Adding analog ports to a UC520

Recently, I’ve been working with a client to design and standardize telephony solutions across their assisted living facilities.  After determining the UC500 platform would suit our needs from a call management standpoint, the next challenge was analog (FXS) port density.

The client wished to provide an analog telephone connection for select patient rooms.   To control costs, the client wanted the numbers delivered on the same PRI that’s servicing the facility instead of installing individual POTS lines for the patient rooms.

On a UC500 you are limited on the maximum number of  FXS ports (depending on the chassis).  To support 24 or more patient rooms I needed another solution.

Turns out the UC500 supports several analog gateways or ATA’s.  The two solutions I was most interested in were the VG224 and SPA8000.

The VG224 supports 24 analog connections, while the SPA8000 supports eight.  Cisco has published two Application Notes providing information on the configuration of each solution and it’s integration with the UC500.

Configuring a Cisco UC500 to Operate with a Linksys SPA8000 Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA)

Configuring a Cisco UC500 to Operate with a Cisco VG224 Voice Gateway

The SPA8000 is a very inexpensive solution, but the UC520 only supports integration of a single 8-port unit.  (note – only one is supported,  the doc doesn’t say the UC500 won’t work with multiple units)

The VG224 is more costly, but will provide a fairly quick ROI when you factor in the cost of individual analog lines vs using the PRI.

Another factor to consider is licensing, each analog port will require a UC license.

I’ll be implementing the VG224 solution in the not-to-distant future, I’ll let you know how it goes.

Onhook Call Transfer

In Call Manager 6.1, supervised call transfers are the default setting.

In a supervised transfer, Caller A has an active call to Caller B and wants to transfer the call to Party C.  Caller A presses the transfer softkey on their phone and dials the number for Party C.  When Party C answers, Caller A is required to press the transfer softkey a second time to complete the transfer.

With On-Hook Transfer (sometimes called a blind transfer), Caller A only needs to press the transfer softkey, dial the number for Party C and hang up.

Enabling On-Hook Transfers is simple and requires the adjustment of one service parameter.

In the CUCM GUI, go to System > Service Parameters.
Select the appropriate call manager from the Server drop down menu.
Select Cisco CallManager from the Service drop down.
Scroll down to Clusterwide Parameters (Device-Phone).

Locate the Transfer On-Hook Enabled parameter.  Change the parameter value to True.
Click Save.

The change should take effect immediately without requiring a reset of the IP phone.

Note that a supervised transfer is still possible with Transfer On-Hook enabled.

UC520 Part Numbers and Descriptions

The UC520 is available in multiple configurations so I’m posting this primarily for my benefit.  You can find a link to the complete ordering guide here.

UC 520 Ordering Information

Part Number	Description
UC520-8U-4FXO-K9	• 8-user configuration with 4 PSTN trunks (FXO), 4 analog ports (FXS), 8 PoE ports, 1 VIC slot for expansion • Feature licenses for call control, voicemail and Cisco Unified IP Phones
UC520W-8U-4FXO-K9	• 8-user configuration with 4 PSTN trunks (FXO), 4 analog ports (FXS), 8 PoE ports, 1 VIC slot for expansion, Integrated Wireless • Feature licenses for call control, voicemail and Cisco Unified IP Phones
UC520-8U-2BRI-K9	• 8-user configuration with 2 BRI trunks (BRI), 4 analog ports (FXS), 8 PoE ports, 1 VIC slot for expansion • Feature licenses for call control, voicemail and Cisco Unified IP Phones
UC520W-8U-2BRI-K9	• 8-user configuration with 2 BRI trunks (BRI), 4 analog ports (FXS), 8 PoE ports, 1 VIC slot for expansion, integrated wireless • Feature licenses for call control, voicemail, and Cisco Unified IP Phones
UC520-16U-4FXO-K9	• 16-user configuration with 4 PSTN trunks (FXO), 4 analog ports (FXS), 8 PoE ports, 1 VIC slot for expansion • Feature licenses for call control, voicemail, and Cisco Unified IP Phones Note: requires an 8-port Cisco Catalyst Express 520 switch
UC520W-16U-4FXO-K9	• 16-user configuration with 4 PSTN trunks (FXO), 4 analog ports (FXS), 8 PoE ports, 1 VIC slot for expansion, integrated wireless • Feature licenses for call control, voicemail, and Cisco Unified IP Phones Note: requires an 8-port Cisco Catalyst Express 520 switch
UC520-16U-2BRI-K9	• 16-user configuration with 2 BRI trunks (BRI), 4 analog ports (FXS), 8 PoE ports, 1 VIC slot for expansion • Feature licenses for call control, voicemail, and Cisco Unified IP Phones Note: requires an 8-port Cisco Catalyst Express 520 switch
UC520W-16U-2BRI-K9	• 16-user configuration with 2 BRI trunks (BRI), 4 analog ports (FXS), 8 PoE ports, 1 VIC slot for expansion, integrated wireless • Feature licenses for call control, voicemail, and Cisco Unified IP Phones Note: requires an 8-port Cisco Catalyst Express 520 switch
UC520-24U-8FXO-K9	• 24-user configuration with 8 PSTN (FXO), 4 analog ports (FXS), 8 PoE ports, 1 VIC slot for expansion • Feature licenses for user configurations of call control, voicemail, and Cisco Unified IP Phones Note: requires a 24-port Cisco Catalyst Express 520 switch
UC520-24U-4BRI-K9	• 24-user configuration with 4 BRI trunks (BRI), 4 analog ports (FXS), 8 PoE ports, 1 VIC slot for expansion • Feature licenses for call control, voicemail, and Cisco Unified IP Phones Note: requires a 24-port Cisco Catalyst Express 520 switch
UC520-32U-8FXO-K9	• 32-user configuration with 8 PSTN trunks (FXO), 4 analog ports (FXS), 8 PoE ports, 1 VIC slot for expansion • Feature licenses for user configurations of call control, voicemail, and Cisco Unified IP Phones Note: requires a 24-port Cisco Catalyst Express 520 switch
UC520-32U-4BRI-K9	• 32-user configuration with 4 BRI trunks (BRI), 4 analog ports (FXS), 8 PoE ports, 1 VIC slot for expansion • Feature licenses for call control, voicemail, and Cisco Unified IP Phones Note: requires a 24-port Cisco Catalyst Express 520 switch
UC520-48U-12FXO-K9	• 48-user configuration with 12 PSTN trunks (FXO), 4 analog ports (FXS), 8 PoE ports • Feature licenses for user configurations of call control, voicemail, and Cisco Unified IP Phones Note: requires two 24-port Cisco Catalyst Express 520 switches
UC520-48U-6BRI-K9	• 48-user configuration with 6 BRI trunks (BRI), 4 Analog ports (FXS), 8 PoE ports • Feature licenses for call control, voicemail and Cisco Unified IP Phones Note: requires two twenty-four (24) port Cisco Catalyst Express 520 switch
UC520-48U-T/E/F-K9	• 48-user configuration with a T1/E1 interface, 4 additional PSTN trunk ports (FXO), 4 analog ports (FXS), 8 PoE ports, 1 VIC slot for expansion • Feature licenses for user configurations of call control, voicemail, and Cisco Unified IP Phones Note: requires two 24-port Cisco Catalyst Express 520 switches
UC520-48U-T/E/B-K9	• 48-user configuration with a T1/E1 interface, 2 additional BRI trunk ports, 4 analog ports (FXS), 8 PoE ports, 1 VIC slot for expansion • Feature licenses for user configurations of call control, voicemail, and Cisco Unified IP Phones Note: requires two 24-port Cisco Catalyst Express 520 switches

Cisco Unity Virtualization

Earlier this year Cisco released a document outlining design guidance for running Unity 7.0(2) on VMware ESX sever 3.5 or later.

At first glance it’s exciting to see Cisco officially support components of the UC infrastructure in a virtual environment.  However, there are some important design restrictions to consider, some of which may render a virtualized Unity solution impractical for many environments.

Unity virtualization is only supported on Intel platforms.  More specifically, the CPU must be from the Intel Xeon E5400, E5500, L5400 series, or a W5580.

Fibre channel storage is required.  Fibre channel HBA’s and FCoE converged adapters are supported.

NAS/NFS, iSCSI and local storage are not supported.

CPU affinity is required, processor cores must be dedicated to Cisco Unity.  This rules out the ability to use Vmotion and DRS.

A memory reservation of 4096 MB is required.  A memory reservation in VMware means that the virtual machine is guaranteed that amount of physical RAM from the host.

Snapshots and VMware consolidated backup features are supported.

So, with all of these restrictions (there are actually more, I just touched on some of the highlights), why would you want to virtualize your Unity server?  From my point of view, the biggest benefit may come from the ability to implement the fail-over / standby features of Unity in a mixed  physical/ virtual server configuration.  Using VMware to support a warm-standby server recovery scenario could also be a viable option.

A link to the Design Guide for Cisco Unity Virtualization pdf can be found here.

Cell Phone Ringtone RANT

I was on a pre-sales call yesterday.  In these economic times, getting a chance  to be in front of a good qualified opportunity is as valuable as gold.

All of the right players were at the table, the IT manager and the CFO.  We brought along two manufacturer reps.  It was a great appointment.

So, in a situation like this, why wouldn’t you MUTE YOUR CELL PHONE RINGER??

It happened twice in this particular meeting, two different people, both coworkers.  Both with annoying, loud ring tones.

IMO, one of the most unprofessional things you can do during a pre-sales engagement is take a cell phone call.  Second only to your annoying ring tone.  No one cares that you have the latest Nickelback hit as your ring tone.

What a waste of technology and money….

When I first started in this business we didn’t have cell phones.  When I did get one, it was married to my vehicle.  It was called a “Car Phone”.

Yes I know that’s hard for some of you younger folks to comprehend but we actually conducted business without a cell phone glued to our ear, or constantly texting friends, or updating Facebook status.

We sat across from the client and listened.   We took notes and asked open ended questions.  We focused all of our attention on the client.  It’s a lost art, folks just don’t know how to listen and pay attention anymore.

There’s  too much digital noise, most of it unnecessary, at least for a business environment.

CUP Install – CUCM AXL Integration

Cisco Unified Presence obtains user, device and licensing information from CUCM via the AXL API.  The AXL username and password much be specified during the install of Presence.  Typically this account is associated with a user that has the Standard AXL API role assignment in CUCM.

You can verify AXL is running on your CUCM publisher and your specified user account has the proper privileges by using the following procedure:

Open a browser and enter http://<<CUCM Hostname or IP Address>>/axl.
When prompted, enter the user name and password for the associated AXL account.

If everything is functioning correctly you’ll receive this message in the browser window:

Cisco CallManager: AXL Web Service

The AXL Web Service is working and accepting requests. Use HTTP POST to send a request.

If you receive an error message, make sure the Cisco AXL Web Service is activated in CUCM.  (Cisco Unified Serviceability>Tools>Service Activation).  Also, verify the username and password for the account are correct.

Route Pattern Config – 7-digit and 10-digit dialing

In large metro areas, telco providers have eliminated 7-digit dialing from their dial plans.  That’s nice because it simplifies the route pattern config in CUCM.

If you’re lucky, (like me) and your telco still allows 7-digit dialing, you’ll need to make some modifications to the dial plan.  Otherwise, when a user places a 7-digit call, they’ll find themselves waiting for the inter-digit timeout to expire.  (if they even wait that long before calling the help desk)

So, my basic route patterns looked like this. (minus the 911 patterns and patterns added to prevent toll fraud)  It works, but if you make a 7-digit call, you wait for the inter-digit timeout to expire before the call is connected.

9.[2-9]xx[2-9]xxxxxx
9.1[2-9]xx[2-9]xxxxxx

All 10-digit calls using our provider have to be prefixed with the area code (479), otherwise, it’s a long distance call. Using that information, I made a couple of changes to the route patterns.

9.[2-9]xxxxxx
9.479xxxxxxx
9.1[2-9]xx[2-9]xxxxxx

The addition of a 7-digit pattern allows CUCM to match that pattern and immediately connect the call.
Modifying the 10-digit pattern with the area code provides a quick pattern match for 10-digit calls.
The 11-digit long distance pattern remained unchanged.

CiscoLIVE! – Not this year….

Regretfully, I’ve had decline the trip to CiscoLive in San Fran.  Even with the free pass, the cost was escalating rapidly, approaching $2,000 by the time I figured in air fare, hotel and misc expenses.  I’ve decided to focus my attention (and $$) on completing the CCNP in the next few months.

In retrospect, I don’t think Cisco could have picked a more expensive place to have their event. (maybe New York) I know San Fran is their back yard, but come on!  Not everyone can afford a $230/night hotel room.

Suggestion to Cisco, pick some place less expensive in the middle of the country, Dallas, KC, Chicago, St. Louis.  Even Denver or Las Vegas would be a better choice.

T1 Crossover Cable

Friday night I wasted three hours and a call to TAC on this issue.

We said goodbye to our Nortel BCM and cut-over to a new Cisco UC system Friday afternoon.  Our call gateway, a Cisco 2821, is located in the same rack with our UC servers.  So, I had to run a cable from the smartjack on the opposite wall over to the server rack.

If you’ve followed this blog over the last couple of months you can see that I’m new to the Cisco VoIP scene.  When I asked the telco technician for the pin out of the cable running between the smartjack and the BCM,  I had no reason to doubt him when he said it was a standard ethernet cable.

Well, it’s not a standard ethernet cable, nor is it an ethernet crossover cable….

After the Cisco TAC engineer had verified the router config was correct, a co-worker of mine went looking for the original T1 cable.

On a T1 crossover cable, pins 1 & 4 and  2 & 5 should cross.  The original cable (above) had 1 & 5 and 2 & 4 crossed, but it still worked.

After we corrected the pin out on our new cable, the T1 came up and everything worked correctly.

Frustrating, but not something I’ll soon forget.

Configuring a UC520 – Part 1

The Cisco UC500 series is a very capable line of products that provide a full featured IP telephony solution for the SMB space.  Telephony options include support PSTN and IP trunks, Cisco VoIP phones and local analog devices.    The model I’ll be configuring is a UC520, with integrated wireless and firewall.

Before getting started I need to download the Cisco Configuration Assistant.  As of this writing, the latest release is v2.0, dated 5/21/09.  It can be obtained from http://cisco.com/go/configassist. Click on the download link in the support section on the right side of the screen.  You will need a valid Cisco login to download the software.  It’s an 84Meg download so be patient.

In addition, I’ll need to download the latest software package for the UC520.  This comes in the form of a 224Meg zip file containing the IOS, CME and config files and phone loads.  As of this writing the latest version is 7.0(2) dated 2/23/09.  It contains IOS version uc500-advipservicesk9-mz.124-20.

The UC500 packs a lot of features in a small package.  The gigantic external power brick spoils what would otherwise be a completely self contained unit.  The power brick is a pain because you have to make accommodations for it in the wiring closet.

With all of the software downloaded I’m ready to start the install of the configuration assistant.  The CCA is a standard Windows installer package (no MAC version!).  I’ll be installing it into a Windows Xp VM on my Macbook Pro.