Jump Migration - Qualification Criteria

[lribordy]

Hi,

We are about to migrate one of our customer who is running 8.0(3) on MCS. Targeted solution will rely on UCS-C, planned release should be 9.1(x). We would like to leverage the Jump upgrade approach (using a semi- isolated Lab environment) but we are a bit confused in regards with the qualification criteria which do NOT match the production environment (current release is not part of the one listed here, current MCS are able to support 9.1)

As a reminder, Jump upgrade qualification criteria are :

•CUCM software version: 6.1(4), 6.1(5), 7.1(3) or 7.1(5)

•Hardware: MCS Hardware that doesn’t support 9.1(2)

•Target Version: CUCM 9.1(2)

My question is : would such migration/upgrade be suported from a TAC perspective? If yes, are there any changes that have to apply here?

Many thanks for your support

L

[Manish Gogna · Accepted solution]

You don't really need Jump Upgrade here as your current CUCM version 8.0 is supported on UCS. Jump upgrade is primarily meant for CUCM 6.x and 7.x versions which are not supported on VMware / UCS and it saves the customers / partners from buying an MCS server just for an intermediate upgrade as a part of upgrade to 9.x . You can take a backup of existing 8.x version, install same version on UCS with OVA of 9.1 , DRS restore , upgrade to 9.x. This will be supported by TAC. For licensing considerations you can open a TAC case.

Additional information in the thread below

https://supportforums.cisco.com/thread/2152529

HTH

Manish

[lribordy]

Many thanks for your support Manish.

One last question regarding the OVA : could you please confirm that your advise consists in using OVA of 9.1 when processing with the fresh install of the current 8.0(3)? Any risk here with non-aligned VM ?

Thx!

L

[Manish Gogna]

Hi,

As per the following link

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cucm/elmuserguide/9_1_1/license_migration/CUCM_BK_CBF8B56A_00_cucm-license-upgrade-guide_chapter_010.html

6) Create new Virtual Machines with Release 9.0 OVAs

Even  though the Cisco Unified Communications Manager that you will install  in the next step is Release 8.0 or Release 8.5, you must use the OVA for  the final Cisco Unified Communications Manager release. In this case,  the target release is Cisco Unified Communications Manager is Release  9.0, so you must use the Release 9.0 OVA for the Release 8.0 or Release  8.5 virtual installation.

Choose the appropriate OVA for the deployment from the OVA Template Details for Unified CM Release 9.0 docwiki page:

http:/​/​docwiki.cisco.com/​wiki/​

There are two different releases of OVA files available on Cisco.com.  Version 7 OVAs are for installing in an ESXi 4.X environment, while  version 8 OVAs are for installing in ESXi 5.X environments. Choose the  correct OVA release based on the environment in which you are deploying  your virtualized UC applications.

While it is not required, Cisco recommends that you deploy the same  OVA throughout your entire cluster. Also, do not attempt to update the  VMtools on the VMs after installing Release 8.0 or 8.5.

Let me know if this answers your question.

Manish