TCS gen 2 and Windows server 2003 support

[Edward Northcott]

Hi,

I have a Cisco TelePresence Content Server v5.3 running on gen 2 hardware.

From what I can see TCS v5.3 only works in Windows server 2003, this is a concern as Windows server 2003 support is ending July 14, 2015.

Is there anything that can be done to mitigate the above problem without having to purchase the gen 3 hardware?

Kind Regards

Ed

[Jens Didriksen]

I seriously doubt it ,considering this product is well and truly EOL/EOS, http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/conferencing/telepresence-content-server/end_of_life_notice_c51-728852.html - however, Cisco does have the Technology Migration Program in place which might be the way to go.

We used this when we migrated from gen1 to gen2, and we got the gen2 servers at a fraction of the price we would otherwise have had to pay. Suggest you contact your local Cisco account manager to see what they can do for you. 

/jens

Please rate replies and mark question(s) as "answered" if applicable.

[Edward Northcott]

Thanks for the response guys.

Seeing that the TCS can be installed as a VM does it have to be done on a VM hosted on a 3rd gen server or can it be hosted on other VM hardware? If this can be done how would the licencing work and service contract?

[Wayne DeNardi · Accepted solution]

Officially, the TCS cannot share iron with any other server, although we've been informed that this will be changing with the new S6.2 release due out in early 2015.

[Edward Northcott]

Thanks for the feedback,

So it seems that for the moment it will be a good idea to see what happens when s6.2 is released. Hopefully it will be before server 2003 reaches end of support.

[Patrick Sparkman · Accepted solution]

The supported deployment methods right now for the virtual TCS is for it to be installed on existing TCS hardware, either 2nd or 3rd Gen server only, 1st Gen servers aren't supported, but you can migrate from a 1st Gen to either of the latter two. You'll basically be wiping the old hardware servers and installing VMWare on them to run a single instance of Windows and the virtual TCS application. As Wayne said, support for 3rd party platforms is coming, Cisco knows it's a big deal for customers and a solution needs to be provided and not just limited to existing TCS hardware.

You would migrate your existing license and option keys to the new servers by looking them up from the registry and creating a license file to be used during the install process.

Support contracts will migrate as well, the serial numbers will remain the same, but the product IDs might change to reflect you now having a virtual TCS instead of hardware. However, I'm still working out the details of the product IDs from my migration I did back in August, though that hasn't stopped me from getting TAC support. 

To give you an idea of the process, take a look at the TCS 6.1 VM Install Guide. 

[Martin Koch]

There might be some additional considerations.

The TCS came as an appliance containing all what you needed, like the windows license.

If I understood the new deployment model you move up to the new deployment the licenses for at least windows and possible Vmware have to be provided by the customer.

From what I heard the 2nd gen TCS will only work with ESXi 5.1, also the server has only 4gb Ram, so not sure if I would even consider going this way.

I would prefer if the TCS would be opened up so more VMware (like customer provided servers) type and shared instances are supported.

Also many of our customers have defined Windows 2012 as their standard virtualized

environment. If I remember the release notes S6 also only runs on 2008R2, so at least

I will wait and hear when 2012 will be supported.

[Patrick Sparkman]

Martin is correct, customers must provide all licenses, VMWare and Windows when deploying a virtual TCS. According the install guide, it mentions ESXi up to 5.5 for the 2nd Gen hardware (see table 1), but I recall hearing a similar thing only up to 5.1, but can't find it documented. Windows 2008R2 Standard is the version of Windows the virtual TCS supports, if wanting to run 2012, will have to wait as Martin points out. 

EDIT:

Here are the VM specs for the virtual TCS., and it does mention EXSi up to 5.1 for 2nd Gen hardware. 

Virtualization for Cisco TelePresence Content Server

[Patrick Sparkman]

In addition to Jens' recommendation to talk to your Cisco AM and see if they can work out a hardware migration for you.  You can also migrate your hardware TCS to virtual, the VM TCS based on the 3rd Gen specs running Windows 2008R2.  We've migrated ours, and it cost us less than a few thousand for each TCS, but it might vary customer to customer.  In either case, contact your Cisco AM and see what migration options they can work out for you.