Cisco Mobile Clients

William Bell · ‎09-10-2011

For the past few years I have worked with the Unified Mobility features that were ported to CUCM (6.0.1). Cisco refers to these as Mobile Voice Access and Mobile Connect. With Mobile Connect being more widely known as "Single Number Reach". I initially worked with Cisco Unified Mobile Advantage (CUMA) back when the proxy server was a 1 RU MCS server. That didn't last long and was quickly replaced by an ASA component. CUMA and the Unified Mobile Communicator were not what I would call "advantageous". So, I steared away from recommending that solution to customers.

Since then, Cisco has made tremendous progress in porting the mobility capabilities to CUCM. Creating a more seemless experience for users and a mobile client that is relevant to customer needs. At least, my customers see the benefit. Recently, I had the opportunity to get up to speed and do some digging into the Cisco Mobile Clients. I had to parse a few docs to get a clear picture, so I thought it may be helpful to share my notes. I also provide several references at the end of this blog, just in case.

This blog uses content originally posted by me on the NetCraftsmen blog site:

http://www.netcraftsmen.net/resources/blogs/cisco-mobile-client-update.html

Background

This blog is focused on the various Cisco mobile clients. While the Unified Mobility feature on the Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) plays a key role in building the user experience, we aren't covering that feature here.

Note: Cisco is apparently rebranding the Cisco Mobile product as "Cisco Jabber for iPhone"
(and Cisco Jabber for Android). When looking at documentation, you will find documents under
"Cisco Jabber", "Cisco Mobile", and "Unified Mobile Communicator". It is best to go by version numbers.

The Clients

Cisco Unified Mobile Communicator

Cisco Unified Mobile Communicator (version 7.x) is a client that works with Cisco Unified Mobile Advantage (CUMA) to extend certain Cisco UC applications to a mobile device across the mobile data network. This client is not a dual mode client. It is a client that expands the communication paths available to a mobile device by allowing proxied connections to the corporate UC infrastructure.

In addition to CUMA, the Unified Mobile Communicator requires the Cisco ASA appliance loaded with the appropriate complement of Mobility Proxy licenses.

In June 2011, Cisco released the End of Life (EoL) announcement for Cisco Unified Mobile Advantage and the Unified Mobile Communicator. In my opinion, this is a good thing. The solution didn't really hit the mark.

Cisco Mobile (Jabber) Client for iPhone

The Cisco Mobile 8.0 and 8.1 clients are dual-mode clients, which are characterized by the following attributes:

Supports direct registration to CUCM and integration with UC applications over the corporate WLAN
- When on the corporate WLAN, no additional components are required
- When off site, the client can still connect to the corporate UC environment using VPN technology (assumes the mobile device has access to a hotspot or home WLAN)
Supports manual hand-off to the GSM network. The idea is that the user leverages Cisco Mobile while on the corporate WLAN and can then transfer the active call to the mobile/voice port on their mobile device (CUCM provides several methods that aren't discussed hered).

Some general considerations when deciding to use Mobile 8.0 or 8.1 for iPhone:

Mobile 8.0 support iPhone 3G
Mobile 8.1 supports:
- iPhone 3GS and 4
- 3rd and 4th generation iPod Touch
- iPad (iOS 4.2 or later)
CUCM versions that support Mobile 8.0: 6.1.5, 7.1.3, 7.1.5, 8.0.3a SU1
CUCM versions that support Mobile 8.1: 7.1.5b SU3, 8.0.3a SU1, 8.5.1
Mobile 8.1 supports the Apple "multi-tasking" feature in iOS 4.1 and later
- This does require a custom SIP profile with a longer keepalive timer on the CUCM

Cisco Mobile (Jabber) Client for Android

I originally wrote about the Cisco Mobile client for Android in February 2011. On initial announcement, the expected ship date was March 2011. Well, the product was announced as available in April (close enough). Cisco Mobile (Jabber) version 8.6 for Android was released on April 2011 and is currently on New Product Hold. This means, contact your Cisco Account Manager if you are interested in testing/deploying. (It also means that Cisco is figuring out how well the client works on non-tested Android devices - my opinion)

Version 8.6 supports CUCM versions: 6.1.5, 7.1.5, 8.0.3, 8.5, and 8.6 (8.6 requires Cisco Mobile 8.6.1).

Because there are a variety of platforms and devices for Android, Cisco has to limit the scope of what they officially support "end-to-end". So, official support is only available for:

The Samsung Galaxy S i9000, Android version 2.2.1
The Samsung Galaxy Tab (international version), Android version 2.2

Note: Although not officially supported, Cisco Mobile runs on many Android platforms running version 2.2 or later with various degrees of limitations depending on the device. What does that mean? It means TEST before you deploy.

The Cisco Mobile client for Android offers similar functionality and characteristics as listed for the iPhone client. However, the nature of the OS and the fact that there is a wide variance in platform options leads to some feature differences. One primary difference, which we discuss later, is VPN client support.

Cisco Mobile Client for BlackBerry

Cisco is not releasing a Cisco Mobile Client for BlackBerry (sorry to mislead). The Cisco Unified Mobile Client version 7.x is the last mobile client for BlackBerry. On 4/25/2011, Cisco announced the End of Life (EoL) for the BlackBerry Unified Mobile Client. The last day to order this client is 10/25/2011.

Cisco is not planning on replacing this client with a new version and recommends either changing platforms (if you want to use Cisco Mobile) or migrate to the RIM Mobile Voice System (MVS). MVS is an add-on to the BES. At a high-level, the MVS is inserted into every call flow. A deeper discussion of the MVS is something for another blog.

The Design and Deployment Considerations

The Cisco Mobile clients act very much like a 3rd party SIP client loaded on the mobile device. Some of our customers are actually considering a migration from standard Cisco VoWLAN devices to Cisco Mobile on "multi-task" devices. This makes sense to me (I am not a fan of "uni-taskers", but you should keep in mind some key differences:

Feature	Cisco Mobile for iPhone	Cisco Wireless IP Phone
Signaling Protocol Support	SIP	SCCP
QoS	Not supported	WMM
WLAN Call Admission Control	Not Supported	TSPEC, QBSS
802.11b/g	Supported	Supported
802.11a	Not supported	Supported
Roaming	Signal Strength	Signal strength, packet loss, QoS
TFTP Configuration	Yes	Yes
Handoff to GSM	Manual	n/a

Network Design Considerations

Some design considerations for Cisco Mobile on your WLAN:

iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad support WLAN in the 2.4GHz range (the same as bluetooth)
802.11a is not supported on iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad
Some Cisco WLAN extensions (most notably those for QoS) are not support on Apple devices
Apple and Android devices will be used by users for many other things outside of voice or UC applications. IOW, the traffic profile is drastically different

Cisco provides some design guidance in the Cisco Mobile deployment guide. A link to this document is provided later.

Application and Feature Support

Some additional thoughts on applications and features that you may care about:

VPN

If you require the ability to support remote access between the Cisco Mobile Client and the UC environment when the device is not on corporate network then a VPN solution is required.

For Apple iOS devices, the solution is pretty straightforward using Cisco's AnyConnect Secure Mobility client. Some considerations:

Cisco recommends Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility client for iOS 4+
The VPN works over WLAN (i.e. hotspot)
The Cisco Mobile client can be configured to launch VPN automatically (via some DNS trickery)
Cisco ASA 8.2.3.6, 8.3.2.7, 8.4 or later is required
AnyConnect VPN client release 2.4.4009 or later

For Android OS, the path is not as clear. Until recently (7/7/2011), Cisco did not support AnyConnect on Android devices. The limiting factor being that Google hasn't built SSL VPN capabilities into the core OS and your mileage varies based on each vendor's UI implementation.

Note: I read in several forums that other VPN approaches work but I did not test this nor do I recommend this
approach.

Cisco AnyConnect release 2.4 added support for the following Samsung devices running Android OS:

Galaxy S and S II (Android 2.3.3 and later)
Galaxy Tab 7 (Android 2.3.3 and later)
Galaxy Tab 8.9 (Android 3.0 and later)

The ASA version support is the same as for the iOS AnyConnect client. I suppose we should round this out with licensing:

One of the following core license options are required:
- Cisco AnyConnect Essentials license: Sufficient for ASA releases 8.2(5) and 8.4(2) and later
- Cisco AnyConnect Premium Clientless SSL VPN Edition: required for ASA 8.0(4), < 8.2(4), and 8.4(1)
AnyConnect mobile license

Cisco Mobile Connect (Single Number Reach)

What started it all (IMO - Remember that Unified Mobility server way back when?). Cisco Mobile Connect works with iPhone and Android phones in the same way as it does with any other mobile device. The only notable difference is that when the Cisco Mobile client registers to the CUCM, the CUCM is smart enough to dis-engage the Mobile Connect feature for that DN.

Corporate Directory

This is a key consideration. The CUCM native corporate directory application is not supported with Cisco Mobile clients. Instead, Cisco Mobile clients can leverage a corporate LDAP repository for user look-up. At this time, only Microsoft AD is supported. When looking at this design element think "Application Dial Rules" / "Directory Look-up Rules" and you should be good to go (unless, of course, you don't use MS AD for LDAP).

Unity Connection

We are running a little long, but I did want to mention Visual Voicemail and Speech Dialing. The Cisco Mobile clients can leverage Cisco Unity Connection to enhance user experience. Speech Dialing is of particular interest. It allows users to place calls by speaking the name of the person they want to reach. Behind the scenes, the Cisco Mobile client calls a speech enabled directory handler on Unity Connection. With iOS devices, the experience is even further enhanced by automatically making the connection to Unity Connection based on a gesture (i.e. a user brings the phone up to their ear). Nifty.

The Links (i.e. References)

I have taken enough of your time. If you want to read more then please feel free to dig into the following:

Cisco Mobile (Jabber) for iphone (8.1)

Cisco Mobile (Jabber) for Android:

VPN Client information:

Android: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/security/vpn_client/anyconnect/anyconnect24/release/notes/rn-ac2.4-android.html
Links discussing support (or lack of support) for SSL VPN on Android:
iOS: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/security/vpn_client/anyconnect/anyconnect24/release/notes/rn-ac2.4-apl4.2.html

BlackBerry:

Cisco EoL Announcement: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/voicesw/ps6789/ps7290/ps7271/end_of_life_notice_c51-663502.html

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William Bell is a consultant with Chesapeake NetCraftsmen and a Cisco Designated VIP. You can find more blogs related to Cisco Unified Communications and Collaboration at www.netcraftsmen.net.

Vikrant Ambhore · ‎09-14-2011

Hi William,

It's Good Article, I need your guidence for using VOIP on Android through UC520

We are using Cisco UC520 router for VOIP, Now I want to use Cisco Jabber with UC520, We have Android Phone & we want to configure Jabber with UC520 & want to place & receive call from My android phone by UC520, I download & Install Cisco Jabber on Android, but I am having too trouble & can't understand where to start, I have the TFTP server address but What do I enter in the device id field in Android ?

At the moment I have Version 4.2(0) Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express But I am going to update it to CUE is 8.2

If Cisco Jaaber is not supported on UC520 so please suggest me any good application for Android from UC520

Can you help me ?

William Bell · ‎09-15-2011

Vikrant,

I haven't seen anything that suggests Cisco Jabber for Android is supported on CME. CME 8.6 added support for Cisco Mobile (Jabber) for Apple devices. The following shows how to configure that feature:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cucme/admin/configuration/guide/cmelabel.html#wpxref89588

I imagine that Cisco will support Cisco Jabber for Android in the future but it is anyone's guest as to when.

As for alternatives, I have done some tests with CSipSimple and SipDroid on the Android platform. I have only tested them on a CUCM platform (not Express). The only 3rd party SIP client I have tested on CME is X-Lite. So, I believe it would be possible to get 3rd party droid clients working with CME. I just haven't tested that yet.

If you think that it would be helpful, you can find blogs on the two droid clients (on CUCM) and the X-Lite client (on CUCM and CME) here:

http://www.netcraftsmen.net/resources/blogs/blogger/William%20Bell/

HTH.

Regards,

Bill

.

andyhibbert · ‎09-16-2011

Hi William

I've been doing a fair bit of Jabber client testing with CUCM. Listed below is what I've found so far. It may be of some interest.

Android device is a Samsung Galaxy S2 running Android 2.3.3. Jabber client is 8.6.1

1st test system:

With CUCM 7.1.5.31900-3 and cmterm-android-12.cop.sgn COP file.

Galaxy connected to an Internet Wi-Fi access point.

Galaxy connected to corporate LAN via AnyConnect VPN client.

Jabber client registers with CUCM

When looking at the phone registration details on the CUCM the IP address of the Jabber client is shown as the public IP assigned to the Galaxy Wi-Fi not the AnyConnect client address on the Galaxy.

Calling another phone (7940) on the same CUCM cluster from the Galaxy the 7940 at the far end rings. There is audio from the Galaxy to the 7940, there is no audio from the 7940 to the Galaxy.

Hang up the call from the 7940 and the Galaxy continues with the call.

Hang up the call from the Galaxy and the 7940 also terminates the call.

Calling the Galaxy from the 7940 gives a number unobtainable tone

2nd test system:

With CUCM 7.1.5.31900-3 and cmterm-android-12.cop.sgn COP file.

Galaxy connected to an corporate Wi-Fi access point.

Jabber client registers with CUCM.

When looking at the phone registration details on the CUCM the IP address of the Jabber client is shown as the IP assigned to the Galaxy Wi-Fi.

Call from the Galaxy to another phone (7940) on the same CUCM cluster and there is two way audio.

The call can be terminated by either party.

Call from the 7940 to the Galaxy, there is audio from the 7940 to the Galaxy but no audio from the Galaxy to the 7940. The call can be terminated by either party.

3rd test system:

With CUCM 8.6.1.20000-1, no COP file required, device is defined.

Galaxy connected to an Internet Wi-Fi access point.

Galaxy connected to corporate LAN via AnyConnect VPN client.

Jabber client registers with CUCM.

When looking at the phone registration details on the CUCM the IP address of the Jabber client is shown as the public IP assigned to the Galaxy Wi-Fi not the AnyConnect client address on the Galaxy.

Calling another phone (7940) on the same CUCM cluster from the Galaxy the 7940 at the far end rings. There is audio from the Galaxy to the 7940, there is no audio from the 7940 to the Galaxy.

Hang up the call from the 7940 and the Galaxy continues with the call.

Hang up the call from the Galaxy and the 7940 also terminates the call.

Calling the Galaxy from the 7940 gives a number unobtainable tone

4th test system:

With CUCM 8.6.1.20000-1, no COP file required, device is defined.

Galaxy connected to an corporate Wi-Fi access point.

Jabber client fails to register with CUCM. This is just plain bizzare. I am currently looking at the cause of this with the RTMT.

So far I'm not too impressed with Jabber for Android, I'm not surprised it's on product hold.

Andy

BTW I'm using CSipSimple as a CUCM connected SIP phone. Thanks for the configuration details you published on your site.

vince.steiner · ‎09-19-2011

What do you think of NAT/PAT CUCM and Unity to the outside and opening certain ports so the iPhone will register and work without VPN?

William Bell · ‎09-19-2011

Gregory,

I am not a fan of that idea. Since you don't know where the Cisco Mobile client is coming from (i.e. the IP address) you have to open various port ranges from any source IP address. The clients initiate connections to the CUCM, so you have to allow ingress from any IP to SIP ports (for Cisco Mobile). You also need to open up ports for TFTP (which uses ephemeral ports).

You also have the media. When the Cisco Mobile device calls another IP phone, anywhere on your network, you have to open a broad range of UDP ports. The same is true fo Unity. Also true for media resources like MoH, CFB, etc.

I suppose one could employee a TRP to force media to/from the Cisco Mobile clients to flow through one device (i.e. IP) but you still have to open a broad range of ports from any IP address to critical voice services. Maybe if you expand the concept to a DMZ-like config where a CUCM is deployed in a DMZ or public space for Cisco Mobile only and a TRP is leveraged for media path then maybe there is something to ponder. However, you will want to ensure you are authenticating and encrypting all call signaling (i.e. TLS) and media (i.e. SRTP) traffic. You will also want to anticipate a ton of unwelcome attempts to connect to your boxes.

With all of those considerations, having a VPN client seems more appealing to me.

HTH.

Regards,

Bill

Sumaiya Khanom · ‎09-28-2011

Can any one suggest me regarding the study material for Cisco 642-374 CXFS exam? If any one has idea, please share with me.

Regards,

Sumaiya

sumaiyasub@gmail.com

Sumaiya Khanom · ‎10-11-2011

Can any one suggest on the solution of Vedio Conferenincing with Cisco? Waiting for the response. Now a days this solution is a common requirement of the customers. Since I am a presales engineer, I want to get details on this solution. If any one has knowledge, please share...

William Bell · ‎10-11-2011

Sumaiya Khanom wrote:

Can any one suggest me regarding the study material for Cisco 642-374 CXFS exam? If any one has idea, please share with me.

Regards,

Sumaiya

sumaiyasub@gmail.com

Sumaiya,

I'd recommend going to the community for certifications to research the Cisco 642-374 exam.

Regards,

Bill

William Bell · ‎10-11-2011

Sumaiya Khanom wrote:

Can any one suggest on the solution of Vedio Conferenincing with Cisco? Waiting for the response. Now a days this solution is a common requirement of the customers. Since I am a presales engineer, I want to get details on this solution. If any one has knowledge, please share...

Sumaiya,

If you are looking for an "end-to-end" Cisco solution then you will need to review the Cisco TelePresence offering. As you may be aware, Cisco acquired Tandberg in 2010 and when the Tandberg portfolio was merged into the Cisco portfolio the "TelePresence" brand was applied. So, TelePresence includes more than just the "immersive" solutions.

You can find out more here:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps7060/index.html

If, on the other hand, you are looking at other solutions like Polycom or Life Size then you need to research their respective sites for interoperability information around SIP and H.323.

Regards,

Bill

Sumaiya Khanom · ‎10-11-2011

Dear Bill,

Thanks for your response. Can you please share the solution with Cisco Unified Meeting Place where I have found that it is capable to give solution with Webex, Audio/Vedio Conference & Meeting. But the solution is not as much clear to me that I can offer to customer. If it is possible to give an overview on this solution to understand better to make the customer understood. Hope to hear from you very soon...

Regards,

Sumaiya

William Bell · ‎10-12-2011

Sumaiya,

I appreciate your curiosity and desire to get accurate information for your customer. However, these questions are way off topic. I recommend you take a look at the documentation Cisco offers on CCO and then post questions the "Unified Communications Applications" community:

https://supportforums.cisco.com/community/netpro/collaboration-voice-video/unified-comm-application

Regards,

Bill

juan.anzola · ‎11-02-2011

Dear Mr. William,

In first place, i want to thank you about this article, it has been a great help to clarify the whole mobility environment. Right now, i am in the middle of a new IPT deployment which originally included Mobility Advantage 7.1 since Cisco has already released the EoL notice for this product we are not sure about continuing in that direction.

The requirement is to "Extend the benefits of the Corporate Telephony System to the Executive's Mobile Clients."

MOBILE CLIENTS:

iPhone
iPad
Android (Cius, Samsung, HTC)

All of this Devices can be registerd as dual mode phones via Corporate WLAN?
Is it Possible to use Cisco Mobile with VPN over 3G Networks?
Is it Possible to use Cisco Mobile with VPN over HotSpots or external WLAN?
For iPhone and iPad: Is it mandatory to use AnyConnect VPN or can be done via the Builtin IPSec client in iPhone/iPads?

Thanks in advance for your time.

Regards,

ivanvinac · ‎12-28-2011

Hello,

I have installed cisco jabber for iphone, and I have one question about autentification of users.

for example:

When You create user account for JOHN DOE, You send him information about:

Device ID: TCTJOHNDOE

TFTP server: 10.10.10.10

He enters data in jabber/mobile 8 and and that's it.

Problem is when others coworkers have iphones but they don't have account on CUCM for jabber.

They goes to app store and download aplication (jabber) and use data from other colleague.

They can see information about tftp server on they cisco ip phones (7911, 7962,..) and that's it! They use others account to call around and no one can't stop them.

of course they also have to guess name of account from their colleague, but it's logical order, name of user.

is there something what can anticipate this, some kind of a autentication that can verify that is the right user but not someone else?

I have run into "SIP Diagest Autentication", but I can't find where can I set password for specific user.

Can You help me!?

Thanks in advance!

Best regards

Ivan

ivanvinac · ‎12-29-2011

I have found solution of a problem.

Solution is SIP Diagest, because all non-cisco devices, if I understand correctly, are SIP devices, as far as CUCM.

solution is described at:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cumc/cisco_mobile/iPhone/8_0/Cisco_Mobile_iPhone_8.x_Admin_Guide.html#wp1324134

tarik.gad · ‎02-07-2012

Hello,

is voice go via PSTN or internet when Jabber register via VPN not via network wifi?

Cisco Mobile Clients

SIP TRUNKS and RUN on ALL ACTIVE CM NODES

CUBE SIP Media and Signalling Binding to an Interface

CE9.6.x/CE9.8.x - In-Room Control and Macros - USB input devices, HTTP POST / PUT / GET / DELETE / PATCH with return and Hiding default UI buttons