Upgrade from CUCM 6.1.2.1000-13 to 8.5 vmware ESXI

[alaayehya]

I have CUCM 6.0 on below Cisco Hardware compliance

Platform Type	7828I3
Processor Speed	2130
CPU Type	Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6400 @ 2.13GHz
Memory	6144 Mbytes
Object ID	1.3.6.1.4.1.9.1.899
OS Version	operatingsystem.UCOS3.0.0.0-60

now we are moving everything to virtualization environment.

we have vmware ESXI and we need to upgrade CUCM 6.1.2.1000-13 to virtualized CUCM 8.5.

what are the steps to do that?

what about licenses?

how the upgrade will be done?

can i upgrade to 8.5 or no i have to upgrade to 8.0?

do I need to upgrade the firmware of phones,voice gateway

please anybody can help me doing that step by step?

[dakeller]

There is no direct path from where you're at to where you want to go.  only 6.1(4) variants can be directly upgarded to 8.5, but not 6.1(2) variants.   Your first stop should always be the software compatibility martix.http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cucm/compat/ccmcompmatr1.pdf

This tells you what version can be upgraded to what version.  Since you also want to move virtualization, the only supported way to move to virtualization is to upgrade to an 8.0(2) or later version, do a DRS backup, then install the same exact version into your virtual environment.  From there you an upgrade to a later version of CUCM if desired.  The upgrade process for each version is covered in the release and installation notes for a specific version.  There is no single recommendation becase you need to follow the upgrade procedure for a given release.   They will all follow the same basic gameplan, but there are minor differences. 

For licensing, when you get to the final destination for licensing, you will need to contact our licensing team to have tehm reissue the license to you at with the new licensing MAC.

Because there is no direct path between 6.1(2) and your desired version, you will need to do multiple hops to get there.  So you will need to upgrade to a 7.1(5) version, then upgrade to 8.5(1), then DRS backup the 8.5(1), install 8.5(1) into the virtual machine and restore.  That is the steps required to get to 8.5 from 6.1.

Finally, you can speed up the process of the upgrade by upgrading the phone firmware prior to upgrading the cluster.  Normally firmware and CUCM are independent of each other, so you can upgrade the phone firmware w/o upgrading the CUCM version. 

Thanks,

Dan Keller

Technical Marketing Engineer

[Gajanan Pande]

Hi Alaa,

Besides an excellent answer from Dan, just wanted to inform you that if you need any assistance in such projects, please be aware of Cisco PDI Helpdesk. You can raise a ticket with them from www.cisco.com/go/pdihelpdesk & they will assist you with all your Planning, Design & Implementation related queries. Please note, it is a free/complimentary assistance provided to certified Cisco partner organizations.

Cheers !!

GP.

[dsmith.tig]

Dan,

Similiar question as Alaa's, except I am on Business Edition 6.1(2) on MCS7828H3 and need to get to CBE6K on UCS C220 (Vsphere 5). What would be your suggested path with least DRS/DMA intermissions..?

Thanks,

Doug Smith

[dakeller]

Doug,

There is no direct path to migrate between BE5K and CUCM.   The BE5K on MCS7828 hardware is very different than BE6K on UCS/VM. I will ask the BE6K TME to help with guidance, but the bottom line is that the BE5K is a combined database for CUCM and Connection.  The 6K is a reduced capacity CUCM and separate Unity Connection.  That is why the BE5K cannot be backed up and restored to a BE6K. 

Thanks,

Dan Keller

Technical Marketing Engineer

[dakeller]

Doug,

Here is a recent response from the PM in charge of the BE6K product.  I reviewed the doc...it's rather extensive, but at least it's a path to migrate.

Thanks,

Dan Keller

Technical Marketing Engineer

Our eng team has put together a document that describes the steps to migrate BE5k data to BE6K.

The final version of this document will be posted on CCO in a week.

Arun

[andy.brian]

Daniel,

Has this document been posted yet?  If so, do you have a link to it?

Thanks.

[dakeller]

Andy,

Thanks for checking back.  There was an issue in the documented procedure that needed to be addressed prior to releasing the document.  The issue was around the bulk operations that would need to be done to move between the BE5K to the BE6K.  I have no further ETA for the doc, but that appears we know what the issue is and we need to fix it.

Thanks,

Dan Keller

Technical Marketing Engineer

[jonwoloshyn]

Dan,

Is there any ETA on this yet? I need to understand the process to move from a BE5K to a BE6K so that I can better estimate effort and ensure minimal customer disruption.

Jon

[chouaib]

Hi Doug,

I m planning to migrate an existing CUCM BE 6.1(2) on MCS7828 platform to a Cisco CBE6K on UCS C220 server.

Could please share with me the migration path you follow to success your own migration ?

Thanks a lot. 

[kvarshne]

The Draft version of the guide has been posted to community. We will replace it by URL to official guide when it is available. Please use the draft version of guide for now.

https://communities.cisco.com/docs/DOC-33981

Thanks

-Kaushal Varshney

[jonwoloshyn]

Kaushal - I can't access this. It says I am unauthorized even though I am logged in with my partner level CCO account.

Jon

[skilambi]

Same here cannot access it with partner privileges

Thanks

Srini

[kvarshne]

Hello

The DRAFT of BE5000 to BE6000 Mgration Guide  is available at:

https://communities.cisco.com/docs/DOC-33988

Please review and let us know your feedback

-Kaushal Varshney

[jonwoloshyn]

Thanks Kaushal.

Quick question - the document says we need the BE5K to be at version 9.1(1a) by following the upgrade procedure. Where is this upgrade procedure documented? Is there special upgrade software or can the CUCM/CUC 9.1(1a) iso file be used as I don't see any upgrade software on CCO downloads under the BE5K section.

Thanks

Jon