CTI Port and CTI Route Point

[rjunaid.sh]

Hey i wanted to clear my some concepts about CTI Port and CTI Route Point i tried to
read documentation but that wasn't helpful to make my own concept, anything would be appreciatable
Thanks

[Chris Deren]

In nutshell, CTI Route point is a number that you dial to reach external CTI based application such as for example UCCX, UCCE, CER, attendant console, etc.  And CTI ports are "virtual ports" that allow the call to establish and route media.  So, lets consider UCCX where you may have a help desk call flow with DN 5000, you define CTI RP with this DN associate it with your UCCX application user, then define as many CTI ports you need for your max concurrent calls.  This way when someone dials 5000 the call is routed to UCCX and once the call is answered by the script it establishes connection between the dialing phone and one of the CTI ports.

[Anthony Holloway]

Talking to the EngHouse guys, and their CC product uses only CTI Route Points, no CTI Ports, and still terminates media. What is that black magic? Have you heard of this before?

[Chris Deren]

I have never heard of CTI integration without needing CTI ports as I dont see how the media would connect.  Do the CTI RPs register?

[Anthony Holloway]

I don't have access to that specific environment anymore, but if memory serves, yes, they were registered. It's like they figured out how to make the CTI integration lean, and get around the CTI port requirement. Which, if I'm being hones, sounds superior than how the other CTI integrations are done, but maybe I'm missing a key component, like the ability to configure certain settings on a CTI Port, which do not exist on route points. I don't know. I just thought it was weird, and wanted to point that out. It's been like 3 years since I looked at that environment.

[TONY SMITH]

I have heard that as well, from what I remember it was explained the originally CTI route points couldn't terminate media, hence the requirement for transferring the call to a CTI port.  What I don't remember and maybe never heard was when this changed. There was an attendant console application we worked with a few years ago that only used CTI route points, and that was on 8.6.

Isn't Enghouse the ARC stuff, Call Connect, Console Connect etc?  All ARC the installations we've seen have used CTI ports.

[rjunaid.sh]

I didn't get whatever you said and it was totally different from my concept that i made in my mind by reading different documents i thought CTI route  is like post office that check the call and and CTI port is like our post man that deliver the call correct me if am wrong, but my question is like how we implement this in our environment like am more confused now Please help with an easiest explanation

[Anthony Holloway]

A CTI Route Point is like a Translation or Route Pattern, it tells CUCM where to send the call next, and a CTI Port is like a phone, it let's you take/make calls.

The reason "CTI" is prefixed on both, is because they can be controlled by an external application, via the CTI protocol (kind of like SIP, SCCP, MGCP, H323).  For this reason, they both should show registered, just like phones do.