Below is a list of responses to the outstanding questions and/or issues raised during the PNLUCC-1003 (Ask the Expert: Unified Communications Panel) session at Cisco Live 2010 in Las Vegas, NV on Thursday, July 1st.”
Question: I’ve heard that “.0” releases are not as stable as later releases such as “.1” is that true?
Answer: Each customer has to make their own assessment of the reward of new features and functions vs. risk of moving to a new release. Cisco uses a “system release” process that assembles all the components of a release and extensively exercises them in a variety of customer deployment configurations. This is done for all releases where a significant number of release components change – particularly for “.0” releases. So in some sense “.0” releases get more attention and testing that smaller releases.
Question: What is the plan for Cisco MeetingPlace Express support for 8.0 and beyond?
Answer: Cisco recently announced the end-of-sale and end-of-life of the MeetingPlace Express product. Details about this announcement including specific dates and product migration information can be found here:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/voicesw/ps6789/ps5664/ps6533/end_of_life_notice_c51-566004.html
Question: What is the plan for supporting applications and features (things like SRST/CME, Cisco Unified Manager Assistant, etc.) with new phone devices?
Answer: Our general approach is to support all of (or as many as possible) the existing applications and features available with any new phone or endpoint devices. However, in some cases, we may release new phone/endpoint hardware prior to having support for all applications and features. In those cases, we make every effort to include support for these missing features or applications as quickly as possible with a subsequent firmware update. Unfortunately, getting complete feature parity on a new phone or endpoint may take several releases, but we always attempt to add missing features or application support as quickly as we can.
As an example, while the Cisco Unified Manager Assistant application is not currently support with the 9951 and 9971 Cisco Unified IP Phones, support for this application within the 99xx product family is expected. However, a specific release has not yet been targeted for support.
Please refer to the latest phone product documentation for details on specific features and application support on http://www.cisco.com
Question: When will multi-line support be available in Cisco Unified Personal Communicator?
Answer: Currently nothing has been committed to provide multi-line support on Cisco Unified Personal Communicator, but it is our desire to support that functionality in a future release. In the meantime, for those customers looking for or requiring a software based client that supports multiple lines, we recommend using Cisco IP Communicator.
Question: I have found a number of DSP calculators on www.cisco.com. Which one should I use?
Answer: For the following platforms, use the DSP Calculator tool at: http://www.cisco.com/cgi-bin/Support/DSP/cisco_dsp_calc.pl
For the following platforms, use the DSP Calculator tool at: http://www.cisco.com/web/applicat/dsprecal/dsp_calc.html
- ISR G1 2800/3800
- ISR G2 2900/3900
If you are a partner and have access to the UC Sizing Tool (http://tools.cisco.com/cucst/faces/solutionsCatalog.jsp), you may also use that for DSP calculation on the ISR G1 and G2 platforms.
Question: Is Client Matter Code (CMC) and Forced Authorization Code (FAC) support coming with Cisco SIP phones?
Answer: Yes, we are in the process of planning support for Client Matter Codes and Forces Authorization Codes on our SIP phones in a future firmware release. We do not yet have a committed date for release, but we are actively pursuing support.
Question: Cisco Unified Communications Manager with release 7.0 started to support "+" as a leading character in directory numbers and patterns. What is still missing is the capability to enter a "+" on endpoints.
Answer: All IP Phones with the exception of 7940/60 already support "+" dialing from the missed calls directory. Entering a "+" already is supported on Cisco Unified Personal Communicator and on the 7925 phone (press and hold 0). Support for other phone models is planned. If E.164 dialing is a requirement we currently recommend to use "*" as the steering character to initiate E.164 dialing. The "*" can be entered on all existing phone models. The dialplan in Cisco Unified Communications Manager has to be able to consume the *E.164 dialing.
Question: Although it´s possible to include a leading "+" in directory numbers configured in Cisco Unified Communications Manager, some applications (like Cisco Unified Contact Center) still don´t support directory numbers that have a "+".
Answer: It´s important to understand that using +E.164 numbers as directory numbers has an impact on a number of systems from applications controlling lines with these directory numbers to billing systems that have to be able to consume +E.164s in call detail records. Basically all applications working with or on directory numbers now have to be able to handle long (up to 16 characters) directory numbers that do not only have digits. For Cisco applications like Contact Center Express and Unity Connection native support for +E.164s is planned. Unity connection already supports +E.164s as alternate extensions. Another option to be able to use +E.164s with Unity Connection is to mask the "+" in the voicemail profile settings. As a workaround E.164 numbers without a "+" can be used as directory numbers. Support for "+" dialing can still be achieved by creating the appropriate transformations in the dialplan.
Question: When will Cisco Support non-UCS platforms for virtualization? (like IBM Blade servers or HP or DELL)
Answer: Cisco's long term vision is to support non-UCS platforms for virtulization. But nothing is road-mapped, planned or committed at this time. Also check the Virtual UC on UCS FAQ for other related questions.
