurs from the bottom up (devices are added, route
groups are created from the devices, route lists are created from the route groups, and the pattern
points to the list).
Route Plan Configuration Process 189
Step 1 Add gateway devices—Create gateway devices using the Device menu.
Step 2 Build route groups from available devices—Select and place gateway
devices in an ordered list to build a route group.
Step 3 Build route lists from available route groups—Select and order route
groups into a route list.
Step 4 Build route pattern—Build a route pattern and associate it with an
available route list or gateway device.
NOTE Chapter 9, “Configuring Cisco Gateways and Trunks,” explained the process of adding
gateway devices and trunks to the Cisco CallManager configuration. This chapter discusses the
route plan configuration process shown in Steps 2 to 4.
The route pattern is the key component in a route plan. The route pattern matches an external dial
string and routes the outgoing call to the appropriate gateway. When the dialed digits match a route
pattern, Cisco CallManager routes the call to the assigned route list or gateway.
Route groups are a logical grouping of device gateways, as shown in Figure 10-2. Prioritizing
these device gateways allows you to send external calls out of a preferred gateway (possibly across
the IP WAN for toll savings) and keep a backup path for external calls (usually the public switched
telephone network [PSTN]) if the primary gateway is down or unable to route the call.
190 Chapter 10: Cisco Unified CallManager Route Plan Basics
IP
User DIALS EXTERNAL NUMBER
723-8912
Route
Pattern
723-xxxx
Digital GW 1
First
Choice
Second
Choice
Digital GW 2
You might encounter a scenario that requires multiple route groups, such as multiple long-distance
carriers. Each long-distance carrier offers different rates for long-distance calls on its network. You
can use route groups to prioritize the use of the cheaper carrier over the others and retain
redundancy if the cheaper carrier cannot route the call for some reason.
Use these steps to configure a route group to the Cisco CallManager configuration:
Step 1 Choose Route Group from the Route Plan > Route/Hunt menu in the
Cisco CallManager Administration window.
Step 2 Click the Add a New Route Group link. Give the new route group a name
and click Continue. It is always best to follow good naming nomenclature
(such as PSTN_RG or WAN_RG).
Step 3 Choose a gateway from the Available Devices menu to add to the route
group. Figure 10-3 demonstrates adding an H.323 PSTN gateway
(10.1.5.1) to the PSTN Connection route group for an organization. The
route group is a prioritized list of gateways. Place your highest priority
gateway at the top of the list using the up and down arrows to the right of
the Selected Devices box.
Route Plan Configuration Process 191
NOTE The device entities, whether devices in the case of H.323 gateways or ports in the case
of MGCP gateways, can be used only once in your route plan configuration. This means that you
can only assign them to a single route group. On the other hand, you can assign route groups to
multiple route lists. This key fact will play heavily in your route plan design.
192 Chapter 10: Cisco Unified CallManager Route Plan Basics
In addition, the route group allows you to select the distribution algorithm you want to use. There
are two supported distribution algorithms:
■ Circular (default)—Enables a type of round-robin load balancing for the route group. The
first call will go to the first device, the second call to the second, and so on. This is the ideal
setting for load distribution across your gateways.
■ Top down—Uses a strict primary, failover model. The first device listed in the route group is
always used unless the gateway is at capacity or unreachable, at which point the second device
is used.
You should configure route groups by function. For example, all gateways to the PSTN can belong
to one route group, all gateways to long-distance carriers can belong to another (with the cheapest
carrier having priority), and all gateways across the IP WAN can belong to another route group. If
you want to control routing by gateway instead of by group of gateways or ports, you can set up
route groups so that they can contain only one gateway.
IP
User DIALS NUMBER
Analog IXC
Route Pattern First Choice Gateway 1 1
Ports 1–8
Route Group 1
First
Choice Second Choice
Ports 1–4
Analog IXC
Route List
Gateway 2 2
First Choice
Second Ports 5–8
Choice
Route Group 2
Second Choice
Ports 1–8 Analog IXC
Gateway 3 3
Route Plan Configuration Process 193
With route lists, you can implement features such as toll bypass and PSTN fallback because within
the route list you can prioritize route groups that contain different types of gateways (IP WAN,
PSTN, and so on).
Digit manipulation is the key to making toll bypass and PSTN fallback features transparent to your
users. Digit manipulation occurs in the form of calling-party and called-party transformations.
NOTE Calling- and called-party transformations are covered in detail in Chapter 11, “Cisco
Unified CallManager Advanced Route Plans.”
Step 1 From the Route Plan menu in the main Cisco CallManager Administration
window, choose Route/Hunt, then Route List.
Step 2 Click the Add a New Route List link. Give the new route list a name and
description, and choose the appropriate Cisco CallManager Group. Click
Insert. It is always best to follow good naming nomenclature (such as
PHOENIX_RL or DALLAS_RL).
Step 3 Click the Add Route Group button, shown in Figure 10-5, to add the
appropriate route groups. This action displays the Route List Detail
Configuration window. You can add route groups and set calling- and
called-party transformations at this point.
194 Chapter 10: Cisco Unified CallManager Route Plan Basics
Step 4 Click Insert to return to the Route List Configuration window. Click Add
Route Group again to add additional route groups.
Step 5 Use the up and down arrows to prioritize the route groups.
1. When a user dials a number, Cisco CallManager analyzes the dialed digits. If the set of digits
matches a registered DN, Cisco CallManager routes the call to the internal destination.
2. If the set of digits matches an external route pattern, Cisco CallManager then parses the route
list that is associated with that route pattern. The route list contains a prioritized list of route
groups, and the route groups contain a prioritized list of voice gateways.
Route Plan Configuration Process 195
3. If the preferred voice gateway (in the first route group) is unavailable to handle the call, Cisco
CallManager passes the call to the next gateway, and so on, until it either finds a gateway to
route the call to or exhausts the list of gateways in the route group.
4. If Cisco CallManager exhausts the list of gateways in the route group, it passes the call to the
preferred gateway in the next route group in the route list. This process repeats until Cisco
CallManager finds a gateway that can handle the call or until it exhausts the list of route
groups in the route list. If Cisco CallManager is unable to find a gateway that can take the call,
the call fails and the end user receives a fast busy signal.
IP
User DIALS EXTERNAL NUMBER
723-8912
Route
Pattern
723-xxxx
Digital_GW_1
First
Choice
Second
Choice
Digital_GW_2
Step 1 From the Route Plan menu in the Cisco CallManager Administration
window, choose Route/Hunt, then Route Pattern.
Step 2 Click the Add a New Route Pattern link.
Step 3 To create a route pattern, enter your route pattern in the Route Pattern
field, as shown in Figure 10-7, and choose a route list or gateway from the
Gateway or Route List menu.
196 Chapter 10: Cisco Unified CallManager Route Plan Basics
NOTE If you point a route pattern directly to a gateway, the gateway is now “used” in the
CallManager route plan. Remember, you can only use an endpoint once in the entire route plan.
Assigning it to a route pattern keeps it from being assigned to anything else in the route plan. If
you have multiple route patterns that used the same gateway, first assign the gateway to a route
group. Then, you can create numerous route lists that use the same route group and assign those
route lists to the various route patterns.
Step 4 If you configure a route pattern to route off-network calls to the PSTN
(which most route patterns do), make sure to check the Provide Outside
Dial Tone check box. This feature plays a second dial tone for users when
they dial the outside access code.
Route Plan Configuration Process 197
TIP When a user dials an outside access code (such as 9) on a legacy PBX, the PBX
automatically seizes a trunk connection to the PSTN. The secondary dial tone that the user hears
is sent from the PSTN carrier. When a user dials an outside access code in a CallManager
environment, the Cisco CallManager generates the secondary dial tone and does not seize a
trunk line until the user finishes dialing and CallManager performs digit analysis on the full
string.
If Cisco CallManager receives a dial string for which multiple route patterns match, Cisco
CallManager must wait for the interdigit timeout (known as the T.302 timer, which is 15 seconds,
by default) before applying the longest-match rule and deciding which route pattern to use. You
can override the interdigit timeout behavior for a specific route pattern by checking the Urgent
Priority check box. When a route pattern is marked as urgent, Cisco CallManager immediately
routes any outbound calls that match the pattern. This approach avoids the interdigit timeout issue.
However, you should use this option very carefully because it can prevent users from reaching
certain destinations if it is configured incorrectly. In North America, Urgent Priority is most often
used for the 911 and 9911 route patterns.
If your route patterns point to specific gateways and not to route lists, you can set calling-party and
called-party transformations at the gateway level. If calling- and called-party transformations are
set here and the route pattern points to a route list, Cisco CallManager overrides the gateway-level
transformation settings and instead uses the transformation settings that are configured on the
route list. Transformation settings are fully discussed in Chapter 11.
Near the bottom of the Route Pattern Configuration window, you will find the ISDN Network
Specific Facilities Information Element configuration. This feature allows you to enter the
appropriate carrier identification code (up to four digits) to route long-distance calls to specific
interexchange carriers on a route pattern-by-route pattern basis.
As of Cisco CallManager Release 4.1, you can classify a route pattern as OnNet or OffNet with
an additional option to allow the device associated with the route pattern to override the call
classification settings configured in the Route Pattern Configuration window. By checking the
Allow Device Override check box (shown in Figure 10-7), the gateway or intercluster trunk
associated with the route pattern dictates the OnNet/OffNet classification rather than the route
pattern.
that you need to configure. For example, a single route pattern of 1xxx would match all dialed
numbers from 1000 to 1999. Table 10-1 shows the route pattern wildcards available in Cisco
CallManager.
Wildcard Description
X Matches a single digit. For example, 2xxx matches any number from 2000 to
2999.
@ Matches the entire North American Numbering Plan (NANP). This one wildcard
matches all numbers that are valid on the North American PSTN. For example
9@ matches an access code of 9 followed by any number that would be
considered valid on the North American PSTN. This is the fastest way to create
an external PSTN dial plan. Note that the @ symbol is really a macro
representing over 150 individual dial strings. Because of this, using the @ symbol
extensively in your route plan can cause significant memory consumption on the
Cisco CallManager.
! Matches one or more digits. Indicates a variable-length dial string that could be
any length of digits. The CallManager can only tell if a user is done dialing by
waiting for the interdigit timeout (15 seconds by default) or if the user presses the
# key on their telephone keypad. This wildcard is typically used to encompass
international dialing plans due to their varying lengths.
. Terminates access code. The “.” is not technically a wildcard, but, rather, can
separate an access code from a number for easier digit manipulation. For
example, the route pattern 9.@ allows an administrator to easily strip the “9”
before sending the call to the PSTN.
# Terminates interdigit timeout. The “#” is also not technically a wildcard, but,
rather, a key that a user can use to cause CallManager to skip the typical 15-
second interdigit timer and process the call immediately.
[xyz] Set of matching digits. For example, [458] matches one occurrence of either 4, 5,
or 8.
[x-y] Range of digits. For example, [3-9] matches one occurrence of either 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, or 9. You can use the range notation along with the set notation. For example,
[3-69] matches one occurrence of either 3, 4, 5, 6, or 9.
[^x-y] Exclusion range. If the first character after the open square bracket is a carat, the
expression matches one occurrence of any digit (including * and #) except those
specified. For example, [^1-8] matches one occurrence of 9, 0, *, or #.
<wildcard>? A question mark that follows any wildcard or bracket expression matches zero or
more occurrences of any digit that matches the previous wildcard. For example,
9[12]? matches the following dial strings: 9, 91, 92, 912, 9122, 92121, and many
others. This wildcard is rarely used.
<wildcard>+ A plus sign that follows any wildcard or bracket expression matches one or more
occurrences of any digit that matches the previous wildcard. For example, 3[1-
4]+ matches 31, 3141, 3333, and many others. This wildcard is rarely used.
Route Plan Configuration Process 199
TIP The most commonly used wildcards in real-world Cisco CallManager deployments are as
follows:
X—Represents a single digit
@—Represents the NANP
!—Represents one or more digits
[x-y]—Number range notation
.—Access code termination
Pattern Result
1234 Matches 1234
1*1x Matches numbers between 1*10 and 1*19
12xx Matches numbers between 1200 and 1299
13[25-8]6 Matches 1326, 1356, 1366, 1376, 1386
13[^3-9]6 Matches 1306, 1316, 1326
9011!# Matches any number that begins with 9011, is followed by one or more digits,
and ends with #; 901145123# and 90117893271211# are example matches
Although these examples show four-digit extensions, route patterns are more commonly used for
external numbers. Route patterns are normally in the form of seven-digit numbers, such as 723-
xxxx, or longer.
A great example is the 9.@ route pattern. The first digit of the route pattern matches a dialed digit
“9,” which users commonly use as a code to gain outside access to the PSTN. The second digit “.”
is used to identify the first digit as an access code and all numbers afterward as the dial string. The
third digit “@” is the wildcard that is used to match the North American Numbering Plan. The
NANP encompasses a number of dial strings, as presented in Table 10-3.
200 Chapter 10: Cisco Unified CallManager Route Plan Basics
Digit Analysis
Call-routing component behavior can be counterintuitive. When a user places a call from a device
that is registered with Cisco CallManager, Cisco CallManager must analyze each dialed digit to
determine where to route the call. In collecting dialed digits, the call-routing component goes
through the following process:
1. Cisco CallManager compares the current sequence of dialed digits against the list of all route
patterns and determines which route patterns currently match. Then, Cisco CallManager
names the set of route patterns “potentialMatches.”
2. If potentialMatches is empty, the user-dialed digit string does not currently correspond with
a destination and the calling party will hear a reorder tone.
3. If potentialMatches contains one or more members, the call-routing component determines
the closest match. The closest match is the route pattern in potentialMatches that matches the
fewest number of route patterns. For example, the dialed digit string 1001 matches both route
pattern 1xxx and 10xx. Although there are 1000 different dialed digit strings that match 1xxx,
only 100 dialed digit strings match 10xx. Therefore, 10xx is the closest match.
Route Plan Configuration Process 201
Digit Collection
Figure 10-8 details a call-routing example in which one route pattern matches the dialed digits
exactly. The Cisco CallManager in this example includes the route patterns shown in the figure.
When the user goes off hook, Cisco CallManager begins its routing process. The current set of
collected digits is empty. Every route pattern that Cisco CallManager has configured is a potential
match at this point. As long as the potentialMatches condition holds true, Cisco CallManager must
wait for more digits.
The user now dials a 1. At this time, there are no current matches and every route pattern is still a
potential match. The user dials another 1. At this point, Cisco CallManager eliminates route
patterns 121x, 1[23]xx, 131, 13[0-4]x, and 13! as potential matches. The only route pattern left is
1111. However, because there are no current matches and the potentialMatches condition is still
true, Cisco CallManager must continue to analyze digits. This requirement is in place because the
user might continue dialing and dial a string that does not match any entries.
The user dials another 1, which does not change anything. The condition currentMatches is false,
and potentialMatches is still true. The user dials 1 again. At this point, the route pattern 1111 is a
match, and the currentMatches condition is true. Cisco CallManager removes the route pattern
1111 from the potential matches table. Because there are no more route patterns in the potential
matches table, additional dialed digits will not cause Cisco CallManager to match a different route
pattern. At this point, Cisco CallManager routes the call to the dialed destination.
The user dials the digits 12. At this point, Cisco CallManager eliminates the route patterns 1111,
131, 13[0-4]x, and 13! as potential matches. This leaves route patterns 121x and 1[23]xx as
potential matches. Because there are no current matches and the potentialMatches condition is
true, Cisco CallManager continues to analyze digits.
The user dials another 1, which does not change anything. The condition currentMatches is false,
and potentialMatches is still true. The user dials 1 again. At this point, the route patterns 121x and
1[23]xx are current matches, and Cisco CallManager removes them from the potential matches
table. Because the potential matches table does not contain additional route patterns, additional
dialed digits will not cause Cisco CallManager to match any different route patterns. Now, Cisco
CallManager must decide where to route the call based on the route patterns that are available in
the current matches table. This is where the closest-match rule is applied. The route pattern 121x
matches 10 destinations (1210 to 1219). The route pattern 1[23]XX matches 200 destinations
(1200 to 1299 and 1300 to 1399). Cisco CallManager then routes the call to the gateway or route
list that is associated with the 121x route pattern.
Interdigit Timeout
If you configure a Cisco CallManager with route patterns that contain wildcards that match
multiple digits, CallManager must often wait for the interdigit timeout to expire before routing the
call. The ! wildcard usually represents a variable-length dial string and will never be an exact
match for a group of dialed digits. If the user presses # after dialing the last digit, Cisco
CallManager does not wait for the interdigit timeout. The Cisco CallManager in this example
includes the route patterns shown in Figure 10-10.
Route Plan Configuration Process 203
In this example, the user has dialed the string 1311. This action causes Cisco CallManager to
eliminate the route patterns 1111, 121x, and 131. Cisco CallManager places the route patterns
1[23]xx, 13[0-4]x, and 13! in the current matches table. The 13! route pattern remains in the
potential matches table. The 13! route pattern ensures that the potentialMatches condition is
always true because Cisco CallManager has no way of knowing whether the user intends to
continue dialing. For example, the user might intend to dial the number 1311555. As long as the
potentialMatches condition is true, Cisco CallManager must continue to wait for dialed digits.
In this case, the only event that allows Cisco CallManager to select a destination is an interdigit
timeout. When the interdigit timeout timer expires, Cisco CallManager knows that no more digits
are forthcoming and can now make a final routing decision. In this example, the user has dialed
1311 and then stopped dialing digits. This action has triggered an interdigit timeout and caused
Cisco CallManager to make a final decision based on the following route patterns in the current
matches table: 1[23]xx, 13[0-4]x, and 13!. Because the dial string of 1311 matches multiple route
patterns, the closest-match rule is applied.
The route pattern 1[23]xx matches 200 destinations (1200 to 1299 and 1300 to 1399). The route
pattern 13[0-4]x matches 50 destinations (1300 to 1349). The route pattern 13! matches an infinite
number of destinations. Cisco CallManager uses this pattern only if it is the only route pattern in
the current matches table. The call is routed to the gateway or route list that is associated with the
13[0-4]x route pattern.
TIP The system interdigit timeout defaults to 15 seconds. To change it, change the value that
is associated with the Cisco CallManager service parameter TimerT302_msec (accessible from
Service > Service Parameters > Cisco CallManager). This parameter defines the duration of
the interdigit timer in milliseconds (ms). The default is 15,000 ms. The lowest configurable
value for the T302 timer is 3 seconds (3000 milliseconds). Cisco recommends the value of 5
seconds (5000 milliseconds)for the T302 timer.
204 Chapter 10: Cisco Unified CallManager Route Plan Basics
IP
User dials number
723-XXXX
408-555-XXXX 836-XXXX
868-XXXX
Route Route
Local_GW LEC
Pattern Pattern
Cisco Access
First Choice Digital_GW_1 $0.07 per min.
RL_PSTN RG_PSTN
The network administrator has created a route group RG_PSTN to group these gateways and give
first priority to Digital_GW1. The route list RL_PSTN uses the route group RG_PSTN. Currently,
users need only to call long distance to one destination, which is a remote office in San Jose,
California. Therefore, the administrator has created the San Jose route pattern 408-555-XXXX.
This route pattern then associates directly with the RL_PSTN route list.
Users also need to dial off-cluster to the PSTN to reach destinations within the local calling area.
A separate gateway (Local_GW) connects to the local exchange carrier (LEC) for local PSTN
calls. The administrator has defined the route patterns 723-XXXX, 836-XXXX, and 868-XXXX
Review Questions 205
for local calls. These route patterns point directly to the Local_GW gateway for local PSTN access
through the LEC.
NOTE You can only use a device in direct Route Patterns or Route Groups in a Cisco
CallManager route plan. For example, if you point the route pattern 723-XXXX to a gateway
device, you will no longer be able to add that device to a route group. Likewise, if you add a
gateway device to a route group, you will no longer be able to point route patterns directly to the
gateway device.
Summary
This chapter covered the design and configuration of a basic Cisco CallManager route plan. A
route plan is required to route external, or off-cluster, calls in a Cisco IP telephony network. By
understanding the call-routing process of Cisco CallManager, you can design your route plan to
take advantage of cost considerations and redundancy. A route plan consists of voice gateways and
trunks, route groups, route lists, and route patterns.
Route patterns should represent all valid digit streams. Route patterns can be assigned directly to
a gateway, or they can be assigned to a route list for more flexibility, such as setting a digital access
gateway as the first choice for the least expensive route.
A route list sets the route group usage order. If a route list is used, you must also configure route
groups.
A route group sets the access gateway device usage order. This order can be used to select the least
expensive route and allows overflow from a busy or failed device to an alternate device.
The route plan configuration order is to add the gateway, add a route group for the gateway, add a
route list for the route group, and add route patterns to the route list.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
1. When building a Cisco CallManager route plan, which of the following should you configure
first?
a. route pattern
b. route list
c. route group
d. devices/trunks
206 Chapter 10: Cisco Unified CallManager Route Plan Basics
2. When configuring route groups, you are also given the opportunity to perform digit
manipulation using calling- and called-party transformations. (True/False)
3. You are configuring your Cisco CallManager system for an advanced route plan. You access
the Device > Gateway menu and verify that you have an H.323 gateway configured at 10.1.1.1
connecting to the PSTN. You then access the Route Pattern Configuration window to add the
9.@ route pattern to the system. When you attempt to associate the H.323 gateway with the
route pattern, CallManager does not list the gateway in the drop-down selection box. What is
the most likely cause of the problem?
a. The H.323 gateway must already be used in a route group.
b. CallManager can only use MGCP gateways to handle PSTN connectivity.
c. The gateway should have been configured with a public IP address that is valid on the
Internet.
d. There is already a 9.@ route pattern in the CallManager configuration.
e. You must associate the gateway with a route group because route patterns can only point
to route lists.
4. Which interface does a voice gateway provide?
a. X.25 to SS7
b. VoIP to H.323
c. VoIP to PSTN
d. PSTN to PBX
5. Which of the following contains a list of gateways to use in precedence order?
a. route group
b. route list
c. translation pattern
d. route pattern
6. Which three of the following are valid wildcards? (Choose three.)
a. *
b. !
c. .
d. @
Review Questions 207
Users of any phone system often need to reach a variety of destinations that include calls to
extensions located within the same site, to a different site within the same company (sometimes
with different dialing plans), and to other companies located within the same country or a
different country. Because these calls can take different paths, such as the IP WAN or a preferred
public switched telephone network (PSTN) carrier, completing these calls often requires dialing
various access codes, numbers of digits, or prefixes. At the same time, it is often prudent to
restrict certain destinations for all users, such as 900 numbers.
To require users to understand the specific dialing patterns necessary to reach these various
destinations is impractical and inconvenient. Digit manipulation, or the ability of Cisco
CallManager to add or subtract digits to comply with a specific internal dial plan or national
numbering plan, is the key to providing transparent dialing and creating a unified dialing plan.
Implementing route filters in Cisco CallManager Administration blocks access to specified area
codes.
This chapter covers route filters, discard digits instructions (DDIs), transformation and
translation patterns, and the route plan report to view all route patterns in a Cisco IP telephony
clustered solution.
Route Filters
When creating route patterns, you can use the “@” wildcard to represent all the routes defined
in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). Although this is a simple way to provide
PSTN access to your internal users, you might be providing far more access than you intend. As
shown in Figure 11-1, the NANP includes high-expense patterns such as international dialing
access, service numbers (such as 411), and 900 numbers. You can assign route filters to route
patterns with the @ route pattern to help reduce the danger that full access to the NANP
provides. You can accomplish this reduction by filtering what is included in the @ (or 9.@) route
pattern.
210 Chapter 11: Cisco Unified CallManager Advanced Route Plans
When using the 9.@ route pattern, Cisco CallManager recognizes that dialing is complete when
the user dials 1 + 10 digits (signifying long-distance dialing) or just dials 10 digits (local area
codes without the 1). If the number dialed does not begin with a 1, Cisco CallManager considers
it a local area code and assumes that dialing is complete after 10 digits.
In an area where seven digits are dialed for local numbers, Cisco CallManager cannot recognize
which office exchange codes (NXXs) to use for routing unless you specifically code them as route
patterns.
NOTE NXX is the central office (CO) exchange code, which consists of three digits that
designate a particular CO or a block of 10,000 subscriber lines. N is any digit between 2 and 9,
and X is any digit between 0 and 9.
Generally, telephone company service providers arrange many NXXs in a given area code
contiguously where you can use route pattern wildcards to assist in your configuration. Coding
these individual route patterns for NXXs can be extremely difficult. You can use a route filter to
simplify this procedure.
A route filter called seven-digit dialing is always preconfigured in Cisco CallManager. You should
assign this route filter to any 9.@ route pattern in an area that uses seven-digit dialing. This route
filter removes all local area codes. If a dialed number does not begin with a 1, then it is a seven-
digit number, and Cisco CallManager considers dialing complete after seven digits. This situation
requires you to configure local area codes specifically as separate route patterns. Doing so is
generally not an issue because the number of area codes in a geographical region is usually small.
NOTE Route filters are only used with the @ route pattern and are not necessary if you have
configured a robust dial plan (that does not use the @ route pattern).
Route Filters 211
From this point, you can combine your tags with operators to define match conditions. Table 11-2
describes the four operators available when configuring route filters.
Operator Description
NOT-SELECTED Do not filter calls based on the dialed digit string associated with this tag.
EXISTS Filter calls when the dialed digit string associated with this tag is found.
DOES-NOT-EXIST Filter calls when the dialed digit string associated with this tag is not
found.
== Filter calls when the dialed digit string associated with this tag matches
the specified value.
214 Chapter 11: Cisco Unified CallManager Advanced Route Plans
The following are examples of match conditions using route filter tags and operators:
■ A route filter that uses the tag AREA-CODE and the operator DOES-NOT-EXIST selects
all dialed digit strings that do not include an area code.
■ A route filter that uses the tag AREA-CODE, the operator = =, and the entry 515 selects all
dialed digit strings that include the 515 area code.
■ A route filter that uses the tag AREA-CODE, the operator = =, and the entry 5[2-9]X selects
all dialed digit strings that include area codes in the range of 520 through 599.
■ A route filter that uses the tag TRANSIT-NETWORK, the operator ==, and the entry 0288,
along with the tag TRANSIT-NETWORK-ESCAPE, the operator ==, and the entry 101,
selects all dialed digit strings with the carrier access code 1010288.
To apply the route filter you have created to a route pattern, perform the following steps:
Step 1 Choose the Route Plan > Route/Hunt > Route Pattern menu selection.
Step 2 Choose the Add a New Route Pattern hyperlink.
Step 3 Define the route pattern as @ (or 9.@) to represent the NANP.
Step 4 Choose your configured route filter from the Route Filter drop-down list,
as shown in Figure 11-3.
Route Filters 215
After the route filter has been added to the configuration, you then need to apply it to a route
pattern to define the action required. Figure 11-5 illustrates the creation of a 9.@ route pattern
(representing the NANP) with the Match 900 Numbers route filter applied. The key action rests
in the Route This Pattern or Block This Pattern radio buttons. If you select to Route This
Pattern, you would add only 900 numbers to the Cisco CallManager route plan. Unless you had
a very strange organization, this is not a desired effect. Rather, you would select the Block This
Pattern radio button to block any numbers containing the 900 area code.
CallManager allows you to configure multiple 9.@ route patterns, provided each has a unique
route filter configuration. This provides flexibility when creating your route plan. By combining
multiple 9.@ route patterns with unique route filters, you can route (or block) exactly what you
want from the CallManager route plan.
TIP You could also accomplish this same objective by creating a route pattern of
1900XXXXXXX and choosing Block this Pattern under the route pattern configuration.
Discard Digit Instructions 217
In general, administrators apply DDIs to route patterns that contain the @ wildcard; however, you
can use the DDI PreDot with route patterns that use the “.” wildcard even if the route patterns do
not contain the @ wildcard. Cisco CallManager applies DDIs to the called-party transformation
masks at the route pattern, the route details of a route list, or a translation pattern. DDI identifiers,
shown in Figure 11-6, are additive. The DDI PreDot 10-10-Dialing combines the effects of each
individual identifier. Table 11-3 depicts the most commonly used DDIs in the Cisco CallManager
route plan.
218 Chapter 11: Cisco Unified CallManager Advanced Route Plans
You can configure DDIs at multiple places in the CallManager route plan. One of the more common
places is at the route pattern configuration. As shown in Figure 11-6, you can find the DDIs under the
Called Party Transformations near the end of the Route Pattern Configuration window.
TIP Digit Discard Instructions applied at the route pattern level are visible to the end user. For
example, if the caller dials 914085551212 and the DDI removes the 9, the user will see the
number change to 14085551212 on the LCD display of their IP Phone. DDIs applied at the route
group level (from within the route list) are not visible to the end user. Applying DDIs at the route
group level is covered later in this chapter.
As you can see, CallManager offers a variety of combinations of all the DDIs listed in Table 11-3.
Transformation Masks
Dialing transformations allow the call-routing component to modify either the calling number or
the dialed digits of a call. Transformations that modify the calling number are calling-party
transformations; transformations that modify the dialed digits are called-party transformations.
Calling-party transformation settings allow you to manipulate the appearance of the calling-party
number for outgoing calls. A common application of a calling-party transformation is to use the
company external phone number of a calling station in place of the directory number (DN) for
outgoing calls. The calling-party number is used for Calling Line Identification (CLID). During
an outgoing call, the CLID is passed to each PBX, CO, and interexchange carrier (IXC) as the call
progresses. The CLID is also delivered to the calling party when the call is completed.
Called-party transformation settings allow you to manipulate the dialed digits, or called-party
number, for outgoing calls. Examples of manipulating called numbers include appending or
removing prefix digits (outgoing calls), appending area codes to calls that are dialed as seven-digit
numbers, appending area codes and office codes to interoffice calls that are dialed as four- or five-
digit extensions, and suppressing carrier access codes for outgoing calls.
In the transformation mask operation, Cisco CallManager aligns the number with the mask so that
the last character of the mask aligns with the last digit of the number. Cisco CallManager uses the
corresponding digit of the number wherever the mask contains an X. If the number is longer than
the mask, the mask removes the leading digits. Figure 11-7 demonstrates the transformation mask
logic.
220 Chapter 11: Cisco Unified CallManager Advanced Route Plans
First
Transformation Mask 60211XXXXX
6021135453
Second
Transformation Mask 48085XX000
Result 4808535000
As you can see from Figure 11-7, the initial number (which could be dialed or caller ID
information, depending on the type of transformation mask you choose) passes through the first
transformation mask. By right-justifying the digits, CallManager passes the number 35453
through the first transformation mask. The digits match to the right-justified X wildcards, causing
it to pass through. CallManager prepends the additional digits to the left of the wildcards. As it
passes through the second transformation mask, the numbers are again right-justified. This time,
only the “35” digits pass through the X wildcards; CallManager replaces the rest of the string with
the hard-coded digits to the left and right of the X wildcards.
Calling-Party Transformations
The example in Figure 11-8 shows the applicable settings for calling-party transformations and
the order in which Cisco CallManager processes those instructions.
External Phone
Number Mask 21471XXXXX
2147135062
Calling-Party
Transformation
Mask 40885XX000
Caller ID 4088535000
Transformation Masks 221
You can configure three types of calling-party transformations in the call-routing component and
on route lists:
■ Use the external phone number mask, which instructs the call-routing component to use the
external phone number of a calling station rather than its DN or the caller ID information.
Without the external phone number mask, the calling number might appear as an extension
number to the PSTN rather than a fully routable PSTN phone number. You can apply the
external phone number mask on a line-by-line basis through the DN configuration screen on
the device.
■ The calling-party transformation mask allows the suppression of leading digits, leaves other
digits unmodified, and inserts leading digits. As shown in Figure 11-8, the post-external
phone number mask caller ID information is 2147135062. This passes through the calling-
party transformation mask of 40885XX0000, which allows only the numbers “35” to pass
through the XX wildcards. The resulting caller ID information is 4088535000.
■ Prefix digits allow the prepending of specified digits to the calling number.
Cisco CallManager applies the transformations in the order that is presented in the example.
Called-Party Transformations
The example in Figure 11-9 shows the applicable settings for called-party transformations and the
order in which Cisco CallManager processes those instructions.
Dialed
9 1010321 18085551221
Number
DDIs 10-10-Dialing
9 18085551221
Calling-Party
Transformation
XXXXXXXXXX
Mask
8085551221
Prefix Digits 8
You can configure the following three types of called-party transformations in the call-routing
component and on route lists:
■ DDIs allow the discarding of digits in the dialed number. Such instructions are critical for
implementing toll-bypass solutions. This need arises when Cisco CallManager must convert
the long-distance number that the calling party has dialed into a local number. This number
allows Cisco CallManager to pass the digits to the PSTN. You can also use DDIs to discard
PSTN access codes, such as 9. Figure 11-9 demonstrates the removal of the 10-10-Dialing
portions of the call to eliminate other long-distance carriers a user might choose to use.
■ The called-party transformation allows the suppression of leading digits, changes the existing
digits while leaving others unmodified, and inserts leading digits. Figure 11-9 illustrates the
use of a called-party transformation mask consisting of ten “X” wildcards. This has the effect
of stripping any preceding digit beyond the ten wildcards (in this case, CallManager strips the
9 and the 1). This might be necessary when configuring toll-bypass on the CallManager. For
example, you might have a location that can access the 808 area code without incurring toll
charges. You can configure the Cisco CallManager to route the call across the IP WAN then
out a LEC.
■ Prefix digits allow the prepending of one or more digits to the called number. Figure 11-9
illustrates prefixing an 8 to the front of the original dialed number. This might be required by
a PBX at a remote site. For example, the call is transformed using the called-party
transformation mask, then prefixed with an 8 and routed across the IP WAN. When the PBX
at the remote site received the string, it recognizes the 8 as an outside access code and routes
the call to the PSTN LEC.
Cisco CallManager applies the transformation in the order that is presented in the example.
NOTE You could accomplish the same result shown in Figure 11-9 by simply applying a
called-party transformation mask of 8XXXXXXXXXX. This is a more efficient method; the
called-party transformations shown are used to illustrate the various transformations and the
order in which the CallManager applies them.
Because you can be more specific, network administrators usually apply transformation masks at
the route list level. In this way, you can assign a different transformation mask for each route group
in the route list. Transformation masks configured at the route list level have priority over those
configured at the route pattern level because they are processed last. If you have configured a
transformation at the route pattern level, it becomes more of a “global” translation, that is, as soon
as the pattern is matched, the transformation takes effect. As the route pattern sends the call to the
route list and the prioritized route group is chosen, the transformations relating to that specific
route group apply second, transforming the already transformed number from the route pattern
into whatever you have defined.
For example, in the network illustrated in Figure 11-10, a network administrator has two route
groups created: the PSTN route group and the IP WAN route group. Both of these route groups
contain multiple gateways that connect to their respective networks. When Cisco CallManager
forwards a call to a gateway in the PSTN route group, the network administrator applies a mask
that transforms the number into an E.164-compliant phone number. However, when Cisco
CallManager uses a gateway from the IP WAN route group, Cisco CallManager leaves the number
as a four-digit extension.
224 Chapter 11: Cisco Unified CallManager Advanced Route Plans
V
V
PSTN
IP IP IP
IP IP IP Philadelphia
(215) 555-xxxx
Arizona
IP WAN 4-Digit Internal Dialing
(480) 526-xxxx
4-Digit Internal Dialing
Transformation Example
Figure 11-11 summarizes how transformations to the called-party (dialed digits) and to the
calling-party numbers are made within Cisco CallManager. In Figure 11-11, a user dials a number
to which Cisco CallManager first applies a calling-party transformation (“calling party” refers to
the person who originated the call). This action changes the caller ID number that is displayed on
the destination phone. Cisco CallManager then applies a called-party transformation to change the
number that is dialed.
Transformation Masks 225
User Dial
Users Route Pattern DDI
Numbers
B - 5063 B - 91324
IP
The two transformations are explained in the figure and, for user A specifically, in the following
steps:
Translation Patterns
Cisco CallManager uses translation patterns to manipulate dialed digits before routing a call. In
some cases, the dialed number is not the number that is used by the system. In other cases, the
dialed number is not a number that is recognized by the PSTN.
Digit manipulation and translation patterns are used frequently in cross-geographical distributed
systems where, for instance, the office codes are not the same at all locations. In these situations,
a uniform dialing plan can be created, and translation patterns can be applied to accommodate the
unique office codes at each location. The following are additional examples when you can use
translation patterns:
■ Routing emergency calls to security desks and operator desks (such as sending emergency
numbers to a local security office or routing ‘0’ to the local operator extension)
■ Hot lines with a need for private line, automatic ringdown (PLAR) functionality
Translation patterns use the results of called-party transformations as a set of digits for a new
analysis attempt. The second analysis attempt might match a translation pattern. In this case, Cisco
CallManager applies the calling- and called-party transformations of the matching translation
pattern and uses the results as the input for another analysis attempt. For example, you have a
called-party transformation set up under a route pattern that transforms the dialed number 5555 to
0. You could then have a translation pattern defined to match the dialed number 0 and transform it
to an operator extension or hunt group number. To prevent routing loops, Cisco CallManager
breaks chains of translation patterns after ten iterations.
To configure a translation pattern, choose the Route Plan menu and choose Translation Pattern.
After you click the Add a New Translation Pattern hyperlink, the Translation Pattern
Configuration window appears, as shown in Figure 11-12. You can define the route pattern to
match (in the Translation Pattern field) and the calling- or called-party transformation settings that
you want to apply.
Translation Patterns 227
TIP Many new Cisco CallManager administrators get the translation and transformation terms
confused. Cisco CallManager allows you to create translation patterns that contain both calling-
and called-party transformation masks to modify the caller ID or dialed-number information.
Translation patterns are usually used to transform dialed digits, so the called-party
transformation masks are more frequently used.
PSTN
V
Employee Attendant
Phones (4111)
Internal Extensions
4XXX
In Figure 11-13, a company has a PSTN DID range of 408-555-1xxx. However, all of the internal
four-digit extensions begin with 4xxx. When the company receives an incoming call, the company
could use DDIs to remove the 555 from the beginning of the number. However, the 1xxx extension
still remains. Instead, the translation pattern could apply a 4XXX called-party transformation
mask. This mask would convert the 1xxx external DID range to a 4xxx internal range. After Cisco
CallManager applies the transformation mask, it reanalyzes the dialed number and directs it to the
correct internal extension. So, to summarize (and simplify), the following configuration would be
created:
The route plan report allows you to save report data into a comma-separated values (CSV) file that
you can import into other applications (such as Microsoft Excel). The CSV file contains more
detailed information than the web pages, including DNs for phones, route patterns, and translation
patterns.
To generate a route plan report, use the Route Plan > Route Plan Report selection. The Route
Plan Report window shown in Figure 11-14 appears. From here, you can either generate a route
plan report to view in the web interface or click the View in File hyperlink to download the route
plan as a CSV file.
Summary
This chapter covered the design and configuration of an advanced Cisco CallManager route plan.
The concepts started by using the route filter configurations to screen the 9.@ NANP route pattern.
By default, the @ wildcard includes numbers that might be undesirable for a corporate entity. By
using route filters, you can limit the number of patterns that are added when creating a PSTN dial-
plan using the @ wildcard.
You can also use discard digit instructions (DDIs) to manipulate the digits sent to a destination,
especially the PSTN. Most corporations have a number that is dialed (such as 9) to indicate an
outside PSTN call. You can use DDIs to strip this access code before the call leaves to the PSTN.
You can use DDIs in a number of circumstances to properly transform incoming or outgoing calls,
many of which are seen in Chapters 12-14.
You can use calling- and called-party transformations to change caller ID information (calling) or
dialed digits (called). These masks give you complete flexibility to transform this information
however you see fit. Because you can apply them at nearly every level of the CallManager route
plan, you can make differing modifications to dialed-number information depending on the
gateway the CallManager decides to use to route the call. Translation patterns can also be added
to the route plan for last resort modifications using calling- or called-party transformations.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, "Answers to Review Questions."
1. What does Cisco CallManager do when dialed digits pass through a translation pattern?
a. extends the call to the destination
b. forwards the call to a route pattern
c. selects the closest match to that pattern
d. sends the transformed digits through digit analysis one more time
2. When DN 1111 calls and a calling transformation mask of 972555XXXX is applied, which
CLID is sent?
a. 1111
b. 5551111
c. 9725551111
d. 19725551111
Review Questions 231
3. What are the final digits that Cisco CallManager sends when the discard digits instruction
PreDot is applied to the 9808.5550150 pattern?
a. 98085550150
b. 5550150
c. 95550150
d. 8085550150
4. You have created a route filter called “Match 900 numbers” where you have defined a
condition, “AREA-CODE == 900”. What must you do to put this route filter into effect?
a. You need to apply the route filter to a route pattern and select the allow or deny action.
b. You need to apply the route filter to a route list and select the allow or deny action.
c. You need to create a transformation pattern.
d. Nothing needs to be done; the route filter takes effect as soon as it is inserted into the
configuration.
5. You apply the DDI 11D@10D to the route pattern 16025551212. What digit(s) are discarded?
a. 1
b. 1602
c. 1602555
d. 555
6. You are editing the properties for the 9.@ route pattern. You apply a calling-party
transformation mask of 8. What does this accomplish?
a. The dialed digits are prefixed with an 8.
b. The caller ID information is prefixed with an 8.
c. The dialed digits are transformed into an 8.
d. The caller ID information is transformed into an 8.
7. What information does a called-party transformation mask modify?
a. the long-distance code information
b. the dialed-digit information
c. the caller ID information
d. It depends where the mask is applied.
232 Chapter 11: Cisco Unified CallManager Advanced Route Plans
8. You apply a prefix digit of 99 and a calling-party transformation mask of 555XXXX under a
PSTN route pattern. A user at extension 5123 dials a PSTN number; what information is
displayed for the caller ID information on the external phone?
a. 555
b. 99555
c. 5555123
d. 995555123
e. 5559912
9. You have created a route pattern of 4xxx to reach extensions in another CallManager cluster.
To properly forward the number, you have added a prefix-digit transformation of 8. In
addition, you created a translation pattern of 8.xxxx that applies a PreDot DDI. What dialed-
number information does the Cisco CallManager forward?
a. The dialed digits will forward to the other side as 4xxx.
b. The dialed digits will forward to the other side as 84xxx.
c. The dialed digits will forward to the other side as xxx.
d. The CallManager will play a fast busy signal.
10. Which transformation changes caller ID information?
a. translation patterns
b. calling-party transformations
c. called-party transformations
d. route patterns
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This chapter covers the
following topics:
Many businesses have sales or service support departments that service inbound calls from
customers. These businesses typically need several phone lines and a method to make the lines
work together. If one representative is busy or not available, calls will be routed to other
members of the group until it is answered or forwarded to an auto-attendant or voice mail. Hunt
groups are the mechanisms that help these businesses manage inbound calls. A hunt group is a
group of telephone lines that are associated with a common number. When a call comes in to
the number associated with the hunt group, the call cycles through the group of lines until an
available line is found. This process is known as hunting.
This chapter discusses how to configure hunt groups and enable the Call Coverage feature to
ensure that the calling party will receive final forwarding treatment if hunting fails (that is, when
no hunt party answers, either because the hunt has exhausted the list of hunt numbers or because
it has timed out).
A line group contains directory numbers (DNs) and designates the order in which DNs are
chosen.
A hunt pilot is a number that is associated with a hunt list. The hunt pilot can be called directly
(for example, to a technical support hotline for a company), or can be reached through
forwarding (for example, a caller places a direct call to a technical support group member, and
if that member is not available, the call is forwarded to the hunt pilot number). Figure 12-1
demonstrates the proper design of the Cisco CallManager call distribution components.
236 Chapter 12: Configuring Hunt Groups and Call Coverage
Hunt Pilot
Hunt List
IP IP IP IP
Line Groups
A line group allows you to designate the distribution mechanism where DNs are chosen.
■ Ring No Answer Reversion (RNAR) timeout value—A mechanism for determining how to
handle calls that go unanswered. The RNAR is a value, in seconds, after which Cisco
CallManager will distribute a call to the next available or idle member of this line group or to
the next line group if the call is not answered and if the first hunt option, Try Next Member;
Then, Try Next Group in Hunt List, is chosen. The RNAR timeout applies at the line-group
level to all members.
Call Distribution Components 237
■ Hunt options—The ability to roll past members who are busy, not available, or do not
answer, continuing until the call is answered or options are exhausted.
Cisco CallManager distributes a call to idle or available members of a line group based on the call-
distribution algorithm and on the RNAR setting.
Call-Distribution Algorithms
Line groups contain an algorithm that controls how calls that come in on the hunt pilot are
distributed to members, as follows:
■ Top down—If you choose this distribution algorithm, Cisco CallManager distributes a call to
idle or available members starting from the first idle or available member of a line group to
the last idle or available member. Referring to Figure 12-3, a top-down distribution algorithm
would extend the next call to 1000, then to 1001 (if 1000 was unavailable), then to 1002 (if
1001 was unavailable), then to 1003 (if 1002 was unavailable). The next incoming call would
then be sent back to 1000 to start the process over again.
238 Chapter 12: Configuring Hunt Groups and Call Coverage
Line Group
IP IP IP IP
1000 1001 1002 1003
Idle 10 min. Available Idle 1 min. Idle 5 min.
■ Circular—If you choose this distribution algorithm, Cisco CallManager distributes a call to
idle or available members starting from the (n+1)th member of a line group, where the nth
member is the last member to receive a call. Because of this, Circular distribution is
commonly referred to as round robin. If the nth member is the last member of a line group,
Cisco CallManager distributes a call starting from the top of the line group. Referring to
Figure 12-3, assume that Cisco CallManager extended the last call to 1002 (n). The next call
that comes in on the hunt pilot number would go to 1003 (n + 1).
■ Longest idle time—If you choose this distribution algorithm, Cisco CallManager distributes
a call starting from the member of a line group who has been idle longest to the member who
has been idle for the shortest time. Referring to Figure 12-3, assume that 1000 has been idle
for 10 minutes and 1003 has been idle for 5 minutes. A longest idle time distribution
mechanism would extend the call to 1000, and the next incoming call would go to 1003.
■ Broadcast—If you choose this distribution algorithm, Cisco CallManager distributes a call
to all idle or available members of a line group simultaneously.
Hunt Options
Hunt options configured in the line group apply to members in one of the three states: no answer,
busy, or not available. Not available is a state triggered by the Do Not Disturb (DND) line state,
covered later in the chapter. For a given distribution algorithm, the hunt option specifies where
CallManager should distribute a call next if a member of a line group is busy, does not answer, or
is not available. The Line Group Configuration window provides the following options for each of
the three hunt options:
■ Try Next Member, Then, Try Next Group in Hunt List (Default)—Distributes a call to idle
or available members. If all lines respond with no answer (or busy or not available), try the
next line group in a hunt list.
Call Distribution Components 239
■ Try Next Member, But Do Not Go to Next Group—Distributes a call to idle or available
members. Stops hunting upon reaching the last member of the current line group.
■ Stop Hunting—Stops hunting after trying to distribute a call to the first member of current
line group if the member does not answer (or first busy member or first unavailable member).
TIP Distributing the call to other line groups can be useful in an environment where you have
Tier 1 and Tier 2 tech support. If all the lines in Tier 1 are busy, the call can spill over to the Tier
2 group. In addition, the Tier 2 employees will see the call redirect information so they can
answer the call appropriately.
■ RNAR timeout—10 seconds. After 10 seconds, Cisco CallManager will distribute a call to
the next available or idle member of this line group or to the next line group if the call is not
answered and if the first hunt option, Try Next Member; Then, Try Next Group in Hunt List,
is chosen.
■ Hunt Options—
Hunt Pilot
Hunt List
Line Group 1
IP IP IP
Call forwarding allows detailed control as to how to extend (divert and redirect are equivalent
terms for extend) a call when a called party fails to answer or is busy and hunting is not taking
place. For example, if the CFNA setting for a line is set to a hunt pilot number, an unanswered call
to that line diverts to the hunt pilot number and thus begins a hunt.
Configuring Line Groups, Hunt Lists, and Hunt Pilots 241
Starting with Cisco CallManager Release 4.1, Cisco CallManager offers the ability to redirect a
call when hunting fails (that is, when hunting terminates without any hunt party answering, either
because the list of hunt numbers exhausts or because the hunt process times out). If used, this final
redirection constitutes a Call Forwarding action. Therefore, the Hunt Pilot Configuration window
in Cisco CallManager Administration (choose Route Plan > Route/Hunt > Hunt Pilot) includes
call forwarding configuration concepts that are similar to those found in the Directory Number
Configuration window (Forward No Answer/Forward Busy).
In Cisco CallManager Release 4.0, hunting stops either when one of the hunt parties answers the
call or when the hunt list is exhausted. When hunting stops due to exhaustion, the caller receives
a reorder tone (or an equivalent announcement).
Step 1 Create the line groups, add members, and configure the distribution
algorithm and hunt options.
Step 2 Create the hunt list and add the line groups.
Step 3 Create the hunt pilot, associate the hunt list with the hunt pilot, and
configure hunt forward settings.
These steps are covered in more detail in the following topics.
Step 3 Enter a name in the Line Group Name field. The name can contain up to
50 alphanumeric characters and can contain any combination of spaces,
periods (.), hyphens (-), and underscore characters (_). Ensure that each line
group name is unique to the route plan.
Step 4 Configure the distribution algorithm, hunt options, and RNAR timeout as
desired, or leave them at their default values.
Step 5 Click Insert.
To add members to the line group, follow this procedure:
Step 1 If you need to locate a DN, choose a route partition from the Route
Partition drop-down list, enter a search string in the Directory Number
Contains field, and click Find. To find all DNs that belong to a partition,
leave the Directory Number Contains field blank and click Find.
Step 2 A list of matching DNs is displayed in the Available DN/Route Partition
pane.
Step 3 In the Available DN/Route Partition pane, select a DN to add and click
Add to Line Group to move it to the Selected DN/Route Partition pane.
Repeat this step for each member that you want to add to this line group.
Step 4 In the Selected DN/Route Partition pane, choose the order in which the
new DNs will be accessed in this line group. To change the order, click a
DN and use the up and down arrows to the right of the pane.
Step 5 Click Update to add the new DNs and to update the DN order for this line
group.
Notice the RNA Reversion Timeout (RNAR), which defaults to 10 seconds. This is the time, in
seconds, after which Cisco CallManager will distribute a call to the next available or idle member
of a line group or to the next line group if the call is not answered and if the first hunt option, Try
Next Member; Then, Try Next Group in Hunt List, is chosen.
Step 3 In the Hunt List Name field, enter a name. The name can comprise up to
50 alphanumeric characters and can contain any combination of spaces,
periods (.), hyphens (-), and underscore characters (_). Ensure that each
hunt list name is unique to the route plan.
Step 4 Choose a Cisco CallManager group from the drop-down list. The group
must already exist in the database; you cannot create a new group from this
window.
Step 5 To add this hunt list, click Insert. The Hunt List Configuration window
shown in Figure 12-7 appears.
NOTE After clicking the Insert button, a popup message reminds you that you must add at
least one line group to this hunt list for it to accept calls.
Configuring Line Groups, Hunt Lists, and Hunt Pilots 245
Step 6 The Hunt List Configuration window displays the newly added hunt list.
Step 7 Add at least one line group to the new hunt list. To add a line group, click
Add Line Group. The Hunt List Detail Configuration window is
displayed.
Step 8 From the Line Group drop-down list, choose a line group to add to the hunt
list.
Step 9 To add the line group, click Insert. The line group name is displayed in the
Hunt List Details list on the left side of the window.
Step 10 To add more line groups to this list, click Add Line Group and repeat Step 6 and
Step 7.
Step 11 When you are finished adding line groups to the hunt list, click Update.
Step 12 Click Reset to reset the hunt list. When the popup windows are displayed,
click OK.
Cisco CallManager accesses line groups in the order in which they are shown in the hunt list. You
change the access order of line groups by selecting a line group from the Selected Groups pane
and clicking the up or down arrow on the right side of the pane to move the line group up or down
in the list.
■ Hunt list
You can then perform the following steps to configure a hunt pilot:
Step 3 Enter the hunt pilot number in the Hunt Pilot number field.
Step 4 Assign the hunt pilot to a hunt list using the Hunt List drop-down menu.
Step 5 (Optional) Assign the hunt pilot to a partition and configure other settings,
such as hunt forward, as desired.
NOTE If you do not configure Hunt Forward Settings for Forward Hunt No Answer and
Forward Hunt Busy, CallManager returns a reorder tone if all members assigned to the hunt pilot
are unavailable.
TIP The Use Personal Preferences check box under the Hunt Forward Settings enables the
Call Forward No Coverage settings in the Directory Number Configuration page for the original
called number that forwarded the call to this hunt pilot. If checked, CallManager ignores the
Destination and Calling Search Space settings configured under the hunt pilot.
Review Questions 247
The Hunt Pilot Configuration window also allows you to define a Maximum Hunt Timer (in
seconds), which dictates the length of time a call to the hunt pilot number will search through
members. This setting overrides the Ring No Answer Reversion (RNAR) setting configured under
the line group. For example, if you have three members of a line group configured for a RNAR
setting of 10 seconds per member, the call hunts for a maximum of 30 seconds before returning a
status of No Answer from the line group. However, if you have defined a Maximum Hunt Timer
of 25 seconds on the Hunt Pilot Configuration window (shown in Figure 12-8), the call would stop
hunting through the line group after moving through the first two members (10 seconds each) and
ringing for 5 seconds on the third member.
Summary
This chapter covered the design and configuration of a Cisco CallManager hunt group. You can
use hunt groups to define a group of DNs to search through for an incoming call. This is useful in
an extraordinarily large number of environments, from receptionist pools for incoming calls to
technical support help desk representatives.
Configuring hunt groups is very similar to configuring the CallManager route plan. The
configuration is performed from the bottom up, first starting by adding member DNs to a line
group and choosing the distribution algorithm. You can then group one or more line groups into a
hunt list, which is nothing more than an ordered list of line groups to which CallManager should
distribute calls. You will finally create the hunt pilot, which defines a trigger DN and points to the
hunt list that should receive the incoming calls.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, "Answers to Review Questions."
1. In addition to checking the Use Personal Preferences check box in the Hunt Forward
Settings section of the Hunt Pilot Configuration window, what else must be configured to
enable final forwarding for a call that is forwarded to the hunt pilot?
a. maximum hunt timer and RNAR timers in the Line Group Configuration window
b. the Call Forward No Coverage settings for the original called number that forwarded the
call to the hunt pilot
c. the Destination and Calling Search Space fields in the Hunt Forward Settings section
of the Hunt Pilot Configuration window
d. the Forward Busy and Forward No Answer settings for the original called number that
forwarded the call to the hunt pilot
248 Chapter 12: Configuring Hunt Groups and Call Coverage
2. Assume a line group with five members: party 1 (DN 5001), party 2 (DN 5002), party 3 (DN
5003), party 4 (DN 5004), and party 5 (DN 5005). The top-down distribution algorithm is
applied to the line group. Party 3 answered the last call that came in on the hunt pilot. To
which party will Cisco CallManager extend the next call that comes into the hunt pilot?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 5
3. A hunt group has been configured with a maximum hunt timer of 15 seconds on the Hunt Pilot
Configuration window. However, the line group with five members has been configured with
a RNA reversion timeout value of 5 seconds. When an incoming call comes in for the hunt
group, how long will the hunting process occur before the call is forwarded?
a. 5 seconds
b. 15 seconds
c. 25 seconds
d. 40 seconds
4. Which of these components are absolutely required to configure a hunt group? (Select all that
apply.)
a. hunt pilot
b. hunt list
c. line group
d. route list
e. gateway
f. route pattern
5. If a line group member DN is marked as an available line, what state is it in?
a. It is not serving a call at this time.
b. It is serving a call but can accept a new call.
c. It is serving a call but cannot accept a new call.
d. It cannot accept any calls.
Review Questions 249
6. Which of the following call distribution algorithms rings all members of the line group at the
same time?
a. multicast
b. broadcast
c. group
d. circular
7. You are looking through a hunt group configuration in Cisco CallManager. Under the line
group configuration window, you notice that the No Answer hunt option is configured with
the Stop Hunting selection. What does this cause?
a. The CallManager will hunt to the first member in the line group and stop if the member
is unavailable.
b. The CallManager will hunt through the current line group and stop if the members are
unavailable.
c. The CallManager will hunt through all the line groups and stop if the members are
unavailable.
d. The CallManager will not hunt through the line group, but will divert the call to the call
forward settings.
8. A hunt pilot receives a call and passes it down to the hunt list, which distributes the call to
three members of a line group. The call returns from the line group with a busy status. Under
the call forwarding section of the hunt pilot, the Use Personal Preferences check box is
checked for both the No Answer and Busy fields. How does the CallManager handle the call?
a. The call is forwarded to the destination defined under the Forward Hunt Busy section of
the hunt pilot.
b. The call is forwarded to the destination defined under the Call Forward Busy section of
the calling party.
c. The call is forwarded to the destination defined under the Call Forward Busy section of
the original called party.
d. The call is forwarded to the destination defined under the Call Forward No Coverage
section of the calling party.
e. The call is forwarded to the destination defined under the Call Forward No Coverage
section of the original called party.
250 Chapter 12: Configuring Hunt Groups and Call Coverage
9. When configuring a CallManager hunt group, which option should you configure first?
a. member DNs
b. line group
c. hunt list
d. hunt pilot
10. By default, how are calls routed through a hunt group?
a. Calls match the hunt pilot DN and hunt through the members listed in the first line
group defined in the hunt list.
b. Calls match the hunt pilot DN and hunt through the members listed in all line groups
defined in the hunt list.
c. Calls match the hunt pilot DN and hunt to the first member listed in the first line group
defined in the hunt list.
d. Calls match the hunt pilot DN and forward to the defined number in the call coverage
area.
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This chapter covers the
following topics:
An important dial plan consideration is the assignment and enforcement of calling privileges.
You might want company executives to have different calling privileges than receptionists, or
employee phones to have different calling privileges than lobby phones. You might also want to
place further restrictions on the times that these privileges are available, for example, by
allowing international calls to be placed only during business hours to prevent unauthorized use
after hours. Partitions, calling search spaces, and time-of-day routing are the primary class of
control components that enable you to assign and enforce calling privileges.
This chapter discusses how to deploy calling restrictions and control by using Cisco
CallManager partitions, calling search spaces, and time-of-day routing.
NOTE CoS as it applies to telephony networks holds a completely different meaning than
its application in quality of service (QoS). CoS in telephony means the implementation of
calling restrictions, whereas CoS in data networking means the application of a data link layer
marking in a data frame.
■ One class of users can place toll calls during normal business hours, but not at other times.
■ Lobby phone users can dial the local emergency numbers and campus extensions, but
cannot dial local, long-distance, or international numbers.
■ Receptionists can dial anywhere within the company and all local area codes, but cannot
dial long-distance or international numbers.
Cisco CallManager uses partitions, calling search spaces, and time-of-day routing to implement
class-of-service restrictions.
A partition comprises a logical grouping of directory numbers (DNs) and route patterns with
similar reachability characteristics. Items that are placed in partitions include DNs and route
patterns (or anything else that has a directory number). For simplicity, partition names usually
reflect their characteristics, such as “NYLongDistancePT,” “NY911PT,” and so on.
A calling search space is an ordered list of partitions that Cisco CallManager digit analysis looks
at before a telephone call is placed. Calling search spaces then determine the partitions that calling
devices, such as Cisco IP Phones, Cisco IP SoftPhones, and gateways, can reach when attempting
to complete a call. If a device attempts to reach a route pattern or DN that is not contained in one
of the partitions in its calling search space, it receives a fast busy signal (or a prerecorded message
played by the annunciator service).
Items that can be placed in partitions all have a dialable pattern, which includes phone lines, route
patterns, translation patterns, computer telephony integration (CTI) route group lines, CTI port
lines, voice-mail ports, and Meet-Me conference numbers. In short, you can place absolutely
anything that has a directory number into a partition. To do this, you group common numbers
together. For example, you could create an internal number partition (perhaps named
INTERNAL_PT) that contains all numbers internal to the organization, an emergency partition
(named EMERGENCY_PT) that contains route patterns representing emergency numbers such as
911, and a local PSTN partition (named LOCAL_PT) that contains route patterns representing
local PSTN numbers. By doing this, you have grouped the numbers to assign the calling
restrictions. By default, everything belongs to the <NONE> partition (or no partition assignment),
which is why there are no calling restrictions.
Conversely, you can assign a calling search space to all devices capable of dialing a call, such as
telephones, telephone lines, gateways, and applications (via their CTI route groups or voice-mail
ports). The calling search space contains nothing more than an ordered list of partitions. When you
assign a calling search space to a device, that device can reach whatever is in the partitions listed
in the calling search space. For example, you could create a calling search space named
INT_EMG_CSS that contains just the internal and emergency partitions (INTERNAL_PT and
Partitions and Calling Search Spaces Overview 255
NOTE Regardless of the calling search space assigned, all devices are able to reach any
number assigned to the <NONE> partition. Because of this, Cisco recommends that you
should never leave numbers assigned to the <NONE> partition.
As shown in Figure 13-1, the DNs of lobby phones and break room phones are placed into
partition A. Partitions B, C, D, E, and F contain the route patterns to reach local numbers, long-
distance numbers, international numbers, and company extensions.
Long-Distance
Partition C
Partition Area Codes
A
Lobby Phones
Break Room Phones International Numbers Partition D
Company Employee
Partition E
Extensions
Local Emergency
Partition F
Numbers
The calling search space for the lobby phones includes only the partitions containing the company
extensions and the local emergency numbers. Therefore, a lobby phone located in partition A has
a calling search space containing partition A, E, and F and can dial only company destinations,
including the break room (in other words, devices belonging to the same partition) and local
emergency numbers (for example, 911 in the United States).
NOTE In addition to assigning calling search spaces to the phone or directory number, you
can assign calling search spaces to the call forwarding fields of an IP Phone (call forward busy,
call forward no answer, and so on). This allows you to place different calling restrictions
beyond normal calling when a user forwards their phone.
256 Chapter 13: Implementing Telephony Call Restrictions and Control
TIP The default state of ALL devices in the CallManager cluster is the following:
Partition: <NONE>
Calling Search Space: <NONE>
Even though it might appear as though these mean “no assignment,” there is an
unconfigurable partition and calling search space called <NONE>. The <NONE> calling
search space only has access to the devices in the <NONE> partition. As you begin to assign
directory numbers and route patterns to partitions other than <NONE>, any devices with the
<NONE> calling search space (default) will lose access to the reassigned numbers.
The previously mentioned tip warrants special consideration when dealing with gateways and
intercluster trunks. Because these devices are assigned the default calling search space of
<NONE>, they will begin to lose access to the cluster directory numbers as you assign them to
other partitions. The directory numbers that the gateways and intercluster trunks have access to
affect inbound calls to the cluster.
For example, you could create a calling search space named INT_LOC_CSS that only allowed
access to directory numbers assigned to the Internal (INTERNAL_PT) and Local PSTN
(LOCAL_PT) partitions. If this INT_LOCAL_CSS calling search space were applied to an
Intercluster Trunk to a remote CallManager cluster, any calls coming inbound from the remote
cluster would only be able to reach the internal and local PSTN extensions. This feature is useful
when you do not have administrative control of the remote cluster but have the need to configure
call restrictions into your cluster from the remote devices.
NOTE This feature works identically for gateway devices configured in the CallManager
cluster. The calling search space applied to gateway devices affect calls coming inbound (into
the cluster) from the gateway. It does not affect calls outbound to the gateway from the devices
in the cluster.
Partition Configuration
To configure partitions, choose Route Plan > Class of Control > Partition. When the Find and
List Partition window appears, click the Add a New Partition link. The Partition Configuration
window that is shown in Figure 13-2 appears. From here, you can add a maximum of 75 partitions
at a time using the following syntax:
<partitionName>, <description>
Partitions and Calling Search Spaces Overview 257
NOTE Class of Control is a new submenu item under the Route Plan menu in Release 4.1
of Cisco CallManager. The Class of Control submenu includes partitions, calling search
spaces, and time-of-day routing items.
Cisco CallManager Administration requires that you enter the partition name. However, adding a
description for the partition can be useful for documentation purposes.
Using partitions allows you to group DNs with similar characteristics together. For example, the
network administrator at ABC Company must allow certain individuals to call the DNs in the 1xxx
and 2xxx ranges. Before assigning the DNs to a partition, the administrator must first configure the
partitions using the Partition Configuration window in Cisco CallManager Administration. The
administrator could add the necessary partitions using the following format:
After the administrator adds the partitions, DNs must be assigned. To do this, the administrator
must enter the configuration mode of the telephones or route patterns that have the DNs, proceed
258 Chapter 13: Implementing Telephony Call Restrictions and Control
to the Directory Number Configuration window, and choose the newly created partition from the
menu, as shown in Figure 13-3.
You can use the arrows between the Available Partitions and Selected Partitions panes to choose
the partitions that you want to add to the calling search space. You can reorder partitions by using
the arrows to the right of the Selected Partitions panes. To reduce call-processing time, place the
partitions with the most frequently used numbers at the top of the Selected Partitions list with the
exception of critical partitions. Emergency number partitions or partitions containing blocked
numbers are usually placed near the top of the list.
Partitions and Calling Search Spaces Overview 259
The calling search space gives you the ability to place any number of calling restrictions on the IP
telephony network. For example, to restrict access to the 1XXX and 2XXX partitions, the network
administrator from the ABC Company must create a calling search space that is named
“1XXX_Only_CSS” and add the DN_1XXX partition to this calling search space. The
administrator then creates another calling search space named “2XXX_Only_CSS” and adds the
DN_2XXX partition to this calling search space. Finally, the administrator creates a calling search
space named “All_DNs_CSS” and adds both the DN_1XXX and DN_2XXX partitions to this
calling search space.
After configuring the calling search spaces, the administrator assigns them to the various network
devices. For example, telephone A is assigned the 1XXX_Only_CSS calling search space, which
means that telephone A can call only the DNs that are assigned to the partition DN_1XXX. By
assigning telephone B to the 2XXX_Only_CSS calling search space, the administrator restricts
telephone B from calling any numbers outside of the DN_2XXX partition. If the administrator
assigns telephone C to the All_DNs_CSS calling search space, telephone C can call the DNs that
are assigned to both partitions DN_1XXX and DN_2XXX.
260 Chapter 13: Implementing Telephony Call Restrictions and Control
■ Allow international calls only during office hours of the caller’s time zone.
■ Implement a least-cost routing system by choosing the cheapest provider for a specific time
of day.
■ Any application where you want to control the calling search space based on the time of the
day.
Time-of-day settings are assigned to partitions. After the administrator has configured the time-of-
day settings and assigned them to partitions, the time-of-day feature filters the calling search space
through time-of-day settings that are defined for each partition in the calling search space.
The time-of-day feature is applied when a called number is validated. Cisco CallManager filters
the partitions contained in the calling search space of the originating device, and the called number
is validated against this filtered calling search space. Keep in mind that you can assign a calling
search space to a voice gateway. This could, as an example, allow you to reroute all incoming calls
from the PSTN to the IP telephony network based on time-of-day restrictions.
To implement time-of-day routing in Cisco CallManager, you must understand the concept of time
periods and time schedules.
Time Periods
A time period comprises a start time and end time. The available start times and end times are 15-
minute intervals on a 24-hour clock, from 00:00 to 24:00. In addition, a time period requires
definition of a repetition interval. Repetition intervals are the days of the week (for example,
Monday through Friday) or a day of the calendar year (for example, June 9).
Time-of-Day Routing Overview 261
■ Time period noofficehours_TP as no hours on Saturday and Sunday. For this time period, the
associated partition is not active on Saturday and Sunday.
Time Schedule
A time schedule consists of a group of defined time periods that the administrator associates with
a partition.
After the administrator selects a time period for association with a time schedule, the time period
remains available for association with other time schedules.
Figure 13-5 shows an example of a time period RegEmployees_TS with time periods
weekdayhrs_TP, newyears_TP and noofficehours_TP associated with it.
CiscoAustin_PT RegEmployees_TP
The administrator associates time schedules with a partition. Partitions contained within the calling
search space are available based on time-of-day settings. Cisco CallManager filters the calling search
space through the time-of-day settings defined for each of the partitions in the calling search space.
262 Chapter 13: Implementing Telephony Call Restrictions and Control
If the user sets the CFA during office hours when it is allowed, and the user receives a call outside
office hours, the caller hears a fast busy signal.
In addition, users cannot reach DNs in some partitions that are configured for time-of-day routing
and that are not active during the time of the call, depending upon the configuration of partitions.
Users will not be able to reach the route or translation patterns in partitions configured with time-
of-day routing that are not active at the time of the call.
Step 1 In the menu bar, choose Route Plan > Class of Control > Time Period.
Step 2 Click Add a New Time Period.
Step 3 Enter the time period name, start time, end time, and repetition interval.
Step 4 To add the new time period, click Insert.
The message “Status: Insert completed” appears.
Step 5 To add more time periods, click Add a New Time Period and repeat this
procedure.
Figure 13-7 shows an example of a time period named OfficeHoursTP, a start time of 08:00, an
end time of 17:00, and a weekly repetition interval of every Monday through Friday.
Table 13-1 provides a list of options available to you when implementing time periods.
Parameter Description
Time Period Name Enter a name in the Time Period Name field. The name can include up to 50
alphanumeric characters and can contain any combination of spaces, periods
(.), hyphens (-), and underscore characters (_). Ensure that each time period
name is unique to the plan.
Use concise and descriptive names for your time periods. The hours_or_days
format usually provides a sufficient level of detail and is short enough to
enable you to quickly and easily identify a time period. For example,
office_M_to_F identifies a time period for the business hours of an office
from Monday to Friday.
Start Time Time when this time period starts. The available start times are 15-minute
intervals throughout a 24-hour day. The default value is No Office Hours.
No Office Hours means that the selected partition will not be active for the
defined day of year or days of week.
• Week From—If you click the Week From radio button, use the drop-
down menus next to From and Through to choose the days of the week
during which this time period applies.
Examples: Choose a From value of Mon(day) and a Through value of
Fri(day) to define a time period that applies from Monday to Friday. Choose
a From value of Sat(urday) and a Through value of Sat(urday) to define a
time period that applies only on Saturdays.
• Year On—If you click the Year On radio button, use the drop-down
menus to choose the month and day of the year on which this time period
applies.
Example: Choose the month Jan(uary) and the day 1 to define a time period
that applies yearly on New Year’s Day.
Figure 13-8 shows how to create a time period using the No Office Hours time interval and a
repetition interval with a specific day of the year defined. When the No Office Hours time interval
is selected, the associated partition is not active for the defined days of the week or day of the
year—in this example, December 25.
Configuring Time-of-Day Routing 265
Use the No Office Hours time interval and the Year On repetition interval for days, such as
Christmas, New Year’s Day, and national holidays, when for example, the company is closed,
certain departments are closed, or certain employees are on holiday.
Step 1 In the menu bar, choose Route Plan > Class of Control > Time Schedule.
Step 2 Click Add a New Time Schedule.
Step 3 Name the time schedule in the Time Schedule Name field.
Step 4 Choose the desired time periods from the Available Time Periods pane,
shown in Figure 13-9, and use the down arrow to move them to the Selected
Time Periods pane. Move any time periods you do not want in the Selected
Time Periods pane to the Available Time Periods pane.
266 Chapter 13: Implementing Telephony Call Restrictions and Control
Step 5 To add the new time schedule, click Insert (or Update if the time schedule
already exists and you are changing it).
The message “Status: Insert completed” appears.
Step 6 To add more time schedules, click Add a New Time Schedule and repeat
this procedure.
TIP Cisco CallManager allows you to create duplicate route patterns as long as they are
assigned to different partitions. This grants the flexibility to create a route pattern and assign
it to a partition for which you have assigned specific time-of-day restrictions for some users.
You can then create an identical route pattern and assign it to a partition without time-of-day
calling restrictions for other users. You can control user access privileges through the partition
you assign to their calling search space.
You can create a new partition from the Partition Configuration window and assign the time
schedule to it or assign the time schedule to an existing partition, as shown in Figure 13-10. The
process is the same:
Step 1 From the Time Schedule drop-down menu, choose a time schedule to
associate with this partition.
Step 2 Choose either the time zone of the originating device or any specific time
zone for a time schedule. The system checks the chosen time zone against
the time schedule when the call is placed to directory numbers in this
partition.
Table 13-2 provides a list of available options when applying a time schedule to a partition.
Parameter Description
Time From the drop-down menu, choose a time schedule to associate with this
Schedule partition. The associated time schedule specifies when the partition is available to
receive incoming calls.
The default value specifies None, which means that time-of-day routing is not in
effect and the partition remains active at all times.
In combination with the time zone value in the following field, associating a
partition with a time schedule configures the partition for time-of-day routing.
The system checks incoming calls to this partition against the specified time
schedule.
Time Zone Choose one of the following options to associate a partition with a time zone:
• Originating Device—If you choose this option, the system checks the
partition against the associated time schedule with the time zone of the calling
device.
• Specific Time Zone—If you choose this option, choose a time zone from the
drop-down menu. The system checks the partition against the associated time
schedule at the time that is specified in this time zone.
These options all specify the time zone. When there is an incoming call, the
current time on the Cisco CallManager is converted into the specific time zone
that you set. This specific time is validated against the value in the Time
Schedule field.
IP A dials 2000 IP
Current Time: 20:00
1000/CiscoSJ Current Day: Wed. 2000/CiscoSJ
CSS1: CiscoSJ, Cisco CallManager
CiscoOutside extends call to
2000/CiscoOutside
2000/CiscoOutside
CFA: 9725550111
(Home Number)
■ Partition CiscoSJ is configured with the time schedule TS1 and the specific time zone Eastern
Standard Time (EST).
— Time periods TP2 and TP3 are associated with time schedule TS2.
— The TP2 start time is 17:00, the end time is 24:00, and the repetition interval is
Monday through Friday.
— The TP3 start time is 10:00, the end time is 08:00, and the repetition interval is
Tuesday through Saturday.
■ The user A calling search space is CSS1. CSS1 contains the CiscoSJ and CiscoOutside
partitions.
270 Chapter 13: Implementing Telephony Call Restrictions and Control
■ User A at extension 1000 calls 2000 at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday. The partition CiscoSJ is active
at that time (TP1), so the call is forwarded to 2000.
■ User A at extension 1000 calls 2000 at 20:00 (8:00 p.m.) Wednesday. The partition CiscoSJ
is not active at that time. However, the partition CiscoOutside is active then (TP2), and the
calling search space CSS1 contains a pattern to reach the user B home phone number
9725550111, which enables user B to set CFA to forward incoming calls to a home number.
Summary
This chapter covered the concepts and configuration of Cisco CallManager calling restrictions.
Class of Service (CoS) is necessary in nearly every corporate environment to implement telephony
policies for end users. Cisco CallManager implements CoS through partitions and calling search
spaces. A partition is a group of DNs with similar accessibility characteristics, whereas a calling
search space defines which partitions are accessible to a particular device (such as an IP Phone or
gateway).
To configure partitions and calling search spaces, create the partition and assign the appropriate
DNs to the partition. You must then create a calling search space containing the partitions you want
to be reachable and apply the calling search space to the affected IP Phones or gateway devices.
Time-of-day routing routes calls to different locations based on the time of day or day of the year
when a call is made. To configure time-of-day routing, create the necessary time periods, create a
time schedule containing similar time periods, and assign the time schedule and time zone to a
partition.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
2. Which time period would be configured to allow access to user A during user A’s weekday
office hours (assuming user A works from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)?
a. 08:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday and the time zone of the originating device
b. 08:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday and the time zone of user A
c. no office hours Saturday and Sunday and the time zone of the originating device
d. no office hours Saturday and Sunday and the time zone of user A
3. Which of the following items can be assigned to a partition? (Choose three.)
a. phones
b. directory numbers
c. gateways
d. route patterns
e. translation patterns
4. Describe the order of Class of Service configuration.
a. DNs are placed in partitions, partitions are placed in calling search spaces, and calling
search spaces are assigned to the calling device.
b. DNs are placed in calling search spaces, calling search spaces are placed in partitions,
and partitions are assigned to the calling device.
c. DNs are placed in calling search spaces, calling search spaces are placed in partitions,
and calling search spaces are assigned to the calling device.
d. IP Phones and gateways are placed in partitions, partitions are placed in calling search
spaces, and both the partition and calling search spaces are assigned to the calling
device.
5. To which of the following devices can you assign a calling search space? (Choose three.)
a. gateways
b. IP Phones
c. directory numbers (phone lines)
d. route patterns
272 Chapter 13: Implementing Telephony Call Restrictions and Control
6. How does CallManager process a call from a device configured with a calling search space?
a. It processes the call by looking through the partitions in the calling search space from
the bottom of the list to the top.
b. It processes the call by looking through the partitions in the calling search space from
the top of the list to the bottom.
c. It processes the call by first looking through the partitions in the calling search space of
the called device followed by the partitions in the calling search space of the calling
device.
d. It processes the call by first looking through the partitions in the calling search space of
the calling device followed by the partitions in the calling search space of the called
device.
7. When configuring time-of-day routing, which of the following should be created first?
a. time schedules
b. time agendas
c. time routes
d. time periods
8. You want to implement time-of-day routing restrictions. One group of users should only be
able to call PSTN numbers from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Another group of users should be able
to call the PSTN anytime. How could this be configured?
a. You must create two sets of PSTN route patterns. One set should be added to the parti-
tion restricted by the 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. time schedule. The other set should be
added to a partition not restricted by a time schedule. A calling search space containing
the restricted partition is then assigned to the users limited to 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
PSTN calling and a calling search space containing the unrestricted partition is assigned
to the users able to reach the PSTN anytime.
b. You must create one set of PSTN route patterns. This set is added to a partition restricted
by the 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. time schedule and a partition not restricted by a time
schedule. A calling search space containing the restricted partition is then assigned to
the users limited to 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PSTN calling and a calling search space con-
taining the unrestricted partition is assigned to the users able to reach the PSTN any-
time.
c. You must create one set of PSTN route patterns. This set is added to a partition restricted
by the 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. time schedule. A calling search space containing the
restricted partition is then assigned to the users limited to 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PSTN
calling and a calling search space that does not contain the restricted PSTN partition is
assigned to the users able to reach the PSTN anytime.
d. This functionality is not currently supported in Cisco CallManager 4.x versions.
Review Questions 273
When the priority queue of IP WAN bandwidth is consumed, a mechanism must exist to
automatically reroute calls over the public switched telephone network (PSTN) without
requiring the caller to hang up and redial the called party. Automated Alternate Routing (AAR)
is a Cisco CallManager feature that automatically reroutes calls through the PSTN or other
networks when priority bandwidth is insufficient in a centralized call-processing deployment.
NOTE Referring to the priority queue of IP WAN bandwidth does not necessarily
encompass the entire amount of WAN bandwidth available. Rather, it encompasses the
amount of bandwidth you have set aside for high-priority traffic (including voice).
If connectivity with Cisco CallManager is lost, Cisco IP Phones become unusable for the
duration of the failure. Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST) overcomes this
problem and ensures that the Cisco IP Phones offer continuous service by providing call
handling support for Cisco IP Phones directly from the Cisco SRST router.
This chapter describes the operation and configuration of call admission control, AAR, and
SRST.
to support two calls. If the CallManager were to send a third call over the IP WAN, all calls
experience poor quality.
IP IP
Call No. 1
Call No. 2
IP WAN
IP IP
Call No. 3
IP IP
You can provision the network to carry a specific amount of real-time traffic. Any traffic that
exceeds the provisioned bandwidth will subject all real-time traffic to delay, jitter, and possibly
packet loss. The coder-decoder (codec) used for the call determines the bandwidth calculations
used with call admission control.
Using Cisco CallManager, the following two types of call admission are possible:
The locations feature in Cisco CallManager lets you specify the maximum amount of audio
bandwidth (for audio calls) and video bandwidth (for video calls) that is available for calls to and
from each location. This specification limits the number of active calls and limits oversubscription
of the priority bandwidth on the IP WAN links.
NOTE Video calls are discussed in further detail in Chapter 28, “Introducing IP Video
Telephony.”
For the purpose of calculating bandwidth for call admission control, Cisco CallManager assumes
that each call stream consumes the following amount of bandwidth:
Locations work in conjunction with regions to define the characteristics of a network link.
Locations define the amount of available bandwidth for the link, and regions define the type of
compression (G.711, G.723, or G.729) that is used on the link.
For example, in Figure 14-2, three locations are specified: San Jose (unlimited bandwidth), New
York (256 kbps), and Dallas (64 kbps). Cisco CallManager continues to admit new calls to a link
as long as sufficient bandwidth is still available. Thus, if the link to the New York location in this
example has 256 kbps of available bandwidth, that link can support three G.711 calls at 80 kbps
each and ten G.723 or G.729 calls at 24 kbps each. If any additional calls are received that would
exceed the bandwidth limit, the system rejects them, the calling party receives a reorder tone, and
a text message is displayed on the phone.
278 Chapter 14: Implementing Multiple-Site Deployments
IP
Cisco V IP
CallManager
Cluster Location Bandwidth (kbps)
San Jose Unlimited New York (Remote)
IP
IP WAN
V V IP
IP IP Dallas (Remote)
San Jose (Main)
Step 1 Choose System > Location to configure a separate location for each IP
WAN link to which you want to apply call admission control. As shown in
Figure 14-3, allocate the maximum available bandwidth for calls across the
link to that location.
Step 2 In the individual device configuration windows, configure the telephones
and other devices and assign each of them to the appropriate device pool
and location, as shown in Figure 14-4.
Call Admission Control 279
AAR Overview
Automated Alternate Routing (AAR) is a mechanism used in conjunction with location-based call
admission control. AAR allows calls to be rerouted through the PSTN by using an alternate
number when Cisco CallManager blocks a call due to insufficient location bandwidth. With AAR,
the caller does not need to hang up and redial the called party. If AAR is not configured, the user
gets a reorder tone and the IP Phone displays “Not enough bandwidth.”
NOTE When working with the external phone number mask, it is important to keep straight
which mask the CallManager will use when invoking AAR. When AAR redirects a call across
the PSTN, it will always use the destination IP Phone’s external phone number mask to
transform the called number. The source IP Phone’s external phone number mask will be used
to transform the caller ID information.
4. The prefix used to access the PSTN gateway is 9, and 1 is added to the string for numbering
plan compatibility. These values are configured in the AAR group.
5. 9-1-215-555-1234 is the new alternate dial string.
6. The CallManager passes the new dial string through the route plan and sends the call across
the PSTN.
AAR is transparent to users. It is configured so that users dial only the on-net (for example, four-
digit) directory number (DN) of the called phone and no additional user input is required to reach
the destination through the alternate network (such as the PSTN).
Call Admission Control 281
AAR:
1-215-555-1234 IP
PSTN V IP
Branch A
Phone B
1234
IP
WAN
V CAC V IP
Branch B
IP IP IP
Headquarters Phone A
2345
Keep the following requirements and caveats in mind when applying AAR:
■ AAR requires call admission control based on locations and regions; AAR will function only
if the WAN bandwidth is consumed.
■ The IP Phone that originates a call should be in the same location as the gateway that routes
the call to the PSTN.
■ The called IP Phone and the gateway that terminates the call from the PSTN should be in the
same location.
■ If a call originates from a device in one location and terminates to a non-IP Phone in another
location, AAR will not function. A voice-mail port on another vendor device also does not use
AAR.
■ If a call originates from a Cisco computer telephony integration (CTI) route point, AAR will
not function.
■ AAR does not work with SRST, which means that AAR will not function in the case of a
WAN failure.
282 Chapter 14: Implementing Multiple-Site Deployments
Configuring AAR
Configuring Cisco CallManager for AAR requires the following steps:
Step 1 Configure the locations. Use locations to implement call admission control
in a centralized call-processing system. Cisco CallManager requires that
the locations be arranged in a hub-and-spoke topology.
Step 2 Configure the regions. Use regions to specify the type of compression and
the amount of bandwidth used within a region and between regions.
Step 3 Assign devices to a region and location. Use device pools to define sets of
common characteristics—in this case, the region setting—for devices in a
specific location.
Step 4 Enable AAR clusterwide. Ensure that the Automated Alternate Routing
Enable service parameter is set to True.
Step 5 Configure AAR groups. For each AAR group, enter the prefix digits that are
used for AAR within the AAR group, in addition to the prefix digits used
for AAR between a given AAR group and other AAR groups. Devices such
as gateways, telephones (by means of DNs), and trunks associate with AAR
groups.
Step 6 Configure the calling search space for AAR. Cisco CallManager uses the
AAR calling search space to reroute calls when there is no available
bandwidth on the WAN.
Step 7 Configure the endpoints as follows:
• Assign devices to the AAR group.
• Assign the external line mask to the DN.
• Assign devices to the AAR calling search space.
Steps 1 through 3 involve the location configuration, which was discussed earlier in this chapter.
The AAR configuration steps starting with Step 4 are covered in detail in the following subtopics.
In addition, you can access the Service Parameters > CallManager > Clusterwide Parameters
(Device–Phone) window (shown in Figure 14-7) to modify the two fields used to configure the
messages that appear on the end user’s IP Phone if there is no WAN bandwidth available or if AAR
reroutes the call over the WAN.
The destination number might require a prefix for an Off-Net access code (for example, 9) to be
routed properly by the dial plan of the origination branch. Furthermore, if the point of origin is
located in a different Numbering Plan Area (NPA, or area code), the network might require a prefix
of 1 as part of the dialed string. Cisco CallManager uses the internal DN, the external phone
number mask of the called DN, and the prefix to determine the alternate number for routing the
call over the PSTN.
When configuring AAR, place the DNs in AAR groups. As shown in Figure 14-8, for each pair of
AAR groups, you can configure prefix digits to add to the DNs for calls between the two groups,
including prefix digits for calls originating and terminating within the same AAR group. For
example, if a user in the California_AAR group dials a user in the Arizona_AAR group (shown in
Figure 14-8) and the IP WAN connection bandwidth was oversubscribed, the CallManager would
284 Chapter 14: Implementing Multiple-Site Deployments
redirect the call over the PSTN connection, prefixing the digits “91” to the DN (which is also
combined with the external phone number mask, discussed in the upcoming section).
As a general rule, place DNs in the same AAR group if they share all of the following
characteristics:
■ A common PSTN dialing structure for interarea calls (for example, 1-NPA-Nxx-xxxx in North
America)
For example, assume that both the San Francisco and New York sites share all of the preceding
characteristics. The DNs for San Francisco and New York can be placed into a single AAR group,
and the group can be configured such that AAR calls placed within this AAR group are prefixed
with 91. For phone A in San Francisco to reach phone B in New York (at 212-555-1212), the AAR
group configuration prefixes 91 to the dialed string, yielding a completed string of 91-212-555-1212.
Call Admission Control 285
Step 1 From the menu bar, choose Route Plan > AAR Group.
Step 2 Click Add a New AAR Group.
Step 3 Enter a name in the AAR Group Name field.
Step 4 Click Continue.
Step 5 In the Prefix Digits Within field for the group being added, enter the prefix
digits to use for AAR within this AAR group.
Step 6 In the Prefix Digits Between the group being added and Other AAR Groups
area, complete the following fields:
• Prefix Digits (From)—Enter the prefix digits to use for AAR when
routing a call from this group to a device that belongs to another AAR
group.
NOTE Prefix digits that are entered in this field for the originating AAR
group are also added in the Prefix Digits (To) field of the AAR destination
group.
• Prefix Digits (To)—Enter the prefix digits to use for AAR when you are
routing a call to this group from a device that belongs to another AAR
group.
NOTE Prefix digits entered in this field for the destination AAR group are
also added in the Prefix Digits (From) field of the AAR originating group.
Step 1 Configure the DN to use the AAR group, as shown in Figure 14-9. An AAR
group setting of None specifies that no rerouting of blocked calls will be
attempted.
286 Chapter 14: Implementing Multiple-Site Deployments
displayed as part of the calling line ldentification (CLID, or caller ID) for
any calls made by the phones to an off-net destination. Instead, it is
recommended that the 1 be added as part of the AAR group configuration.
Configure the external phone number mask on the IP Phone DN by
choosing Device > Phone, and then selecting the phone and the line you
want to configure. Figure 14-10 illustrates this configuration.
Indicate the phone number (or mask) that is used to send caller ID
information when a call is placed from this line. A maximum of 30 numeric
and X characters can be added. The Xs represent the DN and must appear
at the end of the pattern. For example, if you specify a mask of
972813XXXX, an external call from extension 1234 displays a caller ID
number of 9728131234.
TIP Remember, the external phone number mask should always be the number the DN you are
configuring through the PSTN. If your organization does not use Direct Inward Dial (DID)
ranges, you should configure the external phone number mask as the location’s general number,
allowing a receptionist to redirect the call to the internal extension.
Step 3 Configure the phone (or gateway) to use the AAR calling search space.
With AAR, the AAR calling search space was introduced. With this special
parameter, the caller rights can be adjusted for this special event when AAR
is used. Cisco CallManager looks at the AAR calling search space to
determine whether the device has the right to call over the PSTN. For
example, if the originating calling device can reach only internal phones
with the configured calling search space, then it is possible with the AAR
calling search space to allow calls from that device to be rerouted using the
PSTN. In this case, the AAR calling search space grants additional
permissions to route the call when the IP WAN is down.
288 Chapter 14: Implementing Multiple-Site Deployments
The AAR calling search space specifies the collection of route partitions
that are searched to determine how to route a collected (originating)
number that is blocked because of insufficient bandwidth. You can assign
the AAR calling search space to the phone from the Phone Configuration
window, as shown in Figure 14-11.
If you choose the gatekeeper method of call admission control, you will need to set up an
Intercluster Trunk (gatekeeper-controlled) or H.225 trunk (gatekeeper-controlled). These trunks
are configured to point to the gatekeeper device and are included in the dial plan for your network.
Call Admission Control 289
NOTE Much of the H.323 gatekeeper configuration is covered in Cisco Voice Gateways and
Gatekeepers (ISBN: 1-58705-258-x) from Cisco Press. The gatekeeper configuration discussed
in this book is directly related to the Cisco CallManager integration.
Gatekeeper Communication
For a Cisco CallManager to use an H.323 gatekeeper, a new communication exchange occurs
between the gatekeeper and the Cisco CallManager. The first process that an endpoint must go
through is gatekeeper discovery. An endpoint achieves gatekeeper discovery either manually or
through autodiscovery.
Autodiscovery uses multicast to discover the gatekeeper. A gatekeeper request (GRQ) is multicast,
and any gatekeeper that can accept a registration returns a gatekeeper confirmation (GCF). If a
gatekeeper cannot accept a registration, it returns a gatekeeper reject (GRJ). This exchange is
illustrated in Figure 14-12.
GCF/GRJ (2)
H.323 Endpoint/Gateway Gatekeeper
NOTE Although the exchange shown in Figure 14-12 is supported on most H.323 endpoints
and gateways (as it is defined in the H.323 standard), Cisco CallManager does not support
gatekeeper discovery messages. Because the gatekeeper can play such an integral role in the
CallManager route plan, H.323 gatekeepers must be manually configured rather than
dynamically discovered.
After the discovery process has completed, the Cisco CallManager must register with the
gatekeeper. A Cisco IOS gatekeeper supports two types of registration:
■ Full registration
■ Lightweight registration
290 Chapter 14: Implementing Multiple-Site Deployments
An endpoint must always use a full registration during the initial registration process. An endpoint
can use lightweight registration to maintain registration. Should an endpoint become unregistered
with the gatekeeper, a full registration is required.
Full registration requires the endpoint to register any E.164 address, H.323 identifier, device type,
and other possible parameters each time that it registers. This procedure involves additional
processing load on a gatekeeper every time an endpoint registers or renews its registration. The
registration request (RRQ) includes the time between renewal of registrations or Time to Live
(TTL), and the gatekeeper can replace this value or return this value unchanged.
NOTE You can make the returned TTL value configurable with Cisco IOS Software Release
12.1.5T and later.
The lower the TTL value, the higher the load on the gatekeeper processing the registration. The
impact of a higher value is that it takes longer for the gatekeeper to become aware that an endpoint
has lost connectivity. Use 30 to 300 seconds, depending on design requirements.
When the endpoint sends a full RRQ to the gatekeeper, the gatekeeper responds with a registration
confirmation (RCF) to accept or a registration rejection (RRJ) to refuse, as illustrated in Figure 14-
13. The gatekeeper can refuse the registration for many reasons, such as duplicate E.164 or H323
identifiers or ambiguous information.
RRQ (1)
Registration
RCF/RRJ (2)
URQ (1)
Gatekeeper-Initiated
Unregistration Request
UCF (2)
URQ (1)
Endpoint-Initiated
Unregistration Request UCF/URJ (2)
Call Admission Control 291
An endpoint registration has a finite life. Before the TTL expires, the endpoint is required to renew
its registration by sending an RRQ. If the TTL expires and the gatekeeper has not received an RRQ
from the endpoint, the endpoint becomes unregistered.
Lightweight registration reduces the processing load on the gatekeeper during registration
renewal. The gatekeeper receives an RRQ with the keepalive bit set and the minimum required
information from the endpoint. If the gatekeeper accepts the renewal, the gatekeeper returns an
RCF to the endpoint and resets the TTL timer. If the gatekeeper rejects the renewal with an RRJ,
the endpoint becomes unregistered.
If the endpoint is unregistered, the endpoint must start the gatekeeper discovery and registration
process again.
At any time, an endpoint or a gatekeeper can cancel a registration with an unregister request
(URQ), normally used during configuration changes.
After the Cisco CallManagers from multiple clusters register with the gatekeeper, the gatekeeper
device can perform admission and bandwidth control between the clusters. Telephony endpoints
(Cisco IP Phones or Cisco IP SoftPhones) send an admission request (ARQ) to the gatekeeper to
initiate a call, as shown in Figure 14-14. The ARQ contains an H.323 identifier or the E.164
address of a destination or called party that it wants to reach. Also contained within the ARQ
message are the call bandwidth (not including the header overhead), the source E.164 address, and
the H.323 identifier of the calling party.
The gatekeeper will respond to the ARQ with either an admission confirmation (ACF) or an
admission reject (ARJ). The gatekeeper sends the ACF if the requested bandwidth is available and
the called endpoint is found. The ACF contains the IP address of the endpoint. On receipt of an
ACF from the gatekeeper, the endpoint sends a setup message directly to the other endpoint, using
the IP address returned in the ACF. If bandwidth is unavailable or if the called endpoint is not
registered, the gatekeeper sends an ARJ.
When an endpoint terminates a call, the endpoint is required to indicate the termination to the
gatekeeper and return the used bandwidth. The endpoint sends a disengage request (DRQ) to the
gatekeeper to indicate that the call is complete. The gatekeeper responds with a disengage
confirmation (DCF) and returns the previously used bandwidth to the pool.
292 Chapter 14: Implementing Multiple-Site Deployments
ARQ (1)
ACF/ARJ (2)
Setup (3)
ARQ (5)
ACF/ARJ (6)
Alerting (7)
Connect (8)
The gatekeeper can also clear the call by sending a DRQ to the endpoint, forcing the endpoint to
clear the call with the other endpoint and return a DCF.
If during the duration of the call the bandwidth requirement changes, because of a changing codec
or additional media channels opening or closing, the endpoint can request or release the bandwidth
by sending a bandwidth request (BRQ). The gatekeeper responds with a bandwidth confirmation
(BCF) if the bandwidth is available or with a bandwidth reject (BRJ) if the bandwidth is not
available, as shown in Figure 14-15.
DRQ (1)
Disengage
DCF(2)
BRQ (1)
Bandwidth
BCF/BRJ (2)
Call Admission Control 293
TIP Other feature sets of the IOS have begun adding gatekeeper support. The best way to find
out what feature set you should download is to use the Cisco feature navigator utility available
at http://www.cisco.com/go/fn.
The following are the four general steps for configuring call admission control using gatekeepers
and trunks:
Step 1 On the gatekeeper device, configure the appropriate zones and bandwidth
allocations for the various Cisco CallManager nodes that will route calls to it.
Example 14-1 shows a sample Cisco IOS gatekeeper simple configuration.
Command Description
Gatekeeper Enters gatekeeper configuration mode.
zone local SJGK1 Specifies the zone name controlled by the gatekeeper. In this
cisco.com case, cisco.com is the zone controlled by gatekeeper SJGK1.
zone prefix SJGK1 408* Associates the digits 408 with the local zone SJGK1.
gw-type-prefix 1#* Configures a technology prefix in the gatekeeper. Cisco
default-technology gatekeepers use technology prefixes to route calls when there are
no E.164 addresses registered (by a gateway) that match the
called number. With the default technology prefix option, the
Cisco gatekeeper assigns a default gateway or gateways for
routing unresolved call addresses. This assignment is based on
the registered technology prefix of the gateways.
continues
294 Chapter 14: Implementing Multiple-Site Deployments
Command Description
bandwidth total zone Specifies the maximum bandwidth available in zone SJGK1 as
SJGK1 512 512 kbps.
bandwidth session zone Specifies the maximum bandwidth allowed for a session in zone
SJGK1 256 SJGK1 as 256 kbps.
Field Description
Host Name/IP Enter the IP address or hostname of the gatekeeper in this required field (IP
Address* address preferred).
Registration Do not change this value unless a Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC)
Request Time engineer instructs you to do so. The default value specifies 60 seconds.
to Live
The Registration Request Time to Live field indicates the time that the
gatekeeper considers a registration request (RRQ) valid. The system must send a
keepalive RRQ to the gatekeeper before the RRQ TTL expires.
The Registration Retry Timeout field indicates the time that Cisco
CallManager waits before retrying gatekeeper registration after a failed
registration attempt.
* Indicates required item
NOTE The two different types of gatekeeper-controlled trunks have caused much confusion
with CallManager administrators. The Intercluster Trunk is a Cisco proprietary trunking method
that allowed communication between Cisco CallManager clusters. This type of trunk is only
necessary when communicating with clusters running Cisco CallManager 3.2 or earlier. The
H.225 trunk is an industry standard trunking method used to communicate with any type of
H.323-compliant device, including CallManager clusters since version 3.3 and Cisco
CallManager Express platforms.
A simple way of solving this problem is to provide limited call-processing capabilities in the
remote office router. Cisco IP Phone enhancements grant the ability to rehome to the call-
processing functions in the local router upon WAN failure detection. This solution is Cisco
Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST).
The Cisco SRST feature provides call-handling support on the gateway router for attached Cisco
IP Phones when a Cisco CallManager or WAN link fails. On restoration of the Cisco CallManager
or WAN link, the Cisco CallManager resumes the call-handling capabilities for the IP Phones. The
implementation of this feature is transparent to the end user, with the exception of the notification
that a user receives on the IP Phones that it is in fallback mode.
■ IP Phone-to-PSTN calls
■ Caller ID information
■ Speed dialing
■ Last-number redial
■ Multiple extensions (up to six extensions per IP Phone on Cisco 7960 IP Phones)
■ Distinctive ringing
■ Dual-line mode
■ Music on Hold
SRST goes into effect when Cisco IP Phones detect that they are no longer receiving responses to
their keepalive packets from the Cisco CallManager, as shown in Figure 14-18. The Cisco IP
Phones can be configured to register with the router as a backup call-processing source. The SRST
software in the router automatically activates and builds a local database of all Cisco IP Phones
attached to it, up to the stated maximum. The SRST router now performs all local call setup and
processing, call maintenance, and call termination.
PSTN
KA to Cisco
CallManager
IP
Real-Time V
Transport V
Protocol Branch Router
WAN
KA to Cisco
Headquarters
CallManager
IP Keepalive (TCP)
Branch Office
When the WAN link resumes, the IP Phones detect keepalive responses from the central Cisco
CallManager and revert to the central Cisco CallManager for primary call setup and processing.
As IP Phones rehome to the Cisco CallManager, the SRST router purges its call-processing
database and reverts to standby mode. Calls in progress continue without interruption. IP Phones
in use during WAN link recovery rehome to the Cisco CallManager after the calls terminate.
There is one global command (with a series of subcommands) to configure for SRST, the call-
manager-fallback command. Example 14-2 shows a sample SRST configuration.
Command Description
access-code Defines access codes for outgoing calls.
default-destination Defines or disables the default destination DN for ringing on unknown
called number (typically used for incoming PSTN calls).
dialplan-pattern Defines an E.164 telephone number prefix. This command defines the
number of digits sent from the provider for incoming calls and dictates
how many digits should be forwarded to the phones. In the sample
syntax, the provider is sending ten-digit DID numbers and the internal
office is using four-digit extensions.
ip source-address Defines an IP address and port for the SRST router. This command
dictates which internal IP address should expect to receive Skinny
messages when the CallManager connection is lost.
keepalive Defines the keepalive timeout period to unregister IP Phones.
max-dn Specifies the maximum DNs supported on the IP Keyswitch.
max-ephones Specifies the maximum number of IP Phones.
transfer-pattern Defines valid call transfer destinations off the VoIP network. By default,
SRST allows transfers only between devices registered to the same
SRST router.
voicemail Sets the voice-mail access number called when the Messages button is
pressed.
300 Chapter 14: Implementing Multiple-Site Deployments
NOTE If the IP Phones at a remote location use their default gateway as the SRST router, it is
not necessary to configure SRST references. In the IP Phone’s device pool configuration, you
can select the Use Default Gateway option to point the IP Phones to the correct SRST device.
To configure SRST references, choose the System menu in the Cisco CallManager Administration
utility and then choose SRST. When the Find and List SRST References window appears, click
the Add a New SRST Reference link in the upper-right area of the window. A window similar to
the one shown in Figure 14-19 should appear. To create a valid SRST reference, you must enter
values in the following fields you input:
■ SRST Reference Name—This value is a logical name that you can use when referencing the
SRST gateway. It does not need to match the name assigned to the gateway.
■ IP Address—This value is the IP address that the Cisco IP Phone should use when contacting
the SRST gateway. The IP Phone itself must be able to reach this IP address.
■ Port—This value is the port number that the IP Phone should use when contacting the SRST
reference. By default, this uses TCP port you input 2000.
The Is SRST Secure? check box and the SRST Certificate Provider Port field are used for
configuring the Cisco CallManager portion of a secure SRST-enabled gateway connection. Secure
SRST allows Cisco CallManager to authenticate with a secure SRST-enabled gateway and add the
SRST-enabled gateway certificate to the Cisco CallManager database. The TFTP server adds the
SRST certificate to the phone cnf.xml file and sends the file to the phone. A secure phone then uses
a secure connection to interact with the SRST-enabled gateway. Phone security is discussed in
Chapters 26, “IPT Authentication and Encryption Fundamentals” and 27, “Configuring IPT
Authentication and Encryption.”
After you create the input SRST reference in Cisco CallManager, you must assign the SRST
reference to the Cisco IP Phone. Cisco CallManager creates this assignment through the device
pool. In the Device Pool Configuration window, click the SRST Reference drop-down arrow to
choose the SRST reference that the IP Phone should use. If you want the Cisco IP Phone to use its
default gateway as the SRST reference, you can choose the Use Default Gateway option from the
menu. Using this option can simplify your SRST configuration.
NOTE Each router platform supports a different maximum number of IP Phones. Up-to-date
information on these numbers can be gathered from the SRST administration guide available on
the Cisco website you input.
Summary
This chapter covered the concepts and configuration of Cisco CallManager in a multiple-site
deployment. Call admission control (CAC) mechanisms are necessary in this type of deployment
to control the volume of calls between two endpoints, which is key to maintaining QoS of all calls.
Cisco CallManager supports two models of CAC: location-based CAC for centralized call-
processing environments and gatekeeper-based CAC for distributed call-processing environments.
Locations-based CAC is configured on the Cisco CallManager and allocates a specific audio and
video bandwidth amount to each location. IP Phones are then assigned to their respective locations
on a per-device basis.
In a distributed call-control environment, multiple Cisco CallManager clusters can exist. This
design requires an independent authority that can control the WAN bandwidth and call routing
between clusters. The H.323 gatekeeper is used to satisfy this requirement. Gatekeepers are
configured in the IOS software and added to the Cisco CallManager configuration to support
gatekeeper-controlled trunks. These trunks are then included in the Cisco CallManager route plan
to route outside of the cluster.
302 Chapter 14: Implementing Multiple-Site Deployments
The final topic discussed in this chapter addresses the failover capabilities of remote sites in a
centralized CallManager environment. Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST) provides call-
handling support for IP Phones when the Cisco CallManager or WAN link fails. SRST is
configured on an IOS-based router and added to the Cisco CallManager configuration as an SRST
reference. The SRST reference is assigned to end devices through their device pool.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
5. Using the Cisco CallManager locations feature, how many simultaneous audio calls can be
placed over a given WAN link with 128 kbps of available bandwidth using a G.729 codec?
a. two
b. three
c. four
d. five
6. AAR derives the alternate dial string used to route the call over the PSTN from which three
of the following? (Choose three.)
a. DN
b. external phone number mask
c. AAR calling search space
d. MAC address
e. PSTN prefix
f. AAR group
7. Which command is used to initiate SRST capabilities on an IOS-based router?
a. telephony-service
b. call-fallback
c. call-manager-fallback
d. ccm-communication
8. You are working in a location-based CallManager deployment. Phone A (DN=3423) dials on-
net to Phone B (DN=3420). The location-based CAC denies the call and AAR initiates. Which
external phone number mask will be used by AAR to complete the call?
a. Phone A
b. Phone B
c. the gateway at the calling site
d. the gateway at the called site
9. What is the default state of AAR in a CallManager cluster?
a. AAR is enabled, but must be configured by an administrator.
b. AAR is enabled and preconfigured, provided the administrator has entered the correct
external phone number masks under the applicable DNs.
c. AAR is disabled until a feature license is applied.
d. AAR is disabled.
304 Chapter 14: Implementing Multiple-Site Deployments
10. You have AAR configured in a cluster to divert calls to the PSTN should the IP WAN become
unusable. To test the configuration, you disconnect the WAN and place a call to an alternate
site. The CallManager returns a reorder tone. You are sure the digit transformation settings are
configured correctly; what is the most likely cause of this problem?
a. AAR does not function in a distributed call-control environment.
b. The AAR calling search space does not provide the necessary privileges to complete the
call.
c. The standard calling search space does not provide the necessary privileges to complete
the call.
d. AAR does not function during a WAN failure.
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Part IV: VoIP Features
Conferencing, music on hold (MoH), and informational tones and spoken word progress tones
are important business phone services. Media resources provide these and other services in a
Cisco CallManager IP telephony deployment. This chapter describes how to configure and
allocate media resources to include conferencing, Media Termination Points (MTPs), the
annunciator, transcoders, and MoH within a Cisco CallManager solution.
Every Cisco CallManager contains a software component called a Media Resource Manager
(MRM) that communicates with MRMs on other Cisco CallManager servers. The MRM locates
a media resource to connect the media streams and to complete the feature. The MRM manages
the following media resource types:
■ Conference bridge
■ MTP
■ Annunciator
■ Transcoder
■ MoH server
NOTE To act as a Media Resource Manager, you must activate the Voice Media Streaming
Application service on the Cisco CallManager server. This service is discussed in detail later
in this chapter.
310 Chapter 15: Media Resources
Your Cisco CallManager servers can also participate in the media-processing functions in the
cluster. After Cisco CallManager is installed, you must activate these two Cisco CallManager
services:
■ Cisco MoH Audio Translator—The Cisco MoH Audio Translator service converts audio
source files, which can be in .WAV or .MP3 format, into the appropriate MoH source file for
various coder-decoders (codecs) so that the MoH feature can use them.
To activate the required services in Cisco CallManager, access the administration web page and
choose Application > Cisco CallManager Serviceability. In the Serviceability window, choose
Tools > Service Activation. You can activate the services on any server that you choose.
Cisco CallManager supports both hardware and software conference bridges. Hardware and
software conference bridges can be active at the same time.
Hardware-enabled conferencing provides the ability to support voice conferences using hardware
resources. Digital signal processors (DSPs) convert multiple voice over IP (VoIP) packets into
streams that are mixed into a single conference call stream. The DSPs support both Meet-Me and
ad hoc conferences. Hardware conference devices can provide a mixing of multiple codecs on the
same conference call for G.711, G.729, G.723, Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM)
Full Rate (FR), and GSM Enhanced Full Rate (EFR). Not all hardware resources support all of
these codecs, but they all support at least G.711 and G.729, which are the two codecs supported
by all modern Cisco IP Phones.
Conference Bridge Resources 311
Software conferences use the resources of Cisco CallManager. A software conference bridge is
capable of mixing G.711 audio streams and Cisco Wideband audio streams. Any combination of
Wideband or G.711 a-law and mu-law streams can be connected to the same conference.
■ Meet-Me conference—A user, known as the conference controller, presses the MeetMe
button or softkey and establishes the conference. The administrator must configure a directory
number (DN) or range of DNs in Cisco CallManager Administration. The conference
controller provides the DN to the participants, and at the appointed time, participants dial the
DN to join the conference. Participants can leave the conference by hanging up. If the
conference controller hangs up, the conference continues if there are least two participants on
the bridge.
NOTE The Meet-Me conference functionality included with Cisco CallManager is very
basic and does not provide scheduling and/or security capabilities. The Cisco Meeting Place
or Meeting Place Express software can be used for this functionality.
■ WS-SVC-CMM—This conference bridge type, when configured with the ACT port adapter,
supports the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series and Cisco 7600 Series Communication Media
Module (CMM). This conference bridge type supports up to eight parties per conference and
up to 64 conferences per port adapter. This conference bridge type supports the following
codecs: G.711 mu-law, G.711 a-law, G.729 annex A and annex B, and G.723.1. This
conference bridge type supports ad hoc conferencing.
services using the Cisco CallManager are limited to G.711 only (with the exception of
streaming MoH) because the CallManager is not capable of performing transcoding
functions.
■ NM-HD-2VE—The NM-HD-2VE supports analog, BRI, T1, E1, voice, and data WANs and
up to 48 channels (G.711 codec).
■ IP/VC-3500 Series—The Cisco IP/VC 3500 Series Video Multipoint Conference Unit is a
dual multimedia bridge that provides videoconferencing. The videoconference bridge
provides audio and videoconferencing functions for video Cisco IP Phones, H.323 endpoints,
and audio-only Cisco IP Phones with the VT Advantage package. The Cisco IP/VC 3500
Series includes the Cisco IP/VC 3511, the Cisco IP/VC 3521 BRI Videoconferencing
Gateway, and the IP/VC 3526 PRI Videoconferencing Gateway. For large or centralized
videoconferencing deployments, the scalable, multifunctional IP/VC 3540 Series
Videoconferencing System offers the combination of MCUs, a videoconferencing gateway, a
rate matching module, and a data collaboration server. Each product in the series supports a
number of audio and video codecs (H.261, H.263, H.263++, and H.264); these vary by
platform.
• 48 streams.
• Bridges can range from 16 bridges with 3 participants to 1
bridge with 48 participants.
Cisco IOS • 3 bridges per PVDM-12 NM-HDV
software • 3, 6, 9, or 15 bridges per NM
• Maximum of 6 participants per bridge
For information on the PVDM2-8, PVDM2-16, PVDM2-32,
PVDM2-48, and PVDM2-64, refer to the “Hardware
Resources for MTP, Conferencing, and Transcoding” section
of the Cisco IP Telephony Solution Reference Network
Design (SRND) for Release 4.1 at: http://www.cisco.com/go/
srnd
Enhanced Cisco The total number of conference sessions is limited by the NM-HD
IOS software capacity of the entire system, the Cisco CallManager, and
the codec. Further details can be found in the “Cisco NM-HDV2
Enhanced Conferencing and Transcoding for Voice Gateway
Routers” data sheet at: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/
products/ps5855/
products_data_sheet0900aecd801b97a6.html
Conference Bridge Resources 315
NOTE The hardware and capacities described in Table 15-2 are accurate at the time of this
writing; however, Cisco is continually adding new hardware and making improvements on
existing hardware. To ensure accuracy when provisioning your network, refer to the latest
CallManager SRND documentation available at http://www.cisco.com/go/srnd.
Step 1 Choose Service > Media Resource > Conference Bridge and then choose
Add a New Conference Bridge.
Step 2 Choose Cisco Conference Bridge Hardware in the Conference Bridge
Type field. The Conference Bridge Configuration window shown in Figure
15-1 appears.
Step 3 Add the MAC address of the WS-X6608 port that will be used for
conferencing.
316 Chapter 15: Media Resources
On the WS-X6608, the port must be pointed toward the Cisco TFTP server to obtain the
configuration file and a list of the Cisco CallManager servers within the Cisco IP telephony
network to use for registration. Use the set port voice interface command on Cisco Catalyst
switches running the Catalyst operating system to point the port toward the Cisco TFTP server
(usually the publisher server).
The following example disables Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) on port 3/1 of a
6608 port, assigns an IP address, subnet mask, VLAN number, and default gateway, and points the
port to the Cisco TFTP server (in bold):
set port voice interface 3/1 dhcp disable 172.16.10.201 255.255.255.0 vlan 15 tftp
172.16.10.5 gateway 172.16.10.1
NOTE Any Cisco CallManager servers in the cluster that have the Voice Media Streaming
Application service activated will automatically be listed and used as a software-based
conference resource. If you do not want a CallManager server to participate in conference
bridge processing (to save resources), you can remove it as a conference bridge server by
deleting the CallManager server in the Conference Bridge Configuration window.
■ Call Hold
■ Call Transfer
■ Call Park
■ Conferencing
An MTP is an entity that accepts two full-duplex G.711 streams. It bridges the media streams
together and allows them to be set up and torn down independently. Simply put, the MTP allows
a call to be held (maintained) when a user places it on hold due to one of the services mentioned
previously. The streaming data received from the input stream on one connection is passed to the
output stream on the other connection, and vice versa. In addition, the MTP transcodes G.711 a-
law to G.711 mu-law, and vice versa, and adjusts packet sizes as required by the two connections.
When needed, an MTP is allocated and connected into a call on behalf of an H.323 endpoint. After
being inserted, the media streams are connected between the MTP and the H.323 device, and these
connections are present for the duration of the call. The media streams connected to the other side
Media Termination Point Resources 317
of the MTP can be connected and disconnected as needed to implement features such as hold,
transfer, and so forth.
For a hardware-only implementation with DSP for devices that use G.711
codec only, 200 sessions can occur per NM-HDV2 and 48 sessions can
occur per NM-HD.
Cisco IOS Software Enhanced Media Termination Point does not support
RFC 2833 (DTMF relay).
In Cisco CallManager Administration, ensure that you enter the same MTP
name that exists in the gateway command-line interface (CLI).
Cisco CallManager A single MTP provides a default of 48 MTP (user-configurable) resources,
Media Termination depending on the speed of the network and the network interface card
Point Software (NIC). For example, a 100-Mbps network card/NIC can support 48 MTP
(Voice Media resources.
Streaming
Application) For a 10-Mbps network card/NIC, approximately 24 MTP resources can be
provided; however, the exact number of MTP resources that are available
depends on the resources that are being consumed by other applications on
that server, the speed of the processor, network loading, and various other
factors.
MTP Configuration
By default, any Cisco CallManager software-based MTP resources are automatically added to the
cluster when you have activated the Voice Media Streaming Application on a server. If you do not
want a CallManager server to participate in MTP processing (which saves resources), delete the
server from under the MTP Configuration window. Hardware-based MTP resources (known as
Cisco IOS Enhanced Software Media Termination Points) must manually be added to the cluster.
To configure or add an MTP, choose Service > Media Resource > Media Termination Point
from the Cisco CallManager Administration console and click Add a New Media Termination
Point. The Media Termination Point Configuration window shown in Figure 15-2 appears.
From here, you can choose to add a software- or hardware-based conference bridge to the
CallManager cluster configuration. Table 15-4 describes the configuration options available from
this window.
Field Description
Media Termination Choose the MTP type, either Cisco IOS Enhanced Software Media
Point Type Termination or Cisco Media Termination Point Software.
Host Server Choose the server to run MTP (for software-based MTPs only).
Annunciator Resources 319
Field Description
Media Termination Enter an MTP name, up to 15 alphanumeric characters.
Point Name
Description Enter a description for MTP.
Device Pool Choose your preferred device pool or choose Default.
Annunciator Resources
An annunciator uses the Cisco IP Voice Media Streaming Application service and enables Cisco
CallManager to play prerecorded announcements (.wav files) and tones to Cisco IP Phones,
gateways, and other configurable devices. The annunciator enables Cisco CallManager to alert
callers as to why a call has failed. The annunciator can also play tones for some transferred calls
and some conferences.
In conjunction with Cisco CallManager, the annunciator device provides multiple one-way, RTP
stream connections to devices such as Cisco IP Phones and gateways. For example, a user at
extension 1001 dials extension 2503, an invalid number. The system cannot complete the call. The
annunciator device plays a one-way RTP stream to extension 1001: “Your call cannot be
completed as dialed. Please consult your directory and call again or ask your operator for
assistance. This is a recording.”
The annunciator plays the announcement or tone to support the following conditions:
■ Ringback tone—When you transfer a call over the PSTN through a Cisco IOS gateway, over
an H.323 Intercluster Trunk, or to the SIP client from an SCCP phone, the annunciator plays
the tone because the gateway cannot play the tone when the call is active.
To add an annunciator to the Cisco CallManager, you must activate the Cisco IP Voice Media
Streaming Application service on the server where you want the annunciator to exist in the cluster.
Condition Announcement
An equal- or higher- “Equal- or higher-precedence calls have prevented the completion of
precedence call is in your call. Please hang up and try again. This is a recording.”
progress.
A precedence access “Precedence access limitation has prevented the completion of your call.
limitation exists. Please hang up and try again. This is a recording.”
A service interruption “A service disruption has prevented the completion of your call. In case
occurred. of emergency, call your operator. This is a recording.”
For a single annunciator, Cisco CallManager sets the default maximum to 48 simultaneous
streams, as indicated in the annunciator service parameters (accessed under the service parameters
for the Voice Media Streaming Application). It is recommended that you not exceed 48
annunciator streams on a coresident server where the Cisco CallManager and Cisco IP Voice
Media Streaming Application services run. If the server has only 10-Mbps connectivity, lower the
setting to 24 simultaneous streams.
If the annunciator runs on a standalone server where the Cisco CallManager service does not run,
the annunciator can support up to 255 simultaneous announcement streams. If the standalone
server has dual CPUs and a high-performance disk system (as in the case of the 7845 MCS server),
the annunciator can support up to 400 simultaneous announcement streams. You can add multiple
standalone servers to support the required number of streams.
Each annunciator can support G.711 a-law, G.711 mu-law, wideband, and G.729 codec formats.
A separate .wav file exists for each codec that is supported.
Annunciator Configuration
Because the annunciator service requires access to a large amount of audio files, only the Cisco
CallManager can act as an annunciator in the cluster. There are no hardware-based resources that
exist. When you activate the Cisco IP Voice Media Streaming Application service in Cisco
CallManager Serviceability, Cisco CallManager automatically adds the annunciator device to the
server configuration.
The annunciator configuration is almost identical to the MTP configuration. Minimally, you must
select a host server, enter the annunciator name, and assign the annunciator to a device pool, as
shown in Figure 15-3.
Transcoder Resources 321
Each annunciator registers with only one Cisco CallManager at a time. The system might have
multiple annunciators, depending on your configuration, each of which can register with different
Cisco CallManager servers, depending on the device pool to which you have assigned the
annunciator service. Each annunciator belongs to a device pool. The device pool associates the
secondary (backup) Cisco CallManager and the region settings.
When you update or configure the annunciator service parameters, the changes automatically
occur when the annunciator becomes idle, when no active announcements are played.
Transcoder Resources
A transcoder device takes the output stream of one codec and converts the voice streams to another
compression type. For example, a transcoder can take an output stream from a G.711 codec and
convert it to a G.729 stream. Depending on the hardware resources you are using, transcoders for
Cisco CallManager convert between G.711, G.723, G.729, and GSM codecs. A transcoder device
provides additional capabilities and can be used to enable supplementary services for H.323
endpoints.
Figure 15-4 shows a transcoder device (XCODE) enabling communication between two different
codecs and providing MTP services for H.323 endpoints.
322 Chapter 15: Media Resources
IP
G.729 G.711
The Cisco CallManager invokes a transcoder on behalf of endpoint devices when the two devices
use different voice codecs and would normally not be able to communicate. When inserted into a
call, the transcoder converts the data streams between the two incompatible codecs to enable
communications between them. The transcoder remains invisible to either the user or the
endpoints that are involved in a call. For example, a user could be communicating across the IP
WAN using the G.729 codec to a legacy voice-mail server supporting only G.711. Cisco
CallManager can invoke transcoding resources to convert between the codecs and allow
communication to occur.
Table 15-6 shows the currently available transcoding resources and the resource capabilities of
each.
NOTE Cisco is continually adding transcoding-capable devices to their product line. For
the latest information on transcoding resources, check the Cisco website.
Transcoder Configuration
To configure or add a new transcoder, choose Service > Media Resource > Transcoder, click
Add a New Transcoder (shown in Figure 15-5), and then follow this general procedure:
Step 1 Choose the appropriate transcoder type: Cisco Media Termination Point
Hardware, Cisco IOS Media Termination Point, Cisco IOS Enhanced
Media Termination Point, or Cisco Media Termination Point (WS-SVC-
CMM).
Step 2 For Cisco Media Termination Point Hardware or Cisco Media Termination
Point (WS-SVC-CMM), enter a MAC address, which must be 12
characters.
Step 3 For Cisco Media Termination Point (WS-SVC-CMM) transcoders, choose
a subunit from the drop-down list (not shown in the figure).
Step 4 Choose a device pool. For more detailed information on the chosen device
pool, click View Details.
Step 5 Enter any special load information into the Special Load Information
field or leave it blank to use the default. Valid characters include letters,
numbers, dashes, dots (periods), and underscores.
Step 6 For Cisco Media Termination Point (WS-SVC-CMM) transcoders, choose
a maximum capacity from the drop-down list (not shown in the figure).
324 Chapter 15: Media Resources
NOTE The preceding procedure shows the CallManager transcoder configuration for the
WS-SVC-CMM module. The configuration fields for each type of transcoding resource are
unique.
■ Network hold—A user activates the transfer, conference, or Call Park feature, which
automatically activates the hold feature before performing the operation.
MoH is customizable so that it plays specific recordings, based on the DN that is used to place the
caller on hold or the line number that the caller has dialed. Recorded audio or a live audio stream
can be configured as audio sources.
Music on Hold Resources 325
The MoH feature requires the use of a server that is part of a Cisco CallManager cluster. You can
configure the MoH server in either of the following ways:
■ Coresident deployment—In a coresident deployment, the MoH feature runs on any server
(either publisher or subscriber) in the cluster that is also running the Cisco CallManager
software. Because MoH shares server resources with Cisco CallManager in a coresident
configuration, this type of configuration drastically reduces the number of simultaneous
streams that an MoH server can send.
Table 15-7 provides details on the number of MoH sessions and codecs that are supported for each
server platform.
Cisco SPE-310
Hewlett-Packard DL320
The maximum session limits apply to unicast, multicast, or simultaneous unicast and multicast
sessions. The limits represent the recommended maximum sessions that a platform can support.
326 Chapter 15: Media Resources
Start 1 5
Hard-Coded MOH
Administrator copies audio MOH
Server Audio
source into this directory. Server
Source Directory
IP
Kernel-Mode
DirectShow
RTP Streaming
6 Filters
Driver
IP IP
In creating an audio source, the following sequence takes place, as shown in the figure:
Step 1 The network administrator drops the audio files into the C:\Program
Files\Cisco\MoH\DropMoHAudioSourceFilesHere directory path.
Standard .wav and MP3 files are valid input.
Step 3 The output and source files are moved into the default MoH TFTP server
holding directory. This holding directory is the same as the default
TFTPMoHFilePath with \MoH appended.
NOTE It is not recommended that the audio translator service be used during production
hours because the service will consume 100 percent of the CPU.
Step 4 The network administrator assigns an audio source number to the audio
source file. The corresponding audio source files are then copied to a
directory that is one level higher in the directory structure (which is the
default TFTP path) to make them available to the MoH servers.
Step 5 The MoH servers download the needed audio source files and store them in
the hard-coded directory C:\Program Files\Cisco\MoH.
Step 6 The MoH server then streams the files using DirectShow and the kernel-
mode RTP driver as needed or requested by Cisco CallManager.
Configuring MoH
The Cisco CallManager MoH Configuration is a six-step process:
The output directory, a clusterwide parameter, contains a Universal Naming Convention (UNC)
name to a shared directory on the default MoH TFTP directory. For whichever directory is
specified, append \MoH.
328 Chapter 15: Media Resources
To display the Service Parameters Configuration window, choose Service > Service Parameters
in Cisco CallManager Administration, choose the server that will provide MoH (typically, the
publisher if not a standalone server), and choose Cisco MoH Audio Translator for the service.
Figure 15-7 illustrates this configuration.
After you configure the audio translator service, you can drop your MoH audio source files (in
.wav or .mp3 format) into the drop directory you specify. As soon as you copy the files into the
directory, the CallManager’s audio translator service immediately goes to work converting the
files into the various audio codecs compatible with the VoIP network.
CAUTION Converting the audio source files into audio codec format can cause massive
processor utilization on the CallManager server, potentially keeping it at 100 percent
utilization for a short time (depending on the size and number of audio source files you copy).
Cisco highly recommends doing this conversion during network off-hours.
Music on Hold Resources 329
TIP Be sure to copy the MoH audio source files into the drop directory. If you move the files
(by dragging and dropping them from a source on the same hard disk partition, such as the
desktop), the files retain their original permissions rather than inheriting the permissions of
the parent directory. If the permissions are not set correctly, the CallManager will not be able
to convert the audio files.
Unicast MoH, the system default, uses a separate source stream for each user or connection. Users
connect to a specific device or stream. If your network supports multicast traffic, you can deploy
330 Chapter 15: Media Resources
MoH services much more efficiently. Cisco recommends using a locally scoped multicast address
(239.x.x.x) to ensure MoH multicast traffic does not stream over the IP WAN unnecessarily.
Choose Service > Media Resource > Music On Hold Server to display the Music On Hold
(MoH) Server Configuration window.
To add audio source files, click the Add New MoH Audio Source link, choose an MoH Audio
Stream Number unique in the cluster (numbers range from 1 to 50), assign the MoH Audio Source
File to the number, and click Insert. The Play Continuously (Repeat) check box should always
be checked to ensure music loops when the end of the file is reached. If multicast capabilities are
necessary, you must check the Allow Multicasting check box. If the Play Continuously (Repeat)
and Allow Multicasting check boxes are both unchecked, the audio file stops playing when it
Music on Hold Resources 331
reaches the end and the network administrator must stop and start the server to reset the MoH
server.
The MoH Audio Source File Status window shows the conversion status and indicates whether the
audio file translated correctly or had errors.
The Supported MoH Codecs field is set to the codecs that are supported by the MoH servers in
the cluster. This field defaults to G.711 mu-law during the installation. You can enable multiple
codecs by pressing the Ctrl key while selecting the codecs.
The Default TFTPMOH IP Address field is set to the IP address or computer name of the default
MoH TFTP server.
332 Chapter 15: Media Resources
NOTE Compressed codecs (such as G.729) are designed to handle Latin-based speech
patterns. Music on hold audio does not translate well through codecs of this nature and the
degradation in music quality is very perceptible.
NOTE CallManager MCS servers do not ship with sound cards. A list of supported sound
cards can be found in the CallManager SRND available at http://www.cisco.com/go/srnd.
To find the name of the fixed audio source, open Control Panel and choose Sounds and
Multimedia. Choose the Audio tab. You can use any sound-recording device name that appears in
the Preferred Device menu, shown in Figure 15-11. In addition, be sure to open the Recording
Control window, and click the Volume button in the Sound Recoding area. Verify that the Line In,
Microphone, or CD Audio check box is checked and the volume has been adjusted to an
appropriate level (this might require some testing in your IPT environment).
To allow Cisco CallManager to use the fixed audio source, you must link the CallManager
configuration with the Windows sound device. After you have located the sound-recording device
name that appears in the Windows Control Panel, you must open the Audio Source File
Configuration window (by choosing Service > Media Resource > Music On Hold Audio
Source) and select the Fixed Audio Source (this will always be audio source ID 51). The window
shown in Figure 15-12 appears.
The MoH Fixed Audio Source Device name is case sensitive and must be entered exactly as it
appears in the Sounds and Multimedia Properties window, including any spaces or symbols that
appear in the name. If the Allow Multicasting check box is checked, and the G.729 codec is
enabled, 5 to 7 percent of the CPU resources will be consumed. This setting is global for all MoH
servers. If the fixed audio source does not exist on a server, it cannot be used.
The Fixed Audio Source option affects all of the MoH servers that have an MoH fixed audio source
device by the selected name.
NOTE The FCC considers music on hold a type of broadcasting. Copyrighted music must
be licensed for prerecorded and live audio sources. Failure to comply with this law can result
in significant fines.
334 Chapter 15: Media Resources
The device that activates the hold will determine which audio source ID the caller will listen to.
You can assign the MoH audio source IDs to a group of devices by assigning them through the
device pool (choose System > Device Pool), through the individual IP Phones (choose Device >
Phone), or for specific directory numbers (choose Device > Phone > Directory Number). If you
assign the audio sources at both the device pool and IP Phone levels, the IP Phone settings override
the device pool. Likewise, the directory number assignments overrule both the IP Phone and
device pool settings. Figure 15-13 illustrates assigning the audio source IDs at the IP Phone level.
The MRM enhances Cisco CallManager features by making it easier for Cisco CallManager to
deploy transcoder, annunciator, conferencing, MTP, and MoH resources. MRM distribution
throughout the Cisco CallManager cluster uses these resources to their full potential, which makes
the Cisco CallManager cluster more efficient and more economical.
■ To enable Cisco CallManager to share and access the resources that are available in the cluster
■ To enable Cisco CallManager to perform load distribution within a group of similar resources
Figure 15-14 shows the hierarchical ordering of media resources and how MRGs and MRGLs are
similar to route groups and route lists. When a device needs a media resource, it searches its own
MRGL first. If a media resource is not available, the device searches the default list, which
includes all of the media resources that have not been assigned to an MRG. After a resource is
assigned to an MRG, it is removed from the default list.
336 Chapter 15: Media Resources
Assigned to Device
Media
Resource
Group List
First Choice Second Choice
Media Media
Resource Resource
Group Group
NOTE By default, CallManager assigns all media resources in the cluster to the default
media resource group. If you decide to keep this default, you will have no control over what
media resources are used in your IPT environment.
Figure 15-15 shows how media resources are allocated to devices when they are listed in an MRG.
The default media resources shown for a Cisco CallManager include MOH1, MTP1, XCODE1,
XCODE2, and XCODE3. The MRM distributes the load evenly among the transcoder resources
in its default MRG for calls that require a transcoder resource.
Media Resource Management 337
IP IP IP IP IP IP IP
This is the allocation order for incoming calls that require a transcoder resource:
The last MRGL is the default MRGL. A media resource that is not assigned to an MRG is
automatically assigned to the default MRGL. The default MRGL is always searched and it is the
last resort if no resources are available in the device-based MRGL and the device pool MRGL or
if no MRGLs are configured at any level.
NOTE If all media resources have been placed in MRGs, there will be no resources
remaining in the default MRG pool. If a device does not have a particular resource made
available in its MRGL, access to that resource is restricted. Whatever services the missing
resource(s) support will be unavailable on the device.
340 Chapter 15: Media Resources
Resource_List
Hardware MRG
XCODE1 B
1 XCODE2 RTP
HW-CONF1
HW-CONF2 IP IP
A
Software MRG
MTP1
2 MTP2 IP
SW-CONF1
C
SW-CONF2
MOH MRG
3 MOH1
MOH2
An MRGL called Resource_List was created and the MRGs assigned to it in this order: Hardware
MRG, Software MRG, and MoH MRG.
In this arrangement, when a conference is needed, Cisco CallManager allocates the hardware
conference resources first. The software conference resources are not used until all of the hardware
conference resources have been exhausted.
Dallas_List SanJose_List
Dallas_MRG SanJose_MRG
XCODE1 XCODE2
1 HW-CONF1 1 HW-CONF2
MOH2 MOH3
Hub_MRG Hub_MRG
MTP1 IP IP MTP1
MTP2 Dallas San Jose MTP2
2 MOH1 2 MOH1
SW-CONF1 SW-CONF1
SW-CONF2 SW-CONF2
SanJose_MRG Dallas_MRG
XCODE2 XCODE1
3 HW-CONF2 3 HW-CONF1
MOH3 MOH2
This example is for multiple-site WAN deployments that use centralized call processing. All Cisco
CallManager and software resources are located at the central site. For devices at the Dallas and
San Jose locations, it is more efficient to use media resources that reside physically at the location
than to use a resource across the WAN.
In this example, the network administrator has created a Dallas_List MRGL and assigned the
MRGs so that the resources are available in this order: local hardware resources first
(Dallas_MRG), software resources second (Hub_MRG), and distant hardware resources third
(SanJose_MRG).
The network administrator has also created a SanJose_List MRGL and assigned the MRGs so that
the resources are available in this order: local hardware resources first (SanJose_MRG), software
resources second (Hub_MRG), and distant hardware resources third (Dallas_MRG).
Lastly, the administrator has assigned an IP Phone in Dallas to use the Dallas_List MRGL and an
IP Phone in San Jose to use the SanJose_List MRGL. With this arrangement, the IP Phone in
Dallas will use the Dallas_List resources before using the central site or the SanJose_List
resources.
342 Chapter 15: Media Resources
Summary
This chapter covered the concepts and configuration of Cisco CallManager media resources and
media resource management. Media resources provide services such as transcoding,
conferencing, music on hold (MoH), and media termination. Conference bridges resources can be
software or hardware solutions that allow ad hoc and Meet-Me conferences. Media termination
resources provide supplementary services to H.323 endpoints that do not support the H.323v2
OpenLogicalChannel and CloseLogicalChannel request features. Annunciator resources play
prerecorded announcements and tones. Transcoder resources convert an output stream from one
compression type to another, allowing devices using different codecs to communicate.
By default, all media resources are added to a default Media Resource Group (MRG) that cannot
be modified or deleted. As you create new MRGs and add media resources to them, those media
resources are removed from the default MRG. MRGs are organized into an ordered list in a Media
Resource Group List (MRGL), which is assigned to a device pool or devices to grant access to a
specific set of media resources in the cluster.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
3. Which of the following is needed to add a 6608 hardware conference bridge into a Cisco
CallManager?
a. MAC address
b. IP address
c. port address
d. Meet-Me number
e. directory number
4. Annunciator resources require that which service be activated?
a. Cisco MoH Audio Translator
b. Cisco IP Voice Media Streaming Application
c. Cisco Messaging Interface
d. Cisco CDR Insert
e. Cisco TFTP
5. A user is having a conversation with her friend. A manager walks by and the user quickly
presses the conference button to make it look as if she were initiating a business-related
conference call. What music is the user’s friend hearing while the conference call is being
initiated?
a. whatever music is defined for the user hold option on the user’s device pool or IP Phone
b. whatever music is defined for the network hold option on the user’s device pool or IP
Phone
c. The user hears no music because conference calls do not have MoH features.
d. It depends on the route plan.
6. What is the default MoH streaming setting on a Cisco CallManager server?
a. unicast
b. multicast
c. broadcast
d. None, the MoH server must be configured before MoH functionality exists.
344 Chapter 15: Media Resources
7. A user has an MRGL assigned at both the device pool and IP Phone level. When the user
presses the transfer button on their phone, the MGM searches for a resource based on which
criteria?
a. the MTP resource listed first in the first MRG of the device pool MRGL
b. the MTP resource listed first in the first MRG of the IP Phone MRGL
c. the MTP resource listed first in the last MRG of the device pool MRGL
d. the MTP resource listed first in the last MRG of the IP Phone MRGL
8. You have not created any MRGs or MRGLs in your Cisco CallManager cluster configuration.
How does the MGM manage the media resources that are available?
a. The media resources are unavailable to users until they have been assigned to an MRG.
b. The media resources are assigned to the default MRG, which cannot be modified or
deleted. The MRM will use a round-robin load-balancing system for these resources.
c. The media resources are assigned to the default MRG, which cannot be modified or
deleted. The MRM will use hardware-based resources first and software-based
resources second.
d. The media resources are assigned to the default MRG. The default MRG must then be
added to an MRGL, which is assigned to the end devices.
9. Which of the following media resource functions can the Cisco CallManager server NOT
perform?
a. annunciator
b. conference bridge
c. Media Termination Point
d. Music on Hold
e. transcoding
10. Which audio source ID is always reserved for the fixed audio source in the Cisco CallManager
cluster?
a. 1
b. 21
c. 51
d. 99
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This chapter covers the
following topics:
Administrators need to have a working knowledge of the various options that are available for
Cisco IP Phones to ensure that all of the desired features and functions are available to users and
that they are properly configured. This chapter, the first of two on features, discusses many of
the Cisco IP Phone features that are available to users in a Cisco IP telephony solution. The
chapter includes a discussion of core and enhanced IP phone features: Call Park, Call Pickup,
Cisco Call Back, Barge, Privacy, and Cisco IP Phone Services. The chapter explains the purpose
of each feature and describes how to configure and use the feature.
■ Hold—Places an active call on hold. Hold requires no configuration, unless you want to use
music on hold (MoH). When you put a call on hold, the call remains active even though you
and the other party cannot hear one another. You can answer other calls while a call is on
hold. Engaging the hold feature generates music or a beeping tone (called “tone on hold”).
■ Redial—Redials the last number dialed. To redial the most recently dialed number, press
the Redial softkey. Doing so without lifting the handset activates the speakerphone or
headset. To redial a number from a line other than your primary line, select the desired line
button and then press Redial.
■ Transfer—Transfers an active call to another directory number (DN) through use of the
Transf softkey. This can be a blind transfer, where the call is cut over directly to another
extension, or a consultative transfer, where a temporary ad hoc conference call is created to
allow all parties to speak before a transfer occurs.
■ Call Waiting—Lets users receive a second incoming call on the same line without
disconnecting the first call. When the second call arrives, the user receives a brief call
waiting indicator tone.
348 Chapter 16: Configuring User Features, Part 1
You can configure speed dials or abbreviated dials in Cisco CallManager Administration. You can
access this configuration by clicking Device > Phone, selecting the phone you want to configure,
and clicking the Add/Update Speed Dials link in the upper-right corner. A window similar to that
shown in Figure 16-1 opens. Configure abbreviated dials just as you would configure speed dials.
Users (or administrators) can configure speed dials from the User Options web page (https://
<server IP address>/ccmuser).
■ Forward All—The settings in this row of fields specify the forwarding treatment for calls to
this DN if the DN is set to forward all calls. Specify the following values:
— Voice Mail—Check this check box to use settings in the Voice Mail Profile
Configuration window. When this check box is checked, Cisco CallManager ignores
the settings in the Coverage/Destination and Calling Search Space fields.
— Coverage/Destination—This setting indicates the DN to which all calls are
forwarded. Use any dialable phone number, including an outside destination.
— Calling Search Space—This setting allows you to specify different calling
restrictions for call forwarding. Otherwise, the same calling restrictions applied in
the IP phone calling search space also apply to call forwarding.
■ Other call forwarding settings—Starting with Cisco CallManager Release 4.1, the
administrator can specify different call forwarding treatment based on whether the caller is
external or internal for no answer, busy, and no coverage conditions.
Softkey Templates 351
NOTE Call Forward Busy, Call Forward No Answer, and Call Forward No Coverage for
external and internal calls and the interaction of the No Coverage option is covered in detail in
Chapter 12, “Configuring Hunt Groups and Call Coverage.”
■ Configurable call forwarding display—Starting with Cisco CallManager Release 4.0, the
administrator can configure call forwarding information display options to the original dialed
number, to the redirected dialed number, or to both (these settings are not shown in Figure 16-3).
You can enable or disable the caller name or caller number and present this information to the
display of the forwarded party. The display option is configured for each line appearance.
Softkey Templates
Softkeys extend the functions of nearly all Cisco IP Phones (with the exception of the 7902). As
shown in Figure 16-4, softkeys are buttons along the side and bottom of the IP phone liquid crystal
display (LCD) that point to functions and feature options on the LCD screen. Softkeys change
depending on the status of the phone.
Figure 16-4 Softkeys Available on 7940, 7960, and 7970 Cisco IP Phones
Softkeys
Cisco CallManager provides softkey templates for administrator convenience. Softkey templates
group softkeys that are used for common call-processing functions and applications. You can use
these default softkey templates to provide standard softkey definitions for devices, or you can
create custom templates.
Cisco CallManager, starting with Release 4.0, includes these five standard softkey templates:
■ Standard User
352 Chapter 16: Configuring User Features, Part 1
■ Standard Feature
You cannot delete or modify these standard templates. However, you can create custom
(nonstandard) templates to meet the needs of your organization.
To add softkeys, select a softkey from the Unselected Softkeys pane and click the right arrow to
move it to the Selected Softkeys pane. If the number of softkeys exceeds 16, an error message is
displayed that states that you must remove some of the softkeys before continuing. To delete
softkeys, select a softkey from the Selected Softkeys pane and click the left arrow to move it to the
Unselected Softkeys pane. Click Update after completing either procedure.
To modify softkey positions, use the up and down arrows to rearrange the positions of the selected
softkeys (the top position corresponds to the leftmost softkey on the IP phone). To save the
modifications that you have made to the template, click Update.
354 Chapter 16: Configuring User Features, Part 1
After making modifications to softkey templates, you must restart the devices that are using the
template.
For example, you might have a (standard or nonstandard) softkey template that you assign to a
device pool to configure the majority of phones in your cluster, a different softkey template that
you use for a feature that requires a device profile (for example, Extension Mobility), and a
different softkey template that includes the Barge, Privacy, and Immediate Divert softkeys that you
assign to a device belonging to a manager.
Figure 16-7 illustrates the Accounting User Softkeys template being assigned to a device pool.
To determine whether a softkey template is in use, click the Dependency Records link, located in
the upper-right corner of the Softkey Template Configuration window. By default, CallManager
disables the dependency records function because of its high CPU consumption on CallManager
servers.
NOTE Dependency records functionality causes high CPU usage when it is used. After it has
been enabled, this task executes at below-normal priority and might take time to complete
because of the dial plan size and complexity, CPU speed, and CPU requirements of other
applications.
partitions to allow users to share a line and still be able to receive and place multiple calls out of
the same line. Cisco CallManager will now support up to 200 active calls on a single line and one
connected call per telephone at any time.
Two configuration settings enable multiple line appearances and are configured from the Directory
Number Configuration window, as shown in Figure 16-8:
■ Busy Trigger—This setting, which works in conjunction with Maximum Number of Calls
and Call Forward Busy (CFB), determines the maximum number of calls to be presented at
the line. If the maximum number of calls is set to 50 and the busy trigger is set to 40, then
incoming call 41 is rejected with a busy cause code (and will be forwarded if CFB is set). If
this line is shared, all the lines must be busy before incoming calls will be rejected.
In Figure 16-8, the maximum number of calls is set to 4 and the busy trigger is set to 2. With this
configuration, four calls can be active at a given time. If two calls are active, and a third call comes
in, it is forwarded to the Call Forward Busy destination. The users, however, can place up to two
more outbound calls before the line is at capacity. Keep in mind that multiple lines are needed to
use various other features such as call transfer and conference.
Direct Transfer
Direct Transfer, which was introduced in Cisco CallManager 4.0, joins two established calls
(defined as a call in the hold or connected state) into one call and drops the feature initiator from
the call. Direct Transfer does not initiate a consultation call and does not put the active call on hold.
To implement Direct Transfer, the Direct Transfer initiator selects two calls at the Cisco IP Phone
and presses the DirTrfr softkey, shown in Figure 16-9. The two calls are joined immediately and
directly, and no conference resources are inserted. The initiating user is not included in the call
after the transaction is complete, and the call is released from the IP phone of the initiator.
The following steps illustrate the user sequence of events in a typical Direct Transfer call:
Call Join
Introduced in Cisco CallManager Release 4.0, the Call Join feature enables a user to link up to 15
established calls (for a total of 16) in a conference. Call Join does not create a consultation call
(does not put the active call on hold).
To implement Call Join, the user chooses an active or held call and, using either the rocker key
(Cisco IP Phones 7960 and 7940) and the Select softkey or the touch screen (Cisco IP Phone
7970), selects the appropriate line and then presses the Call Join softkey so that the selected calls
and the join initiator are joined in an ad hoc conference. Figure 16-10 illustrates this process. The
initiator can leave the Call Join session at any time, and the conference stays active. Only the
initiator of the Call Join session can add participants to the conference or drop them from it.
Immediate Divert supports an incoming call in the call-offering (ring in), call-on-hold, or call-
active state. Immediate Divert supports an outgoing call in the call-on-hold or call-active state.
Enhanced IP Phone Features 359
You can access the Immediate Divert feature by using the iDivert softkey, shown in Figure 16-11.
This softkey can be applied to any Cisco IP Phone that can accept softkeys. Configure this softkey
by using the Softkey Template Configuration window (discussed in the following section) of Cisco
CallManager Administration.
Call Park
The Call Park feature allows you to put a call on hold so that it can be retrieved from another
telephone in the Cisco CallManager cluster.
For example, the ABC Department Store, which has an overhead paging system, is using the Call
Park feature. A call for an employee on the floor comes in to a cashier desk. The cashier can park
the call and announce the Call Park code on the overhead paging system, and the employee on the
floor can pick up the call by using the Call Park code on a nearby telephone.
If you are on an active call on your telephone, you can park the call to a Call Park extension by
pressing the Park softkey. The Cisco IP Phone will display the Call Park number that it assigned
to your active call on the IP phone (the number will display on screen for 10 seconds, by default).
Someone (or you) on another phone in your system can then dial the Call Park extension to retrieve
the call.
Before the Call Park feature functions in your IPT network, a Call Park number or range must be
configured for the cluster. When you invoke the Call Park feature, it is assigned a Call Park code.
A user uses this code to pick up the call from another Cisco IP Phone on the same Cisco
CallManager to which the original IP Phone is registered. When you assign the Call Park number
360 Chapter 16: Configuring User Features, Part 1
or range to a partition, you can limit access to the Call Park feature based on the device calling
search space. You should ensure that the Call Park number or range is unique throughout the Cisco
CallManager cluster.
You can configure the Call Park feature by choosing Feature > Call Park. Select the Add a New
Call Park Number hyperlink in the upper-right corner of the screen. The Call Park Configuration
window shown in Figure 16-12 appears. Configure the Call Park number or range (CallManager
accepts the same wildcards as you can use in a route pattern) and choose Insert.
■ Call Pickup—Enables users to pick up incoming calls on any telephone within their own
group. When the users press the Call Pickup button or PickUp softkey, Cisco CallManager
automatically dials the appropriate Call Pickup number.
Enhanced IP Phone Features 361
■ Group Call Pickup—Enables users to pick up incoming calls on any telephone within their
own group or in another group. Users press the Group Call Pickup button or GpickUp
softkey and dial the appropriate group number for Call Pickup. (The reason that users
manually enter a number with Group Call Pickup but not with Call Pickup is because more
than one group can exist and Cisco CallManager needs to know which one to dial. With Call
Pickup, in effect, there is only one number corresponding to one group.)
■ Other Group Call Pickup—Allows users to pick up incoming calls in a group that is
associated with their own group. This type of Call Pickup is covered in the next subtopic.
When more than one associated group exists, the priority of answering calls for the associated
group goes from the first associated group to the last associated group. For example, groups A, B,
and C associate with group X, and the priority of answering calls goes to group A, then B, and then C.
Usually, within the same group, the longest alerting call (longest ringing time) is picked up first if
multiple incoming calls occur in that group. For Other Group Call Pickup, priority takes
precedence over the ringing time if multiple associated pickup groups are configured.
Both the idle and off-hook call states make the three softkeys Pickup, GPickup, and OPickup
available.
Step 4 Enter a unique pickup group name and unique pickup group number.
Step 5 Assign the pickup group to a route partition as desired.
Step 6 Click Insert to save the new Call Pickup Group number in the database.
Step 7 Access the directory number you want to assign to the Call Pickup Group
(Device > Phone > Select DN) and assign the Call Pickup Group, as shown
in Figure 16-14.
AutoCall Pickup
You can automate Call Pickup, Group Call Pickup, and Other Group Call Pickup by setting the
service parameter Auto Call Pickup Enabled to True (available in CallManager 4.1(3)). (Choose
Service > Service Parameters, and choose the publisher server and Cisco CallManager for the
service.)
When this parameter is enabled, Cisco CallManager automatically connects users to the incoming
call in their own pickup group, in another pickup group, or in a pickup group that is associated
with their own group after users press the appropriate softkey on the phone. This action reduces
keystrokes.
Enhanced IP Phone Features 363
Automated Call Pickup connects the user to an incoming call in the user’s own group. When the
user presses the Pickup softkey on the phone, Cisco CallManager locates the incoming call in the
group and completes the call connection. If automation is not enabled, the user must press the
softkeys Pickup and Answer to make the call connection. You can also use this feature to connect
the user to an incoming call in another pickup group. The user presses the GPickup softkey on the
phone, and then dials the DN of the other pickup group. Upon receiving the DN, Cisco
CallManager completes the call connection. If automation is not enabled, the user must press the
softkeys GPickup and Answer and dial the DN of the other pickup group to make the call
connection.
Automated Other Group Call Pickup connects the user to an incoming call in a group that is
associated with the user’s own group. The user presses the OPickup softkey on the phone. The
Cisco CallManager automatically searches for the incoming call in the associated groups in the
sequence that the administrator entered in the Pickup Group Configuration window and completes
the call connection after the call is found. If automation is not enabled, the user must press the
softkeys OPickup and Answer to make the call connection.
364 Chapter 16: Configuring User Features, Part 1
For example, IP phone user A calls IP phone user B in the same cluster. If IP phone B is busy or
there is no answer, IP phone user A activates the Cisco Call Back feature through the CallBack
softkey. When IP phone B becomes available, IP Phone A receives an audible alert and visual
notification that the DN is available. Cisco CallManager remembers the dialed number, so IP
phone user A can then press the Dial softkey to reach IP phone user B.
NOTE The Cisco Call Back feature requires Cisco CallManager Release 3.3 or later and a
Cisco IP Phone that supports softkeys.
To configure Cisco Call Back, create a new softkey template (or modify one of your existing
templates). Next, configure the softkey layout by choosing the On Hook call state and the
CallBack option, as shown in Figure 16-15. Then, choose Ring Out, include the CallBack option
by making sure that it is at the top of the list, and click Update.
■ Barge using built-in conference; Barge softkey—Barge uses the built-in conference
capability of the target IP phone. Barge also uses the Standard User or Standard Feature
softkey template (both contain the Barge softkey). When a Barge is being set up, no media
interruption occurs and the only display change to the original call is a spinning circle that is
displayed at the right side of the prompt status message window at the target device.
■ Barge using shared conference; cBarge softkey—Conference Barge (cBarge) uses a shared
conference bridge. No standard softkey template includes the cBarge softkey. To allow users
to access the cBarge softkey, the administrator must add it to a nonstandard softkey template
and then assign the softkey template to a device.
When you press the cBarge softkey, a Barge call is set up by means of the shared conference
bridge, if it is available. The original call is split and then joined at the conference bridge, which
causes a brief media interruption. The call information for all parties changes to Barge. The barged
call becomes a conference call with the Barge target device as the conference controller. The
conference controller can add more parties to the conference or can drop any party. When only two
parties are left in the conference, they experience a brief interruption and then are reconnected as
a point-to-point call, which releases the shared conference resources.
When the initiator uses Barge to join the call, it becomes a three-way call. If the initiator hangs up,
the original call remains active. If the target hangs up, the caller who used Barge and the other
party connect in a point-to-point call. If the other party hangs up, the original call and the barged
call are released.
The Privacy feature was introduced in Cisco CallManager Release 4.0. With Privacy,
administrators can enable or disable the ability of users with telephones that share the same line
(DN) to view call status and to barge the call. Administrators enable or disable Privacy for each
telephone.
The Barge and Privacy features have some restrictions, including the following:
■ Built-in Barge supports a three-way Barge maximum, G.711 voice, and the Cisco IP Phone
7940, 7960, and 7970 models.
Barge requires a shared line appearance. Cisco CallManager considers a DN on more than one
device in the same partition to be a shared line appearance. One example of a shared line
appearance is when a DN appears on line 1 of a manager telephone and also on line 2 of an
366 Chapter 16: Configuring User Features, Part 1
assistant telephone. Another example of a shared line is a single incoming 800 number that is set
up to appear as line 2 on every help desk telephone in an office.
These guidelines are helpful when using shared line appearances with Cisco CallManager:
■ You can create a shared line appearance by assigning the same DN and partition to different
lines on different devices.
■ If other devices share a line, the words “Shared Line” are displayed in red next to the DN in
the Directory Number Configuration window in Cisco CallManager Administration.
■ If you change the calling search space, call waiting, or call forward and pickup settings on any
device that uses the shared line, the changes are applied to all of the devices that use that
shared line.
■ To stop sharing a line appearance on a device, you can change the DN or partition number for
the line and update the device. (Deletion removes the DN on the current device only. The
deletion does not affect the other devices.)
■ Do not use shared line appearances on any Cisco IP Phone that will be used with the Attendant
Console.
■ Do not use shared line appearances on any Cisco IP Phone 7960 that requires the Auto Answer
capability.
Configuring Barge
To configure Barge with a built-in conference bridge, follow these steps:
Step 1 Assign the Standard User or Standard Feature softkey template (both
contain the Barge softkey) to each device that accesses Barge by using the
built-in conference bridge.
Step 2 To enable Barge clusterwide for all users, choose Service > Service
Parameters for the Cisco CallManager service and set the Built-In Bridge
Enable clusterwide service parameter to On. Alternatively, configure Barge
for each telephone by setting the Built-In Bridge field in the Phone
Configuration window on the device itself.
Step 3 Set the Party Entrance Tone to True if you desire tones when a Barge
occurs.
NOTE To configure Barge using a shared conference resource (rather than the built-in IP
phone conference resources), just add the Conference Barge (cBarge) softkey to the Remote In
Use call state of the device’s softkey template.
Barge and Privacy 367
Configuring Privacy
Recall that when Privacy is enabled, users on a shared line can enable or disable the ability of other
users on the shared line to view call status and to barge the call.
Step 1 Set the optional Privacy Setting clusterwide service parameter for Cisco
CallManager to True.
NOTE Do not set this parameter if only a few users need access to Privacy (see Step 3).
Step 2 For each phone button template for which you want to enable Privacy, add
Privacy to one of the feature buttons, as shown in Figure 16-16.
Step 3 For each telephone user who wants to enable Privacy, choose On in the
Privacy drop-down menu in the Phone Configuration window. If you have
configured Privacy clusterwide, you can leave the Privacy setting at Default
or set it to Off to selectively disable privacy.
368 Chapter 16: Configuring User Features, Part 1
Step 4 For each telephone user who wants to enable Privacy, choose the phone
button template that contains the Privacy feature button that you created in
Step 2.
Figure 16-17 shows the phone display when the Privacy feature is assigned to a feature button.
When Privacy is enabled, the Privacy button changes display—a black circle appears inside the
Privacy field. Now, when the other user on the shared line goes off hook on the shared line, the
Barge softkey does not appear.
Privacy Disabled
Privacy Enabled
IP Phone Services
Cisco IP Phone Services include Extensible Markup Language (XML) applications that enable the
display of interactive content with text and graphics on Cisco IP Phone 7970, 7960, 7940, 7912,
and 7905 models.
NOTE Cisco IP Phones 7912 and 7905 support only text-based XML applications.
Using the Cisco IP Phone, you can deploy customized client services that users can interact with
from the keypad, the softkeys, or a rocker key and can use to display helpful information on the
IP phone.
A user can access a service from the supported phone model in two ways. The user can press the
button labeled Services to use a preconfigured phone button. When a user presses the Services
button on a Cisco IP Phone, a session is initiated and a menu of services that are configured for
the telephone appears. When the user selects a service from the listing, the telephone display is
updated.
IP Phone Services 369
In addition to adding a service so that it is available to users on their telephones, you can assign
the service to a phone button that is configured as a service URL button. This option gives the user
one-button access to the service without using the Services button on the IP phone. With Cisco
CallManager Release 4.0 or later, you can use any line or speed dial button for one-touch access
to selected XML services such as MyFastDials or to access critical XML applications such as
those that check inventory levels.
The following list provides examples of services that can be supplied to Cisco IP Phones:
■ Weather reports
■ Company news
■ Flight status
You can create customized Cisco IP Phone applications for your site by using the Cisco IP Phone
Services Software Development Kit (Cisco XML SDK).
Step 3 Enter the appropriate settings. This list describes the information that must
be configured for each service:
• Service Name—Enter the name of the service as it will be displayed on
the menu of available services in the Cisco IP Phone User Options
application. Enter up to 32 characters for the service name.
• Service Description (optional)—Enter a description of the content that
the service provides to help users decide whether they want to subscribe
to the service. (This parameter is not shown in the figure because the
service has already been added.)
• Service URL—Enter the URL of the server where the Cisco IP Phone
Services application is located. Make sure that this server remains
independent of the servers in your Cisco CallManager cluster. Do not
specify a Cisco CallManager server or any server that is associated with
Cisco CallManager (such as a TFTP server or directory database
publisher server).
• Character Set—If you are using a language other than English for the
service name or description, choose the character set for that language.
Step 4 To add the service, click Insert.
IP Phone Services 371
TIP You can use the service URL shown in Figure 16-18 to obtain free XML services,
including stock quotes, weather reports, and news from Berbee, a Cisco partner.
To add the service URL button to an IP phone, follow these steps after you add the service to Cisco
CallManager:
Step 6 On the upper-right side of the window, click the Add/Update Service URL
Buttons link.
Step 7 From the Service drop-down menu, choose the service that you want to add
to the telephone.
Step 8 To add the service to the telephone button, click Update, or click Update
and Close to add the service to the phone button and return to the Phone
Configuration window.
■ Menu—The menu enables the user to scroll through a list of menu items and make choices.
■ Text—The text from a web page can be delivered for the user to view.
■ Input—Input enables the user to enter information using the keypad. The 7970 and 7971 also
support touch screen input.
■ Image—Cisco IP Phone Services can deliver images in black and white and in shades of gray.
Color images are available over Cisco IP Phones with a color display.
Summary
This chapter covered the concepts and configuration of Cisco CallManager end-user features. The
Cisco CallManager core features include hold, redial, and transfer. By default, these features are
available on any Cisco IP Phone. In addition, you can configure additional features to be made
available through an IP phone’s softkey template. The softkey templates choose the availability
and order of the feature buttons on an end-user IP phone.
In addition to supporting core features, the Cisco CallManager supports enhanced features,
including Call Join, multiple calls per line appearance, and Immediate Divert. Call Park enables a
call to be picked up on a different phone than the one it came in on, whereas Call Pickup enables
users to cover incoming calls as a group. Configuring Cisco Call Back allows a user to receive call-
back notification when a called-party line becomes available. Barge adds a user to a call that is
already in progress, whereas Privacy disables the Barge capability.
Finally, Cisco IP Phone Services enable the display of interactive content with text and graphics
on XML-capable Cisco IP Phones.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
1. What are two requirements for users to be able to view weather reports, airline arrival and
departure times, stock quotes, or other Cisco IP Phone Services that the system administrator
has made available to them?
a. Subscribe to the service in the User Options pages.
b. Enable CTI Application Use.
c. Go to http://<server_name>/Services.asp.
d. Press the Services button on the Cisco IP Phone.
2. Which three of these areas can you use to assign a softkey template to a device?
a. Location
b. Device defaults
c. Device pools
d. User profile
e. Region
f. Device
374 Chapter 16: Configuring User Features, Part 1
8. You would like to provide Call Back capabilities to everyone in your organization. All IP
phones are configured to use the Standard User softkey template. What would be the easiest
way to provide Call Back capabilities to the users?
a. Add the Call Back softkey to the Ring Out and On Hook call states of the standard user
template.
b. Create a new softkey template, add the Call Back softkey to the Ring Out and On Hook
call states, and assign the softkey template to all users in your organization.
c. Configure the Call Back XML service and allow users to subscribe from the CCMUser
web pages.
d. Assign the users to the Standard IPMA Manager softkey template.
9. Which of the following accurately describes the Group Call Pickup feature?
a. Group Call Pickup allows users to pick up a ringing phone located within their Call
Pickup Group.
b. Group Call Pickup allows users to pick up a ringing phone located within their own Call
Pickup Group or another Call Pickup Group.
c. Group Call Pickup allows users to pick up a ringing phone in their pickup group or
another pickup group without dialing a group number.
d. Group Call Pickup allows users to pick up a call on hold by dialing the appropriate
extension.
10. A user notices that their shared line appearance is currently in use. Out of curiosity, the user
presses a softkey. Immediately, the user is in a conference call with the parties currently using
the shared line appearance. Which softkey did the user press?
a. Barge
b. Privacy
c. cBarge
d. iBarge
This chapter covers the
following topics:
Administrators need to have a working knowledge of the various options that are available for
Cisco IP Phones to ensure that all of the desired features and functions are available to users and
that they are properly configured. This lesson, the second of two parts on features, discusses
many Cisco IP Phone features that are available to users in a Cisco IP telephony solution. The
chapter includes a discussion of Cisco CallManager Extension Mobility, Call Display
Restrictions, Forced Authorization Codes (FAC), Client Matter Codes (CMC), Malicious Call
Identification (MCID), and Multilevel Precedence and Preemption (MLPP) features.
Cisco CallManager provides a standard login service. The login service can be expanded by
using a set of Extensible Markup Language (XML) requests over HTTP. Third parties
(including customers and integrators) can replace the login user interface with one of their own
design. For example, capabilities can be added to the standard login service such as
authenticating via smart card readers or automating the login process according to a “desk
sharing” web application.
IP
SEP000011112222
Terry has configured a user device profile called Terry. This profile has a line appearance with a
directory number (DN) of 7000 and another with a DN of 7001. Terry is logging in to device
SEP000011112222, which has an autogenerated device profile, ADP000011112222, as its default
device profile. The default device profile is configured with a single-line appearance with the DN
of 1111.
When Terry logs in, the device restarts and displays lines 7000 and 7001. It no longer has line 1111
assigned to it. All of the speed dials and services configured for Terry replace those that are
normally on SEP000011112222.
When Terry logs out, the device restarts and loads the autogenerated device profile.
TIP The Tomcat Web Application Manager is an open-source application manager originally
designed for the Apache web server. It allows you to start and stop applications (or Java servlets)
without starting and stopping the entire web server. It can be accessed at http://
<CCM_Server_IP>/manager/list.
Using the Tomcat Manager window, stop and start the Cisco CallManager Extension Mobility
service at http://<Cisco Extension Mobility server>/manager/list, where Cisco Extension Mobility
server specifies the IP address of the server that has the Cisco CallManager Extension Mobility
service running on it. Figure 17-3 illustrates the Tomcat Web Application Manager.
380 Chapter 17: Configuring User Features, Part 2
When the service is activated, configure the following elements to enable Cisco CallManager
Extension Mobility:
■ A new user
To avoid problems with deploying Cisco CallManager Extension Mobility, be sure to follow these
configuration guidelines:
■ Configure a device profile default for each Cisco IP Phone model in a cluster that you want
to support Cisco CallManager Extension Mobility.
■ If you want to enable all IP Phones within a Cisco CallManager cluster with Cisco
CallManager Extension Mobility, do not allow the users to control these telephones.
Cisco CallManager Extension Mobility 381
— When users go to their Cisco CallManager User Options web page to change their
services, they must choose Device Profiles from the Select a Device to Configure
drop-down list. They cannot control an individual IP Phone or modify the settings
for an individual IP Phone.
— As administrator, you can change the services for an IP Phone by using Cisco
CallManager Administration. After making the changes, if you update the
configuration using the main menu (not the popup menu), you must reset the IP
Phone for the changes to take effect. This action ensures that the new snapshot is
stored as the logout profile.
■ If a particular user controls a device, for example, the user’s office telephone, do not allow
anyone else to log in to that device.
To access this window, choose Service > Service Parameters and from the Service drop-down
menu, choose Cisco Extension Mobility. Table 17-1 defines the settings in the Service Parameters
Configuration window.
Parameter Description
Enforce Maximum Login When set to True, this parameter enforces a maximum login time.
Time If set to False, no time limit is set on logins.
Maximum Login Time This parameter is the maximum amount of time a user is allowed to
(Hours:Minutes) remain logged in to a device. The maximum allowable value is 168:00,
entered as HHH:MM. Note that :MM is also an acceptable format for
durations under 1 hour. This parameter is ignored if the Maximum
Login Time parameter is set to False.
Maximum Concurrent This parameter specifies the maximum number of login or logout
Request operations that can occur simultaneously. This maximum prevents the
Cisco CallManager Extension Mobility service from consuming
excessive system resources.
Multiple Login Behavior This parameter specifies the behavior for multiple attempted logins by
the same user on different devices. The choices are to allow, not to
allow, and to cause a previous login to automatically log out.
Alphanumeric User ID Choose True to allow Cisco CallManager to accept alphanumeric
Cisco CallManager Extension Mobility logins or False to force
numeric logins only.
Remember the Last User When set to True, this parameter remembers the last user to log in.
Logged In
The device profile default is a clusterwide default used for each Cisco IP Phone that will be
supported by Cisco CallManager Extension Mobility. The IP Phone takes on the device profile
default whenever a user logs in to an IP Phone model for which the user has no device profile. To
access this window, from the Cisco CallManager Administration, choose Device > Device
Settings > Device Profile Default. From the left column, click the device profile, or if adding a
new profile, click Add a New Device Profile Default, and the Device Profile Default
Configuration window shown in Figure 17-5 appears.
Cisco CallManager Extension Mobility 383
If you do not choose an audio source in the User Hold Audio Source field, Cisco CallManager
uses the audio source that is defined in the device pool. If the device pool does not specify an audio
source ID, the system default is used.
The User Locale field identifies a set of detailed information to support users, including language
and font. Cisco CallManager makes this field available only for IP Phone models that support
localization.
To access this window from Cisco CallManager Administration, choose Device > Device Settings
> Device Profile. To add a new user device profile, choose Add a New User Device Profile. The
User Device Profile Configuration window shown in Figure 17-6 appears.
From here, you can select the user device type and add DNs to the profile, just like you were
configuring a user IP Phone.
NOTE Device profiles are created for specific devices and only work on specific devices. For
example, a device profile created for a 7960 IP Phone will not be able to log in to a 7940 or 7970
IP Phone.
Step 1 In Cisco CallManager Administration, choose User > Add a New User.
The new user creation window appears, as shown in Figure 17-7.
Cisco CallManager Extension Mobility 385
Step 2 In the Add a New User window, enter the first name, last name, and
username.
Step 3 In the User Password and Confirm Password fields, enter a password.
Step 4 In the PIN field, enter a numeric personal identification number (PIN).
Confirm the PIN.
Step 5 Enter the user telephone number.
Step 6 Click Insert, and the window refreshes. From the left pane, choose Cisco
Extension Mobility.
Step 7 Associate the user device profile with the user account, as shown in Figure
17-8, and then click the Update Selected button.
386 Chapter 17: Configuring User Features, Part 2
CAUTION The Extension Mobility service URL must be entered exactly as shown,
substituting the IP address of the CallManager running the Extension Mobility service for
CCM_IP. This URL is case sensitive.
TIP To provide redundancy for a Cisco IP Phone service, use a CallManager hostname rather
than an IP address. If that CallManager fails, the services will automatically failover to a
secondary Cisco CallManager. Be sure you have configured the IP Phone for DNS support if
you choose to do this.
Step 5 Click the Insert button. The Extension Mobility service is now saved.
with their custom profiles. To subscribe an IP Phone to the Extension Mobility service, perform
the following steps:
Step 1 Enter the device configuration mode for the Cisco IP Phone you want to
configure for Extension Mobility support.
Step 2 Click the Subscribe/Unsubscribe Services link in the upper-right of the
screen.
Step 3 Using the drop-down menu, select the Extension Mobility service you
created and click Continue.
Step 4 Click Subscribe to add the service to the IP Phone configuration.
Step 5 On the phone configuration window, scroll to the bottom and click the
Enable Extension Mobility Feature check box.
Step 6 At the Log Out Profile field, select Use Current Device Settings to use
the default profile you configured, as shown in Figure 17-10.
NOTE Cisco CallManager gives you two options for the Log Out Profile field: Use Current
Device Settings, which uses the default device profile you configured for the IP Phone, or Select
a User Device Profile, which allows you to configure a unique user profile for the IP Phone.
Cisco strongly advises against using a user profile for this purpose.
NOTE You should also modify the Extension Mobility parameters on the default device
profile for the service subscription to be available at all times.
The CMC feature benefits law offices, accounting firms, consulting firms, and other businesses or
organizations that need to track the length of the call for each client. To use the CMC feature, users
must enter a client matter code to reach certain dialed numbers.
You can use FAC for colleges, universities, or any business or organization when limiting access
to specific classes of calls proves beneficial. Likewise, when you assign unique authorization
codes, you can determine which users placed calls.
FAC Concepts
For each user, you specify an authorization code, and then you enable FAC for relevant route
patterns by checking the appropriate check box and specifying the minimum authorization level
for calls through that route pattern.
When you enable FAC through route patterns in Cisco CallManager Administration, users must
enter an authorization code to reach the intended recipient of the call. When a user dials a number
that is routed through a FAC-enabled route pattern, the system plays a tone that prompts for the
authorization code. Figure 17-11 illustrates the FAC process, which follows these steps:
Step 3 The user enters the authorization code, followed by the # key.
NOTE The pound sign (#) at the end of the client matter code cancels the interdigit timeout.
If users do not append the # to the authorization code or client matter code, the system waits for
the T302 timer to extend the call (System > Service Parameters for the Cisco CallManager
service). The default for the T302 timer is 15 seconds.
Require
X
Authorization Code
Authorization Level 3
95622001
Play Tone Extend Call to Gateway V
888# (FAC Code)
User A
In Cisco CallManager Administration, you can configure various levels of authorization. Users are
given codes that assign them a certain authorization level. Route patterns are then assigned
authorization levels. If the user authorization code does not meet the level of authorization that is
specified to route the dialed number, the user receives a reorder tone. If the authorization is
accepted, the call is placed. The name of the authorization writes to Call Detail Records (CDRs),
so that you can organize the information by using CDR Analysis and Reporting (CAR), which
generates reports for accounting and billing.
To implement FAC, you must devise a list of authorization levels and corresponding descriptions
to define the levels. You must specify authorization levels in the range from 0 to 255. Cisco allows
authorization levels to be arbitrary, so that you define what the numbers mean for your
organization. For example, you could configure authorization levels as follows:
■ Because intrastate calls often cost more than interstate calls, configure an authorization level
of 20 for intrastate long-distance calls in North America.
CMC Concepts
You apply CMC through route patterns, and you can configure multiple client matter codes. When
a user dials a number that is routed through a CMC-enabled route pattern, a tone prompts the user
for the client matter code. When the user enters a valid code, the call is placed; if the user enters
an invalid code, a reorder tone is played. CMC is written to the CDR, so you can collect the
information by using CAR, which generates reports for client accounting and billing.
TIP The FAC and CMC features are very similar and often confused. Cisco created the FAC
primarily to prevent toll fraud and to limit and track the users able to make calls by authorization
levels. CMC is a nearly identical feature allowing organizations to track calls based on the CMC
code dialed rather than authorization level.
Figure 17-12 shows a basic CMC call where the route pattern 8.@ is configured to require the user
to enter a client matter code:
Step 1 When the user dials 8-214-555-0134, the dialed string matches the 8.@
route pattern.
Step 2 Cisco CallManager plays a “zip-zip” tone to prompt the user to enter the
client matter code associated with the dialed string, in this example, 1234.
Step 3 If the user enters 1234 followed by the # key, the call is immediately
extended to the voice gateway. If the user does not enter a code or enters the
wrong code, the user hears a reorder tone, and the call is not extended.
Step 4 Because the user entered a valid code, Cisco CallManager extends the call
to the voice gateway for call completion.
Step 5 Cisco CallManager generates a CDR with the associated client matter code
for client-tracking and reporting purposes.
Require Client
X
Matter Code
Code 1234
8-214-555-0134
Play Tone Extend Call to Gateway V
1234# (Code)
User A
392 Chapter 17: Configuring User Features, Part 2
CMC and FAC can be implemented together for a given route pattern. For example, you can allow
only certain users to have authorization to place certain long-distance calls, and then require the
user to enter a CMC for that call. The tones for CMC and FAC sound the same to the user, so the
feature tells the user to enter the authorization code after the first tone and enter the account code
after the second tone.
Step 1 If using CMCs, create a document with a list of CMCs and associated client
names that you want to track. If using FACs, create a document listing the
authorization levels you want to create and the authorization levels required
for restricted route patterns.
Step 2 Insert the CMC or FAC codes by using Cisco CallManager Administration
(choose Feature > Client Matter Code or Feature > Forced
Authorization Code).
Step 3 To enable FAC or CMC, update route patterns by selecting Require Client
Matter Code or Require Forced Authorization Code and entering the
level of FAC required.
Step 4 Update dial plan documents as necessary.
Step 5 Provide information to users and explain how the feature works.
Step 4 In the Description field, enter a name of no more than 50 characters. This
optional field associates a client code with a client.
Step 5 Click Insert.
Step 4 In the Authorization Code field, enter the code users will dial to obtain this
level of authorization.
Step 5 In the Authorization Level field, enter the level of authorization the user
obtains if they enter the authorization code.
Step 6 Click Insert.
■ For calls between a guest room and the front desk, both the room and the front desk should
see both the calling-party information and the called-party information.
■ For calls between guest rooms, the rooms should not see the call information of other rooms
displayed.
■ For calls between guest rooms and other hotel extensions (such as a clubhouse), only the
rooms should see the call information displayed.
■ For external calls from the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to the front desk or
guest rooms, the call information of the caller should not be displayed if the display settings
are restricted.
396 Chapter 17: Configuring User Features, Part 2
■ For all calls to the front desk, the call information of internal calls should be displayed.
In Cisco CallManager Release 4.0 and later, the calling-party and connected-party presentation
can be controlled by the configuration at the translation pattern level. Starting with Cisco
CallManager Release 4.1, this functionality was extended by adding a new setting at the device
level that enables the device to ignore the caller ID restrictions of the other party for internal calls.
■ Default—This option does not change the presentation of the calling-party identification
information.
If the incoming call goes through a translation pattern or route pattern and the Calling Line ID
Presentation setting is allowed or restricted, the system modifies the calling-line presentation with
the translation or route pattern setting.
■ Default—This option does not change the presentation of the connected-line identification
information.
If the incoming call goes through a translation or route pattern and the Connected Line ID
Presentation field is set to Allowed or Restricted, the system modifies the connected-line
presentation indicator with the translation or route pattern setting.
■ Cisco CallManager always displays the call information of the remote party if the other party
is internal, regardless of the other calling- and called-party presentation settings.
■ Cisco CallManager does not display the call information of the remote party if the other party
is external and the display presentation is restricted.
398 Chapter 17: Configuring User Features, Part 2
Figure 17-17 Setting Ignore Presentation Indicators Option for Select Devices
Step 1 Configure partitions and calling search spaces before you add a translation
pattern.
Step 2 Configure translation patterns with different levels of display restrictions.
Step 3 Check the Ignore Presentation Restriction (Internal Calls Only) check
box for IP Phones such as lobby phones when you want to ensure that the
call information display for internal calls is always visible.
Step 4 Configure individual, associated translation patterns for each individual
Call Park directory number to work with the Call Park feature.
Malicious Call Identification 399
The MCID service is an ISDN PRI service, when using PRI connections to the PSTN. The MCID
service includes two components:
■ MCID-O—An originating component that invokes the feature at the request of the user
(victim) and that sends the invocation request to the connected network
■ MCID-T—A terminating component that receives the invocation request from the connected
network and responds with a success or failure message that indicates whether the service can
be performed
Typically, each function runs in separate network entities, and the two service components
communicate with each other to allow two networks to identify a call as malicious.
TIP MCID is a PRI-based service. If your organization does not use PRI PSTN connections,
MCID can still flag calls with malicious intent in the CallManager CDRs.
Configuring MCID
MCID, which is a system feature, comes standard with Cisco CallManager software. MCID does
not require special installation or activation.
Step 1 From the drop-down list, choose Service > Service Parameters.
Step 2 Choose the Cisco CallManager server name.
Step 3 In the Service field, choose Cisco CallManager. The Service Parameters
Configuration window appears.
Step 4 In the System area, set the CDR Flag Enabled field to True if it is not
already enabled, as shown in Figure 17-18.
Step 6 Under Event Viewer, check the Enable Alarm check box.
402 Chapter 17: Configuring User Features, Part 2
Step 7 If you want to enable the alarm for all nodes in the cluster, check the Apply
to All Nodes check box.
Step 8 Click Update to turn on the informational alarm.
Step 1 Choose Device > Device Settings > Softkey Template. The Find and List
Softkey Templates window appears.
Step 2 Select the Softkey Template assigned to your users. If your users are using
one of the built-in softkey templates, you will need to create a new softkey
template, as described in Chapter 16, “Configuring User Features, Part 1.”
Step 3 In the upper-right corner of the window, click the Configure Softkey
Layout link. The Softkey Layout Configuration window appears.
Step 4 In the Call States area on the left, choose Connected. The list in the
Unselected Softkeys pane changes to display the available softkeys for this
call state.
Step 5 In the Unselected Softkeys pane, choose Toggle Malicious Call Trace, as
shown in Figure 17-20.
Step 6 To move the softkey to the Selected keys pane, click the right arrow.
Step 7 Click Update to ensure that the softkey template is configured.
Multilevel Precedence and Preemption 403
The MLPP feature, introduced in Cisco CallManager Release 4.0, allows placement of priority
calls. Precedence is the priority level that is associated with a call. Preemption is the process that
terminates existing calls of lower precedence and extends a call of higher precedence to or through
(in the case of a gateway) the target device.
Cisco CallManager provides indication signals (tones and displays) to MLPP-enabled devices to
ensure that the calling and called parties are aware of an MLPP call. MLPP-indication-enabled
devices can play preemption tones and receive MLPP preemption announcements that the
announcement server (annunciator) generates when there is a high-precedence call. The
precedence ringback and ringer have a different cadence than the regular ringback and ringer.
404 Chapter 17: Configuring User Features, Part 2
MLPP indication settings are configured in the device windows in Cisco CallManager
Administration.
The six MLPP precedence levels presented in Table 17-2 are available in the Translation Pattern
Configuration window of Cisco CallManager Administration (Route Plan > Translation
Pattern).
Calls with a precedence level higher than Routine are considered precedence calls.
Summary
This chapter covered the concepts and configuration of Cisco CallManager enhanced end-user
features. A highly desired feature supported in Cisco CallManager is Extension Mobility. This
feature enables users to temporarily access their Cisco IP Phone configuration from other Cisco
IP Phones. This allows you to assign users roaming phone profiles and keep them from being tied
to a physical location.
Client Matter Codes (CMC) and Forced Authorization Codes (FAC) allow you to manage call
access and accounting. CMC codes are generally used to track calls on a per-client or per-
department basis, whereas FAC authorization levels are used to prevent toll fraud from internal
users.
Malicious Call Identification (MCID) allows users to invoke a softkey to initiate a series of events
when they receive a threatening call. This even can range from flagging a CDR record in the
CallManager database to notifying an emergency response group on the PSTN.
Call Display Restrictions give you the ability to control the caller ID information passed between
devices on the IPT network. Finally, Multilevel Precedence and Preemption (MLPP) give you the
ability to allow placement of higher-priority calls over lower-priority calls.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
1. When a user logs in to a Cisco IP Phone using the Cisco CallManager Extension Mobility
feature, what is pushed to the IP Phone?
a. the device profile associated with the physical port
b. an automatically generated device setting
c. a temporary default phone button template
d. the device profile associated with the user
2. Which two of the following are requirements to implement the MCID feature in a Cisco
CallManager deployment? (Choose two.)
a. PRI service
b. critical alarm level
c. MCID-T
d. Cisco Emergency Responder Service
e. Defense Switched Network
406 Chapter 17: Configuring User Features, Part 2
3. What should you instruct users to do if they receive a fast-busy tone after accidentally entering
an invalid client matter code?
a. wait for the prompt and rekey the correct code
b. call technical support
c. enter the correct code within 3 seconds
d. enter the authorization code first
e. press the Speed Dial button
f. hang up and try the call again
4. Which four configuration items would enable a user (User A) in a hotel guest room to view
the name and number of a caller and prevent the caller from viewing the user A caller ID
information? (Choose four.)
a. Connected Line ID Presentation Restricted
b. Connected Line ID Presentation Allowed
c. Connected Name Presentation Restricted
d. Connected Name Presentation Allowed
e. Calling Line ID Presentation Restricted
f. Calling Line ID Presentation Allowed
g. Calling Name Presentation Restricted
h. Calling Name Presentation Allowed
5. A user logs in to a phone using the CallManager Extension Mobility functionality. They later
move to a different location and attempt to log in to another Cisco IP Phone while remaining
logged in to the original phone. What behavior occurs if the CallManager Extension Mobility
service parameters are left in the default configuration
a. The user will not be able to log in to the second phone.
b. The user will be able to log in to the second phone and remain logged in to the first IP
Phone.
c. The user will be able to log in to the second phone and be automatically logged out of
the first IP Phone.
d. The user will have to wait 8 hours for the first phone to log out before they are able to
automatically log in at the second.
Review Questions 407
6. You are configuring a CallManager-based IPT network for a customer. They want to require
users to dial traceable PIN numbers assigned to differing authorization levels to reach PSTN
numbers causing toll charges. What Cisco CallManager feature will accomplish this?
a. CMC
b. CAC
c. FAQ
d. FAC
7. How is a user able to trigger MCID functions on any given call?
a. by dialing the MCID sequence configured in CallManager
b. by signaling using a hook-flash sequence on the phone
c. by pressing the MCID softkey
d. any of the above
8. What is the highest MLPP level you can assign in CallManager 4.1?
a. Priority
b. Immediate
c. Flash
d. Executive Override
e. Flash Override
9. You want to allow a Cisco IP Phone to override the call display restrictions configured inside
your agency. What configuration setting will allow this?
a. the Calling Line ID Presentation configuration from the translation pattern configuration
b. the Calling Line ID Presentation configuration from the device configuration
c. the Ignore Presentation Indicators configuration from the translation pattern configura-
tion
d. the Ignore Presentation Indicators configuration from the device configuration
10. You have created a default device profile for a Cisco IP Phone 7960. How do you assign this
default device profile to your devices to enable Extension Mobility support?
a. Do nothing, the default device profile is automatically assigned.
b. You need to select the devices CallManager should apply the device profile to using the
device profile Find/List Phones dialog box.
c. You must select the Use Current Device Settings for the Logged Out profile of the
device.
d. You must create a specific user profile and assign it to the phone as the default.
This chapter covers the
following topics:
Enterprises today can choose to route inbound telephone calls through numerous methods.
These methods are either completely automated, manually directed, or some hybrid of
automated and manual operation. An automated operation uses an application that can accept
inbound calls, query the caller for destination information, and rapidly dispatch the call without
operator intervention. A manual operation handles each inbound caller through a specially
trained and equipped operator who assesses the purpose of the call and intended destination and
uses tools to dispatch the call.
There are benefits associated with each method. Handling each inbound caller through an
operator can lead to a heightened sense of customer satisfaction and, in many cases, a more
reliably dispatched call. Automation of inbound call dispatch is efficient and affordable.
An operator or receptionist can use the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console to accept inbound
calls, query the caller for destination information, and rapidly dispatch the call without operator
intervention. For businesses that desire operator intervention, Cisco CallManager Attendant
Console is designed to more efficiently automate both the user operations and the administrative
operations of a manual attendant function. Cisco CallManager Attendant Console has an
additional benefit over traditional consoles and line extenders because each user line is
monitored, as opposed to monitoring only a select few in a time-division multiplexing (TDM)–
based system.
This chapter covers the features, operation, installation, and configuration of Cisco
CallManager Attendant Console on both Cisco CallManager and on the Attendant Console
station.
The Attendant Console installs on a PC with IP connectivity to the Cisco CallManager system.
The Attendant Console works with a Cisco IP Phone that is registered to a Cisco CallManager
system. Multiple Attendant Consoles can connect to a single Cisco CallManager system. When a
server fails, the Attendant Console automatically fails over to another specified server in the
cluster.
The Cisco CallManager Attendant Console client application is shown in Figure 18-1. The client
is downloadable from the Cisco CallManager plug-in web page. (Choose Applications > Install
Plugins, and click Cisco CallManager Attendant Console.) The client installs on end-user
systems running Microsoft Windows 98, Me, 2000, and XP. The installation program places a
Cisco CallManager Attendant Console icon on the attendant desktop and can also be accessed
using Start > Programs.
Term Definition
Cisco CallManager Client application; web browser user interface; maximum of 96
Attendant Console client clients per Cisco CallManager cluster
Cisco CallManager Cisco CallManager database entry; represents the Cisco
Attendant Console user CallManager Attendant Console client; one per client
Cisco Telephony Call Server application; distributes calls, monitors line state, and
Dispatcher performs call control; one per Cisco CallManager
Hunt group Ordered list of directory numbers (DNs) to which Cisco TCD
distributes calls; maximum of 32 per Cisco CallManager cluster
Pilot number or pilot point DN that points to a hunt group; one per hunt group
Hunt group member Either a DN (extension) or user-line pair; maximum of 16 per hunt
group
Cisco TCD handles Attendant Console requests for the following items:
■ Call dispatching from pilot point to the appropriate hunt group destination
■ User directory information (Cisco TCD stores and periodically updates directory information
for fast lookup by the Attendant Console.)
Cisco TCD monitors the status of internal devices and telephones only. An Attendant Console user
cannot see the line state for a telephone that is connected to a gateway.
412 Chapter 18: Configuring Cisco Unified CallManager Attendant Console
Attendant Attendant
Console Console
Client 1 Client 2
IP IP
TCD
Cisco
CallManager
Database/ Server
Directory
The Attendant Console server reads and caches the user directory entries at startup. After an initial
handshake determines whether the directory entries have changed since the previous login, the
Attendant Console downloads the user list. The Attendant Console also downloads the user list
when the interval in the Directory Reload Interval field in the Attendant Settings dialog box
expires or when the user clicks the Reload button in the Directory window.
The Attendant Console searches the following files (in order) for the user list:
■ The user list file that is specified in the Path Name of Local Directory File field in the
Attendant Settings dialog box on the attendant PC.
■ The CorporateDirectory.txt file in the user list directory on the Cisco CallManager Attendant
Console server. You can create the CorporateDirectory.txt file if your user list is located on a
directory server that is separate from the Cisco CallManager server.
■ The AutoGenerated.txt file that is generated by the Cisco TCD service and stored in the user
list directory on the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console server. If the Directory Sync
Period service parameter does not equal zero, Cisco TCD generates the AutoGenerated.txt file
when the Cisco TCD service starts and when the directory synchronization period expires.
Introduction to Cisco CallManager Attendant Console 413
To modify the Directory Sync Period service parameter, choose Service > Service Parameters.
Choose the appropriate server from the Server drop-down list and choose the Cisco Telephony
Call Dispatcher Service from the Service drop-down list.
The user list file is in Comma-Separated Values (CSV) format and contains the following
information:
■ Last name
■ First name
■ Telephone number
■ Department
For Cisco TCD to function properly, make sure that the pilot point number is unique throughout
the system (it cannot be a shared line appearance and will probably be the corporate primary DID
number). When configuring the pilot point, you must choose one of the following routing options:
■ First Available Hunt Group Member—Cisco TCD goes through the members in the hunt
group in order until it finds the first available destination for routing the call. (You can choose
this routing option from the Pilot Point Configuration window in Cisco CallManager
Administration.)
■ Longest Idle Hunt Group Member—This feature arranges the members of a hunt group in
order from longest to shortest idle time. Cisco TCD finds the member with the longest idle
time and, if available, routes the call. If not, Cisco TCD continues to search through the group.
This feature evenly distributes the incoming call load among the members of the hunt group.
(You can choose this routing option from the Pilot Point Configuration window in Cisco
CallManager Administration.)
■ Circular Hunting—Cisco TCD maintains a record of the last hunt group member to receive
a call. When a new call arrives, Cisco TCD routes the call to the next member in the hunt
group. Most people know this as round-robin hunting. (You can choose this option from the
Attendant Console Configuration Tool.)
414 Chapter 18: Configuring Cisco Unified CallManager Attendant Console
■ Broadcast Hunting—When a call arrives at the pilot point, Cisco TCD answers the call,
places the call on hold, adds the call to the queue, and displays the call in the Broadcast Calls
pane on ALL Attendant Console applications. While on hold, the caller receives music on
hold (MoH), if it is configured. Any attendant can answer the call from the Broadcast Calls
pane. (You can choose this option from the Attendant Console Configuration Tool.)
Call Routing
Figure 18-3 shows the interaction of the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console components in a
basic call-routing example when a call is made to a number that is configured as a pilot point and
associated with a hunt group. In this example, 4000 is a support number associated with a support
hotline.
IP
Attendant Console Client
and IP Phone
1. Cisco TCD receives a call and directs it to the pilot point, DN 4000.
2. Because 4000 is a pilot point and First Available Hunt Group Member is specified as the call-
routing option, the Cisco TCD that is associated with the pilot point checks the members of
the hunt group in order, beginning with the first member, to determine where to route the call.
DN 1024 is busy, DN 1025 is busy, and DN 1026 is available.
Call Routing and Call Queuing 415
3. Cisco TCD routes the call to the first available DN, which is 1026. Because 1026 is available,
Cisco TCD never checks the 5060 voice-mail pilot point number. If all numbers would have
been busy, the call would forward to the voice-mail extension.
Call Queuing
You can configure a pilot point to support call queuing so that when a call comes to a pilot point
and all hunt groups members are busy, Cisco CallManager Attendant Console sends calls to a
queue. While in the queue, callers hear MoH if you have chosen an audio source from the Network
Hold Audio Source and the User Hold MoH Audio Source drop-down lists in the Device Pool
window. The attendants cannot view the queued calls, with the exception of Broadcast groups
(covered in the “Attendant Console GUI: Broadcast Calls” section later in this chapter). When a
hunt group member becomes available, Cisco TCD redirects the call to that hunt group member.
This sequence of events is reflected in Figure 18-4.
You enable queuing for a pilot point using the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console
Configuration Tool. You also use the tool to configure the queue size, which is the number of calls
that are allowed in the queue, and the hold time, which is the maximum time (in seconds) that
Cisco TCD keeps a call in the queue. Configuring the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console
Configuration Tool is covered in the “Using the Attendant Console Configuration Tool” section
later in this chapter.
If the queue is full, Cisco TCD routes calls to the “always-route” hunt group member that is
specified in the Hunt Group Configuration window. If you do not specify an always-route member,
Cisco TCD drops the call when the queue size limit is reached. If the call is in the queue for longer
than the hold time, the call is redirected to the always-route member. If an always-route member
is not configured, no action occurs. Configuring the Always Route option in the Hunt Group
Configuration window is covered in the “Hunt Group Configuration“ section later in the chapter.
416 Chapter 18: Configuring Cisco Unified CallManager Attendant Console
Step 2 In the upper-right corner of the window, click the Add a New Attendant
Console User link. The Attendant Console User Configuration window
shown in Figure 18-5 appears.
Step 3 Create user accounts for each Cisco CallManager Attendant Console user
by entering the appropriate user ID (username) and password for each
account.
Step 4 Click Insert when you are finished.
Step 1 Choose User > Add a New User in the Cisco CallManager Administration
window.
Step 2 Enter ac in the First Name and Last Name fields.
Step 3 Enter ac in the User ID field.
418 Chapter 18: Configuring Cisco Unified CallManager Attendant Console
Step 11 Associate all attendant Cisco IP Phones and pilot points with the ac user.
TIP To enhance the security of your deployment, you should change the username and
password of the “ac” user to something beyond the default. To make this change, run the
acconfig.bat file located in the C:\Program Files\Cisco\CallManagerAttendant\bin directory on
the CallManager server. Specific instructions for accomplishing this are in the “Using the
Attendant Console Configuration Tool“ section later in this chapter.
Table 18-2 defines the settings in the Pilot Point Configuration window shown in Figure 18-7.
Field Description
Pilot Name Enter up to 50 alphanumeric characters, including spaces, to specify a
descriptive name for the pilot point.
Device Pool Assign the pilot point to a device pool. The device pool has the Cisco
CallManager whose Cisco TCD service will service this pilot point.
Partition Choose the partition to which the pilot point belongs. Make sure that the pilot
point that you enter in the Pilot Number field is unique within the partition that
you choose. If you do not want to restrict access to the pilot number, choose
None for the partition.
Calling Search To designate the partitions that the pilot point searches when it attempts to route
Space a call, choose a calling search space from the drop-down list.
Pilot Number Enter a DN into this field to designate a DN for this pilot point.
Verify that this number is unique throughout the system; it cannot be a shared
line appearance.
Route Calls To Choose the mechanism to distribute calls to hunt group members:
• Choose the First Available Hunt Group Member option to route incoming
calls to the first available member of a hunt group. This is the default setting.
• Choose the Longest Idle Hunt Group Member option to order members
based on the length of time that each DN or line has remained idle.
If the voice-mail number is the longest-idle member of the group, Cisco TCD
will route the call to voice mail without first checking the other members of the
group.
If you want to use the Circular Hunting or Broadcast Hunting routing options,
use the Attendant Console Configuration Tool.
Location Designates a Call Admission Control (CAC) location for the pilot point to be
used with bandwidth control.
TIP If the pilot point is not the main or general telephone number, the main number can go to
a translation pattern, allowing CallManager to transform the call to the attendant pilot number.
In Cisco CallManager Administration, choose Service > Cisco CM Attendant Console > Hunt
Group. The Hunt Group Configuration window appears. In the shaded column on the left, click
the pilot point for which you want to add hunt group members. You can then add member directory
numbers by clicking the Add Member button, entering the directory number you want to add, and
selecting Update. You can also add the Attendant Console users to the hunt group. Adding by user
has the added benefit of allowing whatever phone is associated with the Attendant Console user to
be included in the hunt group rather than just the specific extension. Figure 18-8 shows an example
of this configuration.
Table 18-3 defines the settings in the Hunt Group Configuration window.
Field Description
Partition If a hunt group member is a DN, you can click the drop-down arrow to view the
values for the Partition field and then choose the appropriate option. Enter the
DN in the Directory Number field in the Device Member Information section.
If the DN for this hunt group member is in a partition, you must choose a
partition.
From the drop-down list, choose Attendant Console users who will serve as hunt
group members.
Only Attendant Console users who are added in the Cisco CallManager
Attendant Console User Configuration window appear in this list.
Line Number From the drop-down list, choose the appropriate line numbers for the hunt group.
You can add the same user to the same line only once within a single hunt group.
For example, you cannot add Mary Brown, Line 1, more than once in the hunt
group.
If you have configured queuing, and the queue is full, Cisco TCD routes calls to the always-route
hunt group member that is specified in the Hunt Group Configuration window. If you do not
specify an always-route member, Cisco TCD drops the call when the queue size limit is reached.
If the call is in the queue for longer than the hold time, the call is redirected to the always-route
member.
Server and Administration Configuration 423
Step 4 Check the check boxes next to the Cisco Telephony Call Dispatcher and
CTIManager services.
Step 5 Click Update.
■ Set the JTAPI username and password beyond the default values of ac and 12345.
■ Enable call queuing for a pilot point and set the maximum hold time.
The Attendant Console Configuration Tool is somewhat hidden on the Cisco CallManager hard
drive. To access the tool, open the acconfig.bat file, which is located in the C:\Program
Files\Cisco\CallManagerAttendant\bin directory on the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console
server. The Edit Server Properties dialog box shown in Figure 18-10 opens.
From the Basic tab, you can change the default ac username and password to something else.
The Advanced tab (shown in Figure 18-11) enables you to access additional hunting options not
available in the CallManager Administration Hunt Group Configuration window: enable queuing,
change the queue size (the default is 32 calls), and change the hold time (the default is 0, which
keeps calls in the queue until an attendant becomes available).
Server and Administration Configuration 425
TIP Making changes in the Attendant Console Configuration Tool might require a restart of
the CTIManager and Cisco TCD services for the changes to take effect. On rare occasions, a
complete restart of the CallManager server might be required.
The following steps provide the PC requirements for the Attendant Console:
Step 1 Verify that the PC is running Microsoft Windows 2000 or Windows XP and
has network connectivity to the Cisco CallManager.
Step 2 Install the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console plug-in on each attendant PC.
• Download the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console plug-in by
choosing Application > Install Plugins in the Cisco CallManager
Administration window.
• Save the CiscoAttendantConsoleClient.exe file to the local machine.
• Launch the CiscoAttendantConsoleClient.exe file.
Step 3 As soon as the Attendant Console application launches, the settings
window appears. Configure the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console
settings on the attendant PC, as shown in Figure 18-12.
426 Chapter 18: Configuring Cisco Unified CallManager Attendant Console
• Specify the IP address of the Cisco CallManager TCD server and the DN
of the associated IP phone, and click Save.
• Provide the username and password.
After you install the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console, the user is ready to start the
application. After opening the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console application, the user will
have to log in and then go online. The user is then ready to answer calls.
To launch the application on the PC where the Attendant Console is installed, choose Start >
Programs > Cisco CallManager > Cisco CallManager Attendant Console or click the Cisco
CallManager Attendant Console icon on the desktop.
TIP Receiving the message “Initialization of Call Control Failed. Retrying…” upon opening
the Attendant Console indicates a problem with the ac user account.
■ File menu—From the File menu, you can go online or offline, log out, and exit the program.
■ Edit menu—From the Edit menu, you can create your own keyboard shortcuts. You can also
add, modify, and delete speed dial entries or groups and view or revise settings, which is an
optional task.
■ View menu—From the View menu, you can change the size of the text in the windows or the
color on the console.
■ Actions menu—You perform call-control tasks through the Actions menu or the Action Key
shortcuts shown in Figure 18-13. This menu includes many feature options, such as answering
calls, transferring calls, parking calls, and enabling other features on the system.
■ Help menu—Cisco CallManager Attendant Console provides online help and easy access to
the latest Cisco CallManager Attendant Console plug-in for an upgrade.
The Cisco CallManager Attendant Console efficiently automates the user and the administrative
operations of a manual attendant function. It has an intuitive and configurable GUI to handle calls
and monitor line state.
428 Chapter 18: Configuring Cisco Unified CallManager Attendant Console
In a system with hundreds or thousands of users, a Cisco CallManager Attendant Console operator
can accept calls and perform a directory lookup by selecting the field title in the Directory section
and typing in the first few characters of the last name, first name, or department of the user. A
directory search returns information that matches the query.
An operator can view the status of a user line (busy, idle, or ringing) and advise the caller of the
line state. The operator can then transfer the call to the user by either initiating a traditional transfer
sequence through the Transfer icon or dragging and dropping the call from the selected loop to the
desired user record.
■ Call Details pane—This component includes the line status, the DN of the incoming call, the
name of the person (if available), the operator DN, and the elapsed time display.
■ Operator Line buttons—This component includes the line status and the DN of the
attendant Cisco IP Phone, displayed in the upper-right corner of the window.
The Call Details pane displays the lines on the Cisco IP Phone that the Cisco CallManager
Attendant Console controls. The number of lines configured depends on the type of configuration.
For example, if you have a Cisco IP Phone 7960 with two attachments of the Cisco IP Phone 7914
Expansion Module, and you associate a DN with each line, then a total of 34 lines can be
displayed. Each of the lines will show a line status symbol describing the current state of the line.
The various line statuses are described in Figure 18-15.
Line Status
Line Status Corresponding Icon
A call is ringing on the line.
■ Right-click the call that you want to park, and then click Revert Park from the context-
sensitive menu.
■ Click the call that you want to park, and then click the Revert Park button on the Call Control
toolbar.
■ Click the call that you want to park, and then choose Revert Park from the Actions menu.
Any attendant in the hunt group that is online can answer the queued calls. Cisco TCD does not
automatically send the calls to an attendant. When an attendant answers a call, Cisco TCD
removes the call from the Broadcast Calls pane and displays it in the Call Control pane of the
attendant who answered the call.
NOTE For Broadcast Calls to appear in the Attendant Console window, the attendants must
be added to the Broadcast Queue hunt group using the attendant’s username and line number
rather than direct phone extension.
432 Chapter 18: Configuring Cisco Unified CallManager Attendant Console
Summary
This chapter covered the concepts and configuration of Cisco CallManager Attendant Console.
The Attendant Console is a client/server application that allows you to manage a high volume of
calls through a GUI installed on a client PC. The key Attendant Console components include the
Cisco TCD and CTIManager, Attendant Console client software, Attendant Console user, pilot
points, and hunt groups.
The Cisco TCD provides call routing for incoming calls to the pilot point. You can configure the
pilot point for standard call routing or for queuing. If configured for standard call routing, the pilot
point receives the incoming call and works through the hunt group ordered list until it finds a free
call attendant. If configured for queuing, the TCD holds incoming calls, allowing the attendants to
answer the calls as they become available.
You can install the Attendant Console client by accessing the Cisco CallManager Administration
plug-in window. Configuring the client requires simply specifying the CallManager server IP
address and the attendant DN. The Attendant Console uses a GUI, which is fairly simple to use
and includes a vast number of features.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
1. Match the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console terms with the answer choice that is most
closely associated with the term.
Term Answer
1. Pilot point
2. Hunt group
3. Queue
4. Distribution algorithm
5. Cisco TCD
2. When you configure Cisco CallManager Attendant Console server in Cisco CallManager
Administration, what should you do to prevent calls from being dropped when the queue is
full?
a. Configure the queue size limit to 1024.
b. Configure an always-route member.
c. Configure a hold time.
d. Configure a pilot point.
3. Which two services must be activated for Cisco CallManager Attendant Console to function
properly?
a. Cisco IP Voice Media Streaming Application
b. Cisco CTL Provider
c. Cisco TCD
d. Cisco MOH Audio Translator
e. Cisco CTIManager
4. Which item can be configured from the Pilot Point Configuration window in Cisco
CallManager Administration?
a. Queue size
b. Hold time
c. Longest-idle distribution algorithm
d. Circular distribution algorithm
5. How many hunt groups can you have in a Cisco CallManager cluster?
a. 10
b. 16
c. 32
d. 48
6. Which of the following hunting types allow the Attendant Console clients to receive a list of
currently queued calls and accept them as they become available?
a. Circular Hunting
b. Broadcast Hunting
c. First Available Hunting
d. Longest Idle Hunting
434 Chapter 18: Configuring Cisco Unified CallManager Attendant Console
7. To allow the Attendant Console client to function in the cluster, you must create a user with
the username ________ and the password _________.
a. global, cisco
b. ac, 12345
c. ac, cisco
d. global, 12345
8. How do you access the Attendant Console Configuration Tool?
a. By using the Service > Cisco CM Attendant Console menu in the CallManager
Administration window
b. Through the Cisco CallManager Serviceability utility
c. By accessing the Properties window of the Attendant Console client application
d. By executing the acconfig.bat file on the CallManager server hard drive
9. A corporate operator has parked a call at extension 5529. After a few minutes, the operator
notices that the call has not been answered. How can the operator revert the Call Park process?
a. Right-click on the parked call in the Attendant Console software and choose Revert
Park.
b. Dial the parked number from the handset and answer the call to retrieve it.
c. Call the CallManager administrator to revert a parked call.
d. CallManager 4.x does not offer this capability.
10. You are adding an Attendant Console user to the CallManager configuration. You click User
> Add a New User and fill out the user information. What additional option should you select
for this user?
a. Enable CTI Application Use
b. Enable CTI Super User
c. Call Park Allowed
d. You should not be adding an Attendant Console User this way.
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This chapter covers the
following topics:
Senior managers frequently employ assistants who have as one of their duties the management
of telephone activities for the manager or for a group of managers. The assistant normally sets
up conferences for the manager and also places, answers, and transfers calls. This assistant (and
to some extent, the managers) need a different set of features than other users. In addition to the
ability to handle the call activities of the manager, the assistant needs to be able to monitor that
call activity when the manager is on a call, in a meeting, or does not want to be disturbed; to
communicate with the manager using an intercom; and to change features and settings for the
manager.
Cisco IPMA provides specific features for both managers and assistants. The features consist of
enhancements to IP phone capabilities for the manager and desktop interfaces that are primarily
used by the assistant. These enhancements give the assistant a type of “joint control” over the
manager’s lines in a similar style as shared-line extensions.
Cisco IPMA supports two modes of operation: proxy-line support (Cisco CallManager Release
3.3 or later) and shared-line support (Cisco CallManager Release 4.0 or later). The Cisco IPMA
service supports both proxy-line and shared-line support in a given cluster. The difference
between these operation types is covered in the following sections.
CallManager supports Cisco IPMA on Cisco IP Phone 7970, 7960, and 7940 models.
438 Chapter 19: Configuring Cisco IP Manager Assistant
The Cisco IPMA Configuration Wizard enables you to automatically create the partitions, calling
search spaces, route points, and translation patterns that are required for proxy-line mode. The
wizard also creates Bulk Administration Tool (BAT) templates for the Cisco IPMA manager
telephone, the Cisco IPMA assistant telephone, and all other user telephones. The Cisco IPMA
Configuration Wizard can be run only one time; however, you can make corrections and additions
manually in Cisco CallManager Administration.
Cisco CallManager Release 4.x supports the existing proxy-line configuration in earlier versions
of Cisco CallManager, but Release 4.x features such as Barge, Privacy, Call Join, Direct Transfer,
and multiple calls per line require the shared-line mode.
In the proxy-line mode, a manager can be assisted by only one assistant at a time. The proxy-line
IPMA configuration is now considered a “legacy” IPMA support method.
The Cisco IPMA Configuration Wizard is not used in Cisco IPMA with shared-line mode because
there is no need to configure route points, partitions, calling search spaces, or translation patterns.
The Cisco IPMA in shared-line mode also supports Cisco CallManager features such as multiple
calls per line, Call Join, Direct Transfer, Privacy, and Barge.
The manager telephone uses the softkey template called Standard IPMA Shared Mode Manager.
This template has the following softkeys:
■ DND—Do not disturb; turns the ringer off. The manager telephone and the assistant’s IPMA
console display the DND state.
■ ImmDiv—Immediate Divert; diverts the selected call to a preconfigured target (typically the
assistant).
■ TransferToVM—Transfer to voice mail; redirects the selected call to the voice mail of the
manager.
Cisco IP Manager Assistant Architecture 439
One manager can be configured to have up to ten assistants. The manager IP phone will have speed
dials for all the configured assistants, allowing the manager to reach the assistants quickly.
Optionally, you can configure a dedicated incoming intercom line on the manager telephone to the
assistant(s). Cisco IP Phone Services are not supported in shared-line mode for managers.
Table 19-1 summarizes the key differences between the Cisco IPMA shared-line and proxy-line modes.
MA Servlet
HTTP Assistant
IP Phone
IP
Cisco Cisco Softkey
CallManager CallManager Display Manager
Database Directory IP Phone
IP
Cisco
Cisco
CTIManager
CTIManager
Cisco Cisco
CallManager CallManager
440 Chapter 19: Configuring Cisco IP Manager Assistant
■ Cisco IPMA service—The Cisco Tomcat web server loads the Cisco IPMA service, a servlet.
Cisco Tomcat, a Microsoft Windows NT service, is installed as part of the Cisco CallManager
installation. The Cisco IPMA service performs the following tasks:
— Hosts the web pages that the manager uses for configuration
— Communicates to a Cisco CallManager cluster through Cisco CTIManager for
third-party call control; Cisco IPMA requires only one computer telephony
integration (CTI) connection for all users in a cluster
— Accesses data from the database and directory
— Supports the Assistant Console application
■ Desktop interface—Cisco IPMA supports the following desktop interfaces for managers and
assistants (accessed from the PC):
NOTE A Cisco IP Phone 7960 or 7970 that is running Cisco IPMA can be equipped with a
Cisco IP Phone 7914 Expansion Module.
Service parameters for the Cisco IPMA service consist of two categories: general and clusterwide.
Specify clusterwide parameters once for all Cisco IPMA services. Specify general parameters for
each Cisco IPMA service that is installed.
Set the Cisco IPMA service parameters by first using Cisco CallManager Administration to access
them at Service > Service Parameters. Next, choose the server where the Cisco IPMA
application resides, and then choose the Cisco IPMA service.
Cisco IPMA includes the following service parameters that must be configured:
Cisco IPMA includes the following softkey template parameters that must be configured as
clusterwide parameters if you want to use Cisco IPMA automatic configuration for managers and
assistants:
■ Assistant Softkey Template—The default specifies the Standard IPMA Assistant softkey
template. This parameter specifies the softkey template that is assigned to the assistant device
during Cisco IPMA assistant automatic configuration.
■ Manager Softkey Template for Shared Mode—The default specifies the Standard IPMA
Shared Mode Manager softkey template.
444 Chapter 19: Configuring Cisco IP Manager Assistant
The Tomcat Web Application Manager requires Cisco CallManager Release 4.0 or later. It enables
you to start or stop an existing application without having to shut down and restart Tomcat, which
restarts all applications that rely on Tomcat. If you have earlier versions of Cisco CallManager,
you will need to stop and then start Tomcat by choosing Start > Programs > Administrative
Tools > Services > Cisco Tomcat. Right-click on Cisco Tomcat and choose Restart.
Perform the following procedure to configure a Cisco IPMA manager and assign an assistant to the
manager. Before performing these steps, the managers and assistants must already exist in the Cisco
CallManager directory, be associated with their respective devices, and have a shared line appearance.
Step 5 The User Configuration window is displayed again and this time contains
manager configuration information, such as device name and profile, Cisco
IPMA-controlled lines, and intercom line (shown in Figure 19-7).
NOTE If the manager telecommutes, check the Mobile Manager check box and optionally
choose Device Profile to support Extension Mobility functions.
Step 8 From the Intercom Line drop-down list, choose the intercom line
appearance for the manager, if applicable.
Step 9 From the Available Lines pane, select a line that you want to be controlled
by Cisco IPMA and click the right arrow. The line appears in the Selected
Lines pane. Configure up to five Cisco IPMA-controlled lines.
Configuring Cisco IPMA for Shared-Line Support 447
NOTE The Cisco IPMA-controlled lines (selected) must always be the shared-line DN.
Step 10 To automatically configure the softkey template and Auto Answer with
Speakerphone for the intercom line of the manager telephone, check the
Automatic Configuration check box. Automatic configuration configures the
softkey template and intercom line on the manager telephone or device profile.
Step 11 In the User Configuration window, click the Add/Delete Assistants link. The
Assign Assistants window opens.
Step 12 To find an assistant, click the Search button or enter the specific name (either
the full name or partial string) or user ID of the assistant in the search field.
A list of available assistants is displayed in the window, as shown in Figure 19-8.
Step 13 Check the check box next to the name of the assistant(s) that you want to
assign to the manager. A manager can have a maximum of ten assigned
assistants.
448 Chapter 19: Configuring Cisco IP Manager Assistant
Step 14 To save and continue, click the Insert button; otherwise, to return to the
Cisco IPMA Manager Configuration window, click the Insert and Close
button.
The User Configuration window displays the manager configuration, and
the assistant that you configured is displayed in the Assigned Assistants list,
as shown in Figure 19-9.
Managers using Cisco IPMA in shared-line mode can set up a divert target and forward calls as
they come in by using the ImmDiv softkey. The divert screen is automatically displayed when you
access the Manager Configuration URL. By default, the divert target is the active assistant for the
manager. Managers and assistants can change this target by entering a valid telephone number in
the Directory Number field. Enter the number exactly as you would dial it from the manager’s
office telephone, as shown in Figure 19-11.
450 Chapter 19: Configuring Cisco IP Manager Assistant
When running the Assistant Console, the assistant logs in using standard user credentials, and a
window similar to that shown in Figure 19-12 opens. From here, the assistant can view and control
all manager lines for which you have given the assistant authority.
Configuring Cisco IPMA for Shared-Line Support 451
■ Menu bar—The menu bar is located along the top of the Assistant Console. You can use the
menu bar as follows:
— File—Go online or offline, log in or log out, and exit the console.
— Edit—Create and edit speed dials, personalize keyboard shortcuts, change the
Immediate Divert target, set preferences, and access administrator settings.
— View—Specify text size and color schemes and refresh the default layout.
— Call—Dial, answer, hang up, place on hold, transfer, divert, or add conference
participants to a call.
— Manager—Place an intercom call to a manager, access the Manager Configuration
window, and enable or disable features for a manager.
— Help—Access online help.
452 Chapter 19: Configuring Cisco IP Manager Assistant
■ Call control buttons—Call control buttons are the row of icons that are located along the top
or side of the console. Roll your mouse over a call control button to see a description of its
function. You can use the call control buttons to perform numerous tasks, such as hold,
resume, transfer, join a call, hold a conference, Immediate Divert, and so on.
■ My Calls panel—The Assistant Console displays calls for the assistant and managers in the
My Calls panel. Each telephone line is displayed beneath one of the following headings:
— My Lines—Displays any currently active call that the assistant placed or received
using the assistant’s own telephone line
— Manager Lines—Displays active calls that the assistant is handling or can handle
on behalf of the manager
— Intercom—Displays the status of intercom lines, if applicable
■ My Managers panel—Assistants can use the My Managers panel in the Assistant Console
to monitor call activity and feature status for each manager. Assistants can also enable and
disable manager features from this panel.
■ Speed Dials panel—The speed dial feature allows assistants to set up a personal phone book
on the Assistant Console and to place calls and perform other call-handling tasks using speed
dial numbers.
■ Directory panel—Use the directory to search for a coworker, and then use the search results
to place and handle calls.
■ Status bar—The status bar is located along the bottom of the Assistant Console screen and
displays the following system information:
Summary
This chapter covered the concepts and configuration of Cisco CallManager IP Manager Assistant
(IPMA) features. The IPMA supports proxy-line (legacy) and shared-line configurations. Because
of the complexity of configuring proxy-line environments, CallManager 4.x administrators
typically use shared-line configurations. Configuring the Cisco IPMA consists of configuring
service parameters, configuring a Cisco IPMA manager, and assigning the assistant. After you
have configured the base settings, you can then allow managers to access the IPMA Manager
Configuration window to choose the assistant who should receive their diverted calls. The
attendants can also install the IPMA Assistant Console on their PC to manage multiple manager
extensions using an Assistant Console–style graphic interface.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, "Answers to Review Questions."
1. Managers can do which of the following when they access Cisco IPMA Manager
Configuration in shared-line mode?
a. Configure speed dials.
b. Change the divert target.
c. Assign an assistant.
d. Subscribe to services.
2. When you configure Cisco IPMA in shared-line mode, the Cisco IPMA-controlled line must
always be which line?
a. Intercom
b. Assistant’s primary
c. Shared DN
d. Proxy
e. Speed dial
3. Which statement is most closely associated with Cisco IPMA shared-line mode?
a. Supports newer features such as Call Join, Privacy, and Direct Transfer
b. Uses call filters and partitions to route calls to the assistant
c. Uses the Standard IPMA Manager softkey template
d. Uses Cisco Tomcat to load the Cisco IPMA service
454 Chapter 19: Configuring Cisco IP Manager Assistant
4. Which of the following Cisco IP Phones can you use with a Cisco IPMA Configuration?
(Choose two.)
a. Cisco 7912
b. Cisco 7970
c. Cisco 7940
d. Cisco 7900
5. What is the maximum number of assistants per manager if you are using shared-line IPMA
mode?
a. 1
b. 10
c. 16
d. 32
e. 48
6. The IPMA Service is run as a servlet in what parent web server software?
a. Microsoft IIS
b. Apache Tomcat
c. Netscape Webservices
d. IBM Websphere
7. After modifying the IPMA service parameters, what must you do to ensure IPMA operates
properly?
a. Add managers and assistants through the IPMA wizard.
b. Create partitions.
c. Restart the MA Servlet through the Tomcat web server.
d. Restart the IPMA service through the Serviceability control center.
8. When configuring IPMA, which of the following must you do first?
a. Add IPMA assistants.
b. Add IPMA managers.
c. Install the IPMA Assistant Console.
d. Access the IPMA Manager Configuration web pages.
Review Questions 455
The telephony system is a business-critical, system, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to all
companies. Such critical environments must be as secure as possible to avoid breakdowns
related to failures in the system or attacks involving the network. The Microsoft Windows 2000
Server Operating System is the base of Cisco CallManager 3.X and 4.X versions. This chapter
discusses options for hardening and securing the Cisco CallManager operating system and gives
students an overview of possible vulnerabilities and of practices for tightening security in the
Cisco IP Telephony Operating System.
NOTE Cisco Unified CallManager 5.X versions use Red Hat Linux as a base operating
system. This operating system is inaccessible as the 5.X versions of CallManager run as an
appliance.
Password
Common
and
Windows
Account
Exploits
Issues
Microsoft Windows, as the most popular operating system, is well-known to the public. As a
result, many known issues are related to its password policies as well as vulnerabilities in the
operating system default settings. An attacker might try to log in to the operating system using the
Administrator account with commonly used passwords. In Microsoft networking, File and Print
Sharing services can be used (and might have been turned on by default in some versions of
Windows) to allow access to file shares without any security checking.
Another threat to the system is malicious code execution by viruses, worms, or Trojan horses.
Protection against these threats consists of blocking the threats from the system and detecting and
eliminating attacks that were not blocked.
Finally and extremely important is the fact that server-operating systems are vulnerable to denial
of service (DoS) attacks. If the server operating system cannot resist DoS attacks, an attacker can
tear down the whole IP telephony infrastructure with a single, focused attack against Cisco
CallManager nodes. Besides other methods (separating the server network from other parts of the
network and establishing access control), the server itself should be hardened to resist at least
simple and common DoS attacks.
■ Harden the Windows operating system with Cisco operating system upgrades.
— Antivirus software
— Cisco Security Agent
To protect against bugs and exploits involving Microsoft Windows, Cisco provides an already
hardened version of the Windows operating system called Cisco IP Telephony Operating System.
You must keep the Windows 2000 Server up to date to secure the operating system against new
security holes. For that reason, Cisco provides operating system upgrades and hot fixes. Cisco
CallManager and other Cisco IP telephony applications require these upgrades to function
properly.
Cisco uses the Cisco IP Telephony Operating System in several Cisco IP Telephony Application
Server components, such as Cisco CallManager, Cisco Emergency Responder (ER), Cisco IP
Contact Center (IPCC), and Cisco Interactive Voice Response (IVR). Cisco builds the IP
Telephony Operating System upgrades on top of each other and they are incrementally more
secure. The upgrades provide changes to, for example, the IP stack, file system, Registry, access
control lists (ACLs), and dynamic link library (DLL) engines.
NOTE Before you run an operating system upgrade provided by Cisco, read the release notes
for that upgrade carefully. The operating system upgrade might not apply to your installation and
could harm the running applications. Before upgrading, verify that you are using the proper
operating system upgrade for your Cisco CallManager version. It is also a good practice to
consider making a backup before upgrading the Cisco IP Telephony Operating System.
Cisco IP Telephony Operating System upgrades can be downloaded from Cisco.com at http://
www.cisco.com/cgi-bin/tablebuild.pl/cmva-3des (requires CCO account).
When Microsoft posts a security patch, Cisco determines whether the patch affects applications
and operating system components in Cisco CallManager and applications that share the same
462 Chapter 20: Securing the Windows Operating System
operating system installation process. Cisco then tests the relevant patches to verify correct
operation with Cisco applications. This is a list of applications and operating system components
that might be affected by a patch:
CAUTION The operating system upgrades provided by Cisco are not the same as upgrades
provided by Microsoft. The operating system upgrades and patches provided by Cisco are
tailored for IP telephony applications. If a Microsoft service pack (SP) or hot fix is installed for
the Cisco IP Telephony Operating System, the applications running on the Cisco IP Telephony
Operating System might be adversely affected.
The security patch and hot fix policy for Cisco CallManager specifies that any applicable patch
deemed Severity 1 or Critical must be tested and posted to Cisco.com within 24 hours as a hot fix.
All other applicable patches are consolidated and posted once a month as incremental service
releases. Notification tools (e-mail service) for providing automatic notification of new fixes,
operating system updates, and patches for Cisco CallManager and associated products are also
available:
■ Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) Advisory Notification Tool—
This e-mail service provides automatic notification of all Cisco security advisories released
by Cisco PSIRT. Advisories that describe security issues that directly impact Cisco products
provide a set of actions required to repair these products. To subscribe, go to http://
www.cisco.com/en/US/products/products_security_vulnerability_policy.html and follow the
instructions on the web page.
NOTE The Cisco IP Telephony Operating System configuration and patch process does not
currently allow an automated patch-management process.
Operating System Hardening 463
■ Critical hot fixes—When Microsoft releases a hot fix that is critical for Cisco IP telephony
products, Cisco tests the hot fix and posts it to Cisco.com within one business day of the
release by Microsoft.
An IP telephony server must be used for IP telephony purposes only. The server should not be used
as a common file server that stores user data or has user applications, such as Microsoft Office
products, installed on it. File-share access has to be limited to the absolute minimum needed (for
instance, to access log files and generate reports). Strict file access control has to be deployed, and
auditing of network file access should be enabled. This practice also eliminates the need to add
user accounts to the server; only administrator and auditor accounts should exist. If network file
access is not needed at all, it should be disabled to enhance the security of the server.
The more services that are running on a server, the more likely it is that vulnerabilities can be
exploited by an attacker. To minimize this risk, only the services that are needed should be
activated. Many services that are not needed have already been disabled in the Cisco hardened
version of the Microsoft Windows 2000 Server operating system.
To make Cisco CallManager even more secure, Cisco provides additional security scripts and
information on how to protect the Cisco IP Telephony Operating System against common threats.
Do not install any other application on the servers unless it is approved software, such as Cisco
Security Agent or antivirus products. A hardened IP telephony server has to be stripped down to
run only the services and applications that are needed for its operation.
464 Chapter 20: Securing the Windows Operating System
■ The optional security script settings are supported only for Windows 2000 servers that are
running Cisco CallManager Release 3.3(2) and later.
■ The optional security script settings might have an adverse impact on some of the other Cisco
IP telephony applications that use this operating system, on the interaction between Cisco
CallManager servers and some other Cisco IP telephony applications, and on some supported
third-party software.
■ Because these settings are not installed by default, they receive only a limited amount of
testing.
■ Only experienced Windows administrators should apply the optional security script or manual
settings.
CAUTION Applying the optional security script can destroy collocated applications, such as
Cisco IPCC Express, Cisco IP IVR, and Cisco IP Queue Manager (IP QM)!
As shown in Figure 20-2, the optional security script and some additional information are
available in the C:\utils\SecurityTemplates folder.
The script file is a batch job that can be started by clicking the CCM-OS-OptionalSecurity.cmd
file. Before doing so, read the CCM-OS-OptionalSecurity-Readme.htm file to identify possible
issues with applications running on the operating system:
■ Some of the optional security settings cause upgrades to fail. Therefore, if the Cisco IP
Telephony Operating System optional security settings have been installed on the server and
you want to upgrade the server, read the “Before CallManager Upgrade” guide. It includes a
checklist of all settings to which you must revert for the upgrade to work.
Operating System Hardening 465
In addition, Cisco has provided an additional security script in the C:\utils directory, shown in
Figure 20-3. This script is called the IP security filter and will block the fixed Windows 2000 and
SQL ports. Read the IPSec-W2KSQL-Readme.htm file for instructions on how to use the IP
security filter.
466 Chapter 20: Securing the Windows Operating System
■ Blocking the fixed Windows 2000 and SQL ports adds an extra layer of protection from
viruses, worms, and hackers. A provided script eases the creation of the IP security filter. You
must customize the script with the IP addresses that the organization wants to allow through
the filter. For example, the Cisco CallManager uses SQL ports allowing every IP address to
connect to these port numbers. The IPSec-W2KSQL script would allow SQL connections
only from the IP addresses defined in the script. These consist mostly of the other Cisco
CallManager servers in the cluster and applications that need direct access to the database, for
example, to the call detail record (CDR) tables.
■ Using this IP security filter increases the management overhead of the servers. If the IP
infrastructure changes or additional servers are added to the Cisco IP telephony solution, the
permit lists on all the servers will need to be updated.
NOTE The name of the IPSec-W2kSQL file has nothing to do with the IPsec virtual private
network (VPN) umbrella standard.
Antivirus Protection 467
File-Sharing Considerations
To secure the access to file shares, limit access to the absolute minimum number of users who need
it, as shown in Figure 20-4. Check the share permissions on all shared folders, for example, the
CDR and TFTPPath folders. Avoid assigning share permissions for the Everyone group. You can
find detailed information on how to secure file shares in the CCM-OS-OptionalSecurity-Readme
guide, located in the folder C:\Utils\SecurityTemplates.
Antivirus Protection
In addition to hardening the Cisco IP Telephony Operating System by using built-in tools, you
should protect the system by using antivirus software. This practice will defend against attacks by
viruses, Trojan horses, and worms. Make sure that the software itself and the virus definition files
are kept up to date so that the newest viruses can be detected. Disable heuristic scanning in any
antivirus software because it can block Cisco CallManager web pages from operating. Cisco
currently supports these antivirus products on the Cisco IP Telephony Operating System:
NOTE Heuristic scanning refers to the ability of the software to flag suspicious files or
attachments because they resemble known viruses. Heuristic scanning uses behavior-based
rules to identify and block new viruses without requiring you to first download a patch.
Cisco Security Agent is designed to protect the endpoint from network-borne attacks, and it
enforces its protection rules on several levels. One of them is the protection of the underlying
operating system from potentially hostile applications. Cisco Security Agent provides three basic
areas of operating system protection:
■ Endpoint, or “personal” firewalls—Cisco Security Agent can allow or deny network access
to any local application, and, hence, minimize access to and from the system, enforcing the
least-privilege rule.
Cisco Security Agent (CSA) operates independently of native operating system functions,
providing an independent layer of protection that prevents attacks even when the native operating
system access control methods are breached. You should never deploy the CSA in place of strong
host security, but as an additional protective layer to provide protection methods not available in
the host operating system.
Cisco Security Agent 469
The rationale behind the behavioral approach is that although the number of methods and exploits
to attack a system is extremely large, the number of possible consequences of these attacks is
relatively small. For example, a web server can be persuaded by the attacker to execute a local file
or an executable attachment in an e-mail attempting to access the Windows Registry. CSA can
recognize application behavior leading to or following an attack and prevent the malicious actions.
This ability is also why CSA does not require constant updates; its policies need to be updated
only if a completely different class of attacks is created, which is relatively rare.
■ Headless agent—This version comes with a set of rules for a specific server platform, such
as Cisco CallManager; no further configuration is necessary.
■ Managed agent—This version has to be configured with rules for the appropriate IP
telephony servers. Predefined rules can be downloaded from Cisco.com.
CAUTION Do not use the headless agent when running Cisco CallManager with collocated
applications, such as Cisco IPCC Express, Cisco IP IVR, or Cisco IP QM, because the fixed
policy of the headless agent will not support these applications (and as a consequence they will
not work properly).
NOTE The headless agent is also commonly referred to as the standalone CSA agent on the
Cisco website.
types of IP telephony servers, CSA MC also allows the administrator to load predefined,
application-specific policies for each IP telephony server type.
NOTE Cisco offers a free, predefined policy for the CSA Managed Agent that deploys the
same CallManager security standards as the standalone CSA.
The managed agent should be used in environments where centralized reporting is required, where
servers do not use a typical configuration (for example, with nondefault TCP or UDP ports) or
have special application requirements (for example, custom systems management software), or
where the default policies need to be augmented with site-specific protection requirements.
Deployment of the managed agent also allows the use of CSA Profiler, an expert add-on tool that
can, to a large extent, automate generation of custom application policies. This add-on would
allow an expert CSA administrator to further enhance the built-in policies and confine every IP
telephony application to a sandbox, similar to the functions that the built-in Restrictive MS IIS
Module and Restrictive MS SQL Server Module provide for those two applications.
The CSA Profiler must be purchased separately, but it does not require any other software to be
installed on the profiled servers.
This is a list of software add-ons that are supported with CSA on the same server:
■ BMC PATROL
■ Micromuse Netcool
Cisco Security Agent 471
■ RealVNC VNC
NOTE The Cisco Security Agent headless agent and the Cisco Security Agent policies for the
Cisco Security Agent MC are both available at http://www.cisco.com/cgi-bin/tablebuild.pl/
cmva-3des (Cisco CCO account required).
CSA Protection
The CSA default operating system protection rules for IP telephony servers provide basic
operating system hardening and integrity protection and contain rule exceptions for supported
add-on applications. In regard to local resource access control, these policies can be summarized
as follows:
■ Protect the integrity of the system binaries and other sensitive files from local applications
■ Allow all other actions (including network access and access to local files as dictated by the
native security of the local host, for example, file ACLs in Windows)
In addition to these basic rules, many other rule modules constitute the total CSA protection policy
of a system.
CSA Guidelines
At the minimum, for each server, deploy the headless CSA, as shown in Figure 20-5. The built-in
operating system protection policies are sound and generally do not require tuning for enhanced
protection, except where dictated by the site policy.
472 Chapter 20: Securing the Windows Operating System
So-called “false positives,” events that are erroneously classified as attacks, are very likely when
using unsupported server add-ons, such as system management and unsupported antivirus
software. To eliminate this erroneous behavior, deploy the managed agent and add the requested
permissions for these applications so that CSA will not consider them to be malicious.
CSA also provides personal firewall functions by restricting network connections to the server.
The headless agent has a fixed policy that allows all inbound connections to the server, and this
cannot be changed. If you want to use CSA to control network connectivity to the server, you have
to use the managed agent. Alternatively, you could use native Windows IP security filtering or rely
solely on packet filtering by network devices, such as routers or firewalls.
CSA by default allows the agent service to be stopped by the local administrator (using the net
stop csagent command). When using the managed version of CSA, you can apply an agent policy
that blocks the local administrator from stopping the agent.
TIP The CSA should be installed on the Cisco CallManager server after you have applied the
security template. Otherwise, the CSA will think many security template modifications are
attacks on the CallManager server.
hole, consider using strong password policies, renaming the Administrator account, and other
mechanisms to protect the Administrator account.
The Windows operating system gives administrators the ability to assign restrictions to password
and account policies, as shown in Figure 20-6.
A general rule is not to create any user accounts on an IP telephony server. Only administrators
and operators should have access to the server. Make sure that these accounts have complex
passwords. If a password is too simple, not kept secret, or not changed for a long period, it can be
discovered and misused by unauthorized people. The account policy settings should not be
modified, because setting the lockout policies can adversely affect the system during the next
upgrade (requiring a new installation from scratch). Consider these issues:
■ Setting the account policy is more important for servers with user accounts because otherwise
the administrator has no control over the frequency of password changes by the users.
■ The Minimum Password Length parameter determines how short passwords can be. If it is set
to zero, blank passwords are allowed. It is recommended that you set this value to at least eight
characters.
474 Chapter 20: Securing the Windows Operating System
TIP You should apply the password complexity settings before you install the Cisco
CallManager application. If the passwords applied in the installation process do not fit the
complexity requirements, the Cisco CallManager services will no longer be able to start.
Administrator account that has no rights but is strictly monitored (by enabling auditing of login
attempts or usage of that account).
NOTE Cisco CallManager installations and upgrades currently require the Administrator
account to be used. Before installing or upgrading Cisco CallManager, rename the decoy
Administrator account and change the name of the real Administrator account back to
“Administrator” on all Cisco CallManager servers in the cluster.
Some corporate security policies require separating the system auditors from the system
administrators. To enable more accurate auditing information regarding the identity of an
administrator, it is a good practice to create individual accounts for each administrator and make
them members of the Administrator group. In addition, separate administration from auditing by
creating separate auditor accounts. Auditor accounts should have full rights to logs but should not
have any other administrative permission, whereas administrator accounts should have only read
access to log files.
Follow general security guidelines for accounts and passwords, such as removing unnecessary
accounts and requiring complex passwords, but also harden the server by applying password
protection to complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) access, screen savers, and
Hewlett-Packard Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) access (used for out-of-band server management).
One common exploit involves Extensible Markup Language (XML) applications running on
HTTP (TCP port 80). Most XML applications go to the Internet to get their data. Because of this,
Cisco recommends that you off-load XML services to a dedicated server that is isolated (as much
as possible) from the rest of the network.
The most important task for Microsoft IIS issues is to turn off IIS on all subscribers. IIS is the
parent process for HTTP, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), and FTP. Eighty percent of the
attacks against Windows are against the IIS parent process. Turn off IIS on the subscribers, where
476 Chapter 20: Securing the Windows Operating System
all of the active call processing is taking place, and run it only on the publisher for administration
purposes. This practice will minimize the threats against Windows by 80 percent and actually
bring it closer to parity with what is considered to be the normal security settings of UNIX or
Linux operating systems.
In a Cisco CallManager cluster, different servers can have different roles and, hence, do not need
the same active services. One server could act as a pure management server by providing access
only to Cisco CallManager Administration web pages, while other servers are providing call-
routing functions and others are being used for applications such as phone services. Because IIS
is a common target, run it only where needed: at the Cisco CallManager Publisher. During
upgrades, IIS will also be needed on subscribers but will automatically be started when needed as
long as the service is set to manual rather than disabled. Therefore, set IIS to manual on all
subscribers and keep the setting automatic only at the publisher.
CAUTION IIS needs to be available during upgrades. If you have set the IIS Startup Type
option to Disabled, the upgrade will fail.
Table 20-1 shows what will happen during a Cisco CallManager upgrade when the IIS service is
set to different options.
On the next reboot, the IIS service will be in the Manual and Stopped state again.
Manual and The upgrade will work with no interference.
Running
Finally, to avoid attacks against the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, which,
in most installations, is used to provide IP settings, push DHCP services as close to the endpoints
as possible. This might include using an intelligent Cisco switch or router for DHCP services.
Security Taboos
After you have protected Cisco CallManager against common Windows exploits such as attacks
on IIS, there are additional security settings that, from the point of view of a Windows
Security Taboos 477
administrator, are nice to have but that are not recommended in a Cisco CallManager environment.
Some of the settings that a Windows administrator would normally implement on the servers could
cause the Cisco CallManager installation to fail, increase the system downtime of the Cisco
CallManager server, and delay troubleshooting efforts.
Table 20-2 describes common Windows security settings never to be done in any circumstance on
a Cisco CallManager server.
In addition to the security settings never to be implemented, Cisco also lists a few security settings
that are not recommended. Table 20-3 describes these settings.
NOTE Cisco CallManager Release 4.x uses the following service accounts: CCMCDR,
CCMService, CCMServiceRW, CCMUser, and SQLSvc.
CAUTION If the Cisco CallManager is integrated into the Microsoft Active Directory, the
installation will lose its Cisco TAC support.
Summary
This chapter covered the security concepts and protection of the foundation Cisco CallManager
operating system. There are many security threats targeting Microsoft Windows operating
systems. Because of this, Cisco has modified the default Windows 2000 security settings and
released their own Cisco IP Telephony Operating System, prehardened against many common
attacks and intrusions. To enhance this security, you should consider using the optional security
scripts located on the CallManager hard drive. Adding approved antivirus protection software can
prevent intrusion by viruses, worms, and Trojan horses.
Cisco also provides a free, standalone version of their Cisco Security Agent, preconfigured for a
CallManager installation. Installing this can protect the server from network intrusions, software
modifications, and DoS attacks.
In addition to all these security supplicants, you should also consider using complex passwords
and account policies for all administrative and auditing accounts. However, you should not rename
accounts or modify passwords of services related to the Cisco CallManager. Cisco also has a list
of security taboos that should be avoided on the Cisco CallManager to ensure you do not invalidate
your TAC support contracts.
Review Questions 479
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
1. When are critical hot fixes and patches to the Cisco IP Telephony Operating System posted
on Cisco.com for download?
a. 24 hours after the announcement from Microsoft
b. Monthly in a consolidated security release
c. With the next operating system upgrade
d. These should be downloaded from Microsoft as soon as they appear.
2. Which feature should not be enabled when using antivirus protection software?
a. Full-scan
b. Heuristic scan
c. E-mail scan
d. Pagefile scan
3. Which Cisco-provided software tool protects Cisco CallManager against malicious
applications?
a. CDR
b. CER
c. CSA
d. CRM
4. Which parameter has to be set on all service accounts?
a. Complex password requirement
b. Minimum password length of six characters
c. Password never expires
d. Enforce password history
5. What Microsoft service is most commonly attacked?
a. DNS service
b. DHCP service
c. IIS service
d. Active Directory service
480 Chapter 20: Securing the Windows Operating System
6. Which setting on the Cisco IP Telephony Operating System is supported on the CallManager
platform but not recommended by Cisco?
a. Delete the IUSER_Guest account
b. Delete SQL service accounts
c. Install third-party utilities
d. Disable Dr. Watson
7. What automated method does Cisco support for security updates and hot fixes to the
CallManager server?
a. Receiving e-mail updates from the Cisco CallManager Notification Tool
b. Downloading updates directly from Microsoft using the Windows Update Services
c. Using the CSA standalone automatic update feature
d. Downloading updates directly from Cisco using the automated Cisco Update Services
8. Which of the following files represent an automated security script that will add additional
Cisco approved security to the CallManager server? (Choose two.)
a. CCM-OS-OptionalSecurity.cmd
b. CSA_SecurityScript.cmd
c. IPSec-W2KSQL.cmd
d. SecurityTemplace_CCM4xx.cmd
9. Which of the following antivirus platforms is NOT supported by Cisco for installation on a
Cisco CallManager platform?
a. McAfee VirusScan Enterprise
b. Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition
c. Trend Micro ServerProtect
d. WebX SecureServer
10. Which of the following does the headless CSA protect against? (Choose two.)
a. Operating system file integrity
b. Restriction of network-aware, locally installed applications to local resources
c. Protection against virus infection
d. Protects against preconfigured inbound network connections to the CallManager server
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This chapter covers the
following topics:
By securing communication with the Cisco CallManager using Secure HTTP (HTTPS), a
hacker cannot listen to the data stream during HTTP sessions. In addition, in large voice
environments, it is important to distribute the various administration tasks. Cisco CallManager
Multilevel Administration Access allows you to assign different authorization levels to
administrators. This chapter discusses both the concepts and configuration of HTTPS and MLA
on your Cisco CallManager servers.
To add to the security woes, the default Cisco CallManager Administrator account is the same
as the Microsoft Windows Administrator account. If a hacker learned this login information, the
hacker could not only access the Cisco CallManager Administration pages, but could also log
in to the operating system of the Cisco CallManager server with full access to all information.
To address this issue, Cisco has added Multilevel Administration Access (MLA), giving
CallManager an alternate user database to manage administrative privileges.
so that sensitive information can be sent over untrusted networks. These Cisco CallManager
applications support HTTPS:
When you are using HTTPS for browsing to Cisco CallManager Administration and user options
web pages, communication is secure. A hacker who sniffs the communication will find it very
difficult to re-create any information from the sniffed packets.
HTTPS secures not only the username and passwords in the communication, but also
configuration changes in Cisco CallManager Administration and other applications, such as Cisco
CallManager Serviceability. If a user configures parameters such as call forwarding or speed dials
on the user options web pages, the client and IIS communicate in a secure way.
HTTPS Certificates
HTTPS uses certificates for web server authentication. Certificates provide information about a
device and are signed by an issuer, the Certificate Authority (CA). By default, Cisco CallManager
uses a self-signed certificate, but it also allows you to use a certificate issued by a company CA or
even an external CA such as VeriSign. The file where the Cisco CallManager HTTPS certificate is
stored is C:\Program Files\Cisco\Certificates\httpscert.cer.
The certificate will be used on the IIS default website that hosts the Cisco CallManager virtual
directories, which include the following:
■ CCMService
■ RTMTReports
■ CCMTraceAnalysis
■ PktCap
■ CCMServiceTraceCollectionTool
To use a certificate issued by a CA after a Cisco CallManager installation or upgrade, delete the
self-signed certificate and install the CA signed certificate instead.
NOTE For more information on how to obtain a certificate from an external CA, contact a
vendor of Internet certificates such as VeriSign or consult with the administrator of your
company CA (if using your own CA).
■ Yes—Trust the certificate for the current web session only. The Security Alert dialog box will
display each time you access the application.
■ No—Cancel the action. No authentication occurs, and the user cannot access the Cisco
CallManager Administration pages.
■ View Certificate—Start certificate installation tasks, so that the certificate is always trusted.
After you install the certificate, the Security Alert dialog box no longer appears when you
access the Cisco CallManager Administration pages.
486 Chapter 21: Securing Cisco Unified CallManager Administration
Click the View Certificate button. The Security Alert dialog box appears and the Certificate
window opens, shown in Figure 21-2. The General tab shows brief information about the
certificate, such as the issuer and the validation. For more detailed information, click the Details
tab. Another way to get information about the certificate is to check the certificate directly on the
Cisco CallManager. On the Cisco CallManager publisher, right-click the certificate name in
C:\Program Files\Cisco\Certificates\httpscert.cer and choose Open. It is not possible to change
any data in the certificate.
To keep from seeing the security warning each time you navigate to the Cisco CallManager server,
click the Install Certificate button. By walking through the Microsoft Windows Certificate Import
Wizard, you will import the CallManager self-signed certificate into your local certificate store.
This keeps Microsoft Internet Explorer from prompting you with a security warning each time you
access the CallManager Administration interface.
Multilevel Administration
Prior to the availability of MLA, there was only one administrator login. Administrators had full
read and write access to Cisco CallManager configuration. An administrator could change any
parameter in the database or directory that is accessible through the Cisco CallManager
Administration and Cisco CallManager Serviceability pages. The entire system could be disabled
with a few mouse clicks that accidentally modified data to which the user did not need access.
Different access levels can be assigned to each functional group, such as no access, read-only
access, and full access. The access rights can be set for every configured user group. MLA also
provides audit logs of user logins and access to and modifications to Cisco CallManager
configuration data.
Before installing MLA, Cisco CallManager administrators logged in using a local Windows 2000
Administrator account. After you have enabled MLA, usernames and passwords are stored in a
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory and provide the basis for login
authentication.
During enabling, MLA creates a predefined user called CCMAdministrator. The Windows
Registry stores the user ID and the encrypted password of the CCMAdministrator user. Thus, even
when the LDAP directory is unavailable, the CCMAdministrator user can log in to Cisco
CallManager Administration. Only the CCMAdministrator ID and password are stored in the
Windows Registry.
488 Chapter 21: Securing Cisco Unified CallManager Administration
MLA was introduced with the Cisco CallManager Release 3.2(2c) and had to be separately
installed. With Cisco CallManager Release 4.0 and later, MLA is integrated in Cisco CallManager
but disabled by default.
NOTE If you are upgrading from an earlier version of Cisco CallManager to Cisco
CallManager release 4.0 or later and already have MLA installed and enabled, CallManager
migrates your existing MLA configuration to the new MLA version and keeps it enabled.
However, the upgrade process resets the existing CCMAdministrator password to a random
password (displayed at the end of the upgrade).
Enabling MLA
The Enable MultiLevelAdmin enterprise parameter designates whether MLA is enabled. This
enterprise parameter can be found in the Cisco CallManager menu User > Access Rights >
Configure MLA Parameters, shown in Figure 21-3. You can set the Enable MultiLevelAdmin
parameter to True (enabled) or False (disabled); False is the default value.
When you choose True, enter a new password at the New Password for CCMAdministrator
prompt and reenter the password at the Confirm Password for CCMAdministrator prompt. Only
Multilevel Administration 489
the CCMAdministrator user can now log in to Cisco CallManager; the Windows NT Administrator
account no longer has access rights to Cisco CallManager Administration.
When the Enable MultiLevelAdmin enterprise parameter value is modified, the World Wide Web
Publishing Service has to be restarted. Then, reopen the browser and reauthenticate with Cisco
CallManager by using the new CCMAdministrator account.
Standard functional groups are created as a part of MLA during Cisco CallManager installation
and cannot be modified or deleted. They contain typical permissions assigned to sublevel Cisco
CallManager administrators. You can define your own custom-based functional groups to allow a
group of administrators access to specific Cisco CallManager Administration menus.
When you enable Cisco CallManager MLA, a complete set of standard functional groups becomes
available (shown in Figure 21-4):
■ Standard Plugin
■ Standard Feature
■ Standard System
■ Standard Service
■ Standard Serviceability
■ Standard Gateway
■ Standard RoutePlan
■ Standard Phone
490 Chapter 21: Securing Cisco Unified CallManager Administration
CAUTION In the Standard System functional group, all submenus of the Cisco CallManager
System menu, such as Server, Cisco CallManager, Cisco CallManager Group, and so on, are
enabled. A user with full access rights in the Standard System functional group could, for
example, change the IP address of the server. Be careful when you assign access rights to the
fundamental Cisco CallManager menus.
These user groups are created at the time of installation (shown in Figure 21-5):
■ PhoneAdministration
■ ReadOnly
■ ServerMonitoring
■ SuperUserGroup
■ ServerMaintenance
■ GatewayAdministration
Figure 21-6 shows the items in the CallManager Administration Device menu that are enabled for
the Standard Phone functional group.
492 Chapter 21: Securing Cisco Unified CallManager Administration
Figure 21-6 Device Menu Access for the Standard Phone Functional Group
As shown in Figure 21-7, the PhoneAdministration user group has full access rights to the
Standard Phone and the Standard User Management functional groups. This means that a user
assigned to the PhoneAdministration user group can add, change, or delete the configuration of
the computer telephony integration (CTI) points and phones. A user in the PhoneAdministration
user group can also access all Device Settings submenus.
Initially, you would need to create a new functional group for the subadministrator defining the
areas of the CallManager Administration to which they have access. You could follow this
procedure to add a new functional group:
Step 1 Choose User > Access Rights > Functional Group, and click Add a New
Functional Group.
Step 2 In the Functional Group Name field, enter the name of a new functional
group (in this example, Music Only, shown in Figure 21-8).
494 Chapter 21: Securing Cisco Unified CallManager Administration
Step 3 Check the check box next to the menu that you want to include in the new
functional group. In this example, check only the Media Resource-
>Music on Hold Audio Source check box under Service, as shown in
Figure 21-9, and click Insert. Figure 21-9 results from scrolling down near
the bottom of the screen shown in Figure 21-8.
Multilevel Administration 495
After you have added the functional group to the configuration, you can create a user group for the
administrator and assign the necessary functional group privileges. To create the user group,
complete the following steps:
Step 1 Choose User > Access Rights > User Group, and click Add a New User
Group.
Step 2 In the User Group Name field, enter the name of the new user group (in
this example, MusicDJ), and click Insert.
Step 3 Click Add a User to Group, and enter the username (which must already
have been configured in Cisco CallManager Administration). In this
example, the user JeremyD was chosen from the directory, shown in
Figure 21-10.
496 Chapter 21: Securing Cisco Unified CallManager Administration
Now that you have created the user group, you can assign the necessary privileges to the music
administrator:
Step 1 Choose User > Access Rights > Assigning Privileges to User Group.
Step 2 Click the name of the user group to which you want to assign privileges. In
this case, the MusicDJ user group is chosen.
Step 3 Choose the privilege level for each functional group within the user group.
Three privilege levels are available from the drop-down list: No Access,
Read Only, and Full Access. In this case, the MusicDJ user group is
assigned Full Access for the functional group Music Only (shown in Figure
21-11). After you have selected the necessary permissions for the
functional groups, click Update.
Multilevel Administration 497
Finally, the last step in this configuration is to verify and test the privileges. To verify whether a
specific user has the correct access rights, click the Key symbol in the Permission column in the
User Group Configuration window. In Figure 21-12, the user JeremyD was chosen, and, therefore,
the MusicDJ user group is displayed with the configured access rights. The privileges report shows
that JeremyD has no access to any functional group except the Music Only group, to which he has
full access.
498 Chapter 21: Securing Cisco Unified CallManager Administration
To test the privileges, you can log in using a user account assigned to the specific user group you
want to test. After logging in, attempt to access allowed and disallowed areas of the CallManager
Administration. Disallowed pages will appear as shown in Figure 21-13. Allowed pages will
function normally, unless you have assigned them Read-Only access.
Summary 499
Summary
This chapter covered the security concepts and protection of the Cisco CallManager
Administration web pages. In CallManager versions earlier than 4.1, HTTP was the rule for
administration access. This could open the CallManager servers to packet sniffing attacks. HTTPS
secures the connection between the browser and IIS. With CallManager releases 4.1 and later, the
server uses a self-signed certificate, which protects communication, but can cause warning
messages in client web browsers.
To increase the administrative security of the system, Cisco has released the Multilevel
Administration Access (MLA) utility for Cisco CallManager 3.2 and later. MLA allows you to
give users different access rights for Cisco CallManager Administration. Upon enabling MLA, the
old Windows 2000 Administrator account will be disabled from CallManager access. Standard
MLA functional groups are created with the MLA installation and can be supplemented by custom
functional groups. User groups unite access privileges to functional groups.
500 Chapter 21: Securing Cisco Unified CallManager Administration
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
1. What is the danger when browsing unsecured and without MLA to the Cisco CallManager
Administration window?
a. There is no risk.
b. With a sniffed username and password, a hacker can log in to the Cisco CallManager
Administration window only.
c. With a sniffed username and password, a hacker can log in to the Cisco CallManager
Administration window as well as to the operating system.
d. The hacker can only listen to the conversation.
2. How do you browse securely to the CallManager Administration window?
a. http://CM-IP/SecureCCMAdmin
b. https://CM-IP/CCMAdmin
c. https://CM-IP/TTL/CCMAdmin
d. https://CM-IP/SSL/CCMAdmin
3. Which of the following is not a valid access level in MLA?
a. No access
b. Read-only
c. Read-write
d. Full access
4. After you enable MLA, what is the new administrator account?
a. MLAAdministrator
b. Administrator
c. Windows NT Administrator account
d. CCMAdministrator
5. Which functional group is not a default group?
a. Standard Device
b. Standard Service
c. Standard Gateway
d. Standard Plugin
e. Standard RoutePlan
Review Questions 501
Business consumers have more control over their telecommunications services than ever before.
New technologies provide more information and more flexibility in how businesses use their
telecommunications services. Unfortunately, the shift in control has made businesses and
telephone companies more susceptible to toll fraud and led to an increase in fraud. This chapter
discusses ways to prevent toll fraud in a company.
The main difference between these two groups is the way in which you can mitigate the “attack.”
In the case of external attackers, the key is to prevent unauthorized access to the system and its
devices. For authorized users of the system, the administrator has to very carefully limit the
technical abilities and features of the system without compromising the flexibility and efficiency
of its users.
There are also some features in a telephony system that can be misused. These include call
forward and call transfer settings and voice-mail transfer options. If the features that are
commonly used for toll fraud are well protected, users might try to exploit the system using
other features. As an example, if a user is not allowed to transfer an external call to another
external destination, the user could try to set up a conference call for these two parties and then
leave the conference.
Usually, an administrator has to accept the fact that toll fraud cannot be eliminated completely.
The only way to achieve complete elimination would be to block all external calls and disable
all features that would allow employees to place calls outside the company. This technique
might be feasible for single-function telephones, such as public telephones located in a lobby,
504 Chapter 22: Preventing Toll Fraud
but is not desirable for telephones used by standard employees. Therefore, only those calls that
can be clearly identified as nonbusiness calls will be blocked. However, in many cases, you cannot
judge in advance whether the call being placed is business-related or private.
V V
Local Forward All Local
PSTN PSTN
IP IP
Please transfer
my call to International, International, I will transfer
extension 9011. your call.
Premium Premium
V V
Local Local
PSTN PSTN
IP IP
■ Call Forward All (CFA)—The first example describes a scenario in which an employee
forwards the office number to, for example, an international or mobile number. This employee
then tells friends to call the office number. The call is forwarded to the number that the
employee specified, making the company pay the costs of the calls.
Preventing Call Forward and Voice-Mail Toll Fraud Using Calling Search Spaces 505
■ Transfer from voice mail—The second toll fraud example shows an attacker making an
external call to the voice-mail system, which forwards the call to an international premium
destination. The attacker is billed only for a local call, whereas the company, from which the
call is forwarded, pays for the international call.
■ Social engineering—The third example shows a scenario in which an attacker calls from
outside the company and uses social engineering tricks (for instance, pretending to be an
employee working from home) to be transferred to an external number, such as 9011. The 011
prefix (plus 9 being the typical number dialed in corporations for outside dial tone) is used in
the United States to place international calls. This attacker is also charged only for a local call,
whereas the company again pays for the connection to an international telephone number.
■ Inside facilitators—The fourth example is very similar to the third one. But in this case, an
employee inside the company transfers the external call to another external number. In this
case, the toll fraud has an internal source.
NOTE The only call forwarding ability available to the user (from either the CCMUser pages
or the IP phone) is Call Forward All. By applying the calling search space to only this field, you
have effectively restricted user forwarding.
Voice-mail systems, which can transfer a call to an extension, can be misused in a similar way if
they are configured to allow transfer of calls when the called party is not available. If such transfers
are not limited, a caller could connect to the voice-mail system by a local call and then transfer to
the public telephony network (for example, a long-distance number). Voice-mail forwarding
exploits can be avoided by applying a calling search space to the voice-mail port in the Cisco
CallManager configuration. As shown in Figure 22-3, the administrator has applied the same
IntLocCSS calling search space to the voice-mail port.
Blocking Commonly Exploited Area Codes 507
Table 22-1 shows some of the most commonly exploited area codes that you might want to block.
It is not an exhaustive list, and some of these area codes might not apply to your organization.
In the worldwide country code numbering scheme, several countries do not use their own country
codes.
These numbers have the same format as the NANP—[access code] [area code] [number] (for
example, 9.142xxxxxxx)—but a call to one of these destinations results in an international toll
charge.
Administrators should make sure that all of the devices in the IP telephony network can reach only
the destinations that they should be able to reach. For example, a lobby phone should not be able
to call international numbers. In situations in which individuals in your organization have
legitimate business in one of these countries, the recommendation is to explicitly configure route
patterns that will match those businesses, while still blocking the area code as a whole.
Time-of-day routing can be used for other purposes as well. With time-of-day routing, a least-cost
routing system can be designed to choose the cheapest provider for a specific time of day. For
example, assume that there are two telephony providers, ABC and XYZ. Between 8 a.m. and 1
p.m., provider ABC is the cheaper provider, so Cisco CallManager routes calls over this provider
during that period. After 1 p.m., provider XYZ becomes the cheaper provider, so the Cisco
CallManager uses this provider then.
NOTE A complete description of time-of-day routing and its configuration can be found in
Chapter 13, "Implementing Telephony Call Restrictions and Control."
FAC is useful for colleges and universities or any business or organization for which limiting
access to specific classes of calls proves beneficial. An additional benefit is that when you assign
unique authorization codes, the users who can place calls can be determined. For example, for
each user, a unique authorization code can be specified.
Enable FAC for relevant route patterns by checking the appropriate check box and specifying the
minimum authorization level for calls through that route pattern. After updating the route patterns
in Cisco CallManager Administration, the dial plan documents have to be updated to define the
FAC-enabled route patterns and configured authorization level.
To implement FAC, devise a list of authorization levels and corresponding descriptions to define
the levels. Authorization levels must be specified in the range of 0 to 255. Cisco allows
authorization levels to be arbitrary, so define what the numbers mean for your organization. Before
defining the levels, review the following examples of levels that can be configured for a system:
■ Because interstate calls often cost more than intrastate calls, configure an authorization level
of 20 for interstate long-distance calls in North America.
Restricting External Transfers 511
Client Matter Codes (CMC) can also be used by companies to keep track of private calls placed
by their employees. For example, a company could allow employees to place private calls using
the company telephony infrastructure but require the employee to pay the cost. External route
patterns (for example, those for long-distance and international calls and those for the 900 area
code) can be configured to request a Client Matter Code to be entered and, therefore, to be logged
accordingly.
This feature does not prevent users from making private calls using business telephones, but it
allows a company to have a policy that does not deny private calls in general but requests that users
identify them as such and pay for them. In both situations (denying private calls in general or
permitting them if properly flagged), additional tools (logging, reporting) are needed to detect
improper usage.
When CMC is configured, users hear a tone prompting them to enter any valid Client Matter Code.
The CDR will include the code that is entered for later processing.
CMC was first available in Cisco CallManager Release 3.3(4). It is not included in Cisco
CallManager Release 4.0 but has been included since Cisco CallManager Release 4.1.
NOTE A complete description of Forced Authorization Codes (FAC) and Client Matter Codes
(CMC) and their configuration can be found in Chapter 17, "Configuring User Features, Part 2."
You can configure Cisco CallManager to block external-to-external call transfers. This
configuration involves setting a simple service parameter and configuring gateways, trunks, and
route patterns as OffNet (external) devices. After you have configured this, external-to-external
call transfers will not be allowed. This feature provides an OnNet or OffNet alerting tone to the
terminating end of the call (determined by the configuration of the device as either OnNet or
OffNet). For incoming calls, trunks or gateways determine OffNet versus OnNet classification.
For outgoing calls, the route pattern determines OffNet versus OnNet status.
NOTE The external call transfer restriction requires the Cisco CallManager Release 4.1 or
later software component.
PSTN
V V
IP WAN
OnNet
IP IP IP IP IP IP
OffNet
Restricting External Transfers 513
You can configure gateways and trunks as OnNet (internal) or OffNet (external) by using gateway
configuration, using trunk configuration, or setting a clusterwide service parameter to classify
devices automatically. When the feature is used in conjunction with the clusterwide service
parameter Block OffNet to OffNet Transfer, the configuration determines whether calls can
transfer over a gateway or trunk.
These devices can be configured as OnNet and OffNet to Cisco CallManager, as shown in
Figure 22-6:
■ H.323 gateway
■ Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) Foreign Exchange Office (FXO) trunk
■ Intercluster trunk
To classify an outgoing call as OnNet or OffNet, you can set the Call Classification field in the
Route Pattern Configuration window to OnNet or OffNet, as shown in Figure 22-7. You can
override the route pattern setting and use the trunk or gateway setting by checking the Allow
Device Override check box in the Route Pattern Configuration window. All route patterns default
to OffNet if the Provide Outside Dial Tone check box is checked. If the check box is unchecked,
the route pattern defaults to OnNet.
Step 1 You can specify the OnNet or OffNet classification on the following:
• Route patterns
• Intercluster trunks
• Gateways
Restricting External Transfers 515
2
PSTN
V
1 OffNet
3
IP
Party A Party B
Berlin Sydney
IP phones are always classified as OnNet devices. Gateways, trunks, and route patterns can be
classified either as OnNet or as OffNet.
Valid values for the Drop Ad Hoc Conference CallManager service parameter, shown in
Figure 22-10, are as follows:
■ Never—The conference call stays active even when the conference creator hangs up. This
behavior retains the original behavior of the conference feature. This is the default value.
■ When Conference Creator Drops Out—When the conference creator hangs up, the
conference call is dropped. When the conference creator transfers, redirects, or parks the call
and the retrieving party hangs up, the conference is also dropped.
Summary 517
■ When No OnNet Parties Remain in the Conference—When the last OnNet party in the
conference hangs up, the conference is dropped.
Summary
This chapter discussed combating voice network toll fraud using the Cisco CallManager. Sources
of toll fraud can be external or internal. The attacks typically focus on using the call forwarding
and conference features to avoid toll charges. You can stop call forwarding fraud through partitions
and calling search spaces. An additional method you can integrate to restrict call transfers is the
built-in CallManager ability to restrict OffNet-to-OffNet transfers.
You should also block commonly exploited area codes using route patterns. In addition, you can
use FAC and CMC to restrict or track the users making toll calls. Time-of-day routing is used to
change user permissions to place calls at certain hours or days. Finally, you can configure
CallManager to drop ad hoc conferences when no OnNet parties remain on the call or when the
conference creator drops out.
518 Chapter 22: Preventing Toll Fraud
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, "Answers to Review Questions."
6. Why is it important to block commonly exploited area codes when you want to restrict
international calls?
a. Commonly exploited countries have special premium numbers as country codes.
b. Commonly exploited countries have special country codes that look like area codes of
the United States.
c. Countries such as the Bahamas can be reached either over the country code or over an
area code.
d. When these numbers are not blocked, they are treated like normal local telephone calls.
7. What automated method does Cisco support for security updates and hot fixes to the
CallManager server?
a. Receiving e-mail updates from the Cisco CallManager Notification Tool
b. Downloading updates directly from Microsoft using the Windows Update Services
c. Using the CSA standalone automatic update feature
d. Downloading updates directly from Cisco using the automated Cisco Update Services
8. Which of the following describes the configuration of time-of-day routing?
a. Create a time period, and then assign the time period to the calling search space.
b. Create time periods, add the time periods to a time schedule, assign the time schedule to
a partition, and assign the partition to a calling search space.
c. Create time schedules, add the time schedules to a time period, create partitions, assign
the partitions to a calling search space, and then assign the time period to the calling
search space.
d. Create a time period, add the time period to a time schedule, create partitions, assign the
partitions to a calling search space, and then assign the time schedule to the calling
search space.
9. Which of the following requires a code to be dialed, which is typically tracked to a specific
department or user, before making outgoing calls? (Hint: This code can be used to make all
outgoing calls.)
a. CBC
b. FAQ
c. FAC
d. CMC
520 Chapter 22: Preventing Toll Fraud
10. Which of the following devices can be classified as OnNet or OffNet? (Choose three.)
a. Route pattern
b. Route group
c. Route list
d. Trunks
e. Gateways
f. IP phones
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This chapter covers the
following topics:
The IP phone is a target for attacks just like all other components of the network. Very often
endpoints, such as IP phones, are not protected; only servers and network infrastructure devices
are hardened. This is not a good practice because IP phones have default settings that make them
vulnerable to certain attacks. However, several options are available to harden IP phones and, thus,
protect them against various attack and infiltration methods. This chapter discusses these methods.
Endpoints are a common target of attacks because they are usually less protected than strategic
devices, such as servers or network infrastructure devices. If an attacker gets control of an
endpoint, such as an IP phone, the attacker could use that device as a jumping-off point for
further attacks. Because the endpoints are trusted devices and have certain permissions in the
network, an attacker can use them to target devices that they would not be able to reach directly.
To get control of an IP phone, an attacker could try to modify the image and configuration file
(for example, by spoofing the TFTP server or by replacing the file on the TFTP server itself or
while in transit).
524 Chapter 23: Hardening the IP Phone
Another major threat is eavesdropping on conversations. If an attacker has physical access to the
IP phone, the attacker can “tap the wire,” either by connecting between the IP phone and the switch
or by connecting to the PC port of the IP phone. If the attacker does not have physical access to
the IP phone or its network connection, the attacker could launch a man-in-the-middle attack from
any network between two communicating endpoints. In a man-in-the-middle attack, the attacker
pretends to be a neighboring system (such as the default gateway when the communication is
between two IP networks or a peer on the same IP network) and, hence, receives all packets. A
common type of man-in-the-middle attack is to use gratuitous Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)
for redirection of packets at the MAC address layer.
A lot about the IP phone and the telephony infrastructure can be learned just by looking into the
network settings or browsing to the built-in HTTP server of the IP phone. This information
contains Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), Domain Name System (DNS), default
router, TFTP, and Cisco CallManager addresses. With this information, a hacker can direct an
attack at the TFTP or Cisco CallManager server, because Windows hosts are generally more
vulnerable than network components.
Overall, attacks on the endpoints can be broken down into four major categories:
The simplest way to eavesdrop on the conversations of a user is to tap the wire between the IP
phone and the PC attached to it. A variety of tools exist to accomplish this feat:
■ Ettercap—A suite for man-in-the-middle attacks that allows sniffing and on-the-fly
manipulation of data
■ Voice Over Misconfigured Internet Telephones (VOMIT)—A tool that can create .wav
files from captured G.711 conversations
■ Ethereal—A sniffer and network protocol analyzer that allows both capturing conversations
and converting them to playable files
An attacker could also try to get control of an IP phone by modifying the IP phone image or
configuration file. This attack is carried out either at the TFTP server by manipulating the files
themselves or by replacing the content while it is in transit. For the first method, the attacker needs
access to the directory of the TFTP server; for the second, the attacker has to launch a successful
man-in-the-middle attack.
Blocking Endpoint Attacks 525
The hacker might want to direct the attack at the most critical telephony components: the servers.
An easy way to gather information about the IP addresses of critical components (such as the
Cisco CallManager addresses, default gateway address, TFTP server address, DNS server address,
and voice VLAN ID) is to retrieve them from the IP phone. This retrieval can be done locally at
an IP phone by using the Settings button or by connecting to the IP address of the IP phone with
a web browser. From the retrieved information, the hacker can build a topology map, associate it
with services, and use the topology map to attack relevant devices.
If the attacker manages to get access to network devices, such as routers and switches, the attacker
could redirect traffic to any destination using various kinds of tunnels. These include Generic
Route Encapsulation (GRE), IPsec, Layer 2 Protocol Tunneling (L2TP), or Switched Port
Analyzer (SPAN).
Cisco IP Phone configuration file authentication was introduced with Cisco CallManager Release
4.0 for Cisco IP Phone 7940, 7960, and 7970 models. The configuration files are signed by Cisco
CallManager. The phone now verifies the signature and accepts the new configuration file only if
it is properly signed by Cisco CallManager. Cisco IP Phone configuration file authentication
requires additional configuration and hardware (Universal Serial Bus [USB] security tokens) and
is not on by default.
IP phones will reject images with invalid signatures. They verify that the signature really validates
the corresponding file whether it was obtained from an attacker or from the legitimate TFTP
server. Since the introduction of this feature, the actual (current) image used in the phone includes
the code to accept new images only if they have a valid signature. The actual image also includes
the public key that is needed to verify the signature of new images. This way, only images that
have been signed with the correct private key (owned by Cisco engineering) can be loaded. This
526 Chapter 23: Hardening the IP Phone
also means that after you load the first image that features signature verification, you cannot load
an older image that does not include a valid signature. This limitation guarantees that no image
that has been tampered with can be loaded to your phone.
With image signature information about the IP phone model having been added to the image as
well, the IP phone can verify that the image that is loaded is not for a different phone model.
Before the introduction of this feature, a phone became inoperable if an image for another model
was loaded, whereas today, such a wrong image is simply not accepted.
■ PC Port—Disable the PC port to prevent a PC from connecting to the network via the IP
phone switch.
■ Settings Access—Disable or restrict access to the IP phone settings to avoid the risk that
details about the network infrastructure could be exposed.
■ PC Voice VLAN Access—Disable this feature to stop the IP phone from forwarding voice
VLAN traffic to the PC.
■ Web Access—Disable access to the IP phone from a web browser to avoid the risk that details
about the network infrastructure could be exposed.
You can access both of these settings through the IP Phone Configuration window in Cisco
CallManager Administration, as shown in Figure 23-2.
NOTE Disabling web access at the IP phone stops Extensible Markup Language (XML) push
applications from working. If you want to use XML push applications on some IP phones (for
instance, for an emergency notification application), you cannot disable web access to the IP
phone.
528 Chapter 23: Hardening the IP Phone
Figure 23-4 illustrates a gratuitous ARP attack against an IP phone. By default, Cisco IP Phones
accept gratuitous ARP messages and update their ARP cache whenever they receive a gratuitous
ARP packet.
Blocking Endpoint Attacks 529
Gratuitous ARP IP
claims to be
10.10.10.1
PC of the
Hacker
The attacker located in the VLAN of the IP phone repeatedly sends out gratuitous ARP packets
announcing its MAC address to be the MAC address of the default gateway of the IP phone. The
IP phone accepts the information, updates its ARP cache, and forwards all packets meant for the
default gateway to the attacker. With tools such as Ettercap, the hacker can copy or modify the
information and then relay it to the real default gateway. The user does not notice that someone is
listening to the data stream as long as the hacker does not significantly increase the delay and does
not drop packets.
In this example, only traffic from the IP phone toward the default gateway is sent to the attacker,
but if the attacker also impersonates the IP phone toward the router, the attacker could control
bidirectional traffic. In this case, the router would also have to listen to gratuitous ARP packets.
NOTE There are several methods to prevent gratuitous ARP attacks in the network. You can
disable it on end devices or you can use features such as Dynamic ARP Inspection (DAI) and IP
Source Guard on Catalyst switches. You can find more information about DAI and IP Source
Guard in your Cisco IOS or Cisco Catalyst operating system switch configuration guide.
To prevent gratuitous ARP-based attacks against an IP phone, the gratuitous ARP feature of the IP
phone should be disabled. This setting is found at the bottom of the IP Phone Configuration
window, as shown in Figure 23-2.
Further, the PC can also send packets to the voice VLAN if they are tagged accordingly. This
breaks the separation of voice VLANs and data VLANs, because the PC that is supposed to have
access to the data VLAN only is now able to send packets to the voice VLAN, bypassing all
access-control rules (access control lists [ACLs] in routers or firewalls) that might be enforced
between the two VLANs.
Usually, the PC does not need access to the voice VLAN, and, therefore, you should block PC
access to the voice VLAN.
NOTE Some applications, such as call recording or supervisory monitoring in call centers,
require access to the voice VLAN. In such situations, you should not disable the PC Voice VLAN
Access setting.
To block the PC from accessing the voice VLAN, set the PC Voice VLAN Access configuration
parameter shown in Figure 23-2 to Disabled. When a phone is configured this way, it will not
forward voice VLAN-tagged traffic to the PC when it receives such frames from the switch. In
addition, the phone will not forward voice VLAN-tagged traffic to the switch if it receives such
frames from the PC. Although this setting is recommended from a security perspective, it makes
troubleshooting more difficult because you cannot analyze voice VLAN traffic from a PC
connected to the PC port of the IP phone. Whenever you need to capture voice VLAN traffic to
analyze network problems, you will have to sniff the traffic on the network devices. On Cisco
Catalyst switches, you can configure SPAN ports to duplicate traffic from certain ports or VLANs
to another port where you attach the PC that is running your protocol analyzer. Remote SPAN
(RSPAN) even allows you to send the selected traffic to another switch for remote analysis.
NOTE Cisco 7912 IP Phones do not currently support disabling PC voice VLAN access.
NOTE Because of its complexity, IP phone encryption and authentication is discussed fully in
Chapters 24 through 27.
Review Questions 531
Summary
This chapter discussed the potential threats against Cisco IP Phones and the attack tools or
methods a hacker can use. Hackers typically begin with the weakest points in the network, such
as Cisco IP Phones. To combat this, the IP phones can validate images and configuration updates
using signature security. Cisco administrators can disable access to the Settings button and built-
in web server to prevent hackers from viewing key network information. In addition, disabling
gratuitous ARP prevents man-in-the-middle attacks.
Finally, it is a good practice to disable the PC port of an IP phone if no PC is attached to it, and
generally block access to the voice VLAN to avoid unauthorized network access.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
10. What must you do to implement signed firmware validation on the Cisco IP Phones?
a. Nothing; the feature is already enabled since CCM 3.3(3).
b. Change the signed firmware setting from the Phone Configuration window.
c. Change the signed firmware setting from the CallManager service parameters.
d. Change the signed firmware setting from the IP phone itself.
This chapter covers the
following topics:
What Is Cryptography?
Cryptography is the science of transforming readable messages into an unintelligible form and
the later reversal of that process. The application is to send the transformed, unreadable message
over an untrusted channel. In the data world, this untrusted channel very often is a public
network, such as the Internet.
■ Data authenticity—This service should guarantee that the message comes from the source
that it claims to come from. When an application such as e-mail or protocols such as IP do
not have any built-in mechanisms that prevent spoofing of the source, cryptographic
methods can be used for proof of sources.
■ Data confidentiality—This service provides privacy by ensuring that messages can be read
only by the receiver.
■ Data integrity—This service ensures that the messages are not altered in transit. With data
integrity, the receiver can verify that the received message is identical to the sent message
and that no manipulation was done.
All these services are based on encryption and authentication methods. However, for different
applications, different kinds of encryption and authentication techniques are used. Figure 24-1
illustrates examples of the four services.
536 Chapter 24: Understanding Cryptographic Fundamentals
A B A B
C C
Love Hate
Letter Letter
A B A B
C C
■ Authenticity—If B receives a love letter that says it is coming from A, how can B be sure that
it was really sent by A and not someone else? Without any reliable service that ensures
authenticity of the source, user B will never know.
■ Confidentiality—On the other hand, if there are means of guaranteeing the authenticity of
the source, B might be afraid that somebody else read the love letter while it was in transit,
resulting in a loss of privacy. This problem could be solved by a service providing
confidentiality.
■ Integrity—If B were to receive a hate letter, formed in a way that it proved the authenticity
of the source, how can B know that the content has not been modified in transit? A service
that ensures integrity of the message is needed to eliminate this kind of threat.
It might appear that the authenticity service and the nonrepudiation service are fulfilling the same
function. Although both address the question of the proven identity of the sender, there is a small
difference in the two, which is sometimes quite important: When the receiver needs to be sure
about the authenticity of the source, the method and the means that are used to achieve the proof
of authenticity can be available to both the sender and the receiver. Because the receiver knows
that he or she was not the source, it does not matter that the sender and receiver both know how to
treat a message to provide authenticity of the source.
If, however, the receiver has to prove the source of the sender to others, it is not acceptable that the
receiver know how the sender treated this message to prove authenticity because the receiver could
then have pretended to be the sender.
An example for authenticity versus nonrepudiation is data exchange between two computers of
the same company versus data exchange between a customer and a web shop. When the two
computers do not have to prove to others which of them sent a message, but just need to make sure
that whatever was received by one was sent by the other, the two computers can share the same
way of transforming their messages. This practice is not acceptable in business applications such
as a web shop. If the web shop knows how a customer transforms messages to prove authenticity
of the source, the web shop could easily fake “authentic” orders. Therefore, in such a scenario, the
sender must be the only party having the knowledge how to transform messages. Then, the web
shop can prove to others that the order must have been sent by the customer. The customer could
not argue that the order was faked by the web shop when the web shop does not know how to
transform the messages from the customer to make them authentic.
There are various ways to create the verification data, the most common being Hash-based
Message Authentication Code (HMAC) or digital signatures.
Encryption utilizes an encryption algorithm and keys. If the key that is used to encrypt the data
and the key that is used to decrypt the data is the same, the encryption algorithm is considered
538 Chapter 24: Understanding Cryptographic Fundamentals
symmetric (with symmetric keys). If the encryption and decryption keys are different, the
encryption algorithm is asymmetric (with asymmetric keys).
Although the encryption algorithms are usually well-known, the keys that are used for the
encryption have to be secret. Symmetric keys have to be known by both endpoints that want to use
a symmetric encryption algorithm for their data exchange. With asymmetric encryption, the
sender needs to know only the encryption key, whereas the receiver needs to know only the
decryption key.
■ Variable key lengths and scalability—The longer the encryption key, the longer it will take
attackers to break it if they try all the possible keys (for example, a 16-bit key = 216 = 65,536
possible keys, whereas a 56-bit key = 256 = 71,892,000,000,000,000 possible keys).
Scalability provides flexible key length, and the strength or speed of encryption can be
selected as needed.
■ Avalanche effect—When only a small part of the plaintext message is changed (a few bits),
and that small change causes its ciphertext to change completely, the algorithm has an
avalanche effect. The avalanche effect is a desired feature because it allows very similar
messages to be sent over an untrusted medium, with their encrypted (ciphertext) messages
being completely different.
Symmetric Encryption
Symmetric encryption has two main characteristics: It is very fast (compared to asymmetric
encryption) and uses the same key for encryption and decryption, as shown in Figure 24-2. As a
consequence, the same key has to be known by the sender and the receiver. To ensure
confidentiality, nobody else is allowed to know the key. Such keys are also called shared secrets.
Encrypt Decrypt
$1000 $!@#IQ $1000
Symmetric Encryption 539
Symmetric encryption has been used for decades, and several algorithms are commonly used.
Among the best-known and most widely trusted symmetric encryption algorithms are Triple Data
Encryption Standard (3DES), Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), International Data
Encryption Algorithm (IDEA), the RC series (RC2, RC4, RC5, RC6), Software Encryption
Algorithm (SEAL), and Blowfish. They are all based on the same concept: They have two types
of input (the cleartext and the key) and produce unreadable output (the ciphertext). For decryption,
the ciphertext and the key are the input data and the original cleartext is the output.
Symmetric algorithms are usually very simple in their structure, therefore quite fast, and as a
consequence, they are often used for wire-speed real-time encryption in data networks. They are,
in their essence, based on simple mathematical operations and can be easily hardware-accelerated
using specialized encryption application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Typical applications
are e-mail, IPsec, Secure Real-Time Transfer Protocol (SRTP), or Secure HTTP (HTTPS).
Keys should be changed frequently because they could be discovered otherwise, and loss of
privacy would be the consequence. The “safe” lifetime of keys depends on the algorithm, the
volume of data for which they are used, the key length, and the time period for which the keys are
used. The key length is usually 128 to 256 bits. Because of the limited lifetime (usually hours to
days) and the fact that each pair of devices should use a different key, key management is rather
difficult.
On October 2, 2000, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced
the selection of the Rijndael cipher as the AES algorithm. The Rijndael cipher, developed by Joan
Daemen and Vincent Rijmen, has a variable block length and key length. The algorithm currently
specifies how to use keys with lengths of 128, 192, or 256 bits to encrypt blocks with lengths of
128, 192, or 256 bits (all nine combinations of key length and block length are possible). Both
block length and key length can be extended very easily to multiples of 32 bits, allowing the
algorithm to scale with security requirements of the future. The U.S. Department of Commerce
approved the adoption of AES as an official U.S. government standard, effective May 26, 2002.
AES was chosen to replace DES and 3DES because they are either too weak (DES, in terms of
key length) or too slow (3DES) to run on modern, efficient hardware. AES is, therefore, more
efficient on the same hardware (much faster, usually by a factor of around five compared to 3DES),
and is more suitable for high-throughput, low-latency environments, especially if pure software
encryption is used. However, AES is a relatively young algorithm, and, as the golden rule of
540 Chapter 24: Understanding Cryptographic Fundamentals
cryptography states, a more mature algorithm is always more trusted. 3DES is, therefore, a more
conservative and more trusted choice in terms of strength, because it has been analyzed for around
30 years. AES has also been thoroughly analyzed during the selection process, and is considered
mature enough for most applications.
Asymmetric Encryption
Asymmetric algorithms (also sometimes called public-key algorithms) are designed in such a way
that the key used for encryption is different from the key used for decryption, as shown in Figure
24-3. The decryption key cannot (at least in any reasonable amount of time) be calculated from
the encryption key and vice versa.
Encrypt Decrypt
$1000 %3f7&4 $1000
The main feature of asymmetric encryption algorithms is that the encryption key (often called the
public key) does not have to be secret; it can be published freely and anyone can use this key to
encrypt data. The corresponding decryption key (often called the private key) is known only to a
single entity that can decrypt data encrypted with the encryption key. Therefore, when you need
to send an encrypted message to someone else, you first obtain the public (encryption) key of the
other person and transform the message with it. Only the recipient knows the private (decryption)
key and can, therefore, decrypt the message.
Asymmetric algorithms are relatively slow (up to 1000 times slower than symmetric algorithms).
Their design is based on computational problems, such as factoring extremely large numbers or
computing discrete logarithms of extremely large numbers.
The best-known asymmetric cryptographic algorithms are the Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman
(RSA); ElGamal; and elliptic curve algorithms. RSA is recommended because it is widely trusted
for its resistance against attacks and well-known internals. Because of their lack of speed,
Hash Functions 541
asymmetric encryption algorithms are usually used to protect small quantities of data (such as
digital signatures or key exchange). Key exchange allows you to use the slower, more secure
asymmetric algorithm to protect the exchange of a faster symmetric key algorithm over a public
network, such as the Internet.
Key management tends to be simpler compared to symmetric (secret key) algorithms. As stated
earlier, with asymmetric encryption, each device has a pair of keys (public and private). The public
key of each device has to be publicly available (known by all other devices) to allow a full mesh
of encrypted communication, whereas with symmetric encryption different symmetric keys have
to be safely distributed for each combination of two peers. Asymmetric keys are usually used for
a longer time (months to years).
RSA has withstood years of extensive cryptoanalysis, and although analysis has neither proven
nor disproven the security of the RSA algorithm, it does suggest a justifiable confidence. The
security of RSA is based on the difficulty of factoring very large numbers, that is, breaking them
into multiplicative factors. If an easy method of factoring these large numbers were discovered,
the effectiveness of RSA would be destroyed (and, as a side effect, mathematics might take a huge
leap). RSA keys are usually 1024 to 2048 bits long.
RSA, like all asymmetric encryption algorithms, can be used in two different ways:
■ Confidentiality—The sender encrypts the data with the public key of the receiver. This
guarantees that only the receiver can decrypt the data.
■ Authenticity of digital signatures—The sender uses its private key to sign (encrypt) the data.
Such a signature can be verified by everybody because only the public key is needed to verify
(decrypt) the signature.
RSA is used for device authentication (IP phone to Cisco CallManager and vice versa) in Cisco
IP telephony.
Hash Functions
Hash functions are used for several cryptographic applications. They can be used for secure
password verification or storage and are also a base component for data authentication.
542 Chapter 24: Understanding Cryptographic Fundamentals
Hashing is a one-way function of input data, which produces fixed-length output data, the digest.
The digest uniquely identifies the input data and is cryptographically very strong, that is, it is
impossible to recover input data from its digest, and if the input data changes just a little, the digest
(fingerprint) changes substantially (avalanche effect). Therefore, high-volume data can be
identified by its (shorter) digest. For this reason, the digest is called a fingerprint of the data. Given
only a digest, it is not computationally feasible to regenerate the data that was used to compute the
digest.
Figure 24-4 illustrates how hashing is performed. Data of arbitrary length is input to the hash
function, and the result of the hash function is the fixed-length hash (digest, fingerprint). Hashing
is similar to the calculation of cyclic redundancy check (CRC) checksums, except that it is much
stronger from a cryptographic point of view. With CRC, given a CRC value, it is easy to generate
data with the same CRC. However, with hash functions, this is not computationally feasible for an
attacker.
Hash
Function
Fixed-Length e883aa0b24c09…
Hash
There is considerable evidence that MD5 might not be as strong as originally envisioned and that
collisions (different inputs resulting in the same fingerprint) are more likely to occur than designed
for. Therefore, MD5 should be avoided as an algorithm of choice and SHA-1 should be used
instead.
NIST developed SHA, the algorithm specified in the Secure Hash Standard. SHA-1 is a revision
to SHA that was published in 1994; the revision corrected an unpublished flaw in SHA. Its design
is very similar to the MD4 family of hash functions developed by Rivest. The algorithm takes a
message of no less than 264 bits in length and produces a 160-bit message digest. The algorithm
Hash Functions 543
is slightly slower than MD5, but the larger message digest makes it more secure against brute-
force collision and inversion attacks.
Figure 24-5 illustrates hashing in action. The sender wants to ensure that the message will not be
altered on its way to the receiver. The sender uses the message as the input to a hashing algorithm
and computes its fixed-length digest or fingerprint. This fingerprint is then attached to the message
(the message and the hash are cleartext) and sent to the receiver. The receiver removes the
fingerprint from the message and uses the message as input to the same hashing algorithm. If the
hash computed by the receiver is equal to the one attached to the message, the message has not
been altered during transit.
Confirm
Order
3 Hash added
to packet
e8F0s31a … e8F0s31a …
Hash Digest Same Hash
Digest?
Be aware that there is no security added to the message in this example. When the message
traverses the network, a potential attacker could intercept the message, change it, recalculate the
hash, and append the newly recalculated fingerprint to the message (a man-in-the-middle
interception attack). Hashing only prevents the message from being changed accidentally (that is,
by a communication error). There is nothing unique to the sender in the hashing procedure;
therefore, anyone can compute a hash for any data, as long as they know the correct hash
algorithm.
Thus, hash functions are helpful to ensure that data was not changed accidentally but cannot
ensure that data was not deliberately changed. For the latter, you need to employ hash functions
in the context of Hash-based Message Authentication Code (HMAC). They will extend hashes by
adding a secure component.
HMAC uses existing hash functions, but with the significant difference of adding an additional
secret key as the input to the hash function when calculating the digest (fingerprint). Only the
sender and the receiver share the secret key, and the output of the hash function now depends on
544 Chapter 24: Understanding Cryptographic Fundamentals
the input data and the secret key. Therefore, only parties who have access to that secret key can
compute or verify the digest of an HMAC function. This defeats man-in-the-middle attacks and
also provides authentication of data origin. If only two parties share a secret HMAC key and use
HMAC functions for authentication, the receiver of a properly constructed HMAC digest with a
message can be sure that the other party was the originator of the message because that other party
is the only other entity possessing the secret key. However, because both parties know the key,
HMAC does not provide nonrepudiation. For the latter, every entity would need its own secret key
instead of having a secret key shared between two parties.
HMAC functions are generally fast and are often applied in these situations:
■ To provide a fast proof of message authenticity and integrity among parties sharing the secret
key, such as with IPsec packets or routing protocol authentication
■ To provide proof of integrity of bulk data, such as with file-integrity checkers (for example,
Tripwire), or with document signing (digitally signed contracts, Public Key Infrastructure
[PKI] certificates)
■ Keyed MD5, based on the MD5 hashing algorithm, which should be avoided
Cisco IP telephony uses SHA-1 HMAC for protecting signaling traffic and media exchange.
Digital Signatures
Digital signatures are verification data appended to the data that is to be signed. They provide three
basic security services in secure communications:
■ Integrity of digitally signed data—Guarantee that the data has not changed since being
signed by the signer.
■ Nonrepudiation of the transaction—The recipient can take the data to a third party, which
will accept the digital signature as a proof that this data exchange really did take place. The
signing party cannot repudiate (that is, deny) that it has signed the data.
Digital Signatures 545
Digital signatures are usually based on asymmetric encryption algorithms to generate and verify
digital signatures. Compared to using asymmetric encryption for confidentiality, the usage of the
keys is reversed when creating digital signatures: The private key is used to create the signature,
and the public key is used to verify the signature.
Because digital signatures are based on asymmetric (slow) algorithms, they are not used today to
provide real-time authenticity and integrity guarantees to network traffic. In network protocols,
they are usually used as a proof of endpoint (client, server, and phone) identity when two entities
initially connect (for example, an IP phone authenticating to Cisco CallManager, or a Cisco VPN
Client authenticating to a Cisco VPN Concentrator). For real-time protection of authenticity and
integrity, which do not require nonrepudiation (for example, signaling messages between IP
phones and a Cisco CallManager, or IPsec packet protection), HMAC methods are used instead.
■ Digital signatures—The signer uses its private key to sign (encrypt) data. The signature is
checked by a recipient who is using the public key of the signer to verify (decrypt) the
signature.
■ Encryption—The sender encrypts the data with the public key of the receiver. This
guarantees that only the receiver can decrypt the data because the encrypted data can only be
decrypted by the holder of the private key.
RSA is extremely slow and not designed for real-time encryption of a large volume of data.
Therefore, when it is used to create signatures, the data that is to be signed is first hashed, and only
the hash digest is signed by RSA (encrypted with the public key). This practice significantly
improves performance because RSA transforms only the fingerprint of the data (not all of the
data). The signature and verification process, illustrated in Figure 24-6, is as follows:
Step 1 The signer makes a hash (fingerprint) of the document, which uniquely
identifies the document and all its contents.
NOTE A hash of the data is created for two reasons: First, RSA is extremely slow, and it is
more efficient to sign only the (shorter) fingerprint than to sign the whole of the data. Next, if
the transferred information should be out-of-band verified, it is simpler to compare the shorter
fingerprint than to compare all the transferred information.
546 Chapter 24: Understanding Cryptographic Fundamentals
Step 2 The signer encrypts the hash only with its private key.
Step 3 The encrypted hash (the signature) is appended to the document.
Step 4 The verifier obtains the public key of the signer.
Step 5 The verifier decrypts the signature with the public key of the signer. This
process unveils the assumed hash value of the signer.
Step 6 The verifier makes a hash of the received document (without its signature)
and compares this hash to the decrypted signature hash. If the hashes
match, the document is authentic (that is, it has been signed by the assumed
signer) and has not been changed since the signer signed it.
Purchase Order
$100,000
1 SHA-1 Hash
Untrusted Network
49eD0e3A7c44 …
Purchase Order Purchase Order
$100,000 $100,000
Signature
2 RSA Encrypt e10d6200aCe …
3
5
4 RSA Decrypt SHA-1 Hash
Private Key Public Key
of User A of User A 49eD0e3A7c44 …
Same Hash Digest?
6
Summary
This chapter discussed the concepts behind cryptography. Cryptography is the science of
transforming cleartext into ciphertext and transforming the ciphertext back into cleartext.
Symmetric encryption is one of the fastest encryption methods because it uses the same key for
both encryption and decryption. With symmetric encryption, a different key is needed for each pair
of devices. Asymmetric encryption uses a different key for encryption and decryption. When using
asymmetric encryption, each device needs a pair of keys: one public and one private.
Review Questions 547
Hashes are one-way functions that can be used to authenticate data by adding a secret value to the
data being sent. Digital signatures sign data by using the private, asymmetric encryption, key to
encrypt fingerprints (hashes) of the data.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
Cisco CallManager Release 4.0 and later supports many security features that are based on a
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) solution. In earlier releases, Cisco CallManager did not use
PKI-like features, and many Cisco CallManager administrators are not familiar with PKI. This
chapter discusses the concept of a PKI, its components, and its applications.
In asymmetric encryption, the public key of a device has to be known by all other devices (made
public). But how can you distribute the public keys safely to your devices? You have to ensure
that the public keys that are exchanged over the network are authentic, and hence authenticity
must be ensured for that key exchange.
Manual key exchange is the simplest method of exchanging secret keying material. However, it
does not scale and often relies on the human operator to perform the procedure securely. Every
peer with which the entity wants to exchange encrypted traffic must go through a one-time
manual key exchange. After the keys are generated, the two parties exchange the keys manually,
through a secure channel (for example, by telephone or in person). This process should include
an out-of-band method of authentication to ensure that the keys were exchanged unaltered with
the correct party. This concept is often applied when using authenticated routing protocol
updates, where the symmetric key that is used for the authentication has to be entered on all
participating routers. If multiple router administrators are involved, they can exchange the
symmetric key in person or use some other protected channel (such as encrypted e-mail and
Secure Shell [SSH Protocol]).
552 Chapter 25: Understanding the Public Key Infrastructure
Most key exchanges are automated and do not require any human intervention. A couple of good
methods for automatic key exchange are heavily used in modern cryptosystems. One of them is
the Diffie-Hellman algorithm, which allows two peers to compute the same value (key) without
exchanging all information that is needed for that computation. Another method is to send the
actual symmetric keys but encrypt them using an asymmetric encryption algorithm first. In Cisco
IP telephony, asymmetric encryption algorithms are used to exchange symmetric keys securely.
In the example shown in Figure 25-1, user A wants to use symmetric encryption with user B.
RSA RSA
A B
For secure key exchange, asymmetric encryption will be used in this way:
When a public key is requested or is sent over an untrusted network, an attacker could intercept
that key and substitute another public key for it. This man-in-the-middle attack would cause the
message sender to encrypt all messages with the public key of the attacker. A mechanism is,
therefore, needed that allows verification of the relationship between a name of an entity and its
public key. The PKI is the solution to this problem and allows such systems to scale, although, on
a smaller scale, alternative, manual solutions can be devised.
Public Key
Public Key of Trusted Public Key
of Trusted Introducer of Trusted
Introducer Introducer
Trust
Public Key Public Key
of User A of User C
A C
When all devices know the authentic key of the introducer, the introducer can guarantee the
authenticity of the public keys of all devices by using a certificate for each device in the topology.
The certificate includes information about the identity of a device and its public key. The (publicly
trusted) introducer then signs the certificates of the individual devices, and the devices can directly
distribute their public keys by sending their certificates. A device receiving such a certificate can
verify it by checking the signature of the issuer (the introducer).
Every user in the system trusts information provided by the introducer. In practice, this is
accomplished by digital signatures. Anything that the introducer signs is considered to be trusted.
To verify the signatures of the trusted introducer, each user of this system must first obtain the
public key of the trusted introducer. To become a part of the trust system, all end users enroll with
the introducer; that is, they submit their identity and their public key to the introducer, as shown
in Figure 25-3.
PKI as a Trusted Third-Party Protocol 555
A C
Private Key Public Key Public Key Private Key
of User A of Trusted of Trusted of User C
Introducer Introducer
The trusted introducer then verifies the identity and public key of each enrolling user and, if they
are correct, the trusted introducer digitally signs the submitted public key with the private key of
the introducer. The result is a kind of “document” (certificate) for each user that includes the
identity (name) of the user and the public key of the user. The trusted introducer provides each
user with a signed document, containing the name and public key of the user, bound together by
the signature of the trusted introducer. As shown in Figure 25-4, each user now possesses a public
and private key pair, the public key of the trusted introducer, and a document with the identity and
public key of the user. This document is signed by the trusted introducer.
556 Chapter 25: Understanding the Public Key Infrastructure
Trusted Trusted
Introducer Introducer
A C
Private Key Public Key Public Key Private Key
of User A of Trusted of Trusted of User C
Introducer Introducer
Because all users now have their own documents containing the correct name and public key,
signed by the trusted introducer, and the public key of the trusted introducer, they can verify all
data signed by the trusted introducer. The entities can now (independently of the trusted
introducer) establish point-to-point trusted relationships by exchanging information about
themselves in the form of that document.
In practice, this means that at this stage the end users can mutually exchange signed public keys
over an insecure medium and use the digital signature of the trusted introducer as the protection
mechanism for the exchange. Again, the signature of the trusted introducer is trusted because it
can be verified (the entities have the public key of the trusted introducer), and the trusted
introducer and its operations are considered to be secure.
PKI Entities
A PKI is the service framework needed to support large-scale public key–based technologies. The
PKI is a set of all the technical, organizational, and legal components needed to establish a system
that enables large-scale use of public key cryptography to provide authenticity, confidentiality,
integrity, and nonrepudiation services.
Two very important terms need to be defined when talking about a PKI:
■ A Certificate Authority (CA) is the trusted third party (trusted introducer) that signs the public
keys of all end entities (PKI users).
PKI Entities 557
■ A certificate is a document that, in essence, binds the name of the entity and its public key
that has been signed by the CA, so that every other entity will be able to trust it.
NOTE Certificates are not secret information and do not need to be encrypted in any way. The
idea is not to hide anything but to ensure the authenticity and integrity of the information
contained in the certificate.
Another term that is often used with a PKI is certificate revocation list (CRL). The CRL is a list
of certificates that should not be trusted anymore. Examples of when a certificate is added to the
CRL (“revoked”) include exposure or loss of the private key. A PKI user who receives a certificate
should verify the CRL to ensure that the received certificate is not on the list of revoked
certificates.
■ The CA Proxy Function (CAPF) in Cisco CallManager can act as a standalone CA.
X.509v3 Certificates
X.509 is the ubiquitous and well-known standard that defines basic PKI data formats, such as
certificate and CRL format, to enable basic interoperability. This format is already extensively
used in the infrastructure of the Internet. X.509 is used for these applications:
■ With secure web servers for website authentication in the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
protocol
■ With web browsers for services that implement client certificates in the SSL protocol
■ With user mail agents that support mail protection using the Secure/Multipurpose Internet
Mail Extensions (S/MIME) protocol
■ In IPsec virtual private networks (VPNs) where certificates can be used as a public key
distribution mechanism for Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman
(RSA)–based authentication
558 Chapter 25: Understanding the Public Key Infrastructure
Figure 25-5 shows an example certificate format, following X.509 Version 3 (X.509v3). The most
important pieces of information contained in the certificate are these:
■ CA Signature
■ Signature Algorithms
Signature Algorithm
RSA with SHA-1
Identifier for CA
Start = 04/01/04
Validity Period
Expire = 04/01/09
C= US O =Cisco
Subject X.500 Name
CN = CCMCluster001
Subject Public Key
756ECE0C9ADC7140…
Information
Extension(s) (v3)
2C086C7FE0B6E90DA396AB…
CA Signature
Self-Signed Certificates
In a PKI system, all public keys are distributed in a form of a certificate, including the certificate
of the trusted introducer, the CA. The obvious question is: Who signs the certificate of the CA, if
it is itself the signer of all other certificates? In reality, the CA also issues a certificate to itself, just
to have a consistent format for distributing its public key. This process is how the end entities
obtain the public key of the CA—by obtaining its self-signed certificate. The signature of a self-
PKI Enrollment 559
signed certificate of the CA cannot be verified using the standard method (verification by using the
public key of the signer) because that public key should actually be protected by the signature.
Therefore, other methods (such as manual verification) are needed to ensure the authenticity of a
CA certificate.
Sometimes end entities also sign their own certificates. This happens if that particular end entity
is not a part of a PKI but uses a PKI-enabled application. For example, a web server could generate
a private and public RSA key and sign its public key with its private key to create a self-signed
certificate. This certificate could then be used in Secure HTTP (HTTPS), where the web server
would present a self-signed certificate to the connecting web browser. However, how does the web
browser verify the presented certificate, if it was not issued (signed) by a known CA for which the
web browser has a locally available certificate? This web server certificate, therefore, cannot be
accepted automatically, but needs to be verified using some other method (such as the manual, out-
of-band verification that is also used in pre-PKI protocols).
■ Organizations will typically use self-signed certificates internally to save on the continual cost
of obtaining certificates from a publicly known Certificate Authority (CA). This causes web
browser clients to initially display warning messages when connecting to a server using a self-
signed certificate.
PKI Enrollment
PKI enrollment is the process of adding a PKI user (such as a person, a device, or an application)
to the PKI. The enrollment is done in the following way:
NOTE The attacker would replace only the public key of the user, not the identity (name) of
the user. When the CA issues the certificate, the attacker can pretend to be the user by presenting
the certificate with the name of the user but the public key of the attacker.
■ Verification by the enrolling PKI user that the correct CA certificate has been received
■ Verification by the CA that it has received the correct enrollment information from the
enrolling PKI user
This can be done by out-of-band exchange of fingerprints of the messages (certificates). If the out-
of-band received fingerprint matches the fingerprint of the received message, the message is
authentic. However, if the enrollment is completed over a secure network, where interception is
not possible, those security procedures might be relaxed or omitted completely.
To verify that the correct CA certificate has been received, a local hash (fingerprint) of the received
information is calculated, as shown in Figure 25-6. This fingerprint is compared to the true CA
certificate fingerprint, obtained over the telephone or another secure channel. If they match, the
true CA certificate has been received.
When the user submits identity and public key information, a local hash (fingerprint) of the
submitted information is calculated again. The CA also performs a hashing procedure of the
received information. The CA then compares its hash of the received information to the hash of
the user of the submitted information over the telephone or any other secure channel. If the two
hashes match, the CA has received an unmodified enrollment request.
PKI Revocation and Key Storage 561
Untrusted 19e7cD25k4L8…
C99fe50B24p0… Network
The most common reasons why a certificate should not be trusted anymore include the following:
A PKI can offer such a solution by revoking a certificate. Certificate revocation is the
announcement that a private key is not trustworthy anymore. You can revoke a certificate using
different methods.
562 Chapter 25: Understanding the Public Key Infrastructure
■ Certificate revocation lists (CRLs)—These lists contain all certificates that are no longer
valid. The CRL is signed by the CA and has a lifetime. It is stored in a Lightweight Directory
Access Protocol (LDAP)-accessible directory or on a web server and made publicly available.
It is the duty of the end user to download a fresh CRL after the lifetime of the current CRL
has expired. Whenever an end user wants to use a certificate, it should be checked against the
downloaded CRL.
The main advantage of OCSP over CRLs is that it ensures up-to-date information because of the
real-time verification of the certificate. CRLs might contain stale information because they are
issued periodically, usually every couple of hours. If a key is compromised, a window of
vulnerability exists until the end user downloads a new CRL listing the certificate of the
compromised system. To at least limit this window of vulnerability, the CRL lifetime is used.
Key Storage
Secret (for symmetric algorithms) and private (for asymmetric algorithms) keys must be stored
securely because forgery and loss of privacy could result if their secrecy is compromised. The
measures taken to protect a secret or private key must be at least equal to the required security of
the messages encrypted with that key. Ideally, keys are never stored in cleartext form or in user-
accessible storage.
Keys, especially long-term keys (such as RSA), should be protected especially well. They are very
often stored on nonvolatile storage media:
■ Read-only memory (ROM)—For example, encryption keys that are hard-coded in hardware
PKI Example 563
Ideally, RSA keys are stored on Smart Cards or tokens where all key-related operations are done
so that the key itself does not even have to leave that device.
Any PKI-based application that uses certificates to distribute public keys can store the relevant
private key on a Smart Card instead of in some less well-protected memory (such as the hard disk
of the end user). The application software then off-loads all public key operations to the Smart
Card.
In Cisco IP telephony, the private RSA key used to sign the Certificate Trust List (CTL) is stored
on a smart token and never leaves it. The smart token is a small computer that can sign data fed to
it over the Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface.
NOTE More information on Smart Card and smart token technology can be found at http://
www.opencard.org, http://www.chipcard.ibm.com, and http://www.gemplus.com.
PKI Example
Among the first applications of a PKI were web browsers and web servers using SSL. With these
applications, the web server authenticates to the browser using a PKI system. HTTPS is widely
used on the Internet today and whenever secure web communication is needed (for example,
online banking and e-commerce).
Transport Layer Security (TLS) is the successor of SSL and is application-independent, hence not
limited to HTTP traffic. TLS is very similar to SSL and also uses a PKI system to provide secure
communication.
S/MIME, used for secure messaging, is another example of an application that relies on a PKI.
key on the web server. The public key is then sent to one of the Internet CAs, which, after verifying
the identity of the submitter, issues a certificate to the server by signing the public key of the web
server with the private key of the CA.
Internet CAs are mainly run by either specialized private companies (such as VeriSign),
telecommunications companies, or governments. The certificates of those CAs are embedded at
installation into client operating systems (such as Microsoft Windows) or inside browsers (such as
Mozilla). The collection of embedded CA certificates serves as the trust anchor for the user. The
user can then verify the validity of signatures of any other certificate signed using the public keys
contained in those CA certificates.
When a browser contacts a secure web server using HTTPS, the first step of the protocol is to
authenticate the web server—to verify that the browser indeed has connected to the correct web
server, as desired by the user. Figure 25-8 depicts an example in which a user connects to https://
www.amazon.com.
PKI Example 565
VeriSign Amazon.com
Web Browser Web Server
Public Key
of VeriSign
Verify
2 Signature
Authentication of the web server uses a challenge-response method, with which the server will
prove that it possesses the private key of the desired server (www.amazon.com). However, to prove
possession of the private key of the server, the browser needs the public key of the server first. Here
is the sequence of events:
Step 1 When the client connects to the www.amazon.com web server, the web
server first sends its certificate, signed by a well-known Internet CA to the
client.
Step 2 The client uses one of the local root CA certificates (the issuer’s certificate
of the server certificate) to verify its validity, and optionally downloads the
CRL to verify that the server certificate has not been revoked.
Step 3 If verification is successful, the client now knows that it has an authentic
public key of the www.amazon.com server in its possession.
Next, the client challenges the web server to verify that the web server has the private key that
belongs to the public key that the client received in the certificate of the web server. This private
key should be known only to the www.amazon.com web server:
Step 1 The client generates random data, and sends it to the web server to be
encrypted with the private key of the web server (challenge), as shown in
Figure 25-9.
566 Chapter 25: Understanding the Public Key Infrastructure
RSA Response
p2CksD1f3r…
2
Public Key of
3
Web Server
Rj@as94iDg…
Step 2 The web server signs (RSA-encrypts) the random data using its private key
and returns the signed random data to the client (response).
Step 3 The client verifies (RSA-decrypts) the signed random data using the public
key of the server from the verified certificate and compares it against the
random data that the client generated previously.
Step 4 If the signature is authentic, the web server really possesses the private key,
corresponding to the public key in the certificate of the web server
(www.amazon.com), and is, therefore, authentic.
NOTE In this example, the web server was authenticated by the client; the web server,
however, has no idea about the identity of the client. Authentication of the client is optional in
SSL and TLS and, if used, would use exactly the reverse procedure to authenticate the client,
provided that the client also possesses a private and public RSA key pair and a certificate
recognized by the web server. However, most servers choose to authenticate the client using a
simple username/password mechanism over the secure SSL/TLS session because this method is
easier to deploy than client-side certificates.
Using the authentic certificate of the web server, the client can now generate and send session
keys, which are used by the symmetric encryption algorithm of SSL or TLS to communicate
securely with the web server. As shown in Figure 25-10, the exchange of session keys is done in
the following way:
Step 1 The client generates symmetric session keys for SSL or TLS Hash-based
Message Authentication Code (HMAC) and encryption algorithms.
PKI Example 567
Step 2 The client encrypts these keys using the www.amazon.com public key of
the web server and sends them to the server.
Step 3 The www.amazon.com web server (only) can decrypt the such-encrypted
session keys using its private key.
2
ke4P6d23Le… RSA
Session Keys Internet Private Key of
Web Server
3
RSA
Public Key of
Session Keys
Web Server
Now, after the client and the server have shared the secret session keys, they can use them to
exchange authenticated (signed using the HMAC algorithm) and encrypted (using a symmetric
encryption algorithm, such as Triple Data Encryption Standard [3DES], Advanced Encryption
Standard [AES], or RC4) messages, as shown in Figure 25-11.
3DES
Ss199le4… 3DES
Session Keys
Summary
This chapter discussed the concepts behind the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). PKI is needed for
secure, scalable key exchange over larger corporate networks and public networks, such as the
Internet. PKI uses the concept of a single “trusted introducer” to eliminate the need for any-to-any
authentication. These trusted introducers are known in PKI as Certificate Authorities (CAs), which
issue certificates, through a process known as enrollment, to its associated users. PKI revocation
allows these certificates issued to the clients to be announced as invalid before the lifetime of the
certificate has expired. This process is necessary when private keys become compromised and,
therefore, cannot be trusted anymore. SSL, TLS, and S/MIME are common examples of PKI-
enabled protocols.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, "Answers to Review Questions."
d. It is used to authenticate the server and to protect the challenge response traffic during
client authentication.
e. It is used to authenticate the server and to encrypt the symmetric session keys used for
the asymmetric encryption of the data stream.
f. It is used to authenticate the server and to encrypt the symmetric session keys used for
the authentication and encryption of the data stream.
8. Which of the following is an asymmetric encryption algorithm?
a. AES
b. Diffie-Hellman
c. DES
d. Blowfish
9. When using asymmetric encryption, which key is transmitted from the sending to the
receiving host?
a. Public key
b. Private key
c. Shared secret key
d. No keys are transmitted.
10. A nontrusted user has obtained the certificate of one of your public web servers. What should
be done to ratify this situation? (Select all that apply.)
a. Nothing
b. The certificate should be immediately revoked and published to a CRL.
c. The certificate should be immediately revoked. Clients can immediately find this revo-
cation if they are using OCSP.
d. The private key should be regenerated on the web server.
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This chapter covers the
following topics:
■ Loss of integrity—If voice call signaling or media messages can be intercepted, they can
be modified. Although this issue might not arise for human conversations very often, do not
forget that calls such as telebanking, e-mail or voice-mail access over a telephone, and
similar applications using interactive voice response (IVR) might require secure
communication.
■ Denial of Service (DoS)—These attacks cause loss of functionality. They can be directed
against IP telephony components, such as voice gateways, Cisco CallManager nodes, or IP
phones, or against the underlying infrastructure. An example is replacing IP phone
configuration files or images stored on a TFTP server with invalid files that cause the IP
phone to malfunction.
574 Chapter 26: Understanding Cisco IP Telephony Authentication and Encryption Fundamentals
■ Authentication of phone images—To stop attacks against phone images by ensuring the
integrity of the image file.
Secure signaling is achieved by using Transport Layer Security (TLS) and is based on the Cisco
IP telephony Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) solution. The secure signaling encapsulates the
Skinny Client Control Protocol (SCCP, or Skinny) messages in TLS. TLS provides transport-layer
protection and is similar to Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), used for secure web browsing.
Secure media transfer in Cisco IP telephony provides confidentiality by encrypting the media
stream. If a hacker captures the media streams, the hacker cannot interpret them or play them back.
Secure media transfer also provides integrity and authenticity so that the packets cannot be altered
while in transit. If an attacker modifies, removes, or adds Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP)
packets, the receiver detects this manipulation because of the missing or incorrect authentication
data. Secure media transfer requires encrypted call signaling because the media encryption keys
are exchanged over signaling channels. After you encrypt the media stream, the call is considered
a Secure RTP (SRTP) session.
Figure 26-1 illustrates that for secure media transfer, SRTP is used instead of the insecure RTP to
exchange voice packets between IP phones. Encapsulating the Skinny protocol inside of TLS
encryption ensures secure communication between the IP phone and the CallManager. SRTP is a
How CallManager Protects Against Threats 575
standard-based (RFC 3711, The Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol) and an application-layer
encryption that performs inside-payload encryption where the protocol headers do not change.
Because the headers in RTP and SRTP are the same, an attacker who sniffs the conversation does
not know whether the RTP stream has been encrypted when examining the packet header only.
Only when further analyzing the sniffed packets and trying to play them back can the attacker
recognize that the audio has been encrypted.
SRTP
IP IP
Binary
Executable
TFTP Server File
Cisco IP Phone
Image Signature Public Key
of Cisco
CTL
Image.bin.sgn
Image.bin.sgn
Config1.xml.sgn TFTP
Config2.xml.sgn IP
Config3.xml.sgn
576 Chapter 26: Understanding Cisco IP Telephony Authentication and Encryption Fundamentals
IP phone image authentication was introduced with Cisco CallManager Release 3.3(3). In this and
later versions, phone images include the public key that corresponds to the private key used by
Cisco manufacturing to sign phone images. In addition, the firmware accepts new images only if
their signature is authentic.
IP phone image authentication does not need any additional configuration and is totally
independent of the Cisco IP telephony PKI that is used for other features.
TIP If you need to downgrade to an IP phone image that does not yet support IP phone image
authentication (earlier than Cisco CallManager Release 3.3(3)), a special “breakout” image can
be obtained from the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC). Simply trying to load an older
image does not work because the current image will accept only signed images.
Signed IP phone configuration files are implemented differently from signed images. The
configuration files are signed by the Cisco TFTP server (with its private key). An IP phone loading
a new configuration verifies the configuration file before applying it. The IP phone needs the
public key of the TFTP server to do so. Except for the Cisco development public key, the public
key of the TFTP server is different for every installation and, therefore, cannot be embedded in the
firmware of the IP phone. Therefore, verification must use the Cisco IP telephony PKI.
Authenticated IP phone configuration files prevent tampering with the files on the TFTP server or
in transit.
NOTE Because authenticated IP phone configuration files depend on the existence of a Cisco
IP telephony PKI, the deployment of this feature is far more complex than signed IP phone
images. On the other hand, when you enable your cluster for security, authentication of phone
configuration files is automatic for all IP phones that are configured for secure operation.
■ Certificates signed by the Cisco manufacturing CA—Cisco IP Phone 7970 models (and
later) have manufacturing installed certificates (MICs).
SUB1 CAPF
CAPF
SUB1
Private Key Private Key
of SUB1 of CAPF
Public Key Public Key
of SUB1 of CAPF
Public Key Public Key
of SUB1 of CAPF
Phone Cisco CA
Private Key Private Key
of Phone Issue Certificate of Cisco CA
During Production
Public Key
of Phone IP
Public Key Public Key
of Phone Cisco CA Cisco CA of Cisco CA
The IP phone with the MIC has its own public and private key pair and a Cisco manufacturing CA
certificate installed. The certificate of the IP phone is signed by the Cisco manufacturing CA,
which makes the Cisco manufacturing CA the PKI root for all MICs.
■ Deploy LSCs through a centralized, automated process to all IP phones attached to the
network.
Of course, the factor that this decision hinges on is risk. By automatically deploying LSCs to the
IP phones, you assume that all the phones that are currently plugged into the network are
“friendly.” The CallManager will automatically deploy LSCs to all phones. If a hacker has a phone
plugged into the network, it will also get an LSC and become a trusted device. The alternate,
manual method creates a huge amount of administrative overhead because you must visit each
device and manually enter a sequence of digits provided by the CAPF. However, by following this
method, you ensure that each IP phone be physically verified before it is considered a trusted
device.
As shown in Figure 26-5, the CAPF can either generate LSCs itself, or it can act as a proxy
between the IP phone and some other CA.
PKI Topologies in Cisco IP Telephony 579
CAPF CAPF
Enroll
Enroll Enroll
IP IP
PUB TFTP
TFTP
PUB Private Key Private Key
of PUB of TFTP
Public Key Public Key
of PUB of TFTP
Public Key Public Key
of PUB of TFTP
Cisco CA CAPF
CTL Client
The Cisco CTL client itself has a certificate issued by the Cisco manufacturing CA. The goal of
the Cisco CTL client is to obtain the certificates of all entities that issue certificates (self-signed
certificates only or certificates for other devices). Then, the Cisco CTL client signs the list of these
certificates, the CTL, using its private key. The public and private keys of the Cisco CTL client are
stored on a smart token called a security token, which is just a USB key plugged into the PC
running the CTL client.
Now there is a single, trusted introducer in the system again: The Cisco CTL client “introduces”
trusted devices, not by signing their certificates, but by signing a list of trusted certificates signed
by several PKI roots, as shown in Figure 26-7. The CTL can be compared to the root certificate
store of Microsoft Internet Explorer. Both are a list of trusted certificate-issuing entities.
■ TFTP server certificate—The TFTP server that provides the IP phone with files, such as the
IP phone image or the IP phone configuration file, is trusted by the IP phone only if the TFTP
server is listed in the CTL of the IP phone.
■ CAPF certificate—When you are using LSCs, the CAPF issues certificates to the IP phones.
The certificate of the CAPF allows the CAPF to authenticate to an IP phone during the
enrollment.
PKI Topologies in Cisco IP Telephony 581
■ Cisco certificate—MICs and the certificate of the security tokens (storing the keys used by
the Cisco CTL client) are issued by Cisco manufacturing CA. To allow the phone to verify
certificates issued by this Cisco CA, the phone needs the certificate of the Cisco
manufacturing CA.
■ Cisco CTL client certificate—The Cisco CTL client signs the CTL using one of the security
tokens. The certificates of the Cisco CTL client (one per security token) have to be known to
the IP phone to allow verification of the signature of the CTL.
As shown in Figure 26-8, When an IP phone boots, the CTL is downloaded from the TFTP server
to the IP phone. It contains all certificates of the entities that issued self-signed certificates. By
having this list, the IP phone knows which PKI roots to trust and can trust all certificates that have
been issued by any PKI root contained in the CTL.
TFTP PUB
Public Key
of Phone
TFTP
Public Key Public Key
of TFTP of PUB
Public Key of
CTL Client Public Key
of Phone
The CTL file needs to be updated after configuration changes, such as changing or adding IP
telephony servers or security tokens to the system.
The CTL also acts as an authorization list because it specifies which certificates belong to which
IP telephony function. A TFTP server, for instance, is not allowed to sign a CTL, only IP phone
configuration files. The CAPF, as another example, is allowed to sign the LSCs of other IP phones
only but not the CTL or any TFTP files.
This certificate of the administrator token is signed by the Cisco manufacturing CA. This signature
is also validated by using the certificate of the Cisco manufacturing CA, which also must be
included in the currently installed CTL. This concept works well as long as the phone already has
a CTL.
The problem can be solved by downloading the initial CTL over a trusted network to ensure that no
falsified initial CTL is loaded to the phone. When the phone has a valid CTL, it will trust new CTLs
only if they are signed using a security token that is already known to the IP phone. If the CTL file
in the IP phone is erased, the same problem occurs. Again, you must ensure that the next CTL
download is done over a trusted network path because the IP phone will blindly accept any CTL.
After the IP phone is deployed, it is usually difficult to trust the network path between the phone
and Cisco CallManager. Therefore, a user should not be able to erase the initially installed CTL.
There are two ways to remove a CTL from an IP phone: a factory reset or the IP phone Settings
menu. A factory reset is not simple, but using the Settings menu is rather easy. To prevent users
from using the Settings menu to remove the CTL, you should disable settings access at the phone.
PKI Enrollment in Cisco IP Telephony 583
When using authentication strings as the authentication method during CAPF phone certificate
operations, you have to enable settings access during the enrollment. After successful enrollment,
you should then disable settings access again.
With MICs, enrollment was already done by Cisco manufacturing during production. When the IP
phone is shipped to the customer, it already has its public and private keys, a certificate issued by
the Cisco manufacturing CA, and the certificate of the Cisco manufacturing CA installed. No other
PKI provisioning tasks are required. MICs always remain on the phone, even if an LSC is added.
NOTE If the IP phone has both a MIC and an LSC, the LSC has priority.
CAPF Acting as a CA
To obtain an LSC from the CAPF acting as a CA, an IP phone has to enroll with the CAPF, as
shown in Figure 26-9.
CAPF CAPF
PUB
Public Key
CAPF of Phone
Enroll 3
IP
2
CAPF 1
Private Key Public Key Private Key Public Key
of CAPF of CAPF of Phone of Phone
Public Key
of CAPF
584 Chapter 26: Understanding Cisco IP Telephony Authentication and Encryption Fundamentals
CA CA CA
IP
4 CAPF
1
2
Private Key Public Key
Private Key Public Key
of Phone of Phone
of CA of CA Public Key
of CAPF
The IP telephony servers (Cisco CallManager, CAPF, and TFTP server) store certificates on the
local hard disk, in a special area called the Microsoft certificate store. The private key of the server
is stored in the private-key storage. The private-key storage is protected by the periodically
changed master key. The master key itself is encrypted with Triple Data Encryption Standard
(3DES) using a key derived from the password of the user.
Microsoft Windows XP stores a certificate locally on the computer or device that requested it or,
in the case of a user, on the computer or device that the user used to request it. The storage location
is called the certificate store.
The Cisco CTL client stores its public and private RSA keys on the security tokens supplied by
Cisco. The keys are embedded on the token during production, and the token is designed never to
leak these keys from its memory.
■ Device authentication for the IP phone and the server—Achieved by using device
certificates and digital signatures
Cert. Req.
Phone Cert.
IP
1. The IP phone and the Cisco CallManager server negotiate the cryptographic algorithms in the
IP phone Hello and Cisco CallManager Hello messages.
2. The server sends its (self-signed) certificate to the IP phone.
3. The server requests a certificate from the IP phone.
4. The IP phone sends its certificate to the server.
At this point, both the IP phone and the server validate the certificates they just received over the
network:
■ The IP phone simply looks up the certificate of the server in its local certificate store. The
received certificate must be found locally because it must have been sent in the CTL. If it is
not included in the CTL, the session is dropped. If it is found, the public key of the server is
extracted from the certificate.
■ The server looks up the IP phone in the local device database to see if this IP phone is known
and authorized to connect via TLS. Then, the certificate of the IP phone is validated using the
locally available CAPF public key (from the CAPF certificate), and if valid, the public key of
the IP phone is extracted from the IP phone certificate.
Server-to-Phone Authentication
The next stage of the TLS handshake is authentication of the server by the IP phone. A simplified
version of the authentication steps is shown in Figure 26-12.
Authentication and Integrity 587
Cert. Req.
Phone Cert.
Challenge1
IP
Response1
1. The IP phone generates a random challenge string and sends it to the server, requesting that
the server sign it with the private RSA key of the server.
2. The server signs the message with its private RSA key and returns the result (response) to the
IP phone.
3. The IP phone verifies the signature using the public key of the server.
Phone-to-Server Authentication
After the server has authenticated to the IP phone, the IP phone needs to authenticate to the server.
A simplified version of the authentication steps is shown in Figure 26-13.
Cert. Req.
Phone Cert.
Challenge1
IP
Response1
Challenge2
Response2
588 Chapter 26: Understanding Cisco IP Telephony Authentication and Encryption Fundamentals
1. The server generates a random challenge string and sends it to the IP phone, requesting that
the IP phone sign it with the private RSA key of the IP phone.
2. The IP phone signs the message with its private RSA key and returns the result (response) to
the server.
3. The server verifies the signature with the public key of the IP phone.
NOTE In the certificate of the IP phone, the public key of the IP phone is tied to the identity
of the IP phone. Because Cisco CallManager identifies an IP phone by MAC address and not by
IP address or name, the MAC address of the phone is used as the identifier in the certificate of
the IP phone.
Encryption
In addition to authentication and integrity, Cisco CallManager also provides confidentiality of
calls by using encryption. When configuring devices for encrypted calls, signaling messages and
media streams are encrypted as follows:
■ Signaling messages are encrypted using TLS encryption with Advanced Encryption Standard
(AES) 128-bit encryption.
■ Media streams are encrypted using SRTP with AES 128-bit encryption.
Encryption 589
TIP It is a general rule in cryptography to always complement packet encryption with packet
authentication. If encryption is used without authentication, the receiver of an encrypted packet
has no guarantee that the packet comes from the expected source. Assuming that an attacker does
not know the key to be used for the encryption, the attacker might not be able to send valid data
but could send arbitrary data to keep the receiver busy with decrypting the packets. Because this
decryption performed at the receiver can cause considerable processing overhead, an attacker
could launch a DoS attack just by flooding a system with packets that will be decrypted by the
receiver. In some situations, the attacker could even inject incorrect data into the application.
This is possible when the sent data does not have any special format but when any bit patterns
are considered to be valid data and are accepted by the receiver. An example is encrypted
digitized voice samples. An example where the receiver can detect invalid data is the transfer of
an encrypted Microsoft Word file. In this case, after decrypting the received arbitrary data (or a
valid file that has been encrypted with an incorrect key), the receiver would not recognize the
file as a valid Word document.
As stated before, in Cisco CallManager, encrypted packets always have to be signed to ensure the
authenticity of the source and the content of the packet.
590 Chapter 26: Understanding Cisco IP Telephony Authentication and Encryption Fundamentals
■ Encrypted—This mode provides authenticated and encrypted signaling (TLS SHA-1 and
TLS AES) and authenticated and encrypted media transfer (SRTP SHA-1 and SRTP AES).
V P X CC M PT Sequence Number
Time Stamp
RTP Payload
Summary
This chapter discussed the concepts behind securing the IP telephony network. The threats targeting
Cisco IP telephony include eavesdropping, IP phone image and configuration file tampering, and
DoS attacks. To combat this, Cisco IP telephony uses authentication and encryption techniques.
Because there is no single PKI topology in Cisco IP telephony, the CTL client acts as a trusted
introducer for the different PKI systems. The IP phones can use preinstalled certificates from Cisco
(called MICs) or use LSCs issued by the CallManager CAPF or a company CA.
Cisco CallManager stores all self-signed certificates in the operating system private key storage.
The keys used by the CTL client are stored on security tokens, and the keys used with IP phones
are stored in protected nonvolatile memory.
592 Chapter 26: Understanding Cisco IP Telephony Authentication and Encryption Fundamentals
Cisco CallManager supports device authentication, authenticated signaling (using TLS SHA-1),
and authenticated media (using SRTP SHA-1). It also supports encryption of signaling messages
using TLS AES and encryption of media using SRTP AES.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
1. Which of the following are not security threats to an IP telephony system? (Choose two.)
a. Loss of privacy
b. Impersonation
c. Integrity
d. Loss of integrity
e. Loss of control
f. DoS
2. Which of the following represent correct mappings of application—protocol—security
features? (Choose two.)
a. Secure signaling—SRTP—device authentication, integrity
b. Secure signaling—TLS—device authentication, integrity, privacy
c. Secure media—SRTP—privacy, confidentiality, security
d. Secure media—TLS—privacy, confidentiality, security
e. Secure media—TLS—privacy, integrity
f. Secure media—SRTP—privacy, integrity
3. Which two statements about trusted introducing are incorrect?
a. The trusted introducer has to be trusted by all other members of the system.
b. The trusted introducer has to trust all other members of the system.
c. The trusted introducer guarantees the authenticity of entities it is introducing to others.
d. Only the trusted introducer has to trust the root of the system.
e. The trusted introducer is the root of a system.
f. Any entity of the system can guarantee the authenticity of any other member.
Review Questions 593
4. Which two statements about PKI topologies in Cisco IP telephony are true?
a. MICs are self-signed by the IP phone.
b. Cisco IP Phone 7940, 7960, and 7970 models can have MICs and LSCs.
c. The CAPF has a self-signed certificate.
d. Only Cisco IP Phone 7940, 7960, and 7970 (and subsequent) models can have LSCs.
e. The CTL is signed by the Cisco manufacturing CA.
f. MICs are signed by CAPF.
5. Which are the two valid options to secure enrollment in a PKI?
a. Perform the enrollment from a trusted device only.
b. Perform the enrollment in both directions.
c. Perform the enrollment over a trusted network.
d. Use self-signed certificates on all devices.
e. Do not send the private key in the enrollment.
f. Perform mutual out-of-band authentication between the PKI user and CA.
6. Which statement about enrollment in the IP telephony PKI is true?
a. MICs are issued by CAPF itself or by an external CA.
b. LSCs are issued by the Cisco CTL client or by CAPF.
c. CAPF enrollment supports the use of authentication strings.
d. CAPF itself has to enroll with the Cisco CTL client.
e. Enrollment of IP phones occurs automatically if the cluster is in secure-only mode.
f. LSCs can be issued by an external CA when using the CTL client as a proxy.
7. Which of the following entities uses a smart token for key storage?
a. CTL
b. CTL client
c. CAPF in proxy mode
d. CAPF in CA mode
e. Cisco IP Phone 7940 and 7960
f. Cisco IP Phone 7970
594 Chapter 26: Understanding Cisco IP Telephony Authentication and Encryption Fundamentals
Cisco IP telephony systems are subject to several threats, including eavesdropping, identity
spoofing, and denial of service (DoS) attacks. In Cisco CallManager Release 4.0 and later, you
can secure the Cisco IP telephony solution against these threats by enabling authentication and
encryption features. This chapter explains how to configure the authentication and encryption
that you can apply in a Cisco IP telephony environment.
■ Media exchange between a supported Cisco IP Phone and a supported Media Gateway
Control Protocol (MGCP) and H.323 gateways—Cisco IP Phone 7970, 7960, and 7940
models and Cisco IOS MGCP gateways (running Cisco IOS Software Release 12.3(11)T2 or
later) can be configured to use SRTP for authenticated and encrypted media exchange. H.323
support for SRTP was added in Cisco IOS Software Release 12.4(6T).
NOTE When using SRTP with an MGCP gateway, the SRTP session keys by default are
exchanged in cleartext between Cisco CallManager and the MGCP gateway. Therefore, if the
communication path between Cisco CallManager and the MGCP gateway is not trusted, the
recommendation is to use IPsec between Cisco CallManager and the MGCP gateway.
NOTE The Cisco SRST device can also provide SRTP session keys to the Cisco IP Phones so
that the IP Phones that are in fallback mode can still use both signaling message and media
exchange protection.
With the current release of Cisco CallManager, authenticated and encrypted calls are not possible
in any other situation than listed, including the following:
■ Calls that are connected to any media resources, such as conferences, transcoders, or
music on hold (MoH)—Secure media exchange is supported only between supported
endpoints (Cisco IP Phones and Cisco IOS MGCP gateways); conference bridges,
transcoders, or MOH servers are not supported endpoints.
To enable authentication and encryption support in your Cisco CallManager cluster, you need to
complete these tasks:
Step 1 Enable security services—You need to enable the Cisco Certificate Trust
List (CTL) Provider service and the Cisco Certificate Authority Proxy
Function (CAPF) service.
Step 2 Use the Cisco CTL client to activate security options—You need to
configure mixed mode and create a signed CTL.
Enabling Services Required for Security 599
■ Cisco CTL Provider—This service has to be activated on all Cisco CallManager servers and
Cisco TFTP servers of your cluster.
Activate Cisco CallManager services from the Cisco CallManager Serviceability Service
Activation window, shown in Figure 27-1.
■ After modifying Cisco CallManager or Cisco TFTP server configuration (which includes
adding, removing, renaming, or restoring a server or changing the IP address or hostname of
a server)
In all the situations listed, the Cisco CTL client creates a new CTL and signs it by using a security
token. The Cisco IP Phones load the new CTL and are then aware of the changes to the IP
telephony system. Any changes that are not reflected in the CTL (for instance, if you change the
IP address of a server but do not create a new CTL using the Cisco CTL client application) cause
the Cisco IP Phones to treat the corresponding device as untrusted. From this perspective, the CTL
can be seen as the certificate root store of your browser (listing all trusted certificate-issuing
entities). If any device that was previously trusted is not trustworthy anymore (for instance, when
a security token is lost), there is no need for a certificate revocation list (CRL). Instead, you will
use the Cisco CTL client and update the CRL by removing the untrusted entry (for instance, a lost
security token) from the list.
The Cisco CTL client application is installed from the Cisco CallManager Administration Install
Plugins window. You can accomplish the installation just by walking through a simple wizard, as
shown in Figure 27-2. During installation, you are prompted for the destination folder; you can set
any directory of your choice or simply accept the default.
Using the CTL Client 601
The Smart Card service has to be activated on the PC. To activate the Smart Card service under
Microsoft Windows 2000, choose Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools >
Services to launch the Microsoft services administration tool. Then use the tool to verify the status
of the Smart Card service. The service should have the startup type of Automatic and the Current
Status should be Running.
After you have installed the CTL Client, you can access it from the icon automatically placed on
your desktop. Initially, it will ask for the CallManager server information for the cluster, as shown
in Figure 27-3.
After entering the CallManager server information and successfully authenticating, you can either
set the cluster security mode or update the CTL file. A Cisco CallManager cluster supports two
security modes:
■ Mixed mode—This mode allows secure calls between two security-enabled devices and
allows nonsecure calls between devices where at least one of the devices is not security-
enabled.
■ Nonsecure mode—This is the default configuration, in which all calls are nonsecure.
NOTE There is no secure-only mode. This setting would prevent Cisco IP Phones without
security enabled from placing calls. Many Cisco IP Phones do not support security features and
would not be able to operate in a secure-only environment.
In addition to setting the cluster security mode, you use the Cisco CTL client to update the CTL
file. This update is needed after adding or removing components, such as servers or security
tokens. After changing the list of CTL entries, you need to sign the new CTL using a security
token.
CallManager uses the CAPF to issue LSCs. CAPF can act as a Certificate Authority (CA) itself,
signing the LSCs, or it can act as a proxy to an external CA, having the external CA signing the
LSCs. You can configure the CAPF service at the CAPF service parameter web page shown in
Figure 27-4. To access this page, choose Cisco CallManager Administration > Service >
Service Parameter > Cisco Certificate Authority Proxy Function.
You can set the certificate issuer (CAPF itself or an external CA) and IP address of the external
CA (if used). You can also modify some default values, such as the Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman
(RSA) key size or the certificate lifetime.
When you want to install or upgrade LSCs for Cisco IP Phones that you are configuring, use the
relevant CAPF settings at the Phone Configuration window by choosing Cisco CallManager
Administration > Device > Phone. All possible settings are found in the Certificate Authority
Proxy Function (CAPF) Information area.
Working with Locally Significant Certificates 603
There are four operations options in the Certificate Operation field (as shown in Figure 27-5):
■ Install/Upgrade—This operation allows the installation of an LSC (if the IP Phone does not
already have an LSC) and the upgrade (replacement) of an existing LSC (if the IP Phone
already has an LSC).
■ Delete—This operation allows the removal of an existing LSC from a Cisco IP Phone.
■ Troubleshoot—This operation retrieves all existing IP Phone certificates from the IP Phone
and stores them in CAPF trace files. There are separate CAPF trace files for MICs and for
LSCs. The CAPF trace files are located in C:\Program Files\Cisco\Trace\CAPF.
■ No Pending Operation—This is the default value. You can also change back to this value
when you want to cancel a previously configured operation that has not yet been executed.
604 Chapter 27: Configuring Cisco IP Telephony Authentication and Encryption
In the Authentication Mode field (as shown in Figure 27-6), you can choose one of four possible
authentication modes:
■ By Authentication String—This authentication mode is the default and requires the Cisco
IP Phone user to manually initiate the installation of an LSC. The user must authenticate to
Cisco CallManager by the authentication string that has been set by the administrator in the
Authentication String field. To enable the user to enter the correct authentication string, the
administrator has to communicate the configured authentication string to the user.
■ By Null String—This authentication mode disables Cisco IP Phone authentication for the
download of the IP Phone certificate (enrollment). The enrollment of the IP Phone should be
done over a trusted network only when this setting is used. Because no user intervention is
needed, the enrollment is done automatically the next time the Cisco IP Phone boots or is
reset.
NOTE Some authentication options will only appear under specific phone models. For
example, the “By Existing Certificate (Precedence to MIC)” option is unavailable on older Cisco
IP Phones such as the 7940 and 7960.
NOTE The Settings menu can also be used to gain information about the IP telephony system
or remove the CTL. Usually, you do not want IP Phone users to have access to such options, and,
therefore, access to the settings on the IP Phone is often restricted or disabled. LSC enrollment
with authentication by authentication string is not possible if settings access is not (fully)
enabled. If access to settings is restricted or disabled, you have to enable it for the enrollment
and then return it to its previous value.
When a user starts the enrollment procedure, the user has to enter the authentication string
configured, and if the process is successful, the certificate is issued to the IP Phone.
Step 4 Scroll to LSC and press the Update softkey to start the enrollment.
Step 5 Enter the authentication string and press the Submit softkey to authenticate
the IP Phone to the CAPF when prompted to do so.
Step 6 The IP Phone generates its RSA keys and requests a certificate signed by
the CAPF. When the signed certificate is installed, the message “Success”
appears at the lower-left corner of the Cisco IP Phone display.
For such a scenario, set the Certificate Operation field to Install/Upgrade and the
Authentication Mode to By Existing Certificate (Precedence to LSC). After you click Update
and reset the Cisco IP Phone, the IP Phone automatically contacts the CAPF for the download of
the new certificate. The existing certificate is used to authenticate the new enrollment, and there is
no need for a manually entered authentication string.
The default device security mode is configured in the Cisco CallManager Enterprise Parameters
window; choose Cisco CallManager Administration > System > Enterprise Parameters. The
default mode is Non Secure.
In addition to setting the default value, you can configure each individual IP Phone with the device
security mode. Choose Cisco CallManager Administration > Device > Phone to display the
Phone Configuration window, as shown in Figure 27-8. The default mode is Use System Default.
608 Chapter 27: Configuring Cisco IP Telephony Authentication and Encryption
NOTE In several situations, you should not use cryptographic services for Cisco IP Phones at
all. With some Cisco IP Contact Center (IPCC) applications, for instance, cleartext signaling
messages or media packets have to be seen by other devices (for instance, attached PCs).
Another example is the use of Network Address Translation (NAT) or Port Address Translation
(PAT). Because the translating device has to see cleartext signaling messages to be able to
dynamically allow the negotiated UDP ports that will be used for Real-Time Transport Protocol
(RTP), encryption cannot be used.
■ If either device in a conversation is set to Non Secure, a nonsecure call (that is, a call without
authentication and without encryption) is placed.
■ If both devices are set to Encrypted, an encrypted call (that is, a call with authentication and
encryption) is placed.
Generating a CAPF Report 609
■ If one device is set to authenticated and the other phone is set to either authenticated or
encrypted, the resulting call will be authenticated.
Phone 2
NOTE The Certificate Operation Status displays the result of the last CAPF activity for each
IP Phone. Possible values include None (typically shown on IP Phones with device security
mode Non Secure), Operation Pending (when CAPF waits for a user to manually retrieve a
[new] certificate), and result information (success, failure) after upgrade, delete, or
troubleshooting operations.
■ Authentication Mode
■ Authentication String
You can click entries from the results list to display the configuration window of the corresponding
IP Phone. You can also save the results list of a search to a file in Comma-Separated Values (CSV)
format.
You can create CAPF reports from Cisco CallManager Administration. Figure 27-10 shows a
CAPF report where the administrator accessed the CAPF Report window by choosing Cisco
CallManager Administration > Device > Device Settings > CAPF Report and started a report
610 Chapter 27: Configuring Cisco IP Telephony Authentication and Encryption
to search for all IP Phones where the authentication string matched a specific value. This allowed
the administrator to quickly locate the status for a specific IP phone.
In addition to using CAPF reports to locate devices, you can use the Find and List Phones window
to search on a variety of other criteria. For example, Figure 27-11 shows a query to search for IP
Phones where the device security mode is Encrypted. Two IP Phones have been found matching
the search criteria.
Summary 611
Figure 27-11 Searching Using the Find and List Phones Query Tool
Summary
This chapter discussed the configuration of encryption and authentication in the Cisco IP
telephony network. To enable either of these features, you must activate the Cisco CTL Provider
and the Cisco CAPF services. From there, you must install the CTL Client on at least one machine
in the cluster to sign the CTL using a security token, which is manually plugged in to the USB port
of the machine. This CTL Client must be rerun each time the CTL entries change.
Cisco allows the use of LSCs on all security-enabled IP Phones. You can configure the Cisco IP
Phones for nonsecure calls, authenticated calls only, or authenticated and encrypted calls. When
the phones communicate, they will agree on a lowest-common-denominator security standard.
You can locate the phones that have successfully enabled security functions using the CAPF report
utility.
612 Chapter 27: Configuring Cisco IP Telephony Authentication and Encryption
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
1. Which is the most accurate list of tasks required to configure a Cisco CallManager cluster for
security?
a. Enable services, set cluster to mixed mode, create a signed CTL, and deploy certificates
to the IP Phones
b. Enable services, set cluster to secure-only mode, create a signed CTL, and deploy certif-
icates to the IP Phones
c. Enable extended services, set cluster to authenticated or encrypted mode, create a
signed CTL, and deploy certificates to the IP Phones
d. Disable extended services, set cluster to mixed mode, create a signed CTL, and deploy
certificates to the IP Phones
e. Enable services, set cluster to mixed mode, create a signed CTL, deploy certificates to
the IP Phones, and set the device security mode
f. Run the auto-secure feature
2. Which two services must be enabled when configuring a Cisco CallManager cluster for
security?
a. Cisco CAPF
b. Cisco Authority Provider Function
c. Cisco CTL Provider
d. Cisco CTL Proxy
e. Cisco CTL Client Provider
f. Cisco Extended Functions
3. What are the minimum needs for the PC when you are installing Cisco CTL Client?
a. Windows 2000 or XP operating system, at least one USB port, Smart Card service
enabled
b. Windows XP operating system, at least two USB ports, Smart Card service enabled
c. Windows 2000 operating system, at least two USB ports, Smart Card service disabled
d. Installation on Cisco CallManager publisher server only, two available USB ports,
Smart Card service enabled
e. Windows 2000 operating system, PCMCIA slot, Smart Card service enabled
f. Windows 2000 operating system, at least one USB port, Cisco VT Advantage camera,
Smart Card service enabled
Review Questions 613
4. When is update of the configuration using the Cisco CTL client not needed?
a. When an LSC of the IP Phone is upgraded
b. When a security token is added to the system
c. When a Cisco CallManager has been removed
d. When an IP address of the Cisco TFTP server has been changed
5. Which two statements about LSCs are correct?
a. On a Cisco IP Phone 7970, a MIC has priority over an LSC.
b. On a Cisco IP Phone 7960, an LSC has priority over a MIC.
c. The CAPF issues LSCs if used as a CA and MICs if used as a proxy.
d. The certificate operation of the CAPF can be set to install, upgrade, or delete.
e. The certificate operation of the CAPF can be set to install/upgrade, delete, or trouble-
shoot.
f. CAPF authentication can be configured to be done by authentication string, null string,
or existing certificates.
6. Which two combinations of device security modes and resulting call type are correct?
a. Phone 1: Non Secure, phone 2: Authenticated; call: authenticated
b. Phone 1: Non Secure, phone 2: Encrypted; call: authenticated
c. Phone 1: Authenticated, phone 2: Non Secure; call: nonsecure
d. Phone 1: Encrypted, phone 2: Authenticated; call: authenticated
e. Phone 1: Authenticated, phone 2: Encrypted; call: encrypted
f. Phone 1: Encrypted, phone 2: Non Secure; call: encrypted
7. Which two of the following options are not search criteria when you are creating a CAPF
report?
a. Authentication mode
b. Certificate operation status
c. Device name
d. Certificate lifetime
e. Authentication string
f. Device security mode
614 Chapter 27: Configuring Cisco IP Telephony Authentication and Encryption
8. Which two of the following options are not search criteria when you are searching for IP
Phones using the Find and List Phones window?
a. Authentication mode
b. LSC status
c. Device name
d. Directory number
e. Authentication string
f. Device security mode
9. Which phone model does not support phone security options?
a. Cisco 7920
b. Cisco 7970
c. Cisco 7961
d. Cisco 7960
10. Which of the following types of communication cannot be encrypted? (Choose three.)
a. Signaling messages between an IP Phone and an SRST gateway
b. Calls to other clusters using intercluster trunks
c. Calls communicating using a conference bridge
d. Calls using a transcoder
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Part VI: IP Video
Companies that want to enable video calls can install and use products from the Cisco enterprise
video products portfolio. Video communication capabilities are integrated into Cisco
CallManager Release 4.0. These capabilities extend several video features to benefit end users,
network administrators, and enterprises as a whole. A common IP infrastructure for all
communications not only provides an enterprise with reduced cost of ownership but with a
faster return on investment (ROI) as users more readily and easily adapt to a system that can be
deployed to the desktop. This chapter introduces the benefits, terms, and concepts of video
telephony.
■ Cisco CallManager Release 4.0 or later. Cisco CallManager provides call routing and a
centralized dial plan for voice and video devices.
■ Cisco IP/VC 3500 Series Multipoint Control Units (MCUs) for both H.323 and Skinny
Client Control Protocol (SCCP) videoconference calls. The MCUs are responsible for
mixing the various video and voice streams in a videoconference. In a videoconference, all
devices send their streams to the MCU; the MCU mixes these streams into a single picture
and sends the mixed stream back to the endpoints.
■ Cisco IP/VC 3500 Series H.320 gateways interconnect the IP world with the ISDN world.
To interconnect the H.323 with the H.320 (ISDN) world, a video gateway is required.
Unlike a voice gateway, a video gateway is able to bond bearer channels (B channels). An
H.263 video call needs at least 128 kbps, at lowest quality, in each direction; the VT
Advantage default for a video call is an H.263 384-kbps video call. For a 384-kbps call, the
620 Chapter 28: Introducing IP Video Telephony
video gateway needs to open six ISDN B channels at the same time. The IP/VC 3500 Series
H.320 gateways support B-channel bonding. The IP/VC 3500 Series H.320 gateways require
an H.323 gatekeeper to register.
■ A Cisco IOS H.323 gatekeeper is required to register third-party H.323 devices and the 35XX
MCU. The main tasks of an H.323 gatekeeper are endpoint registration, bandwidth
management, and directory number (DN) resolution. Many video devices, such as H.323
MCUs or H.320 video gateways, require an H.323 gatekeeper for registration.
■ Cisco Video Telephony (VT) Advantage is a video telephony solution comprising the Cisco
VT Advantage software application and Cisco VT Camera, a video telephony Universal Serial
Bus (USB) camera. With the Cisco VT Camera attached to a PC collocated with a Cisco IP
Phone, users can place and receive video calls on the enterprise IP telephony network. Users
make calls from Cisco IP Phones using familiar telephone interfaces, but calls are enhanced
with video on a PC, without requiring any extra button-pushing or mouse-clicking.
■ The Cisco 7985 IP Phone is one of the newest IP Phones added to the Cisco fleet. The 7985
supports full videoconference capabilities out of the box.
■ Cisco IP Communicator 2.0 and later allows you to integrate the VT Advantage solution with
the on-screen IP Communicator softphone.
Cisco CallManager Release 4.0 and later adds support for video in both the SCCP and H.323
protocols. Cisco CallManager can now manage H.323 endpoints, MCUs, and gateways, providing
the system administrator with PBX-style control over all call routing and bandwidth management
for those devices.
The video telephony solution consists of end-user devices, infrastructure, and applications. The
end-user devices include video phones, soft video phones for remote workers (such as Cisco IP
Communicator 2.0), and desktop environments that incorporate existing telephones and desktop
computers. Additionally, the existing H.323 endpoints that the customers already own will become
part of the video telephony environment.
Video Call Concepts 621
Cisco CallManager is the center of the IP telephony infrastructure and supports both voice and
video telephony. Cisco CallManager provides a single dial plan for all endpoints; there is no need
for an additional video dial plan. The same applications are still supported: voice mail,
conferencing, and scheduling for audio and video resources are possible.
The video stream mixing is accomplished by the MCU. In a Cisco CallManager environment, the
MCU can be SCCP or H.323 or SCCP- and H.323-controlled. The main difference is that the
H.323-controlled MCU needs an H.323 gatekeeper to register.
To allow external H.320 parties to participate in a videoconference, a video gateway, such as the
Cisco IP/VC 3521 BRI Videoconferencing Gateway or IP/VC 3526 PRI Videoconferencing
Gateway, is required. The normal voice gateways used in the Cisco CallManager environment do
not support ISDN B-channel bonding and cannot route video calls from and to the public switched
telephone network (PSTN).
TIP The term “video call” is sometimes confused with the term “videoconferencing.” A
videoconference is a video call with at least three participants.
For videoconferences in the Cisco CallManager system, extra hardware is required. The device
that mixes the video streams is an MCU.
■ Audio—These are the same codecs as used in audio-only calls, G.711 and G.729, plus
additional codecs, G.722 and G.728. These additional codecs can be used when
communicating to third-party equipment. Because Cisco IP Phones do not use these codecs,
transcoding is necessary.
■ Video—The video codecs used are H.261, H.263, H.264, and Cisco Wideband codecs. The
video codec is a software module that enables the use of compression for digital video. There
is a complex balance between the quality of the video, the video call bit rate, the complexity
of the encoding and decoding algorithms, the robustness to data losses and errors, the ease of
editing, the random access, the state of the art of compression algorithm design, the end-to-
end delay, and a number of other factors.
■ Far-end camera control (FECC)—FECC is used only for H.323 devices and is optional.
FECC enables a user to control the camera of the far side during an active video call. This
feature must be supported by both video-enabled H.323 devices. When FECC is used, two
Video Call Concepts 623
more unidirectional RTP streams are sent between the video devices. The two additional RTP
streams are used for the camera control parameters. This functionality is typically used for
security cameras.
In the example shown in Figure 28-2, the video-enabled endpoints report their video and audio
capabilities to Cisco CallManager. Cisco CallManager now treats the endpoints simply as video
phone devices. When a call is placed or received between two video-enabled devices, Cisco
CallManager signals for both audio and video streams. First the audio capabilities, such as audio
codec information and audio bit rate, are signaled and negotiated, and then the audio stream is set
up. After the audio stream is set up, the video capabilities, such as video codec information and
video channel bit rate, are negotiated, and the devices exchange their video streams separately
from the audio. In this example, the video call has four RTP streams—two unidirectional RTP
streams for voice and two unidirectional RTP streams for video transmission.
Request Call
Answer Call
Audio Streaming
Video Streaming
H.263 was developed as an evolutionary improvement based on experience with H.261, the
previous ITU-T standard for video compression, and the Moving Picture Experts Group-1
(MPEG-1) and Moving Picture Experts Group-2 (MPEG-2) standards. The first version of H.263
was completed in 1995, and it provided a suitable replacement for H.261 at all bit rates. H.263 was
further enhanced in H.263 version 2 (H.263v2, also known as H.263+ or H.263 1998) and H.263
version 3 (H.263v3, also known as H.263++ or H.263 2000).
The next enhanced codec specified by the ITU-T after H.263 is the H.264 standard. Because H.264
provides a significant improvement in capability beyond H.263, the H.263 standard is now
considered primarily a legacy design (although this is a recent development). Most new
videoconferencing products include H.261, H.263, and H.264 capabilities.
The video codecs supported by Cisco CallManager Release 4.1 include H.261, H.263, and H.264.
These codecs exhibit the parameters and typical values listed in Table 28-1.
Parameter Values
Video call speed 128 kbps, 384 kbps, 768 kbps, and 1.544 Mbps
Resolution • Common Intermediate Format (CIF); resolution of 352 x 288 pixels
• Quarter CIF (QCIF); resolution of 176 x 144 pixels
• 4CIF; resolution of 704 x 576 pixels
• Sub QCIF (SQCIF); resolution of 128 x 96 pixels
• 16CIF; resolution of 1408 x 1152 pixels
Frame rate 15 frames per second (fps)
30 fps
The Cisco Wideband codec is a proprietary codec that is a fixed-bit-rate codec and runs on a PC
that is linked to a phone. It enables the PC to associate with a call that the phone receives and can
only be used by the Cisco VT Camera.
■ H.323 devices typically register with an H.323 gatekeeper (such as the Cisco IOS gatekeeper).
The H.323 gatekeeper maintains the registration state of each endpoint, but it directs all call
requests to Cisco CallManager. SCCP devices register directly with Cisco CallManager.
■ H.323 devices send the complete dialed number all at once in their H.225 setup messages.
SCCP devices send each dialed digit one-by-one as they are entered on the keypad. The
difference is subtle but worth noting because it affects the experience of the user. Dialing on
an H.323 device is much like dialing on a cell phone—the user enters the entire number and
then presses the Call or Dial button to initiate the call. SCCP devices are more like a
traditional telephone, in which the user goes off-hook, receives a dial tone from Cisco
CallManager, and then starts dialing digits.
■ H.323 devices are configured through the user interface of each endpoint. Changes to the
configuration or software or firmware loads must be done locally on each endpoint (or, in
some cases, through Simple Network Management Protocol [SNMP] or other vendor-specific
management applications). SCCP devices are centrally controlled and configured in Cisco
CallManager Administration. The configuration and software or firmware loads are then
pushed to the endpoints via the TFTP. TANDBERG SCCP devices that receive their
configurations via TFTP are the exception; however, software or firmware upgrades must be
done manually (or through TANDBERG management applications).
■ H.323 devices advertise their capabilities to Cisco CallManager on a call-by-call basis using
H.245. SCCP devices advertise their capabilities when they register with Cisco CallManager
and whenever their capabilities change. Cisco CallManager then decides, on a call-by-call
basis, which types of media channels are negotiated between the endpoints.
■ H.323 video devices offer basic call capabilities in interaction with Cisco CallManager. SCCP
devices offer PBX-style features, such as hold, transfer, conference, park, pickup, and group
pickup.
■ For both types of endpoints, the signaling channels are routed through Cisco CallManager,
but the media streams (audio and video channels) flow directly between the endpoints using
RTP.
■ H.323 and SCCP endpoints can call one another. Cisco CallManager provides the signaling
translation between the two protocols and negotiates common media capabilities (common
codecs).
626 Chapter 28: Introducing IP Video Telephony
■ SCCP endpoints can invoke supplementary services, such as placing the call on hold,
transferring the call, and conferencing with another party. H.323v2 devices support receiving
Empty Capability Set (ECS) messages. ECS allows the devices to be the recipients of such
features (that is, they can be placed on hold, transferred, or conferenced), but they cannot
invoke those features.
■ H.323-to-SCCP calls are not the only types of calls allowed by Cisco CallManager. Any
device can call any other device, but video calls are supported only on SCCP and H.323
devices. Specifically, video is not supported in these protocols in Cisco CallManager Release
4.1:
In Cisco CallManager Release 4.1, H.264 support was added for SCCP video devices. H.264
contains a number of features that allow it to compress video much more effectively than older
codecs. This capability allows H.264 to deliver better video call quality over less bandwidth. Cisco
CallManager supports the H.261 and H.263+ codecs as well. In addition, Cisco CallManager
Video Protocols Supported in Cisco CallManager 627
Release 4.1 supports the audio codecs G.711, G.722, G.723.1, G.728, G.729, Cisco Wideband
codec, and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). The wideband video codec of
Cisco VT Camera reduces PC CPU utilization, unlike the resource-intensive H.263 and H.264
codecs. However, you will sacrifice a significant amount of bandwidth when using the wideband
codec. For this reason, you will use this codec primarily in LANs, not over WAN links.
Some vendors implement call setup such that they cannot increase the bandwidth of a call when
the call is transferred or redirected. In such cases, if the initial call is audio, users might not receive
video when they are transferred to a video endpoint.
Video H.323 clients that use trunks to other Cisco CallManager systems or other H.323 systems
can use the same features as audio-only H.323 clients. Currently, neither video media termination
points (MTPs) nor video transcoders exist. If an audio transcoder or MTP is required for a call,
that call will be audio only. H.323 video endpoints cannot initiate hold, resume, transfer, park, or
offer other similar features. Only if an H.323 endpoint supports ECS can the endpoint be held,
parked, and so on.
Dynamic H.323 addressing within Cisco CallManager provides a facility to register H.323 video
terminals on Cisco CallManager when the video terminal receives its IP address through a
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server. Endpoints are tracked based on their E.164
address registration with an adjacent video gatekeeper. The E.164 address is a static identifier that
remains constant from the perspective of both gatekeeper and Cisco CallManager. The feature
became available with Cisco CallManager Release 4.1. To move to a converged voice and video
dial plan, it is highly desirable that Cisco CallManager become the entity that manages call routing
and digit manipulation for both the voice and video endpoints, regardless of call-signaling
protocol. Earlier releases of Cisco CallManager required that an H.323 video terminal be
configured on Cisco CallManager based on static IP address information. As a support and
mobility issue, this design could not facilitate a scalable method for endpoint management
because configuration information was accurate only as long as the DHCP lease did not expire
with the endpoint in question.
628 Chapter 28: Introducing IP Video Telephony
Cisco CallManager Release 4.1 supports H.261 and H.263 when using H.323-based video
endpoints; H.264 is supported only for SCCP endpoints. H.323 video clients support the voice
codecs G.711, G.722, G.723.1, G.728, and G.729. H.323 endpoints can also support far-end
camera control (FECC). FECC enables a user to control the camera of the far side during an active
video call. For FECC, two separate, unidirectional RTP streams are set up. This feature was
introduced in H.323 version 5 (H.323v5) as Annex Q.
Cisco CallManager uses out-of-band H.245 alphanumeric DTMF. DTMF might not work because
many H.323 devices pass DTMF in-band. If an H.323 device uses in-band DTMF signaling, Cisco
CallManager will not convert it to out-of-band signaling, and the DTMF signaling will fail. Both
sides need to use a common scheme; either both devices need to use out-of-band signaling or the
H.323 device needs to support both methods and autodetect the method it should use.
The Cisco IP/VC 3521 and 3526 videoconferencing gateways bridge the gap between the installed
base of ISDN videoconferencing group and room systems and IP-based H.323 systems. The
gateways connect H.320 video systems on ISDN to H.323 systems on IP by translating calls
initiated from the PSTN to their equivalent on the packet network, and vice versa. To enable SCCP
to call H.320 endpoints, an H.323-based video gateway is necessary as well.
Beginning in Cisco CallManager Release 4.1, mid-call video is supported. Mid-call video allows
an active voice call to become a video call if the video capabilities are added during the active call
(for instance, if the Cisco VT Advantage software is turned on). Cisco VT Advantage will then
associate with the phone and try to set up a video stream. If both parties are SCCP video endpoints,
the call immediately becomes a video call. If the other party is an H.323 endpoint, the SCCP
endpoint tries to request a video channel. If the H.323 endpoint rejects the incoming channel or
does not open a channel, the call becomes either one-way video or audio only.
Bandwidth Management
Bandwidth management with Cisco CallManager call admission control enables you to control the
audio and video quality of calls over a WAN link by limiting the number of calls that are allowed
on that link simultaneously. In a packet-switched network, audio and video quality can begin to
degrade when a link carries too many active calls and the bandwidth is oversubscribed. Call
admission control regulates audio and video quality by limiting the number of calls that can be
Bandwidth Management 629
active on a particular link at the same time. Call admission control does not guarantee a particular
level of audio or video quality on the link (this is the job of QoS), but it does allow you to regulate
the amount of bandwidth that active calls on the link consume.
The actual bandwidth required is more than just the speed of the video call. The speed of the video
call is just the payload, but the final packet also includes some amount of overhead for header
information that encapsulates the payload into RTP segments, User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
frames, IP packets, and finally a Layer 2 transport medium (such as Ethernet frames, ATM cells,
or Frame Relay frames). References to the video call bandwidth should include the sum of the
video call speed and all packetization overhead (RTP, UDP, IP, and Layer 2).
The bit rate available for the video channel depends on the negotiated audio codec and the video
call speed. The video channel bit rate is the speed of the video call minus the bit rate of the codec
used for the audio channel. In the case of a 384-kbps video call with an audio channel that uses
G.711, the bit rate left for the video channel is 320 kbps (384 kbps minus 64 kbps). In the case of
an audio channel using the G.729 codec, the payload of the same video call (384 kbps) leaves 376
kbps. Table 28-3 lists possible video call speeds, their possible audio channel codecs, and the
associated video channel bit rates.
Table 28-3 Video Call Speeds and the Associated Audio and Video Codecs
Video Call Speed Audio Codec and Rate Video Codec and Rate
128 kbps G.711 at 64 kbps H.261 or H.263 at 64 kbps
128 kbps G.729 at 8 kbps H.261 or H.263 at 120 kbps
128 kbps G.728 at 16 kbps H.261 or H.263 at 112 kbps
384 kbps G.729 at 8 kbps H.261 or H.263 at 376 kbps
384 kbps G.711 at 64 kbps H.261 or H.263 at 320 kbps
768 kbps G.729 at 8 kbps H.261 or H.263 at 760 kbps
768 kbps G.711 at 64 kbps H.261 or H.263 at 704 kbps
1.472 Mbps G.729 at 8 kbps H.261 or H.263 at 1.464 Mbps
continues
630 Chapter 28: Introducing IP Video Telephony
Table 28-3 Video Call Speeds and the Associated Audio and Video Codecs (Continued)
Video Call Speed Audio Codec and Rate Video Codec and Rate
1.472 Mbps G.711 at 64 kbps H.261 or H.263 at 1.408 Mbps
7 Mbps G.729 at 8 kbps Wideband at 7 Mbps (minus 8 kbps for
the audio stream)
7 Mbps G.711 at 64 kbps Wideband at 7 Mbps (minus 64 kbps
for the audio stream)
For example, as shown in Figure 28-3, a 384-kbps video call may be G.711 at 64 kbps (for audio)
plus 320 kbps (for video). If the audio codec for a video call is G.729 (at 8 kbps), the video rate
increases to maintain a total bandwidth of 384 kbps. If the call involves an H.323 endpoint, the
H.323 endpoint might use less than the total video bandwidth that is available. An H.323 endpoint
can always choose to send at less than the maximum bit rate for the call.
Video Audio
Video Call Speed 384 kbps with G.729
376 kbps 8 kbps
ocean backdrop) can potentially double the amount of bandwidth required. The 20 percent rule is
a general guide, but your actual results might vary.
Table 28-4 shows the recommended bandwidth values to use for some of the more popular video
call speeds, incorporating this 20 percent margin.
Table 28-4 Video Call Speeds and the Associated Audio and Video Codecs
Video Call Speed Requested by Endpoint Actual Bandwidth Required on the Link
128 kbps 153.6 kbps
256 kbps 307.2 kbps
384 kbps 460.8 kbps
512 kbps 614.4 kbps
768 kbps 921.6 kbps
1.5 Mbps 1.766 Mbps
7 Mbps 8.4 Mbps
For video calls, the negotiated bandwidth for a video-enabled device typically includes both audio
and video; for example, a 384-kbps video call comprises 64-kbps audio and 320-kbps video
channels. For voice-only calls, the region uses the same setting that is used for the audio channel
in video calls. The negotiated bandwidth for an IP telephony device includes the “real” audio
bandwidth including IP overhead; for example, a G.711 64-kbps audio call uses 80 kbps, and this
value has to be entered in the Cisco CallManager location configuration.
632 Chapter 28: Introducing IP Video Telephony
H.323 gatekeepers have slightly different bandwidth measurements. The H.323 specification
dictates that the bandwidth values must be entered as twice the codec bit rate. For example, a 384-
kbps video call would be entered as 768 kbps in the gatekeeper. A G.711 audio-only call would be
entered as 128 kbps in the gatekeeper.
NOTE Call admission control behavior changed in Cisco CallManager Release 3.2(2)c and
Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(2)XA. Before that release, Cisco CallManager asked for bit
rate plus Layer 3 overhead, and Cisco IOS gateways asked for 64 kbps, regardless of the type of
call.
IP WAN
IP
Cisco CallManager uses regions and locations to implement call admission control:
■ Regions define the codec used and maximum video bandwidth allowed per call. This value is
configurable for calls within each region and for calls between any pair of regions.
■ Locations define the maximum bandwidth allowed for all calls to and from a location.
In Cisco CallManager, devices derive their region setting with the associated device pool
configuration. You can assign locations on a per-device basis. If you assign locations at the device
level, it overrides the setting inherited from the device pool.
Calls between devices at the same location do not need call admission control because the
assumption is that these devices reside on the same LAN that has “unlimited” available bandwidth.
However, for calls between devices at different locations, the assumption is that there is an IP
WAN link in between that has limited available bandwidth.
634 Chapter 28: Introducing IP Video Telephony
Region Configuration
When you are configuring a region, you set two fields in Cisco CallManager Administration: the
Audio Codec and the Video Call Bandwidth fields, as shown in Figure 28-6. Note that the audio
setting specifies a codec type, whereas the video setting specifies the bandwidth that you want to
allow. However, even though the notation is different, the Audio Codec and Video Call
Bandwidth fields actually perform similar functions. The Audio Codec value defines the
maximum bit rate allowed for audio-only calls and for the audio channel in video calls.
For instance, if you set the Audio Codec value for a region to G.711, Cisco CallManager allocates
64 kbps as the maximum bandwidth allowed for the audio channel for that region. In this case,
Cisco CallManager permits calls using G.711, G.728, or G.729. However, if you set the Audio
Codec value to G.729, Cisco CallManager allocates only 8 kbps as the maximum bandwidth
allowed for the audio channel; in addition, Cisco CallManager permits calls using only G.729,
because G.711, G.722, and G.728 all require more than 8 kbps.
The Video Call Bandwidth value defines the maximum bit rate for the video call, that is, the bit
rate of the voice and video channels. For instance, if you want to allow video calls at a speed of
384 kbps using G.711 audio, you would set the Video Call Bandwidth value to 384 kbps and the
Audio Codec value to G.711. The bit rate that would be used by the video channel thus would be
320 kbps. If the Video Call Bandwidth value is set to None for the region, Cisco CallManager
either terminates the call or allows the call to pass as an audio-only call, depending on whether the
calling device has the Retry Video Call as Audio option enabled.
In summary, the Audio Codec field defines the maximum bit rate used for the audio channel of
audio-only calls and for the audio channel of video calls, whereas the Video Call Bandwidth field
defines the maximum bit rate allowed for video calls and includes the audio portion of the video
call.
NOTE Video endpoints typically support only G.711 and G.722, whereas audio-only
endpoints typically support only G.711 and G.729. Because you cannot configure the audio
codec for audio and video calls separately, often the only common audio codec for mixed
environments (including third-party equipment) is G.711.
Location Configuration
When configuring locations, you also set two fields in Cisco CallManager Administration: the
Audio Bandwidth and the Video Bandwidth values, shown in Figure 28-7. Unlike regions,
however, audio bandwidth for locations applies only to audio-only calls, whereas video bandwidth
again applies to the video call (that is, audio and video channels).
636 Chapter 28: Introducing IP Video Telephony
The audio and video bandwidth are kept separate because if both types of calls shared a single
allocation of bandwidth, it is very likely that audio calls would take all of the available bandwidth
and leave no room for any video calls, or vice versa.
Both the Audio Bandwidth and the Video Bandwidth fields offer three options: None,
Unlimited, or a field that accepts numeric values. However, the values entered in these fields use
two different calculation models:
■ For the Audio Bandwidth field, the value entered has to include the Layer 3 and 4 overhead
required for the call. For instance, if you want to permit a single G.729 call to or from a
location, you would enter the value 24 kbps. For a G.711 call, you would enter the value 80
kbps. The payload of a G.711 voice call is 64 kbps; the 80-kbps value is the 64-kbps payload
plus 16-kbps RPT plus UDP.
Call Admission Control Within a Cluster 637
■ The value in the Video Bandwidth field, by contrast, is entered without any overhead. For
instance, for a 128-kbps call, enter the value 128 kbps; for a 384-kbps call, enter the value 384
kbps. As with the values used in the Video Bandwidth field for regions, it is recommended
that you always use increments of 56 kbps or 64 kbps for the Video Bandwidth field for
locations.
NOTE The value None in the Video Bandwidth field indicates that video calls are not
allowed between this location and other locations. Video calls can, however, be placed within
this location.
IP IP
San Jose
1
2
IP
IP IP IP IP
The Dallas location has two 1.544-Mbps T1 circuits connecting it to the San Jose main campus,
and the administrator wants to allow eight G.711 voice calls and two 384-kbps video calls to or
from that location.
638 Chapter 28: Introducing IP Video Telephony
For this example, the administrator might set the San Francisco and Dallas locations to the values
in Table 28-5.
First, a video device in San Francisco calls a video device in San Jose. Call admission control
allows exactly one 384-kbps video call between San Francisco and any other location. The video
call is active.
Next, another video device from San Francisco tries to set up a video call to a video device in
Dallas. Call admission control does not allow a second video call from San Francisco to any other
location and denies the video call.
If the call fails because of insufficient location bandwidth, it will not be retried with lower-bit-rate
codecs. In this scenario, with no further configuration of the Cisco CallManager, the call (both
audio and video portions) will be rejected.
This setting is enabled by default on all device types and applies to these scenarios only:
■ The location is configured not to allow video, or the requested video speed exceeds the
available video bandwidth for that location.
■ The requested video speed exceeds the zone bandwidth limits of the gatekeeper.
When this option is activated (checked), if there is not enough bandwidth for a video call (for
example, if the Cisco CallManager regions or locations do not allow video for that call), Cisco
CallManager will retry the call as an audio-only call. When this option is deactivated (unchecked),
Cisco CallManager will not retry the video call as audio only but will instead either reject the call
or reroute the video call by whatever Automated Alternate Routing (AAR) path is configured.
640 Chapter 28: Introducing IP Video Telephony
The Retry Video Call as Audio option takes effect only on the terminating (called) device,
allowing flexibility for the calling device to have different options (retry or AAR) for different
destinations.
NOTE The called device determines the result. In other words, when one device calls another
and any of the discussed insufficient bandwidth conditions applies, Cisco CallManager looks at
the destination device to see whether the Retry Video Call as Audio option is enabled.
■ SIP trunks—SIP trunks are designed for use with any SIP device, including other Cisco
CallManager clusters, either directly or via a Cisco SIP proxy server.
NOTE Because Cisco CallManager Release 4.1 does not support video over the SIP protocol,
this chapter does not cover SIP trunks.
Call Admission Control Between Clusters 641
Zone A
Zone C
Gatekeeper Gatekeeper
Interzone
Total, Session
The Cisco gatekeeper might reject calls from an endpoint because of bandwidth limitations.
Rejection can occur if the gatekeeper determines that the bandwidth available on the network is
not sufficient to support the call. This function also operates during an active call when a terminal
requests additional bandwidth or reports a change in bandwidth used for the call. The Cisco
gatekeeper maintains a record of all active calls so that it can manage the bandwidth resources in
its zones.
When an endpoint or gateway is configured to use an H.323 gatekeeper, it first sends an admission
request (ARQ) to the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper checks whether there is bandwidth available. If
the available bandwidth is sufficient for the call, an admission confirmation (ACF) is returned;
otherwise an admission rejection (ARJ) is returned.
As of Cisco IOS Software Release 12.3(1), you can configure the following types of zone
bandwidth limitations on the Cisco gatekeeper:
■ Interzone—The maximum bandwidth of all calls from a local zone to all other zones (local
or remote)
■ Session—The maximum bandwidth allowed for a single session within a local zone
■ Remote—The maximum bandwidth for all calls from all local zones to all remote zones
The first three limitations can be configured individually for each local zone. However, you can
also specify the default configuration for all local zones that are not configured explicitly.
14085551… 19725551…
Gatekeeper
In this case, configure one zone per cluster using the bandwidth interzone command to restrict
the bandwidth between the two zones to the total of twenty G.711 calls plus five 384-kbps video
calls. If you want to set the maximum bandwidth per call in a local zone, use the bandwidth
session command. The following is a partial H.323 gatekeeper code snippet:
Table 28-6 Example for Twenty G.711 Audio Calls and Five 384-kbps Video Calls
The bandwidth value that you have to enter is twice the bit rate of the call. For example, a G.711
audio call that uses 64 kbps is denoted as 128 kbps in the gatekeeper, and a 384-kbps video call is
denoted as 768 kbps. Table 28-7 shows the bandwidth values for some of the more popular call
speeds.
NOTE You cannot avoid having more G.711 calls active than desired because the bandwidth
for voice and video is not managed separately. It can happen that more G.711 calls are active
than desired and that they consume the configured bandwidth actually reserved for video calls,
leaving no bandwidth for video calls.
Summary
This chapter discussed the concepts behind a Cisco video telephony solution. Cisco video
telephony supports SCCP and H.323 devices communicating in any combination. For
videoconferences, an MCU is required. The typical video call includes two or three RTP streams
in each direction. Using SCCP clients allows you to offer end users major PBX features, whereas
using H.323 clients limits your end users to only supporting basic call functionality.
When determining bandwidth requirements for the audio and video calls, adding 20 percent to the
payload bandwidth requirement for video calls provides plenty of buffer for overhead information.
Bandwidth call admission control within a cluster is done using Cisco CallManager locations and
regions. Between clusters, you must use H.323 gatekeeper control.
644 Chapter 28: Introducing IP Video Telephony
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
1. What is the video payload in a video call using 384 kbps and the G.711 codec?
a. 300 kbps
b. 320 kbps
c. 376 kbps
d. 384 kbps
2. To enable video calls with a requested speed of 256 kbps, what would the recommended
bandwidth setting be on Cisco CallManager locations?
a. 307.2 kbps
b. 256 kbps
c. 512 kbps
d. 281.6 kbps
3. Which video codec will be used when an SCCP and H.323 device communicate?
a. H.263
b. H.264
c. Cisco wideband codec
d. H.261
4. How is call admission control performed between Cisco CallManager clusters with a
nongatekeeper-controlled intercluster trunk?
a. Gateway
b. Cisco CallManager locations
c. Gatekeeper
d. MCU
e. Intercluster trunk
5. Which device performs call admission control within a cluster?
a. Gateway
b. Cisco CallManager locations
c. Gatekeeper
d. MCU
e. Intercluster trunk
Review Questions 645
6. Which device is needed to integrate H.320 into the Cisco video solution?
a. MCU
b. Video gateway
c. MGCP gateway
d. H.323 gatekeeper
7. Which of the following are required to support videoconferencing capabilities?
a. Gateway
b. Cisco CallManager locations
c. Gatekeeper
d. MCU
e. SCCP Clients support videoconferencing natively.
8. Which of the following best defines FECC?
a. The ability to negotiate audio codecs between H.323 and SCCP devices
b. The ability to negotiate video codecs between H.323 and SCCP devices
c. The ability to change the position of a remote camera
d. Converting between the H.320 and H.263 video codecs
9. How much bandwidth is consumed by the Cisco proprietary wideband codec?
a. 384 kbps
b. 768 kbps
c. 1.544 Mbps
d. 7 Mbps
10. Which Cisco CallManager release first added video support?
a. Cisco CallManager 3.2(3)
b. Cisco CallManager 3.3(3c)
c. Cisco CallManager 4.0(1)
d. Cisco CallManager 4.1(1)
This chapter covers the
following topics:
Cisco Video Telephony (VT) Advantage is a video telephony solution comprising the Cisco VT
Advantage software application and Cisco VT Camera, a video telephony Universal Serial Bus
(USB) camera. With the Cisco VT Camera attached to a PC wired through a Cisco IP Phone,
users can place and receive video calls on the enterprise IP telephony network. By using the VT
Advantage solution, you can take full advantage of your existing IP network to deliver
communications that extend voice and video to every user in the organization. This chapter
discusses the concepts and configuration behind Cisco VT Advantage.
NOTE As with most products in the Cisco IP telephony line, the Cisco VT Advantage has
recently been renamed to Cisco Unified Video Advantage. For brevity, we have decided to use
the shorter VT Advantage name throughout this chapter.
where Cisco VT Advantage software is installed. Cisco VT Advantage software works only with
the Cisco VT Camera.
NOTE Cisco VT Advantage and the Cisco IP Communicator (Softphone running on a PC) can
run on the same PC; however, Cisco VT Advantage is not supported to interconnect with Cisco
IP Communicator.
Cisco VT Advantage software provides the user with an easy-to-use graphical interface, with these
options:
■ Receive Only Mode—Users can choose to view incoming video only and not transmit video.
■ Video Check—Users can check their video before calls are placed or received.
■ Mute Video on Audio Mute—When users mute the audio on the IP phone, video is
automatically paused until the audio on the IP phone is restored.
■ Video Signal Indicators—The quality of the incoming and outgoing video is graphically
displayed.
■ Connectivity Indicator—Graphics are used to indicate the state of the connections from the
PC to its associated Cisco IP Phone and Cisco VT Camera.
Users can operate the Cisco IP Phone as they normally do. The Cisco VT Advantage software is
controlled from the PC connected directly to the access port labeled “PC” on the back of the Cisco
IP Phone. The PC and the Cisco IP Phone that is registered in Cisco CallManager as a video-
enabled device build an association. The voice Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) streams flow
between the two IP phones, as in a normal voice call. The video streams flow between the two PCs
where the Cisco VT Advantage software is installed.
When you are using a codec that performs compression, more CPU power is needed. The H.263
codec is more demanding of PC system resources, but it requires less bandwidth. Therefore, if you
want to use H.263 compressed video to conserve bandwidth on the network, you should ensure
that your PCs have enough CPU and memory resources available. The Cisco VT Advantage H.263
codec supports a range of speeds up to 1.5 Mbps.
Regardless of the video standard used, the VT Advantage supports video formats with up to 30
frames per second (fps) at the following resolutions:
■ VGA (640x480)
Table 29-1 lists the video codecs that Cisco VT Advantage supports.
Codec Parameters
H.263 • Bandwidth: 128 kbps to 1.5 Mbps
• Native Resolution: Common Intermediate Format (CIF) and Quarter CIF
(QCIF)
• Frame rate: Up to 30 frames per second (fps)
Cisco VT Camera • Bandwidth: 7 Mbps
wideband video • Native Resolution: 320 x 240
codec
• Frame rate: Up to 30 fps
1. Cisco Discovery Protocol exchange takes place so that Cisco VT Advantage and the Cisco IP
Phone can discover one another. A Cisco Discovery Protocol driver is installed on the PC
during the installation of Cisco VT Advantage. This allows the Cisco VT Advantage
application to dynamically learn the IP address of the Cisco IP Phone during the Cisco
Discovery Protocol exchange, and associate with it. This serves as both an ease-of-use feature
for the end user and for security. The use of Cisco Discovery Protocol to facilitate the
association process allows it to occur automatically, without the user having to configure the
Cisco VT Advantage application. This allows for mobility of the application between different
IP phones on the network. The user can plug into the PC port of any supported Cisco IP Phone
on the network (if permitted by the administrator) and begin making video telephony calls.
Cisco Discovery Protocol also provides a measure of security in that the IP phone will
respond only to association messages from a Cisco VT Advantage client that matches the IP
address of the device that is connected to its PC port (that is, its Cisco Discovery Protocol
neighbor), minimizing the risk of someone else associating with your Cisco IP Phone over the
network and receiving video when calls are placed on your IP phone. The Cisco IP Phone
begins listening for Cisco Audio Session Tunnel messages on TCP port 4224.
2. After Cisco Discovery Protocol discovery, Cisco VT Advantage and the IP phone exchange
Cisco Audio Session Tunnel protocol messages over TCP port 4224. Cisco VT Advantage
sends a Cisco Audio Session Tunnel message to the IP phone, which is in a different IP
network (VLAN). The packet first travels through the PC VLAN to the default gateway, where
it is routed toward the IP phone (using the voice VLAN). The Cisco Audio Session Tunnel
protocol allows Cisco VT Advantage to associate with the IP phone and receive event
messages from the IP phone when calls are placed or received. After this association process
occurs between the Cisco VT Advantage client and the IP phone, the IP phone updates its
registration status with Cisco CallManager, advising Cisco CallManager of its video
capabilities.
3. When the Cisco IP Phone receives signaling information for video calls, it acts as a proxy
toward Cisco VT Advantage for the setup of the video streams. Only the signaling is proxied,
but when the RTP endpoints (IP addresses and UDP RTP port numbers) are negotiated, the IP
phone specifies the IP address of the PC for the video stream and its own IP address for the
audio stream. When Cisco CallManager tells the Cisco IP Phone to open the video channel,
652 Chapter 29: Configuring Cisco VT Advantage
(communicating to the IP phone using the voice VLAN) the IP phone proxies those messages
to Cisco VT Advantage using the Cisco Audio Session Tunnel protocol. These Cisco Audio
Session Tunnel messages have to be routed between the voice and the PC VLAN again.
4. After the voice and video channels have been successfully set up, the audio stream is sent to
the IP address of the IP phone (to the voice VLAN), whereas the video stream is sent directly
to the PC IP address (to the PC VLAN).
802.1q
Inter-VLAN 2
Routing “Cisco Audio Session Tunnel: Association”
Audio Packets 4
Video Packets
NOTE Firewalls or access control lists (ACLs) must permit TCP port 4224 to allow the
exchange of Cisco Audio Session Tunnel messages.
NOTE When Cisco VT Advantage is not running on your PC or on the PC of the remote
peer, the call functions as a regular telephone call without video.
Further, you have to reconsider the call-routing configuration when using, for example, Automated
Alternate Routing (AAR). Another important point that arises during the consideration of video is
the Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) settings for quality of service (QoS).
654 Chapter 29: Configuring Cisco VT Advantage
In large Cisco CallManager environments, you have to consider whether it makes sense to use the
Cisco VT Advantage Deployment Tool to make Cisco VT Advantage software available for
download in Cisco CallManager.
Call-Routing Considerations
One of the advantages of using Cisco VT Advantage is that you can use the existing dial plan. If
the bandwidth needed by an endpoint for a video call is not available, by default the call is retried
as an audio call. To use route or hunt lists or AAR groups to try different paths for such video calls
instead of retrying them as audio calls, uncheck the Retry Video Call as Audio check box in the
configuration settings for the applicable gateways, trunks, and IP phones.
Video-enabled IP phones should have a separate MRGL with the videoconference bridge as the
first choice. If the nonvideo-enabled IP phones use the videoconference bridge as a first choice,
you run the risk of having no videoconference resources available for videoconference calls
because all the videoconference resources are occupied by audio-only conferences. It is
recommended that you create two separate MRGLs—one for video-enabled IP phones and one for
nonvideo-enabled IP phones.
Video is as time-critical as voice. In a voice- and video-enabled network, you have to prioritize
voice and video packets so that you do not experience quality issues. Both voice and video must
be of higher priority than data, for example.
■ Audio streams in audio-only calls default to the Expedited Forwarding (EF) class.
■ Video streams and associated audio streams in video calls default to Assured Forwarding,
Class 4, with low drop precedence (AF41).
You can change these defaults using the Cisco CallManager Enterprise Parameters.
■ DSCP for Audio Calls (for Media RTP Streams)—This parameter specifies the DSCP
value for audio calls.
■ DSCP for Video Calls (for Media RTP Streams)—This parameter specifies the DSCP value
for video calls.
Configuring Cisco CallManager for Video 655
The Cisco VT Advantage Deployment Tool lets you set these options for the installation:
■ AutoUpdate—Sets the AutoUpdate option so that users are notified automatically about
updates to Cisco VT Advantage
■ Proxy—Sets proxy server information for users needing to use a proxy server to reach the
Cisco CallManager publisher server
■ Error Reporting Tool—Sets the e-mail or FTP addresses where users send reports generated
by the Error Reporting Tool
To publish Cisco VT Advantage to Cisco CallManager, the administrator must download the latest
available Cisco VT Advantage Deployment Tool from Cisco.com. Run the DeployMan.exe file to
set up Cisco VT Advantage for end users. The Cisco VT Advantage installer program is now stored
in Cisco CallManager and a download link will be made available on Cisco CallManager user-
accessible installation pages.
Step 1 Access the Cisco CallManager user installation page and download the
Cisco VT Advantage software: https://<CCM Publisher Server name or IP
address>/CCMUser. (This URL is found in the Services Help screen on
Cisco IP Phone models that support Cisco VT Advantage.)
Step 2 Install Cisco VT Advantage software on the PC.
When you execute the DeployMan.exe file, the DeployMan window opens, as shown in Figure 29-2.
When you click the Use Defaults button in the DeployMan main window, the Cisco VT Advantage
Deployment Tool must be running on the Cisco CallManager publisher server. If this is not the
case, change the path in the CVTAInstall.exe Destination field by referring to the
C:\CiscoPlugins\Client\CVTA directory at the publisher via a network file share. The Choose Host
Name dialog box opens. Enter the hostname (or IP address) of the Cisco CallManager publisher
server. This value populates the Update URL field for the AutoUpdate feature.
656 Chapter 29: Configuring Cisco VT Advantage
■ CVTAInstall.exe Destination
■ Update URL
Make sure that the Update URL field in the AutoUpdate Options area contains the hostname (or
IP address) of the Cisco CallManager publisher server. If you do not want to use AutoUpdate,
uncheck the Deploy AutoUpdate check box. The Precertification Options area will be usable only
in later versions of the deployment tool, even though it is shown in the GUI of the current version
(2.0).
If users in the network need to use a proxy server to reach the Cisco CallManager publisher server,
check the Use HTTP Proxy check box and fill in the Proxy URL and Proxy Port fields with the
appropriate values.
Configuring Cisco IP Phones for Cisco VT Advantage 657
In the Comma-Delimited E-Mail/FTP Addresses field of the Error Reporting Tool Options,
enter the e-mail or FTP addresses to which error reports generated by users can be sent. You can
enter multiple addresses separated by commas. The default e-mail address is [email protected].
This e-mail address is used by the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) to pick up files sent
by customers.
When you have filled in all necessary options, click OK to make the Cisco VT Advantage
installation program available to users.
■ Make sure that a phone load that supports video is installed on each Cisco IP Phone that will
be video-enabled.
■ The port labeled “PC” on the back of the Cisco IP Phone connects a PC or a workstation to
the IP phone so that they can share a single network connection. Make sure that this feature
is enabled on Cisco IP Phones that operate with Cisco VT Advantage.
■ Check or uncheck the Retry Video Call as Audio check box. When the Retry Video Call as
Audio check box is checked, a Cisco IP Phone that cannot obtain the bandwidth that it needs
for a video call will retry the call as an audio call.
■ Verify that the Cisco IP Phone is video-enabled after configuring the IP phone in Cisco
CallManager configuration.
NOTE You can always download the latest phone loads from Cisco.com.
TIP The IP phone settings need not be configured before Cisco VT Advantage can be loaded
on the client PC. But the preferred sequence is to configure the IP phone first and then install
the Cisco VT Advantage software.
Because the PC that has Cisco VT Advantage installed needs to be physically connected to a PC
port of the IP phone, ensure that the PC port of the IP phone is not disabled in the Cisco
CallManager IP phone configuration. By default, the PC port is enabled.
When the Video Capabilities field is set to Enabled, the phone will participate in video calls
when connected to an appropriately equipped PC. Make sure that this feature is enabled on Cisco
IP Phones that operate with Cisco VT Advantage. Video capability is disabled by default.
In addition, a video-enabled Cisco IP Phone can be configured to retry video calls as audio calls
if the video call cannot be set up. The Retry Video Call as Audio check box is located in the Phone
Configuration window, shown in Figure 29-5, and this feature is activated by default. To enable
the Retry Video Call as Audio feature, choose Cisco CallManager Administration > Device >
Phone.
660 Chapter 29: Configuring Cisco VT Advantage
Of course, the Cisco VT Camera will be connected to the PC when prompted during the
installation process of the Cisco VT Advantage software on the PC.
NOTE Cisco VT Advantage supports only the Cisco VT Camera, and the Cisco VT Camera
works only with the Cisco VT Advantage software.
The PC must be using either Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional with Service Pack 3.0 or later
or Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1.0 or later.
■ From the Cisco CallManager publisher (if the administrator used the deployment tool):
The default URL for the software download when Cisco VT Advantage is deployed
with the deployment tool is https://<CCM Publisher Server name or IP address>/
CCMUser.
■ From Cisco.com:
— To download the Cisco VT Advantage software from Cisco.com, users need a valid
Cisco.com account with the necessary software download privileges.
— Alternatively, the administrator can download the Cisco VT Advantage software and
provide it to users via CD, file server, or any other means.
■ Ensure that the Cisco IP Phone is properly connected to the corporate telephony network. You
could do a short audio test call to ensure that the IP phone is working correctly.
■ Ensure that the Cisco IP Phone is video-enabled. If the LCD screen on the Cisco IP Phone
displays the video camera icon on the status line, the phone is video-enabled.
■ Ensure that the Ethernet port of the PC is connected to the PC port of the IP phone because
this connection is mandatory for Cisco VT Advantage.
■ For the Cisco Audio Session Tunnel protocol to operate between Cisco VT Advantage and the
IP phone, the PC must be capable of reaching the IP phone over TCP/IP. Typical IP telephony
designs use separate voice and data VLANs, as well as ACLs or firewalls between those
VLANs to secure the IP telephony network.
Step 1 Open your web browser, enter the Cisco VT Advantage download URL in
the address field, and press Enter.
NOTE The default URL, when Cisco VT Advantage is deployed with the deployment tool
is https://<CCM Publisher Server name or IP address>/CCMUser.
Step 2 On the Cisco CallManager Client Install Plugins page, click the Cisco VT
Advantage Installer Plug-In icon, shown in Figure 29-7. The camera
should not be connected at this time.
Step 3 Follow the instructions presented in the dialog boxes to complete the
installation of Cisco VT Advantage:
• In the Welcome window shown in Figure 29-8, click Next to start the
installation wizard.
664 Chapter 29: Configuring Cisco VT Advantage
Step 4 Plug the Cisco VT Camera into an available USB port on the PC. As soon
as you plug in the camera, the operating system finds it automatically. A
window appears offering the creation of a shortcut to the application.
Choose the desired option and then click Next.
Step 5 A window appears indicating that the installation has completed. Confirm
the message by clicking Finish. If you are prompted to restart the PC, click
Yes to restart the PC.
When you have ensured that the camera connection is functioning, you should run a video check.
To start the video check, choose Video > Start Video Check. While the video check is being
performed, two green bars are displayed (one for the sending video signal and the other for the
receiving video signal) when the system is working. In addition, two popup windows show the
local and remote views, as shown in Figure 29-10. During the video check, you will see the same
image in both windows.
666 Chapter 29: Configuring Cisco VT Advantage
After a successful video check, you should be able to place and receive calls. Place a test call to
another IP phone with Cisco VT Advantage enabled, and verify the local and remote views. While
in a call, you can launch the diagnostic tool, shown in Figure 29-11. The diagnostic tool provides
some technical details about the current state of the Cisco VT Advantage software that is running
on the PC, as well as some indications about the Cisco VT Camera frame rate and light level.
To use the diagnostic tool, open the Cisco VT Advantage main window and double-click the video
signal quality bars. The Diagnostics window opens. When users report seeing a low signal quality
bar, you can check the Cisco VT Camera frame rate and light level. Look near the center of the
Diagnostics window for the Camera area. It contains two fields:
■ Frame Rate—Indicates the frames per second reported by the camera. The values are 5, 10,
15, 20, 25, or 30. The LED colors correspond to the frame rate: Green is 30 fps, yellow is 5,
10, 15, 20, or 25 fps, and black is blank or off.
■ Light Level—Indicates the lighting conditions reported by the camera. The values are Off,
Normal, and Low Light. The LED colors correspond to the light levels: Black is off, green
is normal, and red is low light. Increasing the lighting conditions near the camera should result
in a higher frame rate and a normal light level. When you are troubleshooting some Cisco VT
Advantage problems with the assistance of Cisco TAC representatives, they might ask you to
provide them with the information displayed in the Diagnostics window.
A low frame rate can be caused by low light conditions. The Cisco VT Camera is normally set for
automatic exposure. When the lighting is low, the camera has to expose each frame for a longer
time, resulting in a lower frame rate. To test for this issue with the diagnostic tool, double-click
the signal quality bars. The Diagnostics window opens. The Video Signal area at the middle left
of the window contains fields showing the current number of frames per second being processed.
At this point, all the data is coming from the camera, so if the value is less than 15 fps, the problem
most likely is the lighting conditions. Improving the lighting near the camera should result in a
higher frame rate and a normal light level.
Summary
This chapter discussed the concepts and configuration behind Cisco VT Advantage. This software
associates with the Cisco IP Phone, which registers as a video-capable phone with Cisco
CallManager. The IP phone then acts as a SCCP proxy between the Cisco VT Advantage software
and Cisco CallManager.
To properly configure video telephony, you should first configure Cisco CallManager locations
and regions to support video bandwidth levels. You should then configure the Cisco IP Phones for
video using the CallManager Administration utility. Finally, you must install the VT Advantage
software on the end-user PCs. Be sure to wait until the installation wizard prompts you to plug in
the Cisco VT Camera.
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Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
1. What does the icon of a video camera on the Cisco IP Phone status line mean?
a. The Cisco VT Camera is connected to the PC, and the PC is connected to the Cisco IP
Phone.
b. The Cisco IP Phone has web access.
c. The Cisco IP Phone is configured with video capabilities.
d. The Cisco IP Phone is receiving a video call.
2. Into which port should the PC with Cisco VT Advantage client software installed be plugged?
a. Cisco Catalyst switch port
b. Cisco IP Phone access port
c. MCU port
d. Videoconferencing port
3. Which protocols are supported by Cisco VT Advantage?
a. Cisco Audio Session Tunnel
b. FTP
c. RTP
d. SSH
e. TFTP
4. Which SCCP Cisco endpoints are video-capable? (Choose three.)
a. Cisco IP Phone 7902
b. Cisco IP Phone 7910
c. Cisco IP Phone 7912
d. Cisco IP Phone 7920
e. Cisco IP Phone 7940
f. Cisco IP Phone 7960
g. Cisco IP Phone 7970
Review Questions 669
5. Which of the following IP phone settings are enabled by default in Cisco CallManager?
(Choose two.)
a. Video capabilities
b. PC port
c. Retry Video Call as Audio
d. Video calling search space
e. AAR
6. Video calls using 384 kbps need to be supported across a gatekeeper-controlled trunk. What
value should be entered into the gatekeeper to support this bandwidth?
a. 192 kbps
b. 384 kbps
c. 512 kbps
d. 768 kbps
7. Which of the following web camera(s) is VT Advantage compatible with?
(Select all that apply.)
a. Cisco VT Camera
b. Logitech E905
c. Creative Labs ClearStream
d. Mindworks v11
8. How much bandwidth is consumed by the Cisco proprietary wideband codec?
a. 384 kbps
b. 768 kbps
c. 1.544 Mbps
d. 7 Mbps
9. The VT Advantage software can stream up to ______ fps.
a. 10
b. 15
c. 20
d. 30
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Part VII: IPT Management
Configuration changes on Cisco CallManager systems are possible only while the publisher
server is available. To make sure that CDRs are written even if the publisher server is offline,
every server stores CDR information locally in flat files. Cisco CallManager writes information
to the publisher database only if Cisco CallManager web components are installed or Cisco
CallManager Administration is performed directly on the publisher server. All entries that are
made using the Cisco CallManager Administration page of the subscriber are written to the
database on the publisher server. If the publisher is down, no updates can be made in the Cisco
CallManager Administration page of the subscriber server.
CDR records are not written into a database of the subscriber, but they are written locally in
transaction files at the subscribers (but not directly in the CDR database). Those files are
periodically processed and inserted in the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 database by the CDR
Insert service on the publisher server. If the publisher server is down, transaction files reside on
the subscriber server to be processed as soon as the publisher is available again. After CDRs are
processed, they are replicated from the publisher to subscriber database.
674 Chapter 30: Introducing Database Tools and Cisco Unified CallManager Serviceability
When you are building a publisher server, Cisco CallManager software itself might or might not
be installed. If the publisher server does not have Cisco CallManager installed (and only has the
SQL database installed), Cisco refers to the server as a glass house. This configuration is the best
solution in large clusters. The publisher (either running Cisco CallManager or not [glass house])
holds the only copy of the database that is allowed to be written to. All subscribers replicate with
the database of the publisher only, so they are in read-only mode.
In addition, the publisher occasionally acts as a backup CallManager service for the configuration.
This configuration is typically used only in smaller clusters.
Both tools allow administrators to verify proper working of Cisco CallManager Microsoft SQL
Server 2000 databases. You can use the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Manager and
DBLHelper when administrators need to examine the database structure and replication. You can
use these tools to reactivate broken database connections.
In many cases, the reason for a broken database connection is publisher downtime. For example,
administrators might take the publisher off the network to perform a software upgrade and restore
it later. After reloading a Cisco CallManager publisher server, verify the database connection. A
broken connection would not cause any obvious problem in system activity. Usually, users become
aware of a broken connection only if the publisher becomes unresponsive again and any system
changes are lost. For example, call forwarding instructions that are months out of date are active
or newly added phones are unavailable when they failover to a subscriber server. Failures of the
Extension Mobility functionality might also point to a broken publisher connection.
When you are troubleshooting Cisco CallManager SQL databases, it is beneficial to use both tools
together.
provides a Microsoft Management Console (MMC)–compliant user interface, shown in Figure 30-1,
which allows users to do the following:
■ Create and administer all SQL Server databases, objects, logins, users, and permissions in
each registered server.
■ Define and execute all SQL Server administrative tasks on each registered server.
■ Design and test SQL statements, batches, and scripts interactively by invoking SQL Query
Analyzer.
NOTE Because the Cisco CallManager installation includes the database and database
structure needed for Cisco CallManager servers, it is not necessary to create new databases.
CAUTION Do not change the structure of the Cisco CallManager database. The Cisco
CallManager will malfunction or, in the worst case, stop responding.
The Microsoft SQL database name of Cisco CallManager is CCM03xx, where xx starts at 00 and
increases incrementally with each Cisco CallManager upgrade (for example, upgrading from
release 4.0 to 4.1).
You can use Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Manager to determine whether a server is the
publisher or the subscriber. Expand the database hierarchy down to the database—Microsoft SQL
Servers\SQL Server Group\<Server_Name>\Databases\CCM03xx, as shown in Figure 30-2:
■ For a subscriber, a Pull Subscriptions folder is displayed in the Database browse list.
Figure 30-2 Determining Publisher Server Function with SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Manager
Database Management Tools 677
TIP The second way to determine whether the server is the publisher or subscriber is to check
whether the Replication Monitor is present on the specific Microsoft SQL server. The
Replication Monitor is present only on the publisher and monitors the status of database
replication between the publisher and the subscribers.
DBLHelper
In the event that the subscriber stops replicating data from the publisher, you need to rebuild the
relationships between the publisher and subscriber. The DBLHelper utility, a tool provided by
Cisco, republishes or reinitializes a nonfunctioning subscription between the publisher and the
subscriber databases. For DBLHelper to work, the SQL account password and administrative
rights must be the same on the publisher and the subscriber. Because this tool is automated and
nonintrusive, you might make a schedule of running it once per week to ensure the subscriber and
publisher database links are active. If the link fails, you might not detect it for a considerable time
because the symptoms are so subtle.
NOTE If you are upgrading from an earlier version of Cisco CallManager, DBLHelper.exe is
usually located on the Cisco CallManager server in the C:\Program Files\Cisco Systems,
Inc\Cisco CallManager Upgrade Assistant\DbReplCheck folder. Otherwise, contact Cisco TAC
for the latest version of DBLHelper.
You can also use Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Manager to re-create broken database
connections between Cisco CallManager servers in the cluster, but this process is far more
complex than using DBLHelper. The recommendation is to first try repairing the replication using
DBLHelper. If DBLHelper cannot fix the problem, use the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise
Manager. For more information on how to use the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Manager
to repair replications, search for “Reestablishing a Broken Cisco CallManager Cluster SQL
Subscription” or “Broken SQL Replication” on Cisco.com. The documents for the 3.x version of
Cisco CallManager also apply to the 4.x CallManager versions.
In Figure 30-3, DBLHelper shows two different states of Cisco CallManager Microsoft SQL
Server 2000 databases. On the left, running DBLHelper.exe found that the replication was
working. This status is depicted by the two green smiley face icons. On the right, a red (lower) sad
face icon indicates that databases are out of synchronization. In this case, database connections
need to be reestablished. Clicking the Republish button deletes the current subscription and re-
creates it. Clicking the Reinitialize button reinitializes all subscriptions and starts the snapshot
agent. It also begins an attempt to rebuild the subscription with the current database. To get more
678 Chapter 30: Introducing Database Tools and Cisco Unified CallManager Serviceability
information about the current tab, click the Help button, which shows some additional
information.
NOTE If there is more than one subscriber and only one has a broken database connection,
use the Republish button to republish only the broken connection. If you use the Reinitialize
button, all subscriptions will be reinitialized, which could cause a long system outage.
Serviceability Components
Cisco CallManager Serviceability provides these menus, as shown in Figure 30-4:
■ Alarm
■ Trace
■ Tools
■ Application
■ Help
Cisco CallManager Serviceability Overview 679
Alarm
The Alarm service stores information about Cisco CallManager service events for troubleshooting
and provides alarm message definitions. Alarms can be forwarded to trace files, Microsoft
Windows 2000 Event Viewer, and a Syslog server for further analysis:
■ With the Configuration menu item shown in Figure 30-5, the Cisco CallManager
Serviceability alarms allow configuration of Cisco CallManager to write an event to a trace
file or the Windows 2000 Event Viewer when an incident occurs, such as the failure of a
telephone to register. Alarms for Cisco CallManager servers can be configured in a cluster or
for the services in each server.
■ The Definitions application contains alarm definitions and the recommended actions in a
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 database. The system administrator can search the database for
the definitions of all alarms. Definitions include the alarm name, description, recommended
action, severity, parameters, and monitors.
680 Chapter 30: Introducing Database Tools and Cisco Unified CallManager Serviceability
Trace
The Trace service allows you to save detailed logs of Cisco CallManager events for
troubleshooting system problems. Trace data can be configured, collected, and analyzed using the
menu options shown in Figure 30-6:
■ Use the Configuration application to specify the trace parameters; for example, the Cisco
CallManager server within the cluster, the Cisco CallManager service on the server, the debug
level, and the specific trace fields.
■ Use the Analysis application to provide greater trace detail on a signal distribution layer
(SDL) trace, a system diagnostic interface (SDI) trace, a Cisco CallManager service type, or
the time and date of a trace. You can choose a specific log file from the list and choose
information from that log file, such as host address, IP address, trace type, and request a
device name.
■ The Q.931 Translator application filters incoming data from Cisco CallManager SDI logs and
translates the data into Cisco IOS messages. The Q.931 Translator application displays the
message in the message translator interface.
Cisco CallManager Serviceability Overview 681
■ Use the Troubleshooting Trace Settings application to choose the services in Cisco
CallManager for which troubleshooting trace settings, which are predetermined in the alarms
configuration, need to be set.
Tools
The Tools service offers these applications, shown in Figure 30-7:
■ The CDR Analysis and Reporting (CAR) application supports analysis and reporting of
CDRs. CAR generates reports for quality of service (QoS), traffic, and billing information.
NOTE The CDR Analysis and Reporting menu item will only appear if you have installed the
CAR plug-in for Cisco CallManager. It is not installed by default.
■ The Service Activation application can activate and deactivate nearly all of the Cisco
CallManager services for all Cisco CallManager servers.
■ The Control Center application allows starting, stopping, restarting, and viewing the status of
Cisco CallManager services.
682 Chapter 30: Introducing Database Tools and Cisco Unified CallManager Serviceability
■ The Real-Time Monitoring Tool (RTMT) application monitors the real-time behavior of most
components in a Cisco CallManager cluster and displays on-screen feedback through a Java-
based application.
■ The QRT Viewer application allows filtering, formatting, and viewing problem reports. Cisco
IP Phones can be configured with a Quality Report Tool (QRT) softkey so that users can
report problems with IP Phone calls (for example, poor quality). When users press the QRT
softkey on the IP Phone, they are presented with a list of problem categories. Users can then
choose the appropriate problem category, and the system logs the event in an Extensible
Markup Language (XML) file.
■ The Serviceability Reports Archive application generates five daily reports in Cisco
CallManager Serviceability: Device Statistics, Server Statistics, Service Statistics, Call
Activities, and Alerts. Each report provides a summary that consists of various charts that
display the statistics for that particular report.
Application
The Application menu in Cisco CallManager Serviceability, shown in Figure 30-8, offers several
applications:
■ The Install Plugins application can help to extend the functionality of Cisco CallManager by
providing links to software plug-ins that are either installed in Cisco CallManager itself or on
a client PC.
■ The Cisco CallManager Administration menu item provides a convenient, direct link to the
Cisco CallManager Administration page.
■ The Bulk Administration Tool (BAT) application adds multiple telephones and users to Cisco
CallManager and performs bulk modifications.
NOTE The Bulk Administration Tool (BAT) menu item will only appear if you have installed
the BAT plug-in for Cisco CallManager. It is not installed by default.
Help
The Help menu, shown in Figure 30-9, provides online assistance for every option in Cisco
CallManager Serviceability. Moreover, it can be used to display the latest installed component
version information for all Cisco CallManager servers in the cluster.
Control Center
On the Control Center, accessed from the CallManager Serviceability Tools menu, Cisco
CallManager services can be started, stopped, or restarted. For example, restarting a Cisco
CallManager service could be necessary if you change central Cisco CallManager functionalities,
such as intercluster trunks or intersite bandwidth settings. To start, stop, or restart a service, first
select the service and then start, stop, or restart it by clicking the appropriate button, as shown in
Figure 30-10.
Cisco CallManager Serviceability Overview 685
The Status column shows whether a service is started (a right arrow in the Status column) or
stopped (a square in the Status column). In addition, the Activation Status column tells how the
service is configured. A status of Activated or Deactivated indicates whether the service is
configured to be started at Windows startup.
NOTE Services with a status shown as Deactivated and Started are not activated in Service
Activation but are still started at Windows startup.
You cannot start Cisco Tomcat web services using the Control Center. To start them, you could use
the Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Services Management Console. In addition, with Cisco
CallManager Release 4.0 or later, Cisco Tomcat Web Application Manager allows you to start,
stop, or restart Tomcat services. To access Tomcat Web Application Manager, go to http://
<CallManager_IP>/manager/list.
Starting and stopping the Cisco CallManager service causes all Cisco IP Phones and gateways that
are currently registered to that Cisco CallManager service to failover to their secondary Cisco
CallManager service. In addition, starting and stopping the Cisco CallManager service causes
686 Chapter 30: Introducing Database Tools and Cisco Unified CallManager Serviceability
other installed applications (such as Conference Bridge or Cisco Messaging Interface) that are
homed to that Cisco CallManager to start and stop as well. Stopping the Cisco CallManager
service also stops call processing for all devices that are controlled by that service. When a Cisco
CallManager service is stopped, active calls from an IP Phone to another IP Phone continue; calls
in progress from an IP Phone to a Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) gateway also
continue, whereas other types of calls, such as calls to an H.323 gateway, are dropped.
If you are upgrading Cisco CallManager, all services are stopped during the upgrade process.
Services that had been started before the upgrade began are started again afterward. Those that had
not been started remain deactivated. Service configurations are not lost during the upgrade
process.
Service Activation
Two tools allow you to manage services running on the Cisco CallManager system:
■ The Cisco CallManager Serviceability Service Activation tool, shown in Figure 30-11, is used
to activate or deactivate specific services on Cisco CallManager.
Figure 30-11 Managing Services Using the CallManager Service Activation Tool
Cisco CallManager Serviceability Overview 687
■ The Services MMC, shown in Figure 30-12, is used to handle common Windows services.
The Services MMC can be found at Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative
Tools on the Cisco CallManager system.
Figure 30-12 Managing Services Using the Windows 2000 Service Utility
To optimize the performance of Cisco CallManager servers within a cluster, you can distribute
services to servers across the cluster. For example, place the TFTP server service on one server,
the Certificate Authority Proxy Function (CAPF) service on another server, and music on hold
(MoH) services on a third server where no Cisco CallManager service is running, and so on.
Distribution of services can also be used for security purposes. Some services (such as those that
provide IP Phone services with access to the Internet) must be exposed to the outside for proper
operation, whereas others, such as the Cisco CallManager service, should not be exposed. If the
exposed server is under attack, the attack would not have any impact on the other servers (for
instance, the server routing calls that is running the Cisco CallManager service).
688 Chapter 30: Introducing Database Tools and Cisco Unified CallManager Serviceability
NOTE If the Cisco CallManager and Cisco CTIManager services are deactivated in the
Service Activation window, the Cisco CallManager where the service was deactivated no longer
exists in the database. This means that the Cisco CallManager cannot be chosen for
configuration operations in Cisco CallManager Administration because it will not be displayed
in the GUI.
If the services are then reactivated on the same Cisco CallManager, the database re-creates the
Cisco CallManager and adds a “CM_” prefix to the server name or IP address; for example, if
the Cisco CallManager or CTIManager service is reactivated on a server with an IP address of
10.192.5.97, then “CM_10.192.5.97” is displayed in Cisco CallManager Administration. The
Cisco CallManager with the new “CM_” prefix can now be chosen in Cisco CallManager
Administration.
CAUTION When you deactivate the Cisco CallManager service, the server is removed from
Cisco CallManager groups but not added back after reactivation. So after activation or
reactivation, you must add the server to Cisco CallManager groups, otherwise no devices will
register to it.
Tools Overview
Several tools make administration easier when you are managing Cisco CallManager system
status or configuration. Some of those tools are provided by Cisco Systems, whereas others are
Microsoft tools included in the Windows 2000 Server operating system used by Cisco
CallManager. Table 30-1 provides an overview of these tools.
■ Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Manager can be used to verify the proper working of
the databases and to evaluate the Microsoft SQL environment. This tool can be used on any
Windows 2000 server in the domain to access the SQL database. By default, it is installed on
every server that has Microsoft SQL Server 2000 installed.
■ DBLHelper allows the verification and re-creation of the replication process between the
Cisco CallManager publisher and subscriber databases. This tool needs to be run on the Cisco
CallManager publisher server. Beginning with CallManager Release 4.0, this tool is available
only from Cisco TAC.
■ The Services MMC allows for management of services on Windows 2000 Server. Each
Windows 2000 server has its own Services MMC preinstalled. Even though administrators
can create their own MMC to manage services on any other system, it is recommended that
you use the preinstalled MMC on each server locally. Otherwise, you risk confusion, because
all the servers look the same.
■ Microsoft Event Viewer allows identification of system-level events and errors. Each event
and error of the Windows 2000 system is stored in Microsoft Event Viewer. Different kinds
of messages are grouped into a system log, an application log (where most information related
to Cisco CallManager is stored), and a security log. Because Event Viewer is also an MMC
snap-in, an MMC that includes Event Viewer can be created on any system but it is not
recommended to manage remote systems.
■ Microsoft Performance Monitor shows system and application statistics and is available on
every Microsoft Windows 2000 system. Although it is also an MMC snap-in for Microsoft
Windows 2000 Server, it can be used only on the server itself because it uses an ActiveX
control. To monitor performance statistics of remote systems, use the local snap-in as an
alternative and include remote counters.
690 Chapter 30: Introducing Database Tools and Cisco Unified CallManager Serviceability
■ The RTMT client allows you to monitor Cisco CallManager activities in real time. This Java-
based tool can be installed on any Windows PC. It is available in the Install Plugins window
of Cisco CallManager Serviceability.
■ The Password Changer tool available on the Cisco CallManager server allows changing the
administrator passwords on Cisco CallManager systems. This tool needs to be run on the
Cisco CallManager publisher server.
■ The CAR tool allows analysis of CDRs written on Cisco CallManager. CAR is available from
Cisco CallManager Serviceability and can be accessed using the Microsoft Internet Explorer
web browser on any PC on the network.
■ Dialed Number Analyzer analyzes how inbound and outbound calls are handled in the Cisco
CallManager call-routing configuration. It resides on the Cisco CallManager web server and
can be accessed using Internet Explorer on any PC on the network.
■ The QRT Viewer application allows you to filter, format, and view problem reports. It is
located on the Cisco CallManager web server and can be accessed using Internet Explorer on
any PC on the network.
NOTE Many of these applications are discussed in depth in Chapters 31 and 32, “Monitoring
Performance” and “Configuring Alarms and Traces,” respectively.
Summary
This chapter discussed the tools included with the Cisco CallManager software. You can use
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Manager and DBLHelper to verify proper working of the
SQL database and repair broken links, if necessary. You can use the tools in the Cisco CallManager
Serviceability system to control and manage the CallManager system. You can use the Control
Center to start, stop, or restart service related to the Cisco CallManager. The Service Activation
and Services Windows 2000 MMC allow you to manage all services on Cisco CallManager. Many
additional tools are provided by Cisco and Microsoft that allow management and troubleshooting
of the Cisco CallManager server.
Review Questions 691
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions."“
1. Which two tools are available on Cisco CallManager systems to manage the SQL database?
a. Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Manager
b. Cisco SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Manager
c. SQL Server 2000 System Manager
d. DBAHelper
e. DBLHelper
2. Which of the following statements is true?
a. Cisco CallManager Serviceability needs to be installed from the Cisco CallManager
Install Plugins window.
b. Cisco CallManager Serviceability provides a configuration interface to configure
extension DNs.
c. Cisco CallManager Serviceability allows you to start, stop, or restart all Microsoft
Windows 2000 services.
d. Cisco CallManager Serviceability provides services to monitor alarms, generate
CARs, and collect and analyze traces.
3. Which two of the following services can be started, stopped, or restarted via the
Cisco CallManager Control Center?
a. Cisco CallManager
b. Cisco DHCP
c. Cisco TFTP
d. Cisco Extension Mobility
e. Cisco WebDialer
4. Where can Cisco CallManager Services be activated and deactivated? (Choose two.)
a. In DBLHelper
b. In Cisco CallManager Control Center
c. In the Windows 2000 Services MMC
d. In Microsoft Service Activation Tool
e. In Cisco CallManager Service Activation
692 Chapter 30: Introducing Database Tools and Cisco Unified CallManager Serviceability
10. If replication has failed between a publisher and subscriber server, what does DBLHelper
display?
a. A replication failed notice
b. A broken link
c. A red sad face
d. A yellow exclamation point
This chapter covers the
following topics:
Growing demands to the telephony systems increase hardware usage on the telephony system
platform. If those demands rise too much, they could cause system overloads. Telephony
systems are among those that most directly affect businesses, and overloads that lead to system
outages could be extremely costly. Therefore, administrators must be able to monitor system
performance. This chapter covers tools that are used to monitor Cisco CallManager systems.
Further, this chapter describes Microsoft tools that are available on the Windows system, Real-
Time Monitoring Tool (RTMT) from Cisco, and how they work together.
Performance Counters
Performance counters reflect the performance data of Cisco CallManager. A counter is a
variable whose name is stored in the Registry. Each counter is related to a specific area of system
functionality. Examples include busy time of the processor, memory usage, and the number of
bytes received over a network connection. Each counter is uniquely identified through its name
and its path or location. In the same way that a file path includes drives, directories,
subdirectories, and filenames, a counter path consists of four elements: the machine, the object
(for example, processor or IP), the object instance (type of counter value; for example,
interrupt), and the counter name (special counter itself).
Performance counters are ideal for administrators for system maintenance, analysis, and
troubleshooting tasks:
■ A user reports that using Cisco CallManager Extension Mobility to log in to the phone takes
a very long time. In analyzing the statistics produced with performance counter data, the
administrator discovers high processor usage and memory allocation due to problems with
processes on the system.
■ An administrator is dealing with a slow system. The system engineer has to decide whether
system expansion is necessary or whether the current extensive system usage is only a one-
time situation. To find out, the administrator should watch the system for a while.
696 Chapter 31: Monitoring Performance
NOTE All performance counter values are based on system events and utilization information
provided by the Microsoft Windows 2000 platform.
Performance Analysis
Microsoft Performance Monitor and Cisco Real-Time Monitoring Tool (RTMT) use Windows
2000 performance counters to monitor the system. Microsoft Performance Monitor, shown in
Figure 31-1, reports both general and specific information in real time, whereas RTMT, shown in
Figure 31-2, monitors focused Cisco CallManager performance by periodically polling Windows
2000 performance counter values.
RTMT provides optimized monitoring of performance objects and devices related just to the Cisco
CallManager. The device information includes device registration status, IP address, description,
and model type. RTMT provides clusterwide information that is stored in eight tables. The tables
include IP phones, gateway devices, media, H.323 devices, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)
trunks, hunt lists, computer telephony integration (CTI), and voice messaging. RTMT also
displays object and counter information that is kept by each Cisco CallManager node in the
cluster. RTMT directly monitors the performance objects and counters.
Microsoft Event Viewer 697
Windows stores information related to an event or error in Event Viewer. Event Viewer can be used
to gather, identify, and analyze Windows 2000 system events and information about hardware,
software, and system problems. Because Cisco CallManager runs as a Windows service,
information about Cisco CallManager events and errors can also be stored in Event Viewer.
Event Viewer, available at Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Event
Viewer, can help identify problems at the system level. For example, to pinpoint a problem, use
Event Viewer to look for events involving Cisco CallManager Administration on the Internet
Information Server (IIS) server.
698 Chapter 31: Monitoring Performance
As shown in Figure 31-3, Event Viewer uses log types to group different kinds of logs:
■ System logs—Report events logged by the Windows 2000 system components, such as the
failure of an operating system component or driver.
■ Security logs—Hold information records of security events. (Cisco CallManager does not
report events in this log.)
To classify events, Event Viewer provides three event types. Each is marked with its own icon. The
Microsoft Event Viewer event types are as follows:
■ Error—An indicator of a problem, such as the loss of data or failure to initialize properly;
represented by a red “X”
■ Warning—An event that might indicate a problem or a future problem, such as when a
service is stopped or started, which is not necessarily an error; represented by a yellow
exclamation point
Performance Monitor, like the Cisco CallManager Serviceability tool, monitors and logs resource
counters from the Cisco CallManager nodes in the network and displays the counters in real time.
The update interval could be set to a period between 1 second and 45 days.
Performance Monitor can collect data from multiple systems at once and store it in a single log
file. The monitor can then export this log file to a Tab-Separated Values (TSV) file or a Comma-
Separated Values (CSV) file that you can view in most spreadsheet applications.
To access Performance Monitor, choose Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative
Tools and choose Performance.
NOTE Extensive monitoring (monitoring a very large number of counters and using short
interval times) could cause rising processor usage. Therefore, it is recommended that you use
Performance Monitor only for special situations and not as a network management tool.
Within Performance Monitor, alarms can be enabled to report certain value thresholds. For
example, the number of telephone devices active on Cisco CallManager can be set to a particular
level. If the number of devices exceeds that level, the monitor sends a network message alert to the
administrator or the person in charge. To create such an alert threshold, right-click Performance
Logs and Alerts > Alerts and choose New Alert Settings.
NOTE Data collection must be enabled in Cisco CallManager for Performance Monitor to
collect data. To verify that data collection is enabled, check the current settings in the Cisco
Real-Time Information Server (RIS) Data Collector Service Parameters Configuration window
in Cisco CallManager Administration. By default, the Data Collection Enabled parameter is
set to True.
700 Chapter 31: Monitoring Performance
The graph view (shown in Figure 31-5) is ideal to see the current status of the counters and how
they have changed over the most recent period. You can specify the period for status updates and
include it in the graph. Using this tool is similar to using a heart-rate monitor. It displays the
heartbeat of the monitored performance objects.
In contrast to graphs, the histogram view (shown in Figure 31-6) shows only the current status of
the selected performance object counters. Because it uses only a single bar for each counter, the
histogram view is ideal for monitoring many performance counters. To switch between the graph
and histogram views, use the graph and histogram icons from the system monitor toolbar or press
Ctrl-G (graph) and Ctrl-B (histogram) alternately.
Microsoft Performance Monitor 701
To access Windows Task Manager, right-click the taskbar and choose Task Manager from the
menu or press the Ctrl-Shift-Esc shortcut.
NOTE Windows Task Manager influences system performance because it also monitors all
system processes and running programs. Therefore, it is recommended that you use it only to
get a snapshot of the current situation and not for prolonged monitoring.
objects. The e-mail alerts work independently of the standalone Java front end. Therefore, it is not
necessary to run the RTMT window all the time to generate e-mail notifications.
To download RTMT, choose Cisco CallManager RTMT from the Cisco CallManager Install
Plugins page in the Application menu of Cisco CallManager Administration and Cisco
CallManager Serviceability. After successful installation, you can launch RTMT by double-
clicking the RTMT shortcut on the Windows desktop or by choosing Start > Programs > Cisco
CallManager Serviceability > RTMT.
NOTE To reduce the impact on the Cisco CallManager server, it is strongly recommended that
you run RTMT on an administrator PC and not locally on the Cisco CallManager server.
Moreover, RTMT should not run constantly.
As shown in Figure 31-8, The RTMT application is divided into four parts:
■ Menu bar—The RTMT menu bar, located at the top of the RTMT window, uses drop-down
menus that provide specific monitoring.
■ Controlling center pane—The controlling center pane, located on the left side of the
window, includes the View tab and the Tools tab. The View tab includes several different
monitoring categories, whereas the Tools tab offers only the Alert category. On the View tab
of the controlling pane, RTMT arranges the preconfigured monitoring objects into seven
major categories:
■ Tab bar—The tab bar, located at the bottom of the window, allows switching among all
monitoring objects currently monitored in the viewing pane.
profile is preconfigured. Its parameters include the number of registered phones, gateway status,
CPU and memory usage, and the number of calls in progress.
Step 1 Choose System > Profile (or press Ctrl-Alt-P) to open the Preferences
window.
Step 2 In the Preferences Window, choose Save. The Save Current Configuration
window opens.
Step 3 Enter a name and a meaningful description for the configuration, as shown
in Figure 31-9, which will allow you to easily identify it later, and click OK
to save your configuration.
Step 1 Choose System > Profile (or press Ctrl-Alt-P) to open the Preferences
window.
Step 2 Select the configuration that should be duplicated.
Step 3 Click Restore to load the configuration.
Step 4 Click Save, enter a name and description for the configuration, and click
OK.
Some of the most useful monitoring objects on the RTMT window are these:
Step 1 In the controlling center pane at the left, click the View tab.
Step 2 Click CallProcess.
Step 3 Click the Call Activity icon.
The Call Activity monitoring window displays the call activity for each Cisco CallManager node
in the cluster and draws a history graph for the past few minutes.
Step 1 In the controlling center pane at the left, click the Device tab.
Step 2 Click Device Search.
Step 3 Double-click Phone in the white pane and follow the instructions.
Figure 31-12 shows a sample alert for a system where the virtual memory of the system is
currently too low. To allow administrators to qualify the message (to determine whether this is a
one-time event because of a special situation or a continuing problem), RTMT also provides a time
stamp of the most recent memory leak alert and a history of the most recent messages. In addition,
you can configure the RTMT Alert to send e-mail alerts when the CallManager exceeds predefined
thresholds. This configuration requires you to enter Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server
information using the Alert > Config Email Server menu item.
Summary
This chapter discussed the concepts and configuration behind monitoring the Cisco CallManager
cluster. Both Microsoft and Cisco include tools to monitor various aspects of each Cisco
CallManager server or the cluster as a whole. The Microsoft Performance Monitor shows system
parameters, including Cisco CallManager counters. The Microsoft Event Viewer can help you
identify problems at the system level. The Event Viewer also records events generated from the
Cisco CallManager software.
Review Questions 709
Cisco Real-Time Monitoring Tool (RTMT) is a standalone Java plug-in that provides information
about Cisco CallManager from a remote workstation. You can save the RTMT configurations in
configuration profiles to allow quick reference of preset counters. The RTMT window gives you
the ability to monitor various aspects of Cisco CallManager performance and generate alerts,
which the RTMT can send to you via e-mail whenever the CallManager reaches a predefined alert
threshold.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
1. Which two of the following statements about Microsoft Event Viewer are true? (Choose two.)
a. Microsoft Event Viewer needs to be installed separately and is included in the Microsoft
Windows 2000 support pack.
b. Microsoft Event Viewer assists administrators in troubleshooting Cisco CallManager
systems.
c. Microsoft Event Viewer is limited to the most recent 100 events per log type.
d. Microsoft Event Viewer stores system errors and warnings.
e. There are four log types in Microsoft Event Viewer.
2. How can Microsoft Performance Monitor be used to maintain Cisco CallManager systems?
(Choose three.)
a. To monitor Microsoft Windows 2000 counters
b. To monitor Cisco CallManager counters
c. To monitor events in real time
d. To analyze call flows
e. To analyze CDRs
f. To analyze trace files
g. To analyze Cisco CallManager configuration
3. What can RTMT be used for? (Choose two.)
a. Cisco CallManager performance monitoring
b. Cisco CallManager configuration
c. Cisco CallManager performance manipulation
d. Alert e-mail generation
e. Service activation
710 Chapter 31: Monitoring Performance
4. Which two of the following statements about the saving of configurations on RTMT are true?
a. If administrators exit RTMT, the active configuration is stored automatically.
b. Multiple configuration profiles can be stored.
c. RTMT needs to be restarted to load a saved configuration.
d. Configuration profiles can be identified by their number and date.
e. Configuration profiles can be identified by their name and description.
5. Which of the following statements about the RTMT window is true? (Choose three.)
a. The RTMT window supports tabs to allow many different elements to be viewed at
one time.
b. When switching between RTMT window tabs, real-time information graphs on inactive
(hidden) tabs are stopped.
c. The RTMT window provides performance monitoring similar to the Microsoft Perfor-
mance Monitor.
d. The RTMT window includes a link to start the Microsoft Performance Monitor MMC.
e. E)The RTMT window includes an alert central.
f. F)RTMT needs to be downloaded from Cisco.com.
6. Which area of the Microsoft Event Viewer would contain messages specific to Cisco
CallManager?
a. Error logs
b. Application logs
c. System logs
d. Warning logs
e. Security logs
Review Questions 711
7. What are the three views supported by Microsoft Performance Monitor? (Choose three.)
a. Histogram
b. Dynamic
c. Active
d. Alert
e. Graph
f. Report
g. Tabbed
8. Which of the following utilities will allow you to see processor and memory utilization levels
for a Cisco CallManager server? (Choose three.)
a. Microsoft Performance Monitor
b. CallManager Serviceability
c. Cisco RTMT
d. Windows Task Manager
e. Event Viewer
f. CallManager Control Center
This chapter covers the
following topics:
Administrators who install or maintain Cisco CallManager sometimes have to deal with
technical or design issues on their systems. To troubleshoot and monitor those issues, Cisco
CallManager provides alarms and traces similar to the functionality of the show and debug
commands of Cisco IOS software. This chapter describes how to configure traces on the Cisco
CallManager system and discusses tools that allow you to analyze those traces.
Alarm Overview
The Cisco CallManager Serviceability Alarm menu provides a web-based interface that has
two main functions:
— Administrators can evaluate what kind of information (such as parameter and kind
of events) is included in which alarm.
Both functions assist you in troubleshooting and monitoring your Cisco CallManager system.
You can configure alarms for services (for example, Cisco CallManager, Cisco TFTP, or Cisco
CTIManager) for all Cisco CallManager servers in the cluster or for each server individually.
Alarms are used to provide the run-time status and state of the system and to take corrective
action for problem resolution; for example, to determine whether phones are registered and
working. Alarms contain information such as an explanation and recommended action. Alarm
information includes the application name, machine name, and cluster name to help you
troubleshoot problems that are not on the local Cisco CallManager.
You can configure the Alarm interface to send alarm information to multiple destinations, and
each destination can have its own alarm event level (from debug to emergency). CallManager
can direct alarms to the Microsoft Windows 2000 Event Log, a syslog server, system diagnostic
interface (SDI) trace log files, or signal distribution layer (SDL) trace log files.
714 Chapter 32: Configuring Alarms and Traces
When a service issues an alarm, the Alarm interface sends the alarm to the chosen monitors. Each
monitor forwards the alarm or writes it to its final destination (such as a log file). You can use this
information for troubleshooting or to pass over to another person for assistance (for example, the
Cisco Technical Assistance Center [TAC]).
You can turn on several alarm levels on Cisco CallManager. These alarm levels are equivalent to
the widely used syslog severity levels. Table 32-1 shows all available levels and describes the kind
of information that generates the alarm. As you can also see from the table, each level can be
identified by its name (debug to emergency) or by its number (0 to 7).
When the alarm event level is set to a certain value, it means that alarms that match the configured
level and alarms that match more severe levels are generated. In other words, an alarm level of 0
(debug) means all alarms of 0 or higher, and an alarm level of 4 means all alarms of level 4 or
higher. So if you configure an alarm level of 5, all critical, alert, and emergency alarms are logged.
Alarm Configuration
You can use the Alarm Configuration window in Cisco CallManager Serviceability to define
where CallManager will store the alarms and which level of alarms CallManager should store. You
can define the alarm level for each destination individually. Destinations for alarms are as follows:
■ Remotely on any syslog server; for example, Kiwi Syslog Daemon, a third-party application
that runs on Windows systems
Alarm Configuration 715
Configuring Alarms
To configure alarms in Cisco CallManager, follow this procedure:
Step 4 Check the check box for each desired alarm destination.
NOTE Only the Cisco CallManager and CTIManager services can use SDL Traces and only
these services will have the check box for Enable Alarm for SDL Trace available.
Step 5 From the Alarm Event Level drop-down menu, choose the desired alarm
event level for each of the available alarms.
Step 6 Save the configuration by clicking the Update button.
NOTE To apply the current settings for selected services to all nodes in a cluster, check the
Apply to All Nodes check box. To restore the default Cisco CallManager settings, click the
SetDefault button and then the Update button.
■ Set the Enabled key to a value of 0 to turn off Event Log or to 1 to turn it on (by default, Event
Log is enabled for Java-based applications).
■ Set the Severity key to a value between 0 and 7 to set the alarm event level (the default severity
level for Java-based applications on Cisco CallManager systems is 6).
If you change the Registry entries, you must restart Java applications for the configuration changes
to take effect.
CAUTION It is recommended that you not change the Simple Network Management Protocol
(SNMP) Trap and Catalog configurations. Those settings influence SNMP traps generated by
the Cisco CallManager system. Those traps are used by network management applications, such
as CiscoWorks. Changing the settings could cause malfunctioning of the entire network
management system. Likewise, editing the Windows Registry is a dangerous process and can
cause the entire operating system to crash. Be sure you exercise caution when making changes
to the Windows Registry.
Alarm Configuration 717
Alarm Details
Alarm definitions describe alarm messages. The definitions show what the alarms mean and how
to recover from them.
To reach the alarm message definition details for an alarm, complete these steps:
Cisco CallManager stores alarm definitions and recommended actions in a Structured Query
Language (SQL) server database. You can search the database for definitions of all the alarms. The
definition includes the alarm name, description, explanation, recommended action, severity,
parameters, and monitors. This information aids you in troubleshooting problems that Cisco
CallManager encounters.
NOTE Administrators can add their own text to the alarm definition by simply entering
information in the User Defined Text pane (not shown in Figure 32-4).
Trace Configuration 719
Trace Configuration
Cisco CallManager Serviceability provides a web-based trace tool to assist the system
administrator and support personnel in troubleshooting Cisco CallManager problems. Cisco
CallManager Serviceability Trace provides three main functions:
■ Analysis and Q.931 Translator—These functions allow you to analyze trace files.
NOTE The web-based Trace Analysis tool allows only analysis of Extensible Markup
Language (XML) files; the Q.931 Translator analyzes both text and XML files. The XML format
adds excessive overhead to the file, and causes the file to contain less information overall than
saving the file in another format. For in-depth troubleshooting, Cisco recommends using formats
other than XML.
720 Chapter 32: Configuring Alarms and Traces
Types of Traces
Traces for Cisco CallManager services can be based on debug levels, specific trace fields, and
Cisco CallManager devices, such as phones or gateways. Two types of traces are available, SDI
trace and SDL trace.
SDI traces are also known as Cisco CallManager trace log files. Every Cisco CallManager service
includes a default trace log file. The system traces SDI information from the services and logs run-
time events and traces to a log file. Programmers typically use SDI traces for development
purposes.
SDL traces contain call-processing information from Cisco CallManager and Cisco CTIManager
services. The system traces the SDL of the call and logs state transitions in a log file. This log
information helps administrators to troubleshoot problems on the Cisco CallManager system.
TIP In most cases, extensive SDL traces will be gathered only when Cisco TAC requests it.
SDL traces track communication between the CallManagers, whereas SDI traces track internal
CallManager processing.
■ XML or text editors—Allows you to examine the content of the stored trace files.
Trace Configuration 721
Troubleshooting
Settings for
Entire Cluster
Settings per
Server
Text or XML
Web Access
(XML only)
XML or Text
Editor
Trace Configuration
Cisco CallManager provides many services for tracing. You can enable tracing for each service
individually for each server within the Cisco CallManager cluster. Perform these tasks in the Cisco
CallManager Serviceability Trace Configuration window to configure custom settings for a trace:
Step 3 To enable traces for the specified service, check the Trace On check box.
Step 4 Choose the desired debug level from the Debug Trace Level drop-down
menu.
Step 5 Choose the trace fields to include in the trace files. This additional
information is different for each service.
You can set the path and filename for the trace file. To allow creation of more than one file, Cisco
CallManager uses the entered filename and adds an eight-digit string, starting with 00000000, that
is incremented with each new file.
Trace Configuration 723
NOTE Servers 172.30.2.67 and 172.30.2.68 shown in Figure 32-8 are currently offline, which
is why the Troubleshooting Trace Setting window shows their services as N/A.
Table 32-2 describes the logging of each service that can be turned on or off in the Troubleshooting
Trace Setting window.
Service Logging
Cisco CallManager Logs Cisco CallManager signaling information to trace files
Cisco Call Detail Records Logs information about writing of CDRs
(CDRs) Insert
Cisco Certificate Authority Logs information about issues of Cisco CAPF
Proxy Function (CAPF)
Cisco CTIManager Logs information about issues on CTIManager of the Cisco
CallManager
Trace Analysis 725
Service Logging
Cisco CallManager Logs Cisco CallManager signaling information to trace files
Cisco Certificate Trust List Logs information about issues of Cisco CTL Provider
(CTL) Provider
Cisco Database Layer Logs information about database usage of Cisco CallManager
Monitor
Cisco Extended Functions Logs information about issues referring to any of the Cisco
CallManager extended functions, such as Quality Report Tool
(QRT)
Cisco CallManager Logs information about issues of the Cisco CallManager Extension
Extension Mobility Mobility service and Extension Mobility application
Cisco IP Manager Assistant Logs information about issues and usage of Cisco IPMA
(IPMA) functionality on Cisco CallManager
Cisco IP Voice Media Logs information about issues of the Cisco IP Voice Media
Streaming Application Streaming Application in conjunction with every involved device
Cisco Messaging Interface Logs information about issues of Cisco Messaging Interface
Cisco Music on Hold Logs information about issues with MoH on Cisco CallManager
(MoH) Audio Translator
Cisco Real-Time Logs information about issues involving collecting real-time
Information Server (RIS) information on Cisco CallManager
Data Collector
Cisco Telephony Call Logs information about issues with attendant consoles and pilot
Dispatcher (TCD) points on Cisco CallManager
Cisco TFTP Logs information about issues with the TFTP server service of
Cisco CallManager
Cisco WebDialer Logs information about issues with the click-to-dial functionality
on Cisco CallManager systems
Trace Analysis
The Trace Analysis tool is a postprocessing tool that allows analyzing of XML trace files via a web
GUI. The tool is available from the Cisco CallManager Serviceability Trace menu and provides
trace details to help narrow your investigation of system problems.
When you are using the Trace Analysis tool, it is possible to specify what kind of information you
need when analyzing the Cisco CallManager trace files. When troubleshooting, this makes it
easier to go through the trace files and get the necessary information.
726 Chapter 32: Configuring Alarms and Traces
In the Trace Analysis window, choose what kind of information to analyze and from which trace
file by following these steps:
Step 1 From the Cisco CallManager Serviceability window, select the Trace >
Analysis menu item.
Step 2 Choose a Cisco CallManager server for which trace files should be
analyzed.
Step 3 Choose the desired service, as shown in Figure 32-9.
Figure 32-9 Choosing XML Trace Files Using the Trace Analysis Tool
Step 4 Define whether to analyze SDI or SDL traces and click the List Files button
to get the list of all available SDI or SDL files that meet the criteria.
Step 5 Choose the file to analyze.
Step 6 Open the Cisco CallManager Serviceability web GUI of the Trace Analysis
tool. In the web GUI, define what information to list for the analysis.
Step 7 To process the records that meet your criteria, click Display Records.
Trace Analysis 727
NOTE The Trace Analysis tool supports only trace files containing less than 2 MB of data.
From the selections that you made for trace analysis, Cisco CallManager creates a web page giving
all the desired data. Figure 32-10 shows an example output.
Figure 32-10 Analyzing XML Trace Files Using the Trace Analysis Tool
You can directly open trace files from the folders where they are stored (subdirectories under
C:\Program Files\Cisco\Trace). You can use text editors (for XML and .txt files) or XML viewers
or editors to view XML files. Trace files in .txt format cannot be analyzed by using the Trace
Analysis tool. They can be analyzed by the Q.931 Translator tool; however, this tool interprets
only Q.931 messages. To examine other messages from stored .txt trace files, you can use a text
editor, as shown in Figure 32-11. Cisco TAC also provides other in-depth trace analysis tools such
as Translator X, Triple Combo, and the Voice Log Translator (VLT).
728 Chapter 32: Configuring Alarms and Traces
Trace Collection
To analyze trace files of a Cisco CallManager system locally on an administrator PC, it is
necessary to collect trace files from the Cisco CallManager file system and copy them to the PC
of the administrator. Instead of manually copying all trace files from all servers of the cluster, you
can use the Trace Collection tool, which automates this process.
If you want to analyze trace files from multiple servers on your local PC, use the Trace Collection
tool to transfer the trace files to your local PC, where they can then be analyzed by the Bulk Trace
Analysis tool or a text editor. There are three steps involved, as illustrated in Figure 32-12:
Step 1 When traces are enabled, Cisco CallManager writes trace information to
the local trace files.
Step 2 The Trace Collection tool can be used to download all trace files (including
XML trace files) from all Cisco CallManager systems in the cluster.
Step 3 The Bulk Trace Analysis tool allows analysis of XML trace files at the
administrator PC. You can view text files using a text editor.
Trace Collection 729
1 2 3
Collect XML or TXT traces with
Trace files are located on Examine collected traces files
Trace Collection tool in a .zip
Cisco CallManager servers. with Bulk Trace Analysis tool.
archive on the administrator PC.
After the Trace Collection tool is installed on the PC, enter the IP address, username, and password
for Cisco CallManager. As soon as the connection to the server is established, the window shown
in Figure 32-13 opens.
Three tabs are available in the Cisco CallManager Trace Collection Tool window. Each has its own
function, as described in Table 32-3.
Table 32-3 Tab Functions in the Cisco CallManager Trace Collection Tool Window
Tab Function
Select CallManager Provides a grid of services for the Cisco CallManager nodes in the cluster.
Services Choose all or some of the services for which traces should be collected by
checking the appropriate check boxes.
Select CallManager Provides the list of Cisco CallManager applications for which traces can be
Applications collected. Choose all or some of the applications in this tab.
Select System Provides a list of all system logs from which data can be selected.
Traces
NOTE The Back and Next buttons shown in Figure 32-13 move you between the three tabs.
After selecting the desired system logs, define the date range for the data to be selected to help
minimize the amount of data that needs to be collected. You can then click the Collect Traces
button for the application to start downloading and compressing all files locally to the PC. All files
are added to the system primary hard drive (C:\) to an archive named
CiscoCallManagerTraceCollection.zip.
CAUTION Selecting all kinds of data from all Cisco CallManager servers on the system leads
to extremely long download times, extensive file-compression processing, and large compressed
files.
■ It creates reports of information that can be analyzed for troubleshooting, using multiple trace
files as the input source data.
■ It allows multiple views of a single report to compare and analyze multiple issues
simultaneously and concentrate on essential fields.
■ It allows users to customize report formats, sort trace information by type, and filter
information by special trace tags as well as date and time.
■ It works without using Cisco CallManager processing power because it runs locally on a PC.
■ You can use it to analyze large trace files (larger than 2 MB).
To generate this report, choose File > New Report. In the window that opens, choose whether to
create an SDI or an SDL report and where the file for analysis is located. To add new views for the
report, choose View > New View. In the window that opens, choose which kind of information
732 Chapter 32: Configuring Alarms and Traces
should be included in the new view. To change the order of the columns or to add or remove
columns, choose View > Customize Header and make the selections from the new window.
■ Q.931 Translator—Allows analysis of Q.931 messages from text or XML log files created
on Cisco CallManager systems. The tool shows the ISDN messages and their Cisco IOS
translation. The Q.931 Translator can be used to save Cisco IOS translations to another log
file for further investigation. To access the Q.931 Translator, from Cisco CallManager
Serviceability, choose Trace > Q931 Translator.
■ Dick Tracy—Allows you to capture and analyze voice flows on T1/E1 or Foreign Exchange
Station (FXS) ports of Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series switch systems running the CatOS. To
download the Dick Tracy tool from Cisco.com, you must hold a valid Cisco.com account.
This tool is available to users with valid CCO account access at http://www.cisco.com/cgi-
bin/tablebuild.pl/dctool.
Review Questions 733
■ Ethereal—One of the most powerful, open-source network capture and analysis tools. It
supports analysis of nearly all types of packets captured from the network. For voice analysis,
it includes special features, such as painting graphs of voice over IP (VoIP) signaling flows or
saving G.711 Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) streams as .au files for playback with
media players. Ethereal is available for free at http://www.ethereal.com.
Summary
This chapter discussed the use of the alarm and trace features of Cisco CallManager. Eight alarm
levels are available on Cisco CallManager, which map to the syslog levels used by Cisco routers
and switches. The alarm configuration allows you to define where CallManager should save
alarms and what level of information the server should include.
Administrators can define the type and format of information that CallManager writes to trace
files. To analyze trace files, you can use the Serviceability Web interface, the Trace Analysis tool,
or a simple text or XML editor. The Trace Collection tool allows you to download and compress
CallManager trace files to a local PC. You can then analyze the trace files using the Bulk Trace
Analysis tool. Additional trace tools provided by Cisco and other vendors allow administrators to
further analyze their voice network.
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
1. What does Cisco CallManager Serviceability Alarm menu provide? (Choose two.)
a. Configuration of alarms
b. Alarm analysis
c. Alarm message definitions
d. Configuration of traces
e. Alarm modification
2. When you are configuring alarms on Cisco CallManager Serviceability, which of the
following statements is true?
a. You can define an e-mail address to which you can send alerts.
b. It is possible to define which fields should be included in written SDI and SDL trace
files.
c. More than one destination can be used to write alarm logs in parallel, and each of them
can use its own alarm level.
d. Alarm levels are predefined on Cisco CallManager and cannot be changed.
734 Chapter 32: Configuring Alarms and Traces
3. What is the difference between configuring alarms for Java applications and configuring
alarms for other services on Cisco CallManager?
a. Nothing; the alarms are both configured from CallManager Serviceability.
b. Java applications are not able to be monitored using Cisco CallManager.
c. Alarms for Java applications use system resources more heavily.
d. You must enable Java application alarms through the Windows Registry.
4. Which three of the following statements about SDI and SDL traces are true?
a. SDI traces log services and run-time events.
b. SDL traces log services and run-time events.
c. SDI traces log call-processing information.
d. SDL traces log call-processing information.
e. SDI and SDL traces can be written to plaintext and XML files.
f. SDI and SDL traces can be written to plaintext files only.
g. SDI and SDL traces can be written to XML files only.
5. What does the Trace Collection tool do?
a. Collects traces from Cisco CallManager systems and writes them to remote hosts
b. Allows you to configure the kind of information that should be collected and written to
trace files
c. Downloads and compresses trace files from Cisco CallManager systems to a computer
d. Saves disk space on Cisco CallManager by deleting trace files after downloading them
6. What can you do with the web-based Trace Analysis tool in Cisco CallManager
Serviceability? (Choose two.)
a. Analyze plaintext-formatted SDI trace files.
b. Analyze plaintext-formatted SDL trace files.
c. Analyze XML-formatted SDI trace files.
d. Analyze XML-formatted SDL trace files.
e. Analyze files larger than 2 MB.
Review Questions 735
7. What is the difference between the Q.931 Translator and the Voice Log Translator?
a. Q.931 Translator supports SCCP.
b. Q.931 Translator supports MGCP.
c. The Voice Log Translator can be used to analyze log files without access to the Cisco
CallManager system.
d. The Q.931 translator is provided for free, but to use Voice Log Translator, you must pay
a special license fee.
8. Which services support SDL trace logging? (Choose two.)
a. Cisco TFTP
b. Cisco CallManager
c. Database Layer Monitor
d. CTIManager
e. SDI Monitor
9. You receive an alarm level 5 message coming in from the Cisco CallManager service. What
well-known name is this alarm level assigned?
a. Emergency
b. Error
c. Critical
d. Alert
10. Which of the following represent a valid CallManager alarm destination? (Choose three.)
a. Microsoft Event Log
b. Syslog Server
c. SMTP Server
d. Trace Log File
This chapter covers the
following topics:
The Call Detail Record (CDR) Analysis and Reporting (CAR) tool is a powerful application that
gives an overview of the call volume of users or departments. CAR can also generate reports for
special route patterns and features such as Client Matter Codes (CMC) and Forced
Authorization Codes (FAC). This chapter discusses the concepts and configuration behind CAR
and the applications for a corporate IP telephony deployment.
CAR Overview
The Cisco CallManager Serviceability CAR tool, formerly known as Administrative Reporting
Tool (ART), generates reports of information for quality of service (QoS), traffic, user call
volume, billing, and gateways. The CAR tool generates reports in either Portable Document
Format (PDF) or Comma-Separated Values (CSV) format. The PDF format limits the number
of records in the CAR reports to 5000, and CSV format limits the number of records to 20,000.
If the number of records exceeds these limits, a message warns that the results are truncated. To
avoid truncating reports, reduce the date range and regenerate the reports.
NOTE CAR is not installed during the standard Cisco CallManager installation and must
be added separately.
If CAR is running on your system before you upgrade to a new version of Cisco CallManager,
the upgrade process automatically upgrades CAR. If Cisco CallManager is being installed for
the first time, CAR has to be installed manually from the Cisco CallManager Administration.
You can install CAR from the standard plug-ins web page (Application > Install Plugins). You
must install CAR on the Cisco CallManager publisher that hosts the CDR database. CAR uses
the Cisco Tomcat service.
table stores information about QoS parameters for the same call. The SQL database refers to the
CDR and CMR tables as CallDetailRecord (for CDRs) and CallDetailRecordDiagnostic (for
CMRs), as shown in Figure 33-1. For every CDR entry, CallManager also generates a CMR entry.
Figure 33-1 CDR and CMR Tables in the SQL 2000 Database
NOTE When you purge a record in the CDR database, CallManager deletes the related entries
for a call in both the CallDetailRecord and CallDetailRecordDiagnostic tables.
The CallDetailRecord table stores extensive information about a call. Each record has a unique
identifier called the pkid that enables you to find and identify a single record. The
CallDetailRecord table also contains information about the calling party, called party, duration of
or information about call forwarding, CMC, and FAC, to name the most important fields of a
record. In total, the CallDetailRecord table contains 68 information fields.
destLegIdentifier field information. Among other things, information about the packets sent and
received, jitter, and latency are stored for QoS reports.
CAR Users
CAR has a distinct management interface from the Cisco CallManager Administration and
Serviceability web pages, as shown in Figure 33-2. The available menus in CAR depend on the
level of the user authenticating to the system. CAR provides reporting capabilities for three levels
of users:
■ Administrators can generate system reports for load balancing, system performance, and
troubleshooting. The administrator can also grant administrator access to other users,
configure the dial plan and gateway, and set the system preferences.
■ Managers can generate reports for users, departments, and QoS. The reports provide
information for budgeting or security purposes and for determining the voice quality of the
calls in their department.
■ Individual users can generate a billing report for their own calls.
■ User Reports—Allows you to generate reports for bills, Top N users, Cisco IP Manager
Assistant (IPMA), computer telephony integration (CTI), and phone services. Bills can be
generated for individual users, groups of users, or all users. With the Top N report, it is easy
to find, for example, the top five users with the highest cost, highest call duration, or highest
number of calls.
■ System Reports—Allows you to generate reports for QoS, traffic, and malicious calls. With
these reports, it is possible to find part of the network where QoS does not work properly or
where there is more traffic than planned in the design phase. Reports for Multilevel
Precedence and Preemption (MLPP), CMC, and FAC are also available for information about
the cost of projects or controlled long-distance calls with authorization codes.
■ Device Reports—Generates information about the gateway, route plans, conferences, and
voice messaging. These kinds of reports are useful for the administrator in optimizing the
network.
The administrator can generate all types of reports: user reports, system reports, and device
reports. Managers can generate only parts of the user and system reports, such as billing, Top N,
and QoS reports, and only for employees who report directly or indirectly to the manager. Users
can check only their own bills in general or in detail, and send the report by e-mail. Table 33-1
summarizes these rights.
CAR Configuration
The configuration of CAR is done through a web-based interface that uses the same look and feel
as the Cisco CallManager Administration and Serviceability windows. After you have installed the
CDR application on the publisher server, a new CDR Analysis and Reporting menu item appears
under the Tools menu of the Cisco CallManager in a similar fashion to the Bulk Administration
Tool. The following sections walk you through the configuration and use of the CAR utility.
CAR Configuration 741
Initial Configuration
You must initially access the CAR web interface through the CallManager Serviceability window
by using the Tools > CDR Analysis and Reporting option. This menu option will only exist after
you have installed the CDR application on the publisher server through the Install Plug-ins
window. When initially accessing the CAR web interface, the authentication settings will be in a
strange state. Even if you have enabled Multilevel Administration (MLA) for Cisco CallManager,
you must use a default login to CAR of a username of admin and a password of admin.
NOTE After you have initially configured the CAR utility, users (and managers) will be able
to access the utility at https://<Publisher IP Address>/ART.
After you have authenticated, the only available option is the Admin Rights menu. Selecting this
option takes you to the window illustrated in Figure 33-3.
From here, you must add the initial CDR user from the CallManager database (or Windows
database if you have not enabled MLA). CDR Analysis and Reporting immediately places this
742 Chapter 33: Configuring CAR
initial user into the CDR Administrators group, giving this user full administrative privileges to
the web interface.
NOTE Following the addition of the first user, CallManager disables the default username and
password of admin.
You can configure additional CAR administrators by using the CAR tool itself. Choose System >
System Parameters > Admin Rights to assign administrative rights to any user in the Cisco
CallManager user database. The manager and user levels are not configured in the CAR tool.
These roles are based on the user configuration in the global directory. In Cisco CallManager
Administration, choose User > Global Directory to edit users in the global directory. For each
user, you can configure the user ID of the manager of the user in the Manager User ID field. CAR
assigns users who you have configured as managers to the manager level in CAR. CAR assigns
all other users to the user level in CAR.
CAR Configuration 743
You can configure the additional Service Parameters menu items as follows:
■ The Mail Parameters option allows you to configure an SMTP server allowing the CDR
Analysis and Reporting tool to send alarms and e-mails to administrators directly.
■ Cisco has configured CAR to categorize calls using the North American Numbering Plan
(NANP). If your organization uses additional dial plans (such as interoffice dialing), you can
add them to CAR using the Dial Plan Configuration menu item. This gives CAR the ability
to classify call types correctly on reports. CAR classifies external calls based on the outside
number.
■ In the Gateway Configuration menu item, you can provide the maximum number of ports
information for each gateway to enable CAR to generate accurate utilization reports.
■ Use the System Preferences menu item to specify generic parameters, such as the company
name, that CAR will insert in every report.
CAR can send reports by e-mail. To enable this feature, choose System Parameters > Mail
Parameters and configure the e-mail account information. Enter the mail ID and the password
that CAR will use, as shown in Figure 33-5. This e-mail account must exist on the mail server. You
also need to specify the mail domain and the mail server name. The mail domain is added
automatically when a user enters only the name of the recipient without the mail domain. Every
time a report is sent with the CAR tool, this account will be used.
744 Chapter 33: Configuring CAR
■ Condition— =
■ No of Digits— 6
■ Pattern— !
Table 33-2 describes the parameters in the Dial Plan Configuration window and lists their possible
values.
=
No of Digits NA Number of digits in the directory number (DN) to which
this rule should be applied. If the number of digits does
A digit not affect the rule, specify NA.
continues
746 Chapter 33: Configuring CAR
Local
Long Distance
On Net
Others
Toll-free Digits Numbers in the dial plan that can be placed without a
Numbers charge.
CAR uses the values you configured for the gateway when you added the gateway in Cisco
CallManager Administration. Therefore, some gateways might already have an area code setting
or have a maximum number of ports.
■ ERRORLOGFILESIZE—The maximum size of the error log file in kilobytes, with a range
from 1 to 9999. The default value is 100.
■ SESSIONTIMEOUT—The time in seconds that must pass without any activity before a user
is logged out of CAR, with a range from 60 to 86,400 (1 minute to 24 hours). The default
value is 1800 (30 minutes).
Report Scheduling
Every Cisco CallManager writes the CDR data first locally into flat files. A flat file is a temporary
file without a file extension stored in the C:\Program Files\Cisco\CallDetail\ folder on Cisco
CallManager. Flat files store call information to import the data on the publisher server into the
CDR database. At a specified time, all the CallManager servers transfer the flat files to the Cisco
CallManager publisher. Loading CDR data from flat files into the CDR database on the Cisco
CallManager publisher can cause performance degradation on the Cisco CallManager server.
Cisco recommends that you use the default loading time or schedule the loading to occur at a time
when Cisco CallManager performance will be least affected. By default, CDR data loads every
day from midnight to 5:00 a.m.
You can manage CDR loading through the System > Scheduler menu, as shown in Figure 33-9.
These menu options are discussed fully in the upcoming sections. Disable CDR loading when you
are installing or upgrading the system in the same off-hours during which CDR loading normally
occurs. Because loading CDRs drains Cisco CallManager resources, you can suspend CDR loads
until other operations complete. Of course, CallManager does not update the CDR data when CDR
loading is disabled. Be sure to enable CDR loading again as soon as possible. The CAR tool does
not affect CDR generation in Cisco CallManager.
In addition, the CDR Scheduler menu allows you to generate reports for these periods:
■ Days
■ Weeks
■ Months
Report Scheduling 749
Configure the Load CDR & CMR area parameters as follows, shown in Figure 33-10:
■ The Time field specifies time when the CAR tool should start to load CDR data from the local
CDR files into the CAR database.
■ The Loading Interval specifies how often CAR will load the CDR entries. The minimum
interval is 15 minutes and the maximum is 24 hours.
■ The Uninhibited Loading of CDR section allows you to define the duration of the loading
interval defined to limit the loading time to a maximum length to minimize the impact on
Cisco CallManager resources during business hours.
750 Chapter 33: Configuring CAR
NOTE Depending on your configured loading interval, CAR might not update the CDR
records for a full 24-hour period (which is the configured default). This minimizes the near-real-
time monitoring of placed calls in the IP telephony network. You will need to balance the loading
interval time cycle based on your available resources.
■ CAR generates daily reports (shown in Figure 33-11) every day at 1:00 a.m.
Report Scheduling 751
■ CAR generates weekly reports (shown in Figure 33-12) every Sunday at 4:00 a.m.
■ CAR generates monthly bills (shown in Figure 33-13) on the first day in the month at
3:00 a.m., and other reports at 2:00 a.m.
752 Chapter 33: Configuring CAR
The Life field in the schedule configuration specifies the number of days, weeks, or months
(depending on the type of the schedule) that the reports are stored on the system. Choose the
desired value; for example, for weeks, from 0 to 12. After the configured lifetime has elapsed,
CallManager deletes the reports.
■ For a CAR database alert (shown in Figure 33-14), the maximum number of rows in the
billing table is 2,000,000 rows. A notification is sent when 80 percent of the rows are used.
By default, the CAR administrator receives an e-mail, and the users specified in the CC field
are also notified. The predefined e-mail subject is “Alert for CAR database.” Also, the e-mail
message is predefined as “Number of rows in Billing table in the CAR database has crossed
the threshold limit.”
■ For a CDR database alert (shown in Figure 33-15), the alert mechanism works in the same
way, and the threshold is predefined at 80 percent also. The difference is that the maximum
number of rows is 1,500,000.
754 Chapter 33: Configuring CAR
Database Purges
Storage in the database is limited, so you must purge the database from time to time. To do this
operation manually in the Manual Database Purge configuration area, follow these steps:
Step 1 In CAR, choose System > Database > Manual Purge. The screen that
appears is illustrated in Figure 33-16. Choose the database in the Select
Database drop-down list. The two possible options are CAR and CDR.
Step 2 Choose the table to purge using the Select Table drop-down list. Possible
values are the CallDetailRecord, Tbl_Billing_Data, Tbl_Error_Log,
and Tbl_Purge_History tables. The Table Information button displays an
overview of the number of records in each of the tables and shows when the
first and last records were stored in the database.
Step 3 To delete records, use the Delete Records option. Database entries older
than the date specified in the Older Than field or from the range of dates
specified in the Between fields will be deleted.
Step 4 Click the Purge button.
System Database Configuration 755
In addition to the manual purge option, CallManager can purge the databases automatically by
configuring the parameters in the Configure Automatic Database Purge area. All data older than
the specified number of days will be deleted from the CDR or CAR database. In the example
illustrated in Figure 33-17, CallManager will automatically purge records in the database older
than 100 days.
In most cases, third-party products are used for billing. Make sure you do not purge the database
before the billing system has replicated the data. Some billing products are also able to delete the
data after a successful replication. Be aware that there is no way to restore the deleted database
entries after the purge. Automatic purging of both the CDR and CAR databases is disabled by
default.
A user can generate an individual bill in a summary or detailed form. To generate a report, the user
can use the Bills > Individual menu to access the screen shown in Figure 33-18. From here, they
can choose either the CSV or PDF report format, set the time range, and click the View Report
button. For a PDF report, Adobe Acrobat Reader must be installed on the PC from which the user
is browsing to CAR. To send the report by e-mail, the user can click the Send Report button.
Summary
This chapter discussed the use of the CDR Analysis and Reporting (CAR) utility. CAR was
formerly known as the Administrative Reporting Tool (ART) and comes as an optional utility. To
use it, you must install it on the publisher server from the plug-ins window. CallManager stores
the CDRs in the CallDetailRecord SQL table and the CMRs in the CallDetailRecordDiagnostic
SQL table.
Within the CAR utility, there are three levels of users: users, managers, and administrators.
Likewise, there are three different reports that are available: user, system, and device reports. You
should disable CDRs when you are upgrading Cisco CallManager because the resource utilization
can be high during CDR replication. In addition, the CDR database can grow quickly in a thriving
IP telephony network. You should purge the database regularly either manually or automatically.
Review Questions 759
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
Management and monitoring tools are available to help system administrators monitor,
troubleshoot, and manage the health of an IP telephony network. This chapter explains Cisco
CallManager tools such as dependency records, Password Changer tool, and Cisco Dialed
Number Analyzer. The Quality Report Tool (QRT), a tool used by end users to report IP phone
issues to administrators, is also covered.
■ Powerful tools to effectively manage the day-to-day customer care responsibilities of help-
desk personnel
■ CiscoWorks IP Phone Help Desk Utility (IPHDU) —Reports operational status and
implementation details about individual IP phones. It works in conjunction with IPIU to make
read-only access to Cisco IP Phone installation details available to help-desk personnel.
■ CiscoWorks ITEM Gateway Statistics Utility (GSU) —Collects performance and behavior
statistics about IP telephony gateways controlled by Cisco CallManager and Cisco IOS
software, which can be processed by third-party software to produce utilization and capacity
management reports.
■ CiscoWorks WAN Performance Utility (WPU) —Measures the performance, latency, and
availability of multiprotocol IP networks on an end-to-end and hop-by-hop (router-to-router)
basis.
CiscoWorks ITEM also provides real-time fault detection and determination about the underlying
Cisco IP fabric on which the IP telephony implementation executes. CiscoWorks ITEM reports
faults that occur on Cisco network devices, often identifying problems before users of network
services realize that a problem exists. CiscoWorks ITEM supports more than 200 types of the most
popular Cisco routers, switches, access servers, and hubs. For each of these supported devices,
CiscoWorks ITEM automatically looks for a broad spectrum of common problems at the device
and VLAN level, all without ever requiring operations managers to write rules or set polling or
threshold values. CiscoWorks ITEM can listen to traps or can send polls and pings to get
information for devices. CiscoWorks ITEM can send alerts and events automatically to an e-mail
client or a pager. To monitor the network, CiscoWorks ITEM can be accessed via a web-based
interface or a CiscoWorks desktop client.
Network management systems (NMSs) use Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), an
industry-standard interface, to exchange management information between network devices.
SNMPv1 and SNMPv2 have a number of common features, but SNMPv2 offers enhancements,
such as additional protocol operations. Standardization of SNMPv3 is pending.
SNMP Basics
An SNMP-managed network consists of three key components:
■ Managed devices—A managed device designates a network node that contains an SNMP
agent and resides on a managed network. Managed devices collect and store management
information and make it available by using SNMP.
■ NMSs—An NMS comprises an SNMP management application together with the computer
on which it runs. An NMS executes applications that monitor and control managed devices.
An NMS provides the bulk of the processing and memory resources that are required for
network management. These NMSs share compatibility with Cisco CallManager:
— CiscoWorks2000
— HP OpenView
— Third-party applications that support SNMP and Cisco CallManager SNMP
interfaces
This list specifies Cisco CallManager SNMP trap messages that are sent to an NMS that is
specified as a trap receiver:
Operation Definition
Get Allows the NMS to retrieve an object instance from the agent.
GetNext Allows the NMS to retrieve the next object instance from a table or list within an
agent. In SNMPv1, when an NMS wants to retrieve all elements of a table from an
agent, it initiates a Get operation, followed by a series of GetNext operations.
GetBulk Makes it easier to acquire large amounts of related information without initiating
repeated get-next operations. GetBulk (new in SNMPv2) was designed to virtually
eliminate the need for GetNext operations.
Set Allows the NMS to set values for object instances within an agent.
Trap Allows the agent to asynchronously inform the NMS of some event.
Inform Allows one NMS to send Trap information to another (new in SNMPv2).
Cisco CallManager supports SNMPv1 and SNMPv2. SNMPv1 lacks authentication capabilities
(SNMPv2 increases the security capabilities of SNMP, and SNMPv3 supports authentication and
encryption), which results in vulnerability to a variety of security threats:
■ Message sequence and timing modifications occur when an unauthorized entity reorders,
delays, or copies and later replays a message generated by an authorized entity.
■ Disclosure results when an unauthorized entity extracts values stored in managed objects, or
learns of notifiable events by monitoring exchanges between managers and agents.
Because SNMPv1 does not implement authentication, many vendors do not implement Set
operations, thus reducing SNMP to a monitoring facility.
The first thing you need to do to configure SNMP management is to enable SNMP access. Enable
access by configuring community strings, which act somewhat like passwords. The difference is
that there can be several community strings and that each of them can grant a different form of
access.
■ Read-only—Gives read access to all objects in the MIB except the community strings but
does not allow write access
■ Read-write—Gives read and write access to all objects in the MIB but does not allow access
to the community strings
■ Read-write-all—Gives read and write access to all objects in the MIB, including the
community strings
Step 1 Choose Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > Services.
Step 2 Choose the SNMP service, double-click the service name, and choose
Security.
Step 3 In the Security window, define community strings and assign them read
permission.
768 Chapter 34: Using Additional Management and Monitoring Tools
This would now be the read community string a remote system could use to view various attributes
of the Cisco CallManager server. In the example shown in Figure 34-2, the community string is
“item.”
Cisco Systems supports numerous Management Information Bases (MIBs) that organize and
distribute information for a variety of network management devices.
You can use the MIB table that supports Cisco CallManager to provide all of the management
interfaces for monitoring and managing your Cisco CallManager network. This MIB table is
periodically updated, reflecting the current status of your Cisco CallManager network:
■ CISCO-CDP-MIB—You can use the Cisco CallManager SNMP agent to implement the
Cisco Discovery Protocol MIB, CISCO-CDP-MIB. This MIB enables Cisco CallManager to
advertise itself to other Cisco devices on the network, allowing discovery of other Cisco
CallManager installations on the network.
NOTE To get more information about the MIB tables, go to Cisco.com and search for CISCO-
CCM-MIB.
Remote Management Tools 769
Syslog Overview
Syslog allows logging of events across the network to various destinations. It provides an orderly
presentation of information that assists in the diagnosis and troubleshooting of system problems.
Theses messages can be saved in a file or sent to, for example, a CiscoWorks server, a third-party
syslog server (such as Kiwi Syslog Daemon), or the host itself.
TIP Kiwi Syslog Daemon is a freeware Windows syslog server. It receives, logs, displays, and
forwards syslog messages from hosts, such as routers, switches, UNIX hosts, and any other
syslog-enabled device. For more information, go to http://www.kiwisyslog.com.
When the local host is used, Remote Syslog Analyzer Collector (RSAC) software must be
installed. RSAC can be installed on a remote UNIX or Microsoft Windows 2000 or Windows NT
machine to process syslog messages.
Table 34-2 lists alarm events that can be configured in the alarm trap.
The Cisco CallManager Serviceability Alarms window provides a web-based interface that has
two main functions:
Both functions assist the system administrator and support personnel in troubleshooting Cisco
CallManager problems. Alarms can be configured for Cisco CallManager servers in a cluster and
for services for each server, such as Cisco CallManager, Cisco TFTP, and Cisco CTIManager.
Alarms can be forwarded to a Serviceability Trace file. The administrator configures alarms and
trace parameters and provides the information to a Cisco TAC engineer. Administrators can direct
alarms to the Windows 2000 Event Log, syslog, SDI trace log file, SDL trace log file (for Cisco
CallManager and CTIManager only), or to all these destinations.
Dependency Records
In Cisco CallManager Administration, numerous configuration elements are referenced by other
elements (for example, a route pattern refers to a route list, which refers to a route group, which
refers to a gateway). In many cases, you cannot delete such elements if they are currently
referenced elsewhere in the system. It can be difficult and time consuming to find out which
configuration element is referencing the element that you are trying to delete. The mechanism that
allows you to determine, delete, change, or modify a record in Cisco CallManager is called
dependency records. Dependency records help you to determine which records in the Cisco
CallManager database use other records. For example, which devices (such as computer telephony
integration [CTI] route points or IP phones) use a particular calling search space?
To delete a record from Cisco CallManager, you can use dependency records to show which
records are associated with the record that you want to delete. You can then reconfigure those
records so that they are associated with a different record.
For example, the administrator tries to delete a device pool. A message is displayed that some
devices still use this pool. The administrator clicks the dependency records link to find out which
devices use this device pool.
CAUTION Displaying dependency records leads to high CPU usage and takes some time
because it executes in a low-priority thread. If you are monitoring CPU usage, you might see
high CPU usage alarms. To avoid possible performance issues, display dependency records only
during off-peak hours or during the next maintenance window. Close and reopen the web
browser for the parameter change to take effect.
NOTE If the dependency records are not enabled, the Dependency Records Summary window
displays a message stating that the Dependency Record feature is disabled (and also tells the
administrator how to enable this feature).
After you click the dependency records link in an administration window, you will see a list of all
records that refer to the item that you selected, as shown in Figure 34-6. This list is in summary
style and shows the depending records only by type and number. You can click an entry of the
summary list to view the detailed list of dependent records. You can click a single device in the
dependency records detail window to go to the configuration window of the device. To return to
the original configuration window, click the Back to <configuration window name> link.
774 Chapter 34: Using Additional Management and Monitoring Tools
■ Close—Closes the window but does not return to the Cisco CallManager configuration
window in which the user clicked the Dependency Records link.
■ Close and Go Back—Closes the window and returns to the Cisco CallManager configuration
window in which the user clicked the Dependency Records link.
(publisher and subscriber). For the other accounts, the password must be changed only on one
server in the cluster.
NOTE The CCMAdministrator account is used only when you are using MultiLevel
Administration (MLA). The Microsoft Windows administrator account is used when MLA is
not used. When you change the password for the Windows administrator account, you have to
use the new password when you log in to Cisco CallManager Administration. The Windows
administrator account cannot be changed with the Cisco Password Changer tool, whereas the
passwords for users in the DC Directory of Cisco CallManager can. When Cisco CallManager
is integrated in a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory, the users are
changed directly in the corresponding LDAP directory.
■ Directory Manager—Directory Manager is the superuser account for the integrated LDAP
database in Cisco IP telephony systems. In Cisco CallManager, it is the DC Directory.
A dial plan can be very complex, involving multiple devices, translation patterns, route patterns,
route lists, route groups, calling- and called-party transformations, and device-level
transformations. Because of this complexity, a dial plan can contain errors. You can use the Dialed
Number Analyzer to test a dial plan by providing dialed digits as input. The tool analyzes the
dialed digits and shows details of the calls. You can use these results to diagnose the dial plan,
identify problems, if any, and tune the dial plan before it is deployed.
Cisco Dialed Number Analyzer 777
The Cisco Dialed Number Analyzer runs as a service that can be accessed from the server on
which it is installed or from a remote PC. It runs as a low priority and does not affect Cisco
CallManager performance. With the Cisco Dialed Number Analyzer tool, you can analyze various
types of calls, such as IP phone-to-IP phone, gateway-to-IP phone, IP phone-to-gateway, and
gateway-to-gateway calls. Furthermore, you can analyze calls to feature-specific patterns, such as
CTI route points or pilot points.
The Dialed Number Analyzer tool can be installed from the Cisco CallManager Plugins web page
at Application > Install Plugins > Cisco Dialed Number Analyzer. After you have installed the
tool, you can access it at https://<cmaddress>/dna, where <cmaddress> specifies the node name
or IP address of the device on which the Dialed Number Analyzer is installed. In the User Name
field, enter a valid user ID and a password (for the administrator account to get access to Cisco
CallManager Administration). The Dialed Number Analyzer window shown in Figure 34-8 should
appear.
NOTE The Windows administrator account must be used to access the Cisco Dialed Number
Analyzer even if you have the Cisco MultiLevel Administrator (MLA) installed with Cisco
CallManager.
778 Chapter 34: Using Additional Management and Monitoring Tools
As shown in Figure 34-9, a call between 4015 and 4010 with the calling search space IntLocCSS
is analyzed. The Calling Party and the Dialed Digits fields are mandatory. When you want to test,
for example, time-of-day routing, you can specify a time zone as well. After you have chosen all
values, click the Do Analysis button to start the analysis.
The result of the analyzed call between 4015 and 4010 is displayed in a compact version, as shown
in Figure 34-10. For complete information, click the Expand All button. The match result
information is the first point to check. Is the call routed correctly or is it restricted?
RouteThisPattern means that the call is routed correctly.
Cisco Dialed Number Analyzer 779
Administrators can configure Cisco IP Phones with QRT, which is installed as part of the Cisco
CallManager installation, so that users can report problems with IP phone calls. Users report
issues by using a Cisco IP Phone softkey that is labeled QRT. Any Cisco IP Phone that supports
an HTTP web server also includes support for QRT. The IP phone must be in the Connected,
Connected Conference, Connected Transfer, or On Hook state for the QRT softkey to be available.
QRT is a feature that extends to Cisco IP Phones as a Microsoft Windows NT service. Cisco
Extended Functions, which supports the QRT feature, must be enabled in the Cisco CallManager
service activation window. To enable Cisco Extended Functions, choose Cisco CallManager
Serviceability > Tools > Service Activation and activate the service called Cisco Extended
Functions.
When a user presses the QRT softkey, as shown in Figure 34-11, QRT displays a feedback
window. It is possible that while the user is interacting with the QRT screen, another application,
such as Cisco Call Back or Cisco IP Manager Assistant (IPMA), or function keys, such as settings,
directories, messages, and so on, could overwrite the QRT screen. In this situation, QRT cannot
send the feedback. To send feedback in such cases, the user has to press the QRT softkey again.
If a user presses the QRT softkey to generate a report and forgets to stop the logging process (the
user must manually stop the logging process by pressing the End softkey on the Cisco IP Phone),
the QRT tool periodically checks all IP phones that are generating reports and closes them. This
action prevents the device from consuming large amounts of resources that, over time, could
impact CTI performance. Currently, the default setting is to check every hour and to close devices
that have remained open for more than an hour.
QRT records are written only when the end user presses the QRT softkey on the IP phone, selects
a problem, and sends the report to the administrator. Otherwise, no records are written and the
administrator cannot troubleshoot the problem. The figure shows the logging process of an audio
call between two IP phones.
Quality Report Tool 781
Depending on how the system administrator configured QRT for the Cisco IP Phone, users can use
the QRT softkey in either of the two ways described in Table 34-4.
Issue What To Do
To quickly report an audio Your IP phone system will collect and log call data for the
problem with a current call while current call and route this information to your system
on a call, press More > QRT. administrator.
To report a problem with your Select the problem that you want to report from the list of
phone calls, press More > QRT. problem categories. Some problem categories include a reason
code that you can select to provide more details about the
problem. Your IP phone system will store the information in a
database or file and the administrator can run reports to
diagnose the problem.
When the administrator modifies the softkey templates to activate the QRT softkey, the softkey
should be added to the following call states:
■ Connected
■ Connected Conference
■ Connected Transfer
■ On Hook
NOTE QRT collects streaming data only once per call. Therefore, if user A calls user B and
both submit reports for that call, only the first report includes streaming data (for example, delay,
jitter, and ports being used).
Quality Report Tool 783
Step 5 From the List of Fields drop-down menu, select the fields that you want to
include in the report and click the down arrow to move the selected fields
to the Selected Fields pane.
The QRT output displays all IP phone problems for the specified time frame. For the filters set in
the query, all issues within the time frame are displayed. In Figure 34-15, two QRT reports
matched the submitted query. One of the QRT reports came from extension 4015 and the other
from extension 4010.
When you choose All from the Category field, all problems are displayed. The Category and
Reason Code columns are the areas that you should look at first. These two columns describe the
problem and the reason. The output can be saved in a Comma-Separated Values (CSV) file.
NOTE Because QRT reports are based only on entries in the QRT database and records are
added to that database only if a user presses the QRT softkey, QRT cannot detect any problems
on its own; it relies completely on user activity.
Summary 785
Summary
This chapter discussed the use of additional CallManager management tools, such as CiscoWorks
ITEM, SNMP, and syslog. CiscoWorks ITEM is a suite of tools to monitor devices in an IP
telephony network. SNMP and syslog are standards-based monitoring and alerting protocols used
across nearly all Cisco platforms.
Cisco CallManager dependency records help in determining which devices are associated with
other devices. The Password Changer tool can change passwords of CCMSysUser,
CCMAdministrator, IPMASysUser, and Directory Manager with an easy-to-use interface. The
Dialed Number Analyzer tool helps diagnose, tune, and trace dial plans. QRT helps administrators
identify and resolve problems in an IP telephony network. End users can use QRT to send errors
and call information to the administrator.
786 Chapter 34: Using Additional Management and Monitoring Tools
Review Questions
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, “Answers to Review Questions.”
Chapter 1
1. B
The Cisco Unified Communications strategy focuses around designing network equipment
equipped with the hardware resources and software features to handle a converged network
environment.
2. B
The Cisco CallManager is part of the call-processing layer. This layer is responsible for the
call routing intelligence behind the IP telephony network.
3. A, B, and D
The Cisco CallManager is responsible for call processing, signaling and device control, dial
plan administration, phone feature administration, directory services, and a programming
interface to external applications.
4. C
The Cisco CallManager uses the proprietary Skinny signaling to communicate with the
Cisco IP Phones.
5. A, B, and D
The Cisco CallManager is responsible for handling all call-processing functions between
Cisco IP Phones. The only communication element Cisco IP Phones are capable of
handling alone is the streaming of RTP audio (spoken voice) between devices.
6. A and C
Cisco CallManager runs using Windows 2000 and SQL 2000 as foundation operating
system components. Windows 2000 provides base functionality, whereas SQL 2000 acts as
the database store and replication agent for the information that drives the IP telephony
network.
7. A
Cisco includes a very simple user-management system called DC Directory to store user
information for the IP telephony network.
792 Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
8. C
The Cisco MCS 7825 can support a maximum of 1000 IP Phones. Because of its lack of
redundant hardware, it is typically used in lab environments and small network deployments.
9. False
Cisco CallManager requires you to maintain a user directory primarily for advanced
configuration features such as Extension Mobility and the IP SoftPhone.
10. B and C
By default, Cisco IP Phones use Skinny signaling to communicate with the Cisco
CallManager server. Optionally, you can download a SIP image for the phone to allow it to
operate under the Cisco SIP Proxy Server or with a third-party management system.
Chapter 2
1. A, B, C and D
All four of these are valid Cisco CallManager designs. E is incorrect because you need at least
one call-processing agent in each cluster.
2. A
A 1:1 redundancy design offers maximum redundancy because each Cisco CallManager
involved in call processing has a dedicated backup server. This model is often very cost
prohibitive to most companies.
3. C and D
Although using a single cluster over WAN connections has very strict delay and bandwidth
requirements, there are plenty of benefits. A common dial plan across all sites allows the
network administrator to create a single dial plan, which replicates to all remote sites. In
addition, if a Cisco CallManager fails, the IP Phones can failover to a Cisco CallManager
server at another site, maintaining their full feature set.
4. B and C
Every Cisco CallManager cluster should have at least two servers, which allows call
processing to continue should a single server fail. The data of the voice network is made
redundant through the SQL database replication that occurs between servers in the cluster.
5. B
There can only be a single publisher server for the entire Cisco CallManager cluster. This is
a SQL 2000 database restriction as the SQL publisher maintains the only writable copy of the
database.
Chapter 3 793
6. C
A Cisco CallManager cluster supports a single SQL publisher and up to eight SQL subscriber
servers.
7. B
Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST) is absolutely necessary in a centralized Cisco
CallManager design. SRST supports the remote IP Phones, providing PSTN calling access if
the WAN connection fails.
8. True
If the Cisco CallManager server at a location fails, the IP Phones can failover to another Cisco
CallManager server at a remote site.
9. A and C
The H.323 gatekeeper and SIP proxy server have the ability to be the centralized point of dial
plan information. This keeps the network administrator from having to re-create the network
dial plan at each of the sites.
10. E
Cisco will support a maximum cluster size of 30,000 IP Phones in Cisco CallManager 4.0.
This large cluster size was introduced in Cisco CallManager version 3.3 and was a
tremendous increase from earlier Cisco CallManager versions.
Chapter 3
1. C
Cisco CallManager installs using Windows 2000 as a foundation operating system.
2. D and E
By default, all Subscriber servers install with the IIS web services enabled. This opens a point
of access for a potential intruder. In addition, it consumes resources on the server that could
be used for other mission-critical services that the Cisco CallManager provides.
3. B
The Hardware Detection disk allows the installation program to determine which operating
system software image is appropriate for your MCS platform. The Hardware Detection disk
only recognizes Cisco-approved hardware.
794 Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
4. C
To install multiple servers into a cluster, you must first configure hostname resolution. The
most common method is through DNS; however, if DNS is unavailable, you can statically
type a LMHOSTS file on each of the servers, which is nothing more than a text file mapping
hostnames to IP addresses.
5. A, B, and E
The following services are not typically used on a production Cisco CallManager server
platform:
— DHCP client
— Fax service
— FTP Publishing Service
— Smart Card
— Smart Card Helper
— Computer browser
— Distributed File System
— License Logging Service
6. C
The Set Default button activates the minimum services necessary to run the Cisco
CallManager in a single-server configuration.
7. B
After the Cisco CallManager installation has completed, you should activate all services the
Cisco CallManager will use. If you apply any configuration before you activate the services,
unpredictable results can occur.
Chapter 4
1. A and D
Modern Cisco IP Phones support the G.711 (64 Kbps) and G.729 (8 Kbps) codecs. The old
Cisco IP Phones acquired directly from Selsius supported the G.711 and G.723 (6.3 Kbps)
codecs.
Chapter 4 795
2. A and D
Because Cisco was one of the first companies to market with IP Phone technology, the Power
over Ethernet (PoE) standard was not fully developed. Because of this, Cisco created its own,
prestandard inline power. In modern times, the IEEE has solidified the 802.3af inline power
standard. The Cisco IP Phone 7961G supports both of these inline power standards.
3. B, C, and E
The Cisco IP Phone 7905 and Cisco ATA 186 do not have built-in Ethernet switches; rather,
they terminate a 10BASE-T Ethernet connection. The Cisco IP Phone 7912 is exactly the
same as the 7905 but supplies the built-in 10/100 Ethernet switch. The same is true of the
Cisco ATA 188.
4. C
The Cisco 7980 is the only IP Phone that provides built-in video-processing capabilities.
5. A, C, D, and B
When the IP Phone goes through the boot process, it initially obtains inline power using the
Cisco prestandard or IEEE 802.3af. From there, it loads its built-in firmware image, which
directs it to receive VLAN information through CDP. After it has a VLAN assignment, it
broadcasts for a DHCP address, which also contains the TFTP server hostname or address. It
then contacts the TFTP server to download its configuration file.
6. C
DHCP Option 150 is used to deliver the IP address of a TFTP server to a Cisco IP Phone.
DHCP Option 66 is used to deliver the hostname of a TFTP server to a Cisco IP Phone.
7. A
Most Cisco IP Phones (all except the 7902G) support XML processing, which is an industry
standard for storing data with processing and formatting options.
8. A and D
The Cisco IP Phone 7961 supports both the Cisco prestandard and 802.3af inline power,
whereas the 7960 supports only the Cisco prestandard. In addition, the Cisco 7961 IP Phone
adds support for Gigabit Ethernet connections.
9. C
The Cisco ATA 188 provides two Foreign Exchange Station (FXS) ports that allow you to
convert up to two analog devices into VoIP devices.
796 Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
10. A
The Cisco IP Phone 7902G is the most cost-effective, single-line IP Phone available from
Cisco. It is the only IP Phone not equipped with a display screen, so the features are limited
to that of a standard analog-style device.
Chapter 5
You can find the solutions to these questions in Appendix A, "Answers to Review Questions."
1. B, C, C, E, and F
Although a device pool can assign other settings, Cisco CallManager absolutely requires
these elements to create a device pool.
2. B
A Cisco IP Phone 7960 only has a total of six line/speed dial buttons available, which
immediately eliminates answers C and D. The IP Phone must have at least one line button
assigned to it, which eliminates answer A. Answer B represents the default phone button
template assigned to the Cisco IP Phone 7960.
3. B
To configure auto-registration, you must access the System > Cisco CallManager
configuration screen and access the server for which you want to perform the auto-
registration. Once there, you can define the range of extensions that the Cisco CallManager
should assign to the Cisco IP Phones.
4. D
The Cisco CallManager ties configuration information to IP Phones through the MAC
address. This is one of the most difficult aspects of adding Cisco IP Phones to the SQL
database.
5. A
The Region configuration allows you to define the codec used to communicate within the IP
Phone’s region (typically a LAN environment) and with other regions (typically
communicating over the WAN).
6. B
By changing the hostnames to IP addresses under the System > Server menu, the Cisco
CallManager will automatically update the TFTP server configuration files to use IP
addresses rather than hostnames. This eliminates an IP Phone’s reliance on DNS.
Chapter 6 797
7. D
The Cisco IP Phone uses a list of up to three redundant Cisco CallManagers for registration.
This is known as its CallManager Group.
8. C
You cannot modify or delete the default CMLocal date/time group. IP Phones using this date/
time group will use the same time and time zone the Cisco CallManager is using.
9. B
The softkey template governs the feature buttons available to the user on the bottom of their
IP Phone display.
10. A, B, and C
All of these three methods allow you to obtain the MAC address of the Cisco IP Phone.
Although the phone does also support a web interface where the MAC address can be found,
it does not support Telnet capabilities.
Chapter 6
1. B
To access the user web pages, you can use the URL http://<CCM IP Address>/CCMUser/
logon.asp. The most recent versions of CallManager also allow you to enable SSL support for
the user web pages.
2. C
DC Directory is compatible with the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). This is
a standard method for querying and modifying user database storage.
3. False
The IP telephony network will function correctly without the need for a user database.
However, to gain advanced application support and to allow users to modify their own phone
features through a web-based interface, you should add user database support to the network.
4. B, C, D, E, and H
These fields are all required when creating a user who is able to use a Cisco Softphone
application. The “SoftPhone Support Enabled” is not a valid option on the user creation web
page.
5. A and C
To configure a Cisco IP Phone through the CCMUser web pages, a user must have a valid user
account created for them in the Cisco CallManager database and that account must be
associated with at least one Cisco IP Phone.
798 Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
6. D
To use both the personal address book and fast dial features, the user must first subscribe to
the appropriate XML services. These services will then be made available by pressing the
Services button on the Cisco IP Phone.
7. A
The default Message Waiting Lamp policy for the Cisco CallManager system configured on
each Cisco IP Phone is to use the system policy. The system policy default setting is to always
light the lamp and prompt the user.
8. False
Cisco CallManager only ships with one language: English. You can download additional
languages from Cisco as needed.
9. C
After subscribing to the fast dial service, a user can configure their IP Phone with up to 99 fast
dial codes associated to users in their personal address book.
10. A
The CCMUser pages only provide the Call Forward All option to the user. Call Forward Busy
and Call Forward No Answer are available from the CCMAdmin pages.
Chapter 7
1. C, D, and F
You can use Cisco’s BAT to insert IP Phones, users, device profiles, IPMA managers and
assistants, Catalyst 6000 FXS ports, VG200 analog ports, client matter codes, forced
authorization codes, Call Pickup groups, and phone certificates.
2. B
Auto-registration is used to allow newly installed Cisco IP Phones to gain a temporary
extension that the user or administrator can use to dial in to the TAPS extension to configure
their IP Phone.
3. B and C
To perform a successful device import using BAT, you must use a comma-separated value
(CSV) text file to define unique device values and a valid device template specifying common
device settings.
4. D
This Excel spreadsheet eases the CSV file creation process and is always stored in the
directory C:\CiscoWebs\BAT\ExcelTemplate.
Chapter 8 799
5. A
The Cisco BAT utility will only install on the Publisher server because it makes changes
directly to the SQL database.
6. A
The device template can define many line settings, but BAT will only configure the lines you
have specified in the CSV file. The trouble occurs when you have more lines defined in the
CSV file than exist in the device template. If this situation occurs, BAT will cut off the number
of lines on the device to equal that of the device template.
7. C
The Create Dummy MAC Address check box generates random MAC addresses for the IP
Phones and saves them in the CallManager database. The administrator can then manually
update the entries or use TAPS to automate the process.
8. B
You can accomplish bulk updates using a query in the BAT utility. A query can match devices
based on any number of criteria. You can then specify the setting you want to change on the
matched devices (music on hold, in this case).
9. B
TAPS relies on the Customer Response Application, which manages the automated prompt
and update process for the user.
10. A and D
CSV files are simply text files containing data separated by commas. Cisco has included the
Microsoft Excel template to make the generation of these files easier. However, an
administrator can define their own CSV format by manually creating a CSV file using a
simple text editor, such as Microsoft Notepad.
Chapter 8
1. E
The syntax to turn on PoE on a CatOS-based switch is set port inline power mod/port auto.
2. B, C, and D
Cisco Catalyst switches have the ability to provide PoE (both 802.3af and the Cisco
prestandard) and handle CoS tagging on incoming packets (both on the data and voice
VLANs).
800 Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
3. A, B, and D
To support dual VLANs on a single port, you must configure the port with voice and access
VLANs and use the trunk tagging mechanism (802.1Q) to mark the packets. Of course, the
IP Phone must also have an internal switch to support an additional device (such as a PC)
connection.
4. A, C, and E
Cisco IP Phones can be powered through wall power (using an additional power brick sold
separately from the IP Phone), Cisco prestandard PoE, or the Cisco Power Patch Panel
(midspan power injection). All Cisco IP Phones do not yet support the IEEE 802.3af PoE
standard. This support will be added as newer models are released.
5. D
802.3af is the IEEE industry standard for PoE.
6. C
The Catalyst 3750 uses the NativeIOS operating system. The set-based syntax only applies to
the CatOS. In addition, there is no “on” mechanism for inline power, rather, only an auto-
detect mechanism exists.
7. B and C
Dual VLAN configurations can only be accomplished using the 802.1Q tagging mechanism.
When deploying this configuration on a 6500 series switch running the CatOS, you must use
the auxiliary VLAN configurations. Voice VLAN configurations apply to the NativeIOS.
8. D
When you enable the auxiliary VLAN on a CatOS switch, the tagging mechanism handles the
trunk configuration for you. No further configuration is needed.
9. C
A Cisco IP Phone tags all voice traffic using a CoS marking of 5. This is the highest user-
defined marking Cisco recommends.
10. B
Attached devices are considered untrusted (by default) by a Cisco IP Phone. This means that
the Cisco IP Phone will mark traffic with a CoS value of 0, unless otherwise specified by the
administrator.
Chapter 9 801
Chapter 9
1. A and D
Foreign Exchange Station (FXS) ports connect to analog station endpoints (such as fax
machines, modems, and telephones). Foreign Exchange Office (FXO) ports connect to the
PSTN or act as PBX trunk connections. The third type of analog interface (E&M) is not listed
in the question.
2. B and D
Cisco Catalyst switches have the ability to provide PoE (both 802.3af and the Cisco
prestandard) and handle CoS tagging on incoming packets (both on the data and voice
VLANs).
3. B and C
All Cisco IP Phones use Skinny signaling to communicate with the Cisco CallManager, but
only the router-like device that uses Skinny is the VG200 series. This is because the VG200
series acts as a number of end devices with numerous FXS ports.
4. D
The correct wildcard to use on voice gateway devices is the “.” which matches any dialed
digit. When configuring route patterns on the Cisco CallManager, you use the “X” wildcard
to accomplish this same thing.
5. C
The Call Classification feature gives you the ability to distinguish and monitor OnNet and
OffNet calls through the gateway. Using this information, you can prevent toll-fraud
techniques using conference calls and transfers.
6. B
When configuring an MGCP router, you can use the syntax mgcp call-agent ip_address to
designate the primary Cisco CallManager. You can use the ccm-manager redundant-host
syntax to designate the secondary and tertiary Cisco CallManager servers. The tertiary
CallManager in this syntax is 10.1.1.6.
7. A and B
You can configure a switch running the NativeIOS using the same configuration as you would
a standard voice gateway. Non-IOS MGCP is used if the 6500 Catalyst switch is running the
CatOS operating system.
8. B
Trunk configurations are logical links to other networks. They have the ability to determine
the location of an endpoint, but do not carry voice traffic. Gateways also act as logical links
to other networks, but the CallManager also uses them to route voice traffic.
802 Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
9. B
Gatekeepers ease configuration of Intercluster Trunk connections by providing a central point
of trunking. Without a gatekeeper, every CallManager cluster must have an Intercluster Trunk
connection to every other cluster in a full-mesh relationship. Unfortunately, gatekeepers also
introduce a single point of failure in the network, which is why you should consider additional
failover mechanisms for this device.
10. C
CallManager uses the H.225 Registration, Admission, and Status (RAS) protocol to
communicate with the gatekeeper. You can think of this as a conversation protocol that allows
the CallManager to determine the location of an endpoint and the authority to send the call.
Chapter 10
1. D
CallManager route plans are always configured from the bottom-up. Devices/trunks come
first, then route groups, route lists, and, finally, route patterns.
2. False
You can only configure digit manipulation to occur at the route list and route pattern levels.
This is why you should group similar devices together in the same route group: All devices in
the route group will have the same digit manipulation settings applied.
3. A
After a device has been assigned to a route group, it is made unavailable to any other
configurations. If you want to use a device for multiple route patterns, associate its route
group with multiple route lists. You can only associate devices directly with route patterns if
you are not already using those devices in a route group.
4. C
Voice gateways are used to bridge VoIP networks to either non-VoIP networks (such as the
PSTN) or to other VoIP networks.
5. A
Route groups contain a list of gateways to use in precedence order.
6. B, C, and D
The ! wildcard represents a variable-length string, the . wildcard represents a single digit, and
the @ wildcard represents the entire NANP. The * is not a wildcard as it represents just the *
digit on a telephone keypad.
Chapter 11 803
7. C
Route lists contain an ordered list of route groups that CallManager should use when it
matches a route pattern.
8. E
When digits are contained within braces, they match only a single digit in the extension. In
this case, [45] could be read in plain English as, “Four or Five” (mentally insert a comma
between the digits).
9. B
To stop the secondary dial tone, you need to remove the check from the Provide Outside
Dial-Tone check box for the route pattern. It is checked by default when the route pattern is
created.
10. C and D
The X wildcard matches any dialed digit, whereas the ! wildcard matches any variable-length
dial string (zero digits or more). By placing the 7XX before the !, the CallManager expects to
see at least three dialed digits followed by any number of digits.
Chapter 11
1. D
Translation patterns are defined to provide a “translation of last resort.” CallManager
processes them just before it routes a call. After the translation pattern has modified the dialed
digits, CallManager sends the transformed digits through digit analysis again.
2. C
The DN 0111 passes through the right-justified X wildcards. The result is that the
CallManager prepends the 972555 to the 0111 and sends 9725550111 as the CLID
information.
3. B
The predot digit discard instructions remove all dialed digits before the period.
4. A
You must apply the route filter to either a route pattern or a translation pattern for it to take
effect. After you have applied it to a route pattern, you must select either Route This Pattern
or Block This Pattern to define the allow or deny action.
804 Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
5. A
The 11D@10D digit discard instruction takes an 11-digit long-distance number and converts
it to a 10-digit number. This is typically used for toll-bypass purposes.
6. D
Applying a calling-party transformation mask of 8 causes all caller ID information to be
replaced and become just the digit 8. To prefix an 8 using a transformation mask, wildcard
digits (X) would be necessary.
7. B
Called-party transformation masks always transform the dialed-number information.
8. D
The order of application of digit translation applies the transformation mask before the prefix
digits, causing the resulting caller ID to display as 5555123.
9. D
In this case, you have created a routing loop within the CallManager. The route pattern
prefixes an 8 to the 4xxx dialed numbers and the translation pattern strips the 8 and returns
the digits to the CallManager for processing. The call will loop ten times through the
CallManager route plan and then return a fast busy signal.
10. B
Calling-party transformations change caller ID information, whereas called-party
transformations change dialed-number information.
Chapter 12
1. B
If you have checked the Use Personal Preferences check box in the Hunt Forward Settings
section of the Hunt Pilot Configuration window, CallManager will check the Call Forward No
Coverage settings for the original called number that forwarded the call to the hunt pilot. If
you have not defined a number for this setting, the caller will receive a reorder tone when
CallManager attempts to forward the call.
2. A
Using the top-down distribution algorithm causes the Cisco CallManager to distribute the
incoming call to the first member of the line group and work down if the parties are
unavailable. If you were using the circular distribution algorithm, the call would have been
distributed to party 4 because party 3 received the last call.
Chapter 12 805
3. B
The maximum hunt timer always overrides the RNA reversion timeout configured on the line
group. In this case, the call would only hunt through the first three members of the group
before the call reached the maximum timer of 15 seconds.
4. A, B, and C
To configure a hunt group, you must first configure a line group, which groups member DNs
together. Then, you must set up a hunt list, which orders one or more line groups together.
Finally, you must configure a hunt pilot pointing to the hunt list.
5. B
Available lines are serving an active call but can accept a new call. Idle lines are those
categorized as not serving any calls at this time.
6. B
The broadcast distribution algorithm rings all members of the line group at the same time. The
first one to retrieve the incoming call will receive it.
7. A
The Stop Hunting selection causes the CallManager to use just the first member DN in the
line group and stop if the member is unavailable.
8. E
By checking the Use Personal Preferences check box, CallManager ignores any call forward
settings defined under the hunt pilot. Instead, it looks to the Call Forward No Coverage
section of the original called party that triggered the call to the hunt group.
9. A
Hunt groups are configured from the bottom up, just like the CallManager route plan. You
must first add member DNs to the CallManager configuration, then group them into a line
group, followed by the hunt list and hunt pilot.
10. B
By default, CallManager matches the hunt pilot DN and hunts through the members listed in
all line groups defined in the hunt list. This could take a considerable amount of time if there
are many members or line groups configured.
806 Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
Chapter 13
1. C and E
When configuring time-of-day routing, you must apply a time schedule to the partition
containing the DNs you want to restrict by time of day. You must also configure the partition
for the correct time zone (or choose to use the local time zone of the phone placing the call).
2. B
You can apply time-of-day calling restrictions only to the calling party through a calling
search space. Because of this, the time period should be configured to allow calls from 08:00
to 17:00 Monday to Friday and the time zone of user A.
3. B, D, and E
Any DN-assigned item can be assigned to a partition. Phones and gateways are not assigned
DNs; phone lines, route patterns, and translation patterns are assigned DNs (directory number
is used synonymously with phone line).
4. A
The correct order of Class of Service configuration is as follows: DNs are placed in partitions;
partitions are placed in calling search spaces; and calling search spaces are assigned to the
calling device.
5. A, B, and C
If you have assigned a calling search space to both the IP Phone and its directory number, the
calling search spaces are combined where the directory number takes precedence. Route
patterns are not calling devices and cannot be assigned a calling search space.
6. B
CallManager processes the call by looking through the partitions in the calling search space
from the top of the list to the bottom. To save on processing time, you should place the more
frequently used partitions at the top of the user list. You can also use the ordered processing
feature to implement access-list-like calling restrictions.
7. D
Time periods are created first and added to time schedules, which are then assigned to a
partition.
8. A
CallManager will allow you to create identical, duplicate route patterns provided you have
assigned them to different partitions. Likewise, you can only assign a route pattern to one
partition. In this example, you must create two sets of PSTN route patterns. One set should be
added to the partition restricted by the 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. time schedule. The other set
Chapter 14 807
should be added to a partition not restricted by a time schedule. A calling search space
containing the restricted partition is then assigned to the users limited to 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
PSTN calling and a calling search space containing the unrestricted partition is assigned to
the users able to reach the PSTN anytime.
9. C
Time-of-day restrictions can only be applied to partitions. These partitions are then added to
a user’s calling search space, at which point the CallManager applies them.
10. D
Time periods allow you to configure recurring days by selecting either “Repeat Every Week
From…” or “Repeat Every Year On…”. In this case, we would choose to Repeat Every Year
On December 25th.
Chapter 14
1. B
Configuring an IOS-based gatekeeper eliminates the need to configure a full-mesh
Intercluster Trunk relationship between disparate Cisco CallManager clusters in your
organization. Instead, all the clusters can trunk directly to the H.323 gatekeeper, which
provides a centralized point of admission and bandwidth control.
2. B
Router-based QoS mechanisms are not designed to handle CAC. If the CallManager routes
too many calls over the IP WAN, the voice quality for all calls will degrade.
3. B and D
In a distributed call-control environment, an independent device is needed to manage
admission and bandwidth control. This responsibility falls on the H.323 gatekeeper device.
The Cisco CallManager only manages these functions in a centralized call deployment.
4. C
The IP Phones are assigned to a device pool, which points to an SRST Reference. This SRST
Reference contains the IP address of the gateway running SRST or points the IP Phone to its
default gateway. This configuration is sent to the IP Phone when it first registers with the
Cisco CallManager.
5. D
Cisco CallManager deducts 24 kbps for each call in a location-based CAC deployment. Using
this calculation, you can find that five calls consume 120 kbps, fitting nicely over a 128-kbps
connection.
808 Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
6. A, B, and E
When AAR reroutes a call over the PSTN, CallManager takes the original DN of the IP Phone
and combines it with the external phone number mask. The resulting number is then
prepended with whatever additional digits are specified under the AAR group and forwarded
over the PSTN.
7. C
To configure SRST, you first enter the command call-manager-fallback from global
configuration mode. The router then places you in a subconfiguration mode where the
additional settings can be specified.
8. B
AAR will use the external phone number mask configured under Phone B’s DN to complete
the call. This mask prepends the necessary digits to the DN, at which point the AAR group
prepends any additional digits that might be required to exit the PSTN gateway and
CallManager routes the call across the PSTN.
9. D
Before AAR configurations can take effect, the feature must be enabled clusterwide. This is
accomplished from the Service > Service Parameters > Cisco CallManager Configuration
window.
10. D
AAR is meant to act as a call redirection mechanism for location-based bandwidth
restrictions. It does not reroute calls during a WAN failure. Although any of these answers
could cause AAR redirection to fail, answer D is the most likely explanation.
Chapter 15
1. C
MRGLs are an ordered list of MRGs. The MRGs contain the media resources in the Cisco
CallManager cluster. By assigning a MRGL to a device, you grant access to whatever
resources are contained in the MRGs the MRGL contains.
2. B and C
The Media Resource Manager (MRM) manages all resources in the CallManager cluster. The
software-based resources are all grouped under the Voice Media Streaming Application,
which is activated in a Cisco CallManager server. Transcoding is one example of a hardware-
based resource.
Chapter 16 809
3. A
Hardware-based conference bridge resources are identified to the CallManager by their MAC
address. Most of the configuration for these resources takes place on the resource itself.
4. B
The Voice Media Streaming Application is a service that runs on the Cisco CallManager
servers. It allows the CallManager server to participate in all media resource functionality,
including conferencing, media termination point, music on hold, and annunciator.
5. B
Network hold MoH is played anytime a person is placed on hold because of a network-related
function. These functions include conference calls, transfers, and Call Park. User hold MoH
sources are only played when the user literally presses the hold button on their IP Phone.
6. A
The Cisco CallManager server creates individual unicast streams for IP Phone users.
Multicast support must be configured on a per-server and per-audio source basis.
7. B
When a MRGL is assigned at both the device pool and IP Phone level, the MRGL on the IP
Phone takes precedence. The MGM will use the MTP resource listed first in the first MRG of
the IP Phone MRGL.
8. B
By default, the media resources are assigned to the default MRG, which cannot be modified
or deleted. The MRM will use a round-robin load-balancing system for these resources.
9. E
Because of the amount of processor resources consumed by session transcoding, this function
is limited to hardware-based digital signal processor (DSP) resources.
10. C
The fixed audio source is always assigned audio source ID 51. This audio source ID must be
linked to a fixed sound device in the CallManager server before it becomes active.
Chapter 16
1. A and D
After an administrator has configured IP phone Services to be made available to the users, the
users can subscribe to them through the User Options pages (http://<ccm_server_ip>/
ccmuser). After the user has subscribed to the services, they can access them by pressing the
Services button on the IP phone.
810 Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
2. B, C, and F
You can assign softkey templates to an individual IP phone (at the device level), to a group of
IP phones (at the device pool level), or to all auto-registered IP phones (at the device defaults
level).
3. B
The transfer functionality works just fine without administrator configuration, provided you
have provisioned MTP resources for the cluster.
4. A
When a user performs a direct transfer (DirTrfr), the user making the transfer stays out of the
call. This uses minimal cluster resources to accomplish the task.
5. B
Barge only functions when multiple users are using the same line (shared line appearance).
6. D
Auto answer capabilities are configured on a per-DN basis. They allow a user to answer a
ringing phone automatically using either a headset or speakerphone.
7. C
Michael will hear a dial tone. The busy trigger configuration for a shared extension will
restrict any additional incoming calls after the line usage has reached the defined number.
Only the maximum calls parameter can restrict outbound calls.
8. B
Because you cannot modify the built-in softkey templates in Cisco CallManager, the only
solution is to create a new softkey template, add the Call Back softkey to the Ring Out and
On Hook call states, and assign the softkey template to all users in your organization.
9. B
Group Call Pickup allows users to pick up a ringing phone located within their own Call
Pickup Group or another Call Pickup Group. Standard Call Pickup allows users to pick up a
ringing phone located within their Call Pickup Group. Other Group Call Pickup allows users
to pick up a ringing phone in their pickup group or another pickup group without dialing a
group number. Call Park allows users to pick up a call on hold by dialing the appropriate
extension.
10. C
Conference Barge (cBarge) allows a user to barge in a call and use dedicated conference
resources to maintain the call. Furthermore, the on-screen display shows the user entering a
conference. The standard Barge feature uses the built-in conference capabilities of Cisco IP
Phones and does not show the user as being in a conference call.
Chapter 17 811
Chapter 17
1. D
When configuring the Cisco CallManager Extension Mobility feature, you must create a
device profile for all users who plan on using the Extension Mobility capabilities. This device
profile is then associated with the user account.
2. A and C
CallManager transmits the MCID messages over a PRI connection. These messages are sent
to a MCID-Terminating (T) device on the PSTN from an MCID-Originating (O) device.
3. F
If a user enters the incorrect CMC, the CallManager requires them to hang up and attempt the
call again.
4. B, D, E, and G
By permitting the Connected Name and Line information, User A will be able to see the
information of the room they are calling. By restricting the Calling Name and Line
information, the hotel guest will not be able to see the information for User A.
5. A
The default behavior of the Extension Mobility service parameters prevents a user from
multiple logins using Extension Mobility.
6. D
Forced Authorization Codes (FAC) allows users to enter a PIN to obtain a specific
authorization. You can then assign route patterns a minimum authorization level to keep
nonessential personnel from dialing high-cost PSTN numbers.
7. C
Malicious Call Identification (MCID) is triggered by pressing the MCID softkey assigned to
the Softkey Template Connected call state.
8. D
CallManager 4.1 added the Executive Override MLPP parameter. In earlier versions of
CallManager, Flash Override was the highest assignable MLPP level.
9. D
The Ignore Presentation Indicators (Internal Calls Only) configuration setting from the device
configuration allows you to overrule caller ID restrictions for internal calls on a device-by-
device basis.
812 Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
10. C
You only need to create a single logged out device profile for the Cisco IP Phones in your
organization. They will adopt this profile when you select the Use Current Device Settings for
the Logged Out profile of the device.
Chapter 18
1. 1. D, 2. C, 3. E, 4. A, 5. B
2. B
By selecting one of the hunt group members as an “always-route member,” the Cisco
CallManager will route the call to the destination when the queue is full or the hold time has
been reached. This destination is typically a voice mail or auto-attendant system.
3. C and E
The Cisco Telephony Call Dispatcher (TCD) must be active to dispatch calls to the active
Attendant Console clients. The CTIManager must be active to integrate the CTI-based
Attendant Console software with the CallManager system.
4. C
Only the longest-idle distribution algorithm can be configured from the Pilot Point
Configuration window. All others must be configured either from the Hunt Group
Configuration window or from the Attendant Console Configuration Tool.
5. C
A CallManager cluster can have a maximum of 32 hunt groups.
6. B
When you have configured Broadcast Hunting (using the Attendant Console Configuration
Tool), the incoming calls to the pilot point will be immediately placed into a queue that the
attendants can answer, using the Attendant Console client, as they become available.
7. B
The ac user must be created and associated with all Cisco IP Phones used by the Attendant
Console clients. As a good security practice, this username and password should be changed
using the Attendant Console Configuration Tool.
8. D
Accessing the Attendant Console Configuration Tool is a strange task indeed. You must first
dig through the hard drive to find the batch file and execute it for the Java-based utility to
appear.
Chapter 19 813
9. A
An operator can revert a parked call in many ways. The easiest is to right-click on the parked
call in the Attendant Console software and choose Revert Park.
10. D
Attendant Console users are not added through the user menu; rather, they are added through
the Service > Cisco CM Attendant Console > Cisco CM Attendant Console User window.
Users added through the normal User menu will not be available to select as Attendant
Console users.
Chapter 19
1. B
IPMA managers only have the ability to change the divert target from the IPMA Manager
Configuration page. This allows them to direct incoming calls to another attendant.
2. C
It’s so obvious, the question is almost difficult. Configuring Cisco IPMA in shared-line mode
requires lines to be shared DNs between the manager and assistant.
3. A
Shared-line mode is supported by the CallManager 4.x versions and enabled features not
previously supported in the proxy-mode, such as Call Join, Privacy, and Direct Transfer.
4. B and C
The three flagship Cisco IP Phones support IPMA: The Cisco 7940, 7960, and 7970.
5. B
Shared-line mode supports a maximum of 10 assistants per manager.
6. B
Cisco used the Tomcat server (developed under Apache) applied as a Windows service to
manage many of the additional services that previously required the Customer Response
Solution (CRS) software add-on.
7. C
After changing the service parameters, the MA Servlet must be restarted through the Tomcat
web server.
814 Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
8. B
From this list, the first thing you must configure is the IPMA manager. You can then add
assistants and install the Assistant Console.
9. D
The IPMA Assistant Console is installed from a custom IPMA page managed by the Tomcat
web server. By accessing the URL http://<IPMA server>/ma/Install/IPMAConsoleInstall.jsp,
an automated script runs and places shortcuts on the assistant’s desktop and Start menu to run
the application.
10. B
The IPMA service communicates to all servers in a CallManager cluster by using the
CTIManager. It only requires a single CTI connection for all users in a cluster.
Chapter 20
1. A
All critical hot fixes and patches to the Cisco IP Telephony Operating System are posted on
Cisco.com for download within 24 hours of the announcement from Microsoft. All noncritical
hot fixes and patches are bundled for a consolidated, monthly release from Cisco.com.
2. B
Heuristic scanning should not be allowed because this feature can prevent CallManager
Administration web pages from operating correctly.
3. C
A headless (standalone) version of the Cisco Security Agent (CSA) is provided by Cisco, free
of charge, to protect Cisco CallManager against malicious applications.
4. C
Password expiration policies should be disabled on all service accounts. If the service account
password were to expire, it could prevent a variety of CallManager services from operating
correctly.
5. C
The IIS service comprises 80 percent of all attacks on Windows servers. Because of this, it is
a best practice to stop the IIS service on all Cisco CallManager Subscribers.
6. C
The Cisco CallManager server is not designed to handle nonapproved third-party utilities.
Chapter 21 815
7. A
The most automated process for installing security updates and hot fixes to the CallManager
server is e-mail subscription to the Cisco CallManager Notification Tool. The updates must
then be manually downloaded and installed.
8. A and C
The first of these scripts focuses on securing the foundation Windows 2000 operating system
with security settings recommended for Cisco CallManager servers only. The second of these
scripts focuses on securing the SQL communication on the server.
9. D
There is not even a product called WebX SecureServer.
10. A and B
Only virus protection software can prevent a server against virus infection. In addition, only
the managed CSA version provides firewall functionality. The standalone CSA version allows
all inbound network connections.
Chapter 21
1. C
The default CallManager installation without MLA uses the Windows 2000 Administrator
account for both CallManager Administration and server administration. A sniffed username
and password could mean the demise of both the CallManager Administration interface and
the underlying Windows operating system.
2. B
The URL to access the Cisco CallManager Administration interface remains the same. The
only difference is using the HTTPS protocol rather than just HTTP.
3. C
There is no read-write access in Cisco MLA. This setting would be the same as full access.
4. D
After you enable MLA and restart the World Wide Web Service in Windows 2000, a new
account “CCMAdministrator” is stored in the Windows 2000 Registry for full CallManager
Administration access.
5. A
There is no Standard Device functional group. Rather, MLA splits the device functions into
the specific devices managed, such as Standard Phone or Standard Gateway.
816 Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
6. B
There is no FullAccess group in the MLA user group defaults. The full access role is assigned
to the SuperUserGroup.
7. B
Self-signed certificates raise an automatic red flag in any client web browser. This is because
there is no trusted authority (a Certificate Authority) authenticating the web server.
8. A
The MLA user accounts are stored in an LDAP directory. By default, this is the DC Directory
installed with the Cisco CallManager; however, you can change this directory storage to
anther directory (such as Active Directory).
9. D
CallManager MLA stores the CCMAdminstrator account in the Windows Registry. This
allows a “back door” into the CallManager Administration interface if the LDAP directory is
unavailable.
10. A and C
By default, MLA is disabled for a clean CallManager install; however, it will remain enabled
(with a new, random CCMAdministrator password) if upgrading from previous MLA (and
Cisco CallManager) version that was enabled.
Chapter 22
1. B and C
Users can exploit the Call Forward All feature (which they can configure through a web
interface) and transfer from voice-mail features to make toll calls using the corporate voice
network.
2. A
To restrict external call transfers (which block OffNet-to-OffNet transfers), route patterns and
gateways should be classified as OnNet or OffNet. Route patterns are typically used to restrict
outbound calls, whereas gateways are used to restrict incoming calls.
3. A and D
By default, the ad hoc conference restrictions are set to Never, which opens the possibility of
toll fraud. You can choose to set the restrictions to When Conference Creator Drops Out or
When No OnNet Parties Remain in the Conference to restrict this toll fraud method.
Chapter 23 817
4. A
By default, the ad hoc conference restrictions are set to Never, which opens the possibility of
toll fraud. You can choose to set the restrictions to When Conference Creator Drops Out or
When No OnNet Parties Remain in the Conference to restrict this toll fraud method.
5. C
Forced Authorization Codes (FACs) allow you to restrict call routing to destinations based on
user codes. This is not only useful to prevent toll fraud, but also to determine which users or
departments are making toll calls for billing purposes.
6. B
Commonly exploited countries have special area codes that look like area codes of the United
States. Not all international numbers begin with the 011 identifier (in North America).
Because of this, you should be especially careful to restrict international area codes using
route patterns.
7. A
The most automated process for installing security updates and hot fixes to the CallManager
server is e-mail subscription to the Cisco CallManager Notification Tool. The updates must
then be manually downloaded and installed.
8. B
The correct configuration of time-of-day routing is as follows: create time periods, add the
time periods to a time schedule, assign the time schedule to a partition, and assign the partition
to a calling search space.
9. D
Client Matter Codes (CMCs) are typically used to track calls to a specific department or user.
However, they do not give you the varying authorization levels of the FAC feature.
10. A, D, and E
By classifying the route patterns, trunks, and gateways as OnNet or OffNet, you can
effectively curb OffNet-to-OffNet transfer toll fraud.
Chapter 23
1. A
The IP phone contains key information about the IP addresses of the Cisco CallManager,
network gateway, TFTP server, and DNS servers. Obtaining this information allows a hacker
to map out the location of key network resources.
818 Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
2. A
Only Cisco’s flagship phones, the 7940, 7960, and 7970, support configuration file
authentication. The 7920 wireless handset does not support this feature.
3. B
You can find all the security settings for an IP phone under the Phone Configuration window
in the Cisco CallManager administration utility.
4. A
To access the built-in web server of an IP phone, simply access the URL http://IP-Phone’s-IP-
address. There are no security options; you will be directed to a page giving all the
information about the IP phone’s network settings.
5. B
Gratuitous ARP attackers always operate from the local network. This is necessary due to the
nature of ARP packets.
6. C
Even with authentication and encryption features enabled, SCCP maintains its signaling role.
There are no currently known attacks against Skinny signaling, so there was no reason to
secure it further.
7. D
An IP phone can provide all the preceding information with the exception of the intranet
server address.
8. D
Cisco CallManager does not allow you to disable the PC port of the 7912 IP Phone. Filling
the PC port of the phone with glue (or some similarly drastic step), or downgrading to the
7905 IP Phone is the best step for now.
9. B
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) was the predecessor to Transport Layer Security (TLS). SSL was
primarily applied to HTTPS connections, whereas TLS became more universally used.
10. A
Since Cisco CallManager 3.3(3), the signed firmware validation feature is already enabled.
This prevents hackers from constructing their own, rogue firmware images for the Cisco IP
Phones.
Chapter 24 819
Chapter 24
1. E and F
Cryptographic services include functions for authenticity, confidentiality, integrity, and
nonrepudiation.
2. A and F
Because of its speed, symmetric encryption is a good choice for real-time encryption of bulk
data. This speed is achieved because the encryption key is the same as the decryption key.
3. D and F
Asymmetric encryption is very powerful because it provides a public key (capable of handling
encryption and decryption of data) and a private key (also capable of handling encryption and
decryption of data). Asymmetric encryption is often used to create signatures and for key
exchange only because of the high overhead associated with the algorithm.
4. B and F
If a hacker obtains a hash of some data, the only method they can use to reverse engineer the
data is to use a brute force attack, which is computationally difficult. Hash does work well for
ensuring data does not change accidentally; however, it does not protect against man-in-the-
middle attacks. Because of this, hashing is often combined with an encryption algorithm, such
as AES. AES can use MD5 or SHA-1 for hashing data.
5. F
Only F does not apply to digital signatures. Digital signatures are created by encrypting the
result of a hashing process using a private key.
6. D
SHA-1 is the modern standard for creating a 160-bit hash. MD5 is no longer recommended
because it can run into problems with duplicate hashes on large amounts of data.
7. A
Nonrepudiation methods prove to others that a certain source sent some data. This is very
similar to authentication; however, authentication can only prove to YOU that a certain device
sent the data rather than proving to OTHERS that a certain device sent the data.
8. B
Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman (RSA) is the only asymmetric algorithm in this list.
820 Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
9. A
Asymmetric algorithms use two keys: one public and one private. The public key can be used
for encryption and decryption of data and is sent to any requesting host. The private key can
be used for encryption and decryption of data and is kept strictly for the sending host.
10. D
With current mathematical algorithms, it is feasibly impossible to generate a private key from
a public key.
Chapter 25
1. D
Symmetric keys provide the fast encryption standards needed by today’s applications;
however, these keys need a method for exchange over an unsecured network. PKI provides a
solution to this challenge.
2. A and F
Because of its speed, symmetric encryption is a good choice for real-time encryption of bulk
data. This speed is achieved because the encryption key is the same as the decryption key.
3. D and F
The trusted introducer and its clients must trust the root of a system. The root guarantees the
identity of the trusted introducer. Only the trusted introducer can guarantee the authenticity
of any member of the system.
4. D
A certificate includes the identity of the issuer of the certificate, the identity of the owner of
the certificate, and the public key of the owner.
5. C and F
Securing enrollment through a PKI can be a sticky situation. The best method is to perform
the enrollment over a trusted network (or significantly secured public network). Otherwise,
you must manually perform mutual out-of-band authentication between the PKI user and CA.
6. D
Certificate revocation is needed whenever the private key is not trustworthy anymore. This
can occur through a loss of the private key (from a system rebuild or replacement), or a
malicious compromise of the private key (from an intruder).
7. F
The web server certificate is used to authenticate the server to the client and to encrypt the
symmetric session keys used for the authentication and encryption of the data stream.
Chapter 26 821
8. B
The Diffie-Hellman algorithm is commonly used as an automated method to securely
exchange symmetric keys over a public network.
9. A
Asymmetric algorithms use two keys: one public and one private. The public key can be used
for encryption and decryption of data and is sent to any requesting host. The private key can
be used for encryption and decryption of data and is kept strictly for the sending host.
10. A
Certificates are not secret information and do not need to be encrypted in any way. The idea
is not to hide anything but to ensure the authenticity and integrity of the information contained
in the certificate.
Chapter 26
1. C and E
Integrity and loss of control are typically terms to describe one’s personal life rather than IP
telephony security.
2. B and F
Secure signaling is accomplished through Transport Layer Security (TLS). This security is
crucial because CallManager sends the keys for SRTP (which secures the media) through
signaling to the IP phone.
3. D and F
The trusted introducer and its clients must trust the root of a system. The root guarantees the
identity of the trusted introducer. Only the trusted introducer can guarantee the authenticity
of any member of the system.
4. C and D
In Cisco IP telephony PKI infrastructures, the CAPF has a self-signed certificate because the
IP phones refer to this as the CA of the PKI. Only the Cisco IP Phone 7940, 7960, and 7970
(and subsequent) models can have LSCs because these are the only models that support
device security at this point.
5. C and F
Securing enrollment through a PKI can be a sticky situation. The best method is to perform
the enrollment over a trusted network (or significantly secured public network). Otherwise,
you must manually perform mutual out-of-band authentication between the PKI user and CA.
822 Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
6. C
CAPF enrollment supports the use of authentication strings. This is known as the manual
enrollment method, which requires the administrator to visit each IP phone he wants to enroll
and enter the correct string from the CAPF.
7. B
The CTL client uses a smart token for key storage. This smart token exists on a USB key
attached to the server running the CTL client. The smart token never leaves the key, but,
rather, acts as a separate authentication engine to validate the CTL.
8. D
TLS allows both the server and the IP phone to authenticate each other through a signed
certificate. This also allows them to authenticate the signaling message to ensure they came
from the correct source.
9. B and D
Certificates are only exchanged between the Cisco CallManager server and the IP phone. The
IP phones themselves do not exchange certificates directly. Likewise, the encrypted
transmission of SRTP session keys occurs between the IP phones and the Cisco CallManager
rather than between the IP phones.
10. E
The most accurate list of tasks is to enable services, set cluster to mixed mode, create a signed
CTL, deploy certificates to the IP phones, and set the device security mode.
Chapter 27
1. E
To configure a Cisco CallManager cluster for security, first enable services, then use the CTL
Client to set cluster to mixed mode and create a signed CTL. Finally, deploy the certificates
to the IP Phones and set the device security mode through the CallManager Administration.
2. A and C
You must enable both the Cisco CAPF and CTL Provider when configuring a Cisco
CallManager cluster for security.
3. A
At a minimum, the Cisco CTL Client requires the Windows 2000 operating system, and at
least one USB port, Smart Card service enabled. It does also function on the Windows XP
operating system.
Chapter 28 823
4. A
Upgrading an LSC on a Cisco IP Phone can be done through the CallManager Administration
utility without updating the CTL using the Cisco CTL Client.
5. A and F
These answers show the valid security configuration options of the Cisco IP Phone through
the CallManager Administration.
6. C and D
When a phone configured for authentication calls a nonsecure phone, the resulting call will
negotiate to the lowest-common-denominator, which is nonsecure. Likewise, when a phone
configured for encryption calls a phone configured for authentication, the resulting call will
negotiate to the lowest-common-denominator, which is authentication.
7. C and D
You can generate a query using the device name through the Find and List Phones window.
The certificate lifetime is not a searchable field.
8. A and E
You can query based on both the authentication mode and device security mode from the Find
and List Phones window.
9. A
The Cisco 7920 Wireless IP Phone does not support the phone security features.
10. B, C, and D
All of these communication types cannot be encrypted using phone security. In addition, calls
streaming music on hold (MOH) cannot be secured.
Chapter 28
1. B
The provisioned video bandwidth amounts always include room for the audio payload. The
payload for G.711 uses 64 kbps of bandwidth, leaving 320 kbps for the video payload.
2. A
Cisco recommends adding 20 percent to the requested video bandwidth amount to provide a
safe buffer for overhead. 256 kbps * 1.20 = 307.2 kbps reservation.
824 Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
3. A
H.263 is the lowest-common-denominator video codec between an SCCP and H.323 device.
If two SCCP devices communicate, they will attempt to use the newer (and more efficient)
H.264 codec.
4. B
When using the nongatekeeper-controlled intercluster trunks, the only choice you will have
for call admission control is the CallManager Location feature. By placing the local IP Phones
and intercluster trunk in different locations, you can control how much bandwidth
CallManager allows over the trunk.
5. B
Within a cluster, CallManager locations control the WAN bandwidth used. This is typically
done in a centralized call-processing environment.
6. B
The H.320 standard is used to stream video over an ISDN network. To communicate with this
standard, you must employ a video gateway.
7. D
Videoconferencing requires you use a multipoint control unit (MCU) to mix the signals.
SCCP clients can handle a video call (two users), but cannot handle a conference (three users
or more).
8. C
Far-end camera control (FECC) is an H.323 capability allowing you to remotely control a
variety of settings on a video camera.
9. D
The Cisco proprietary wideband codec offers impeccable quality, but is considered a “LAN-
only” protocol due to the whopping 7 Mbps it consumes.
10. C
One of the major features supported by the Cisco CallManager 4.0 release was video (along
with the new IP telephony security structure).
Chapter 29
1. C
The icon of a video camera on the Cisco IP Phone status line means that the Cisco IP Phone
is configured to support video. This occurs when the administrator enables video capabilities
in the CallManager Administration utility.
Chapter 30 825
2. B
Cisco requires you to plug the PC with Cisco VT Advantage client software into the access
port of the IP phone. This allows the IP phone to recognize the client PC (and installed
software) and enable video capabilities for incoming and outgoing calls.
3. A and C
The Cisco Audio Session Tunnel is a Cisco proprietary protocol used to signal between the
VT Advantage software and IP phone. RTP is used to stream video.
4. E, F, and G
Only the Cisco 7940, 7960, and 7970 IP Phones (and later) can support video.
5. B and C
Both the PC port and Retry Video Call as Audio settings are enabled by default. You must
enable the video capabilities of the IP phone to support VT Advantage.
6. D
The gatekeeper always requests double the amount of bandwidth required by the codec to
allow sufficient room for overhead.
7. A
The only camera hardware supported by the VT Advantage software is the Cisco VT Camera.
8. D
The Cisco proprietary wideband codec offers impeccable quality, but is considered a “LAN-
only” protocol due to the whopping 7 Mbps it consumes.
9. D
The VT Advantage software can stream up to 30 fps. This level produces extremely smooth
(TV quality) video streams.
Chapter 30
1. A and E
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Manager allows you to manipulate the SQL database
in many ways. It can be a dangerous tool because it can corrupt the CallManager database
structure quite easily. Cisco recommends using the DBLHelper utility, which can quickly
verify the status of the database replication and make repairs, if necessary.
826 Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
2. D
Cisco CallManager Serviceability provides services to monitor alarms, generate CARs, and
collect and analyze traces. All other statements are false.
3. A and C
The only services that can be managed through the Control Center are those that relate
directly to the Cisco CallManager. In this case, the Cisco CallManager and TFTP services are
valid choices. There is no Cisco DHCP service, and the Extension Mobility function is
controlled as a TomCat web service. Cisco WebDialer is a separate application install.
4. C and E
The Cisco CallManager services can be activated and deactivated through either the Windows
2000 Services MMC or in Cisco CallManager Service Activation. Cisco recommends the
latter of these.
5. A
The DBLHelper application should only be run directly on the publisher server because this
server holds the only writable copy of the SQL database.
6. D
Because the publisher holds the only writable copy of the SQL database, all configuration
changes are prevented until the publisher server is restored.
7. C
CDRs are the “exception to the rule” of modifying the database while the publisher server is
down. In actuality, the SQL database is not modified, rather, the subscribers will write CDRs
to their SQL transaction file while the publisher is down and replicate the updates back to the
publisher after connectivity is restored.
8. A and C
Only the publisher server will have a Replication Monitor (which has an image that looks like
a heartbeat monitor) utility and will have a Publications folder under the database you are
examining.
9. B
DBLHelper provides an extremely simple interface that holds little risk for damaging the SQL
Server 2000 database structure when repairing replication issues. SQL Server 2000 Enterprise
Manager should only be used if DBLHelper is unable to repair the replication.
10. C
A green smiley face means replication is working okay, whereas a red sad face indicates a
replication failure.
Chapter 31 827
Chapter 31
1. B and D
The Microsoft Event Viewer is a Windows 2000 utility that can assist administrators in
troubleshooting Cisco CallManager systems. The Microsoft Event Viewer stores system
errors and warnings as they occur on the CallManager system, which allows for a historical
viewing of any issues that might have occurred on the CallManager.
2. A, B, and C
Microsoft Performance Monitor does nothing but monitor, monitor, and more monitoring.
You can use it to monitor Windows 2000 counters and CallManager counters alike. All events
are monitored in real time through a graph, histogram, or report view.
3. A and D
The Real-Time Monitoring Tool (RTMT) allows you to view the performance of a specific
CallManager server, and is geared for CallManager-specific counters. It also offers the ability
to send e-mail alerts when the CallManager exceeds specific thresholds.
4. B and E
The RTMT allows you to save multiple configuration profiles, which allows you to open a
predefined set of counters to quickly monitor specific areas of the CallManager cluster. RTMT
identifies these profiles by their name and description.
5. A, C, and E
Cisco designed the RTMT window to allow easy navigation through the various performance
counters of a Cisco CallManager server. This includes the support of multiple tabs to allow
many different elements to be viewed at one time. The RTMT does provide performance
monitoring similar to the Microsoft Performance Monitor; however, it has many distinct
differences that tune it to be more effective in monitoring CallManager servers. The Alert
Central feature of RTMT offers the ability to send e-mail alerts when the CallManager
exceeds specific thresholds.
6. B
The Application logs of Event Viewer contain messages specific to Cisco CallManager. The
System logs contain messages specific to the underlying Windows 2000 operating system.
7. A, E, and F
The Histogram view provides a bar chart giving instantaneous performance levels for your
selected counters. The Graph view provides a line chart showing a history of your selected
counters over time. The Report view provides a numerical table with specific counter levels.
828 Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
8. A, C, and D
The Microsoft Performance Monitor, Cisco RTMT, and Windows Task Manager all allow you
to see processor and memory utilization levels for a Cisco CallManager server.
Chapter 32
1. A and C
The CallManager Serviceability Alarm menu has only two options: Alarm and Alarm
Definitions. The first allows the configuration of alarms on individual servers and services.
The latter allows you to get a full definition of each alarm (and add your own custom notes to
the alarm, if necessary).
2. C
The only true statement is that more than one destination can be used to write alarm logs in
parallel, and each of them can use its own alarm level. Cisco CallManager relies on the
reporting destination to have the proper functionality if e-mail or any other notifications are
necessary.
3. D
You can configure alarms for every Cisco CallManager service through the Serviceability
pages; however, you must enable Java application alarms through the Windows Registry.
4. A, D, and E
SDI traces log services and run-time events, whereas SDL traces log call-processing
information. Both of these traces can be written to plaintext and XML files based on your
Cisco CallManager Serviceability configuration.
5. C
The Trace Collection tool alleviates much of the trace analysis function from the Cisco
CallManager server. This helps save resources and makes for easier, offline analysis of the
trace files. The Trace Collection tool downloads and compresses trace files from Cisco
CallManager systems to a computer. You can then use a text editor or the Bulk Trace Analysis
tool to analyze the files.
6. C and D
The Trace Analysis tool only has the ability to analyze trace files that are less than 2 MB in
size and are in XML format.
7. C
You must access the Q.931 Translator through the web interface of the CallManager
Serviceability pages. The Voice Log Translator can be used to analyze log files without access
to the Cisco CallManager system.
Chapter 33 829
8. B and D
The SDL trace logging focuses on call logs between IP telephony devices. Naturally, only the
Cisco CallManager and CTIManager services will support these types of log files.
9. C
The CallManager alarm levels use the same mappings as the syslog messages. An alarm level
5 is assigned a name of “Critical.” The only levels above this are Alert (level 6) and
Emergency (level 7).
10. A, B, and D
Cisco CallManager does not support sending alarms directly to SMTP servers (e-mail
addresses). It relies on the Real-Time Monitoring Tool (RTMT) to provide this functionality.
Cisco also assumes that you will configure the Microsoft Event Log or syslog server to use
an SMTP alerting function, if necessary.
Chapter 33
1. A, C, and E
When using CAR, PDF reports are limited to 5000 records and CSV reports are limited to
20,000 records. CAR does have to be installed on the publisher server to work correctly.
2. D
Based on these answers, the only thing CMRs and CDRs have in common is that they are
related to each other. CMRs store QoS parameters for the call, whereas CDRs store call
details. They are stored permanently in the SQL database and only temporarily in flat files.
3. C
By default, you must log in to CAR using a username and password of admin.
4. D
There are only three types of reports you can reference in CAR: User reports, System reports,
and Device reports.
5. A
Actually, the ONLY thing you are able to do after initially authenticating to CAR is to grant
administrative access rights to one of the users in the CallManager LDAP user database. All
other options are restricted until this step is completed.
6. C
The default restrictions load CDR data only from midnight to 5:00 a.m. This keeps the CDR
replication and processing from interfering with normal IP telephony network operations.
830 Appendix A: Answers to Review Questions
7. C
The CAR and CDR database alerts the CAR administrator by default when 80 percent of the
maximum number of rows is reached. At this point, the administrator should consider
manually purging the database.
8. A
The CAR tool allows you to log calls based on the NANP. This dial plan can be modified, and
includes an “On Net” classification by default.
9. C and D
CAR allows report generation in Adobe PDF or Comma Separated Values (CSV) files.
10. D
Even if the publisher is online, the CDRs are stored on the subscriber server in flat files. These
files are replicated to the publisher database during a scheduled interval.
Chapter 34
1. B
The dependency record capability was developed as a response to quite a bit of administrative
frustration in early CallManager versions. CallManager would restrict you from deleting an
item because something else was using it, but it would never tell you what that something else
was. Dependency records helps track which devices are associated with each other in
CallManager.
2. C
The CCMAdministrator, CCMSysUser, IPMASysUser, and Directory Manager passwords
can all be changed using the Password Changer tool.
3. A
Cisco DNA can be used to analyze and test dial plans in an IP telephony environment.
4. D
This question uses tricky wording. The QRT reports are actually created when the user presses
the QRT button. They are displayed when the administrator uses the QRT Viewer.
5. C
SNMP Version 3 (which is still awaiting standardization) adds support for both authentication
and encryption.
Chapter 34 831
6. B
Dependency records are disabled by default on the Cisco CallManager because they can lead
to high CPU utilization. To minimize the effect, you can enable them during the off-peak
hours.
7. B
The Password Changer tool only functions if you are using Cisco MLA, which prevents the
CallManager server from sharing the user database with Windows. The passwords of the
specified user accounts are changed in the MLA LDAP directory of all servers in the cluster.
8. C
The Password Changer tool can be accessed from the Run prompt within Windows.
9. C
The CallManager alarm levels use the same mappings as the syslog messages. An alarm level
5 is assigned a name of “Critical.” The only levels above this are Alert (level 6) and
Emergency (level 7).
10. D
You can access the Dialed Number Analyzer by entering the URL manually or accessing the
added icon in the Start menu or on the Windows desktop after you have installed it on a
CallManager server.
Index
Cisco IP Telephony Server Operating System CMRs (Call Management Records), CAR
Installation and Recovery Disk, 36 (Call Detail Record {CDR} Analysis and
Cisco IP Telephony Solution Network Reporting) tool, 737–739
Reference Design, 25 Code Matter Codes (CMCs). See CMCs
Cisco IP Telephony Solution Reference (Code Matter Codes)
Network Design (SRND), 25, 314 codecs
Cisco IP Voice Media Streaming application, IP Phones, support for, 67
312 video codecs, CallManager, 623–624
Cisco QOS Exam Certification Guide, Second commands
Edition, 155 IOS gatekeepers, 293
Cisco Voice Gateways and Gatekeepers, 161, SRST, 299
164, 289 Comma-Separated Values (CSV), 737
CiscoWorks ITEM (IP Telephony commonly exploited area codes, blocking,
Environment Monitor), 763–764 507–509
Class of Service (CoS). See CoS (Class of components
Service) BAT (Bulk Administration Tool), 120
clean installation, CallManager, 35 SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), 179–181
installation configuration data, 36–38 conference bridges, 310–311
installation disks, 35–36 ad hoc conferencing, 311
postinstallation procedures, 40–41 Cisco IP Voice Media Streaming
service activation, 41–45 application, 312
client applications, 411 hardware, 311–315
client layer (Unified Communications), 7 configuring, 315–316
clients, VT (Video Telephony) Advantage, IP/VC-3500 Series Video Multipoint
installing on, 661–667 Conference Unit, 313
closest match routing, CallManager, 201–202 Meet-Me conferencing, 311
clusters NM-HD network modules, 313
call admission control, 632–643 NM-HD-2VE network modules, 313
gatekeepers, 641–643 NM-HDV network modules, 313
location configuration, 635–637 NM-HDV2 network modules, 313
region configuration, 634–635 WS-SVC-CMM conference bridge type,
Retry Video Call as Audio setting, 312
638–640 WS-X6608-E1 conference bridge type, 312
CallManager servers, 17 WS-X6608-T1 conference bridge type, 312
clustering over the IP WAN, 30–31 conferencing, 309
intracluster run-time data, 18–19 ad hoc conferencing, 311
limits, 22 dropping, 516–517
redundancy designs, 19–22 Meet-Me conferencing, 311
SQL database cluster, 17–18 configuration
intercluster trunks, CallManager, 640 AAR (Automated Alternate Routing),
intracluster communication, IP Phones, 282– 288
73–87 abbreviating dialing, 348
CMCs (Code Matter Codes), 389, 391–392 access gateways, 164–170, 172–174
configuring, 392–394 H.323 gateways, 165–169
creating, 392 MGCP gateways, 169–170, 172
route patterns, enabling, 394–395 Non-IOS MGCP gateways, 172–174
toll fraud, preventing, 511 annunciators, 320–321
authentication, 597–599
CTL client, 600–602
842 configuration
Q restrictions (calling)
calling search spaces, 254–255
Q.931 Translator (CallManager), 732 configuring, 258–259
QRT (Qulaity Report Tool), 780–784 gateways, 256
logs, viewing, 782–785 intercluster trunks, 256
softkey, activating, 781–782 CoS (Class of Service), 253–254
QRT Viewer, 690 enforcement of, 253
queuing incoming telephone calls, external call transfers, 511-516
CallManager Attendant Console, 415 partitions, 254–255
configuring, 256–258
time-of-day routing, 260
R configuring, 262–268
Real-Time Monitoring Tool (RTMT). See time periods, 260–261, 263–265
RTMT (Real-Time Monitoring Tool) time schedules, 261, 265–268
Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP). See usage scenario, 268–270
RTP (Real-Time Transport Protocol) user effects, 262
records, BAT (Bulk Administration Tool), 119 Retry Video Call as Audio setting, call
Red Hat Linux, 459 admission control, 638–640
redial feature, 347 revocation methods, PKI (Public Key
redirect servers, SIP (Session Initiation Infrastructure), 561–562
Protocol), 180 Rijmen, Vincent, 539
redundancy, CallManager, gateways, 162 Rijndael cipher, 539
redundancy designs, CallManager server, Ring No Answer Reversion (RNAR), 236
19–22 ringback tones, 319
references, SRST (Survivability Remote Site RIS (Real-Time Information Server) Data
Telephony), configuring, 300–301 Collector, CallManager, 42
region configuration, CallManager, 82 Rivest, Ronald L., 541
call admission control, 634–635 RNAR (Ring No Answer Reversion), 236
registrar servers, SIP (Session Initiation rogue images
Protocol), 180 blocking, 525–526
registrations, IP Phones, automatic IP phones, blocking, 525–526
registrations, 90–92 route filters, route patterns, 209–210
reimaging, CallManager, 46 applying, 214–215
remote management tools configuring, 212–214
ITEM (IP Telephony Environment example, 215–217
Monitor), 763–764 route filter tags, 211–212
SNMP (Simple Network Management route groups, CallManager, configuring,
Protocol), 764–768 189–192
Syslog, 769–771 route lists, CallManager, configuring, 192–194
report scheduling, CAR (Call Detail Record route patterns
{CDR} Analysis and Reporting) tool, CallManager, configuring, 194–199
748–752 CMCs (Code Matter Codes), enabling,
report view (Performance Monitor), 699–700 394–395
reports FACs (Forced Authentication Codes),
CAPF reports, generating, 609–611 enabling, 394–395
route plans, generating, 229 route plans, CallManager, 187, 204–205, 209
restarting IPMA (IP Manager Assistant), 444 configuration, 189–205
DDIs (Discard Digit Instructions), 217–219
digit analysis, 200
security 857
Skinny Client Control Protocol (SCCP). SSL (Secure Socket Layer), PKI
See SCCP (Skinny Client Control Protocol) (Public Key Infrastructure), 563–564
Smart Cards, PKI (Public Key stackable switching, PoE (Power over
Infrastructure), 563 Ethernet), Catalyst switches, 149
smart tokens, PKI (Public Key standalone deployment, MoH (music on
Infrastructure), 563 hold), 325
SNMP (Simple Network Management Standard IPMA Shared Mode Manager
Protocol), 764–768 softkey template, 438
social engineering toll fraud, 505 startup process, IP Phones, 64–67
softkey template configuration, CallManager, static IP information, CallManager, 37
83–84 stopping CallManager server manually, 19
softkeys storage
QRT (Quality Report Tool), activating, certificates, 585
781–782 keys, PKI (Public Key Infrastructure),
Standard IPMA Shared Mode Manager 562– 563, 585
template, 438 stored phone images, IP Phones, loading, 65
templates, 351–352 subscriber servers, installing, 38
adding, 352 Summary category, RTMT (Real-Time
assigning, 354 Monitoring Tool), 703
deleting, 355 Survivability Remote Site Telephony (SRST).
modifying, 353–354 See SRST (Survivability Remote Site
software requirements, VT (Video Telephony) Telephony)
Advantage, 661– 662 Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN), 525
source IP, 280 switches, Catalyst switches, 145
SPAN (Switched Port Analyzer), 525 Auxiliary VLAN support, 145
speed dialing, 108-110, 348, 429-430 CoS (class of service), 155–156
Speed Dials pane (Attendant Console), CoS marking, 146
429–430 data VLANs, 152–154
spoken work progress tones, 309 dual VLANs, 153–154
SQL (Structured Query Language) inline power, 145
databases, 673 IP Phones, 146–151
clusters, 17-18 IP telephony, 145–146
management tools, 673–674 midspan power injection, 146
DBLHelper, 674, 677–678 PoE (Power over Ethernet), 146–151
SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Manager, voice VLANs, 152–154
674–677 wall power, 146
SQL (Structured Query Language) Server symmetric cryptography, PKI (Public Key
2000, 10 Infrastructure), 551–552
SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Manager, symmetric encryption, 538–540
674– 677, 689 Syslog, 769–771
SRST (Survivability Remote Site Telephony), system database, CAR (Call Detail Record
275, 296–298 {CDR} Analysis and Reporting) tool,
commands, 299 configuring, 752–756
configuring, 300–301 system parameters, CAR (Call Detail Record
failover process, 298 {CDR} Analysis and Reporting) tool,
references, configuring, 300–301 configuring, 742–743
routers, configuring, 298–299 system preferences, CAR (Call Detail Record
SRTP media encryption, 589–590 {CDR} Analysis and Reporting) tool,
configuring, 747–748
860 system reports
X-Z
X.509v3 certificates, PKI (Public Key
Infrastructure), 557–558
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