Ask the Expert: Designing, Configuring & Monitoring of Cisco Unity Connection

[ciscomoderator]

With Aashish Jolly

Welcome to the Cisco Support Community Ask the Expert conversation. This is an opportunity to learn and ask questions about Designing, Configuring & Monitoring of Cisco Unity Connection with Aashish Jolly.

This is an opportunity to learn more about & ask questions about Designing, Configuring & Monitoring of Cisco Unity Connection.

Aashish Jolly is a network consulting engineer who is currently serving as the Unified Communications (UC) consultant for the ExxonMobil Global account. Earlier at Cisco, he was part of the Cisco Technical Assistance Center, where he helped customers Cisco partners with installation, configuring, and troubleshooting UC products such as Cisco UC Manager and Manager Express, Cisco Unity solutions, Cisco Unified Border Element, voice gateways and gatekeepers, and more. He has been associated with Cisco UC for more than seven years. He holds a bachelor of technology degree as well as CCIE(Voice) # 18500, CCNP Voice, CCNA, VCP 5 and RHCE certifications.

Aashish might not be able to answer each question due to the volume expected during this event. Remember that you can continue the conversation on the Security sub-community forum shortly after the event. This event lasts through April 2, 2013. Visit this forum often to view responses to your questions and the questions of other community members.

[Aman Soi]

Hi Aashish,

What exactly is the command to monitor UCxN working in HA mode , the way we do in Cisco Call Manager [utils d breplication runtimestate]?

regds,

aman

[Aashish Jolly]

Hi Aman,

The cli command show cuc cluster status is one possible way. The  second group of information displayed by the command pertains to database replication. If database replication is running, the State field for both the pub and sub server should be Active and the Status field should show Connected for the other server. Here's an example of the command output for both a Pub and Sub where database replication is working properly:

Command run on the Pub:

admin:show cuc cluster status

Server Name   Member ID  Server State  Internal State  Reason

------------  ---------  ------------  --------------  ------

sea-vm-ks-16  0          Primary       Pri Active      Normal

sea-vm-ks-17  1          Secondary     Sec Active      Normal

SERVER                 ID STATE    STATUS     QUEUE  CONNECTION CHANGED

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

g_ciscounity_pub      100 Active   Local           0

g_ciscounity_sub1     101 Active   Connected       0 Nov 22 10:55:57

###########

################

Command run on the Sub:

admin:show cuc cluster status

Server Name   Member ID  Server State  Internal State  Reason

------------  ---------  ------------  --------------  ------

sea-vm-ks-16  0          Primary       Pri Active      Normal

sea-vm-ks-17  1          Secondary     Sec Active      Normal

SERVER                 ID STATE    STATUS     QUEUE  CONNECTION CHANGED

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

g_ciscounity_pub      100 Active   Connected       0 Nov 22 10:55:57

g_ciscounity_sub1     101 Active   Local           0

###########

###################

Here's an example of running the command on the Pub where database replication with the Sub is disconnected:

admin:show cuc cluster status

Server Name   Member ID  Server State  Internal State  Reason

------------  ---------  ------------  --------------  ------

sea-vm-ks-16  0          Primary       Pri Active      Normal

sea-vm-ks-17  1          Secondary     Sec Active      Normal

SERVER                 ID STATE    STATUS     QUEUE  CONNECTION CHANGED

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

g_ciscounity_pub      100 Active   Local           0

g_ciscounity_sub1     101 Active   Disconnect      0 Nov 22 17:15:33

Here's an example of running the command on the Pub where database replication has been torn down and is not running:

admin:show cuc cluster status

Server Name   Member ID  Server State  Internal State  Reason

------------  ---------  ------------  --------------  ------

sea-vm-ks-16  0          Primary       Pri Active      Normal

sea-vm-ks-17  1          Secondary     Sec Active      Normal

Database replication is not active

For more details on Unity Connection Clustering, I recommend the following post -

https://supportforums.cisco.com/docs/DOC-5963

HTH,

Aashish

[Aman Soi]

Thanks alot Aashish.Excellent explaination along with supporting URL.

[Aman Soi]

Hi Aashish,

My requirement is to receive  the incoming fax from outside to my Email. Is there any way to achieve this without using third party server like RightFAX and configure FAX option if available in UCxN ?

Please advice.

regds,

aman

[Aashish Jolly]

Hi Aman,

    Currently fax integration in Cisco Unity Connection requires a Fax Server. The following 3rd party fax servers are supported

•OpenText Fax Server, RightFax Edition, versions 9.x and later. For more information, see the www.opentext.com

•Sagemcom Xmedius Fax SP version 6.5.5. For more information, see the www.sagemcom.com.

•Cisco Fax Server, version 9.x

---

Note Cisco will no longer be selling Cisco Fax Server version 9.x after May 2011; however, support for Cisco Fax Server will continue until May 2014. For detailed information on end-of-sale and end-of life dates for the Cisco Fax Server, see the information at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/voicesw/ps6789/ps5745/ps2237/end_of_life_notice_c51-630608.html.

---

For more details, I recommend the following interesting reads

Cisco Fax Server Integration in Cisco Unity Connection 9.x - Design Guide
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/connection/9x/design/guide/9xcucdg080.html

Creating a Cisco Fax Server Integration in Cisco Unity Connection 9.x
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/connection/9x/administration/guide/9xcucsag246.html

HTH,

Aashish

[ddondilip]

Hi Aashish,

How are the resources planned on the Cisco Unity for an enterprise having 400 users which would later scale upto 1000 users with basic Voice mail features.

Regards,

Dilip kumar

[Aashish Jolly]

Hi Dilip,

   I assume you're referring to Cisco Unity Connection here as Cisco Unity went end of sale in Jan 2012. Considering Unity Connection 9.1.1, a 1000 user system would need the following

vCPU = 1 (2.13 GHz reserved)

vDisk = 1 x 160 (file system aligned at 64KB blocks)

vRAM = 4 GB

You also get the following with this template

Approximate message storage, G-711 codec, minutes = 72,944

Voice Ports per server = 24

Users = 1000

For more details, I recommend the following interesting documents

Specifications for Virtual Platform Overlays for Currently Shipping Connection 9.x Servers

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/connection/9x/supported_platforms/9xcucspl.html#wp703559

OVA Template Details for Unity Connection Release 9.1.1

http://docwiki.cisco.com/wiki/OVA_Template_Details_for_Unity_Connection_Release_9.1.1

Download Cisco Unity Connection 9.1.1 OVA

http://software.cisco.com/download/release.html?mdfid=283062758&flowid=31846&softwareid=282074348&release=OVA-9.1&relind=AVAILABLE&rellifecycle=&reltype=latest

HTH,

Aashish

[ddondilip]

Aashish,

Thanks for the detailed response on the scalability design.

Dilip

[Jeylinux4Cisco]

Hi Ashish,

This discussion post is really interesting and helpful.. I have a basi question here.. Since i came into Designing work newly.

As per the Cisco Recommendation 24 ports for Standalone Cluster and 48 Ports for Active/Active Cluster config. May I know how these 24 ports are mapping to 1000 users?

Regards,

Bala

[Aashish Jolly]

Hi Bala,

   The typical port to user ratio is 1:40, with that in mind, we will require 24 ports as the license is available in increment of 2 and hence 25 ports is not possible.

Regards,

Aashish

[Jeylinux4Cisco]

Hi Aashish,

Yes, It was there in my mind befiore i ask the question, But if we apply that ratio for 10,000 or 20,000 users, Output is coming in different figures from Cisco Recommendation.

Example:

For 10,000 users

As per 1:40 ratio calculation = 0.025 * 10000 = 250 Ports

As per Cisco Recommendation = 150 Ports

For 20,000 users

As per 1:40 ratio calculation = 0.025 * 20000 = 500

As per Cisco Recommendation = 250 Ports

It would be great if you clear my confusion here, Thanks again..

Regards,

Bala

[Aashish Jolly]

Hi Bala,

   That is a good question and I never paid attention to it. Typically we just deploy as is, however I'm researching further to get clarification on this point i.e. to find out the factors contributing to the port calculation and I'll keep you posted on it.

Regards,

Aashish

[kking2008]

Hi Aashish, I have a recurring issue with Unity Connection remote port status monitor application.  When I attempt to use this I have already enabled "port status monitor output" and added my IP address to the list of allowed IP hosts in the Conversation section of Advanced settings.

I am using rPSM 2.0.0.16 and  UnityConnection 8.6.1 or 8.6.2.  I've noticed that I will get the "Connection  refused by remote server - make sure the IP address of the client  machine you're running remote port status monitor on is included in the  list on the Connection server that allows for remote connections.  See  help for more details." error message.

If  I am patient enough, and keep trying it will eventually let me in after 5 or 10 minutes.  Is  there a service I can restart to speed this conversation up or do I just  need to wait for the timeout value before the allowed list is  refreshed?

thanks,

Kasey

[Aashish Jolly]

     Hi Kasey,

   The issue you've mentioned is quite strange. I would try the following

1. Update to the latest version available here -

http://www.ciscounitytools.com/Applications/CxN/PortStatusMonitorCUC7x/PortStatusMonitorCUC7x.html

2. Double check unity connection configuration for RPSM i.e.

    - 'Enable Remote Port Status Monitor Output' Checked

    - IP Addressess Allowed to Connect For Port Status Monitor Output (comma-separated) populated with client IP      Address.

3. If the issue persists, restart Connection Database Proxy & Connection Realtime Monitoring API's

4. If the issue is still persistant, we'll have to grab packet captures to see what is happening on the wire.

Regards,

Aashish