CUCM 6.x..carve out branch offices

[jeroenmaat]

Hi,

We would like to carve-out two small locations (50 and 100 users) of our current callmanager 6.X cluster. Those two locations do not have local callmanagers and will not be connected anymore to the network. They do have SRST and Unity express.

Does anyone know what I need? Afaik 6.X and 7.X is EOS so I need to go from a DLU license model to User license model? I need Cisco Callmanager (no BE or CCME). I guess we can use the MCS-7816-I4-IPC1 for each location but I have no clue which licenses to order. I also need attendant console at one location.

Thanks in advance,

[Jonathan Schulenberg]

You need to work with your Cisco partner on this. They have access to ordering guides for appropriate part numbers, hopefully a better insight into your network, an ability to have a conversation about what's best, and will have to place the order on your behalf anyways.

Here are the thoughts that come to mind based on what you've said:

• If you are going to buy another CUCM (instead of CCME), this becomes an interesting licensing discussion that you really need to have with your partner and Cisco AM.
  • Under DLU-based licenses, you could move the DLUs to a separate cluster and just buy new node and feature licenses.
  • Under UCL/UWL the feature and node licenses are eliminated. If you have UCSS coverage your existing users should automagically "convert" to UCL Enhanced users apparently (this is a huge point of confusion in the field). If you do not have UCSS, some theaters have a 3x3 upgrade promotion that would put you back under UCSS coverage and give you a major discount on the UCL Enhanced User licenses.
    In my opinion, you could make an argument that the converted UCL-based enhanced users can be split out into any quantity of clusters/nodes you desire since the node part numbers are now zero dollar line items. If you can get agreement on this, all you would effectively need to do is buy hardware and SMARTnet on it.
• CUCM 7.1 is still orderable; 7.0 and earlier are EoS.
• I would never recommend that a customer puts MCS7816 servers in production. It has a single SATA HD (no RAID) which - if you talk to storage folk - is an unacceptable failure risk.
  • Consider using UCS-based VMware host instead of MCS; this is the direction the entire VTG organization is moving.
• The included CCM-based CUAC is EoL and has been replaced with a non-free solution. Take note that the replacement also requires a customer-provided Windows server license and appropriate server hardware. The 8.5 version is now supported on a UCS B200M2 including coresidency with CUCM at least.

[jeroenmaat]

Hi Jonathan,

Thanks for your quick answer.

The Cisco AM and Cisco Partner are having difficulties putting this together too.

I do have Smartnet on the licenses (ESW) and  the hardware (SNTP) So what you are saying is that I can upgrade to 8.X (UCL/UWL) without buying user licenses? Is there a partcode for that?

I have been told that 7.1 is not orderable anymore so I will ask why it is not orderable. I assume the CUAC is still in 7.1 so that would be another benefit? I will consider the VMware option too.

Thanks, I will get back on this post.

[Jonathan Schulenberg · Accepted solution]

The Cisco AM and Cisco Partner are having difficulties putting this together too.

Well, that's a bit disturbing. I guess point them to these two links:

• www.cisco.com/web/partners/sell/technology/ipc/uc_tech_readiness.html
• https://www.myciscocommunity.com/community/partner/collaboration/licensing

I do have Smartnet on the licenses (ESW) and  the hardware (SNTP) 

First, let's get the terminology straight:

• SMARTnet: Hardware warranty coverage with a defined SLA. The SNTP term is one of a bunch of different letter abbrevations based on SLA.
• ESW: Cisco TAC support and access to bug fixes (e.g. 6.1.2.10000 to 6.1.5.10000).
• UCSS: Major version upgrade entitlement (e.g. 6.0 to 7.0). Note this requires an active ESW contract.

So what you are saying is that I can upgrade to 8.X (UCL/UWL) without buying user licenses?

Definitally not UWL. There is an entire ordering guide for a DLU-to-UWL transition. For customers with UCSS contracts Cisco is providing a migration into UCL. This is not to be taken lightly though; the entire concept of what is licensed pivots. There are no SKUs for this migration and customers who order UCL now are still provided DLU-based license files since CUCM will not be UWL/UCL aware until 9.0.

 Is there a partcode for that?

It's never as simple as a single part number. I choose not to provide a bill of materials or multi-part number suggestions on here. The risk of providing the wrong information is far too high and, frankly, I'm not willing to spend the time for free.

I assume the CUAC is still in 7.1 so that would be another benefit?

No. It was enabled in the 7.0/7.1 code only for clusters that were upgraded from earlier releases. It is past end of life and the installer purposely disables it for any fresh install. Your only option will be the CUxAC product, likely CUBAC. You may want to read Cisco Unified Attendant Console Migration Planning. Due to the cost, Cisco is recommending CUP or KEM for some environments instead. To say this is a sore topic is an understatement.