Paging across VPN

[ptaggelisten]

We have CME 3.0 with 5 remotes using 871 routers establishing VPNs with an ASA 5510. The remotes have 7960 phones. We do paging to all 7960 phones in our office through the phone loudspeakers. Is it possible to do 2-way paging across the VPNs to and from the remote 7960 phones?

[anup.anand]

Never tested this, but I think it should work if you are using the unicast method for paging.

Regards,

Anup

[ptaggelisten]

That is a good suggestion. It appears that our paging is set up for Multicast. How can I change it to unicast? By the way, the way it's configured now, remotes can do a page and we hear it in the office. But when we do a page in the office, the remotes don't hear the page. Their phones appear to be receiving the page but no audio comes out of the loudspeaker.

[anup.anand · Accepted solution]

To setup unicast paging,

ephone 1

number 1000

paging-dn 10 unicast

Please be advised that the number of phones that can use unicast is limited to 10.

Regards,

Anup

[skhilnan]

BTW, you know remote phones are not supported with CME 3.0. Official support for remote phones was added with CME 4.0 (IOS image 12.4.4XC posted a couple of weeks ago). This allows you to do things like set the remote phones as G.729 devices so that they do not use up so much bandwidth across the WAN. Other features in 4.0 include VT Advantage video telephony, support for 7911/41/61/IP Communicator, B-ACD enhancements, call coverage improvements, and a whole host of other improvements / features. I would suggest that if any of you decide to install this SW, you play with it in the lab first. We will require people to migrate to the equivalent "T" train when it becomes available in June/July.

Now as far as your question on paging across VPNs, I do not know the answer to it, but figured it was a good opp to plug the new release of the product.

BTW, can you tell me why you decided to use ASA 5510s vs using the VPN capability on a ISR 28xx, or 38xx router? I am assuming that an ISR is what you are using?

In addition, if any of you have feedback on things we can do better on the product, please feel free to email me.

Thanks

Sarat (skhilnan@cisco.com)