Cisco UC (CUCM, MP, CUP, CUPC and Webex)

[post]

Ok,

So i have been working on a CUWL PRO project where the customer has CUCM 8.6, CUP8.5 and CUPC 8.5.4.

I have been reading my **s off and working my **s off to get everything working, and I am bit disapposed in how this is supposed to work.

I was supposed to get a lot of help from Cisco norway to set everything up, but they havent got a clue themselves.

Ok, so the ultimate goal is to have LDAP integration from CUCM, CUPC and MP. Webex is supposed to use SSO for meetings.

So, do i need a webex node in addition to have SSO? Or do i need a webserver? These are all listed as optional, and it doesnt mention that you need them for SSO.

next, must i have my MP server in a DMZ so that users may logon from the outside?

Another thing, i am sick of all the servers and services needed for this UC setup. I have been working with Cisco UC for years, and frankly, i am glad my company did Office365 and lync...

Is there anyone out there who is willing to tell me plain and simle the best way to get this installation finished?

Supposedly a Webex type II integration is what i needed, but nobody in cisco has told me much useful, and the documentation is just too much.

Here is what i would like to achieve:

1) SSO for Extension mobility, CCM user pages, UC client and meetings (through webex).

2) Users should be able to start meetings from anywhere, not just the internal network.

3) i would like to avoid having windows based webservers and the webex node...that is so 2008.

Look forward to getting some feedback on this.

[michael-luo]

Sigh... you're not the first one and won't be the last one.

There are so many different BU (Business Units) in Cisco.  Each one cares about itself.  They claim their products are complaint with "standards" (IETF, IEEE, etc).  But how they interact with other products (or end users) is never a priority.

So the product documentations will tell you what each menu/command does.  But they'll never tell you how to build a solution or feature with those menu/commands.

There's no UC "solution" from Cisco.  They have a series of independant products they called "Unified" (e.g. Unified CM, Unified Presence).  But there's no unified architect/roadmap for those products to work together.

For example, VOS (Cisco tuned RedHat Linux) is supposed to be a common OS platform for all voice products.  However, after years, it's still considered as part of CUCM (CallManager) instead of a common OS.  Thus CUPS 8.0 could have a different OS version than CUCM 8.0.  Any bug fix in the OS level has to wait for CUCM update.

Another example, different products (CUCM, CUPS, CER, UCCX) has different licensing mechanism and different user management concepts, which caused lots of confusion and frustration.

You made the right decision going for Office365 and Lync.  I've seen quite many customers moving from Unity to Exchange UM.  Microsoft is yet to catch up with CUCM in enterprise VoIP.  But some phone set vendors (such as Polycom) are selling Lync hard phones (just like Cisco IP phone sets).  We'll see.

Michael

[post]

Hi Michael,

Thanks for agreeing with me

I still have to finish that product for my customer though, but it seems i am left with my own good judgement to get everything tied in together in a way that will work well for the customer.

Cheers!

[Tommer Catlin]

Depends on how you are using WebEx.  Is WebEx hosted and Audio onsite or is MeetingPlace all internal?

As for Lync vs Jabber, I think its pretty close now.   You have to weigh how much the customer wants IM/Phone/Presence all on one client.   If they do, then Jabber might be a better option.  Its nto quite easy to figure out the costs and infrastructure required between the IM clients.   Jabber could be hosted or be onsite. (pros/cons with it).   Lync could be hosted or onsite (pros/cons)/.

As for Office365 and Untiy Connection, its supported.  You can have Connection onsite and connected to Office365 Exchange.   Its also evolving as we speak.  MS will support more function with the release on Connection. 

As for Licensing, the mechanism is quite simply once you figure out the user count if you have CUWL standard or Pro and whats included, etc.  (IE, number of devices, mobile, Jabber, VM box, etc)