Overview
Cisco Configuration Assistant (CCA)is the small business configuration tool that integrates switching, routing, voice, wireless and security configuration. This intuitive GUI based application delivers the simplicity needed by Small business focused VARs and is the solution level tool that integrates the platforms within the Cisco Smart Business Communications System (SBCS).
The CCA 1.8 release features major enhancements to improve configuration of security, voice, wireless and system features of the platforms within SBCS.
The latest version, Cisco Configuration Assistant 1.8 adds the following enhancements:
Voice
- Cisco Unified IP Phones CP-521SG & CP-524SG w/integrated PC switch ports
- Cisco Unified IP Conference Phone 7937G & Cisco Unified IP Phone Expansion Modules 7915/16**
- Phone Button Labels
- Restart phones from topology view
- SIP trunk: Change order of custom access control list entries (ACE) applied to WAN interface
Security
- Cisco Secure Router 520 Series with Advanced (Zone-based) firewall and Secure Socket Layer (SSL) VPN
- Split-tunnel & Internet access through VPN tunnel modes in both SR500 and UC500 series
- Automatic VoIP pass-through with SR500 ADSL or Fastethernet WAN termination for UC500
- Display dynamically allocated WAN address in UC500 & SR500 VPN server configuration
Wireless
- Increase maximum to 10 autonomous AP
System
- Data VLAN IP address change & DHCP server configuration in device setup wizard
- Support upgrade to UC500 64 user license
- Progress bars for software upgrade
- Add CCA version and date/time stamp on UC500 configuration
** Requires UC500 early adopter software pack
For upgrading to latest UC500 software package using CCA, please view Upgrade UC500 software package using CCA
Product Literature
Support Documentation
To collect troubleshooting info using CCA, please follow the instructions on
How to collect troubleshooting information in CCA.
Systems Management
FAQ
Q. What are the system requirements for Cisco Configuration Assistant?
A. Cisco Configuration Assistant has the following minimum requirements:
- Pentium IV–based IBM PC or compatible computer
- Memory: 512 MB DRAM for XP. 1GB preferred for Vista
- Windows XP (Service Pack 1 or later) or Windows Vista (Ultimate Edition)
Q. What products are supported by Cisco Configuration Assistant?
A. Cisco Configuration Assistant supports all the devices in the Smart Business Communication System.
Q. Can Cisco Configuration Assistant function under any other operating systems (UNIX, Linux, Mac OS)?
A. Yes, CCA can be used with virtualization software on a Mac.Please refer to the CCA data sheet for details.
Q. How much does Cisco Configuration Assistant cost?
A. Cisco Configuration Assistant is included with each of the SBCS devices and is also a free download.
Q. How does someone get access to the latest version of Cisco Configuration Assistant?
A. Cisco Configuration Assistant is available as a free download at http://www.cisco.com/go/configassist.
Q. What languages are available for Cisco Configuration Assistant?
A. Cisco Configuration Assistant is available in eight languages: Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish.
Q. What is the difference between Cisco Configuration Assistant and Cisco Network Assistant?
A. Cisco Configuration supports Cisco Smart Business Communications System devices and has a device limit of 25. Cisco Network Assistant supports a broader range of devices (see datasheet for a complete list) and has a limit of up to 40 devices (not including AP's and IP Phones). Cisco NA does not support routers.
Q. How secure is Cisco Configuration Assistant?
A. Cisco Configuration Assistant does not persist the credentials of any of the devices that it is managing. Cisco Configuration Assistant supports secure protocols such as ssh and https to communicate with the devices.
Q. Can Cisco Configuration Assistant manage a multiple-vendor network?
A. No, Cisco Configuration Assistant exclusively manages Cisco devices.
Q. Do I need networking experience to use Cisco Configuration Assistant?
A. Although Cisco Configuration Assistant is a simple, intuitive, GUI-based application, relevant knowledge of networking principles will help you get the most out of the application.
Q. Are there any device limits in Cisco Configuration Assistant?
A. Yes, Cisco Configuration Assistant can manage as many as 25 devices per community. The following device limits apply:
- As many as 5 routers (not including teleworker)
- As many as 2 wireless controllers
- As many as 3 autonomous access points
- As many as 12 controller mode APs with two controllers
Q. What is a community and how many communities the CCA supports?
A. Community is a collection of the Mobility Express devices that are discovered by CDP in a common subnet of the seed device’s IP address. One CCA application can configure unlimited communities but manage only one at a time.
Q. How do I upgrade the Cisco IOS Software image of the Cisco devices in the customer network using Cisco Configuration Assistant?
A. Cisco Configuration Assistant allows administrators to drag the Cisco IOS software image stored on the local PC and drop the image on the Cisco device icon in the topology map.Please verify if the flash has eough storage space prior to doing so.
Q. How do I back up or restore configuration of the devices in my network using Cisco Configuration Assistant?
A. Use Cisco Configuration Assistant > Maintenence > Configuration Archive.Select All Devices as Hostname and click on Backup.For the Cisco Unified Communications 500 Series for Small Business, Cisco Configuration Assistant will back up both Cisco CallManager Express and Cisco Unity Express configurations and voicemail.
Q. How do I set up a multisite voice-over-IP (VoIP) deployment using Cisco Configuration Assistant?
A. Multisite voice configuration is not supported through Cisco Configuration Assistant today. It is planned for a future release. It is only supported using the CLI on the Cisco Unified Communications 500 Series for Small Business.
Q. Can partners configure the Cisco Unified Communications 500 Series for Small Business to fail over to analog (for example, fax ports (FXO) if they lose their Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunk connection to their service provider?
A. Cisco Configuration Assistant automatically sets up a SIP trunk with failover to any analog trunks present(that is, analog trunks are configured with lower preference than SIP trunks).
Q. How do I customize voicemail (CUE) and call control (CUCME) language in my customer's network for a particular region?
A. Pre-configuration Steps: 1. Download the desired CUCME language files from Cisco.com 2. Download the desired CUE language pack from Cisco.com 3. Copy the CME/CUE language files to the folder shown in the Location of Language Files field.
Configuration Steps: From the Region list, choose the region for CUCME.From the Phone Language list, choose the language that appears on the phones to the user. From the Voicemail Language list, choose the language of the voice mail prompts that voice mail users will hear.From the Date Format list, choose the date format.From the Time Format list, choose the time format.
The Region/Phone Language settings pertain to localization on the CME. The language files for CME are tar files that can be downloaded from Cisco.com. Voicemail Language setting pertains to localization on the CUE.
Q. What is the difference between the key system and PBX modes within CCA?
A. In keysystem mode one will not be able to configure SIP Trunking,Hunt Group,Pickup Group,Call Park,Conferencing,Call Blocking,Shared,Overlay and Monitor line association via CCA.
Q. How do I switch between key system and PBX mode in CCA?
A. In order to switch between key system and PBX mode, reset the UC-500 back to the factory default in CCA. The key system and PBX mode radio buttons will then be enabled to switch between the two modes.
Q. While resetting a device to factory default, does CCA also reset the CUE module to factory default on the UC-520?
A. Yes, CCA will reset the CME configuration and the CUE module to factory default on the UC-520
Q. Can Cisco Configuration Assistant configure devices across a WLAN/WAN link?
A. Yes, Cisco Configuration Assistant can configure devices across a WLAN. For devices across a WAN link, the partner has to establish a VPN to the customer site in order for Cisco Configuration Assistant to communicate with the customer's network.
Q. How do I provide feedback about Cisco Configuration Assistant to Cisco?
A. Click on the feedback icon on the toolbar to provide feedback about Cisco Configuration Assistant to Cisco. The information sent to Cisco is what is provided in the feedback form.One can also go to Help ---> Feedback.
Q. How do I provide logs about issues seen using the Cisco COnfiguration Assistant?
A. Please go to the folder (for eg: C:\Program Files\Cisco Systems\CiscoSMB\Cisco) Configuration Assistant where the Cisco Configuration Assistant is installed and provide the Application_Log_xxx_xxx_xx_xx_xx_xx_xxx_xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxxx.txt file.One could also click on Help ---> Support Information.Click on Troubleshooting Logs,this will bring up another window,click on generate logs.
Q. Which CCA version supports the 4.2.7 spftware pack which includes CUE 3.0 upgrade?
A. UC-520 4.2.7 software pack should only be upgraded with CCA 1.6. You can continue to use CCA 1.5 to manage/configure the SBCS solution elements but do not use CCA 1.5 to upgrade to your UC-520 to the 4.2.7 software pack.
Q. I would like to put UC520 in our own production however, we do have ASA5500 firewall in place therefore I do not want to create another subnet between ASA5500 and UC520
A. If there is an existing Data subnet 172.16.10.x (for Data) and 172.16.20.x (for Voice), one could configure dot1q trunking on the ASA5500. On the UC500, one will need to connect the ASA to a LAN interface and configure that L2 interface as a trunk. Create 2 VLANs on UC500, one for voice and the other for data but don't configure L3 VLAN interfaces since the ASA's subinterfaces would provide L3 routing between VLANs. Configure the DHCP scope for voice and data vlan on UC500 such that the default gateway points to the ASA's subinterfaces. For Voice, use the UC500 for tftp-server.
Using CCA create new VLANs using CCA and configure the DHCP scope as well.Change the smartport role for the L2 interface that will connect to the ASA and change the default smartport access/voice VLANs to reflect the new VLANs. Also disable NAT and FIREWALL on UC500.
Remember there are 3 subnets used by UC500 - data, voice and CUE. The only thing that you cannot do using CCA is: a) Change IP address for VLAN 1 - shouldn't be required as you can always create a new VLAN that would be used for data subnet b) Change IP address for CUE - may be required if the 10.1.10.0/30 subnet is conflicting with existing subnets.
Q. Can one configure two users with similar primary extension number?
A. Creating users with similar primary extensions is currently not supported in CCA.The only way to do so will be via cli. If configured via cli,every time CCA reads the config from the router it will ask the end user to correct the same.
Q. Is there currently a way to configure CUE voice prompt management using the CCA?
A. No,this is currently not supported in CCA 1.6.Support for the same will be available in a future release.
Q. One of our partner added just a last name to an ephone-dn on CLI. When the router config is read by the config assistant, one cannot save the changes, because it always bring up the error that first name of the ephone-dn must not be left blank.Can we avoid the same?
A. CCA currently requires the first name and the last name as mandatory inputs and one cannot avoid the same.The first name too will need to be added to the ephone-dn.