CUCM 8.0.3 to 11.5 P2V upgrade questions

[sachin.srivastava]

Hello experts,

Trying to upgrade (rather migrate) between CUCM 8.0.3 (Physical) to virtual 11.5 version. Will change to a new CUCM IP on the virtual platform after upgrade. Some questions:

1. PCD supports the upgrade per the documentation. Any gotchas or things to keep in mind ?

2. Phones are 7962s. Is it possible to upgrade firmware compatible to 11.5 before. Dont see a clear compatibility matrix between 8.0.3, phones and 11.5

3. VG 224 is using firmware 12.5. Is it ok to keep it or will it need firmware upgrade to 15.x version like the compatibility matrix recommends. 

4. Are the Post steps for making changes to VGs, IOS devices , ATA devices after changing CUCM 11.5 IP documented anywhere ?

Thank you for answers.

Sachin

[Jaime Valencia · Accepted solution]

I'm afraid you're wrong, moving from a physical to a virtual, does count as a migration. Very important to understand that an upgrade, is NOT the same as a migration. And they're not interchangeable terms.

And the PCD docs do NOT say it supports an upgrade from 8.0(3), they support an upgrade from 8.6(1)+, and that is assuming, you're already on a virtual platform. They support a MIGRATION from 8.0(3) to 10/11. I suggest you take another close look at the versions and the tasks that are supported in PCD.

Yes, you can upgrade to the FW that is used on 11.x, in the downloads page for each phone FW, it's noted the CUCM compatibility of each option.

The docs that show compatibility with IOS devices, show the version that the BU used to test with, which was available at the time, they guarantee everything will work as expected with it. However, that doesn't mean you cannot use a lower or higher release from the one listed in the docs. But in case you want to remain in an older release, the support teams can ask you to upgrade to the one listed in the docs, if they think it's a compatibility issue.

No, there are no docs that tell you what and how to change something after changing the IP of CUCM, assuming you're using DNS, most of this will depend on changing the DNS correctly, if not, changing the relevant config (as if it was configured for the 1st time) in all the devices that know CUCM by the IP.

[sachin.srivastava]

Thanks Jamie. Sorry in my first question, it should be marked as a Migration from P2V and not an upgrade from CUCM 8.0.3 on MCS server to a CUCM 11.5.x Virtual platform with ESXi.

I will look at the other answers too.

Thanks,
Sachin

[Manish Gogna · Accepted solution]

Hi Sachin,

Regarding your other questions: 

Yes, its always a good idea to upgrade the phone firmware to the desired target version in advance before the cucm upgrade. This prevents load on TFTP server as all the phones will request the new default firmware from 11.5 when you do a switch version, so its better to upgrade the phones in batches earlier.

The VG224 will work with 12.x IOS on CUCM 11.5 however its always recommended to be on the tested higher versions as they contain more bug fixes and features.

HTH

Manish