Catalyst switches with UC560

[bill.roland]

We were a sold a solution of a UC560 system with SPA508 and SPA525G phones.  For switches, the company we purchased from supplied Catalyst 3650v2 POE switches.  It was only after the install and by coming here that I discovered that apparently EWS switches are the recommended switching product.  The switches were setup with a Voice VLAN and data VLAN, which seems to be the proper configuration.  We've had no end of annoyances and problems with this product (UC560/SPA phones), to the point I want to rip it out and throw it away.  But now to the question.

Would there be any reason to believe using the Catalyst switches instead of the EWS switches would cause issues?  We have had several issues where the SPA phones reported "Network Error" and dropped a call, or showed up as "DECEASED" on the UC560 which apparently is a keepalive timeout.  The interface statistics on the Catalyst switches do not show any errors of issues, and the data side is running great.  There is not enough traffic on these switches to be causing any issues, and QoS is supposedly enabled to give voice priority.

At this point I feel like I was sold a mix and match solution that just doesn't work well.  The whole experience has been very disappointing.

Thanks in advance.

Bill

[Alberto Montilla]

Hi Bill;

Thanks for reaching. Could you please let me know your location (country)? I will escalate your issue so you receive proper support.

Regards
Alberto

[bill.roland]

Alberto, thanks for your reply.  I am in Florida, USA.

EDIT: it would probably be worth noting that I have had some issues with the SPA phones as well, such as the annoying handset mute while using the call-waiting ring command instead of call-waiting beep, issues with System Banner's disappearing randomly (which seemed to be fixed in the 7.4.7 firmware), and various other things.  They definitely do not seem to be up to the quality of the Unifed IP 7900 series phones.  I mention this because it creates doubt in my mind if the "Network Trouble" is even real, or if its just these SPA phones having issues.

[Mario Garcia]

Bill,

The 3560 is a better switch than ESW, might have been a little over kill for a UC560 deployment but should not cause you any issues assuming they were properly configured.

What version of firmware is on the SPA phones? What software pack is on the UC?

Sent from Cisco Technical Support iPhone App

[bill.roland]

Thanks Mario.  These switches replaced some Catalyst 3550's that were non-POE, which was done for the purpose of powering the IP phones.  The switches connect two buildings via fiber using GBIC Cards.  I have had no trouble with the switches at all.

The SPA phones are running the latest firmware, 7.4.7, and the UC560 is running the latest software pack, 8.1.0.

[David Trad]

Hi Bill,

The Catalyst switches you have now are indeed an over kill, but they are also one of the most solid switches you will get in the market place, the SPA phones and the UC500 will work exceptionally well on it, but there is slightly more manual configuration one has to do to them than what someone would do with an ESW which pretty much auto provisions itself once it is connect to the UC-500.

The issue you are experiencing allready has two threads and is a known issue, so far from what I can see the boxes are being RMA'ed or swaped out with new systems, and from what i can gather this is resolving the problems as there are no reported complaints thus far (But maybe still a little too early to be celebrating).

In all of this I am left wondering where the Cisco Partner is? Are they not providing you with after sales support?? Have they taken a runner on you or have you just decided to not deal with them any longer for what ever reason???

Your first port of call should be to contact Cisco SBCS Support (Small Business Support Team) and log a case with them, they will most likely want to conduct testing on your system, however I recommend that you inform them of the existing threads on these forums with people having the same issue as you and ask if you can have the system swapped out, make sure you get one of the Cisco reps on here to have the case escalated quickly for you.

I trust you will find the Cisco support mechanism second to none, they have never failed me in the last 4 years and am certain they will look after you quickly.

Cheers,

David.

[bill.roland]

Hi David, thanks for your reply.  The Catalyst switches are probably overkill, but that reliability is the reason I wanted them, we have Cisco Catalyst switches at the core of our networks, and they just work, period.  I'm willing to pay for peace of mind, and one less thing to worry about it.

I am not trying to "pin" anything on the partner who sold us this system, their installer and system coordinator have gone above and beyond the call to try and help me out and I am thankful to them.  The sales information provided to me was a bit thin in retrospect.  I'm trying to figure out how to make lemonade out of the lemon at this point, basically I wanted a CME/CUE system with Unified IP 7900 series phones, and I've ended up with the UC560 with SPA phones and the frustration of having to deal with QA problems and the limitations of CCA.  The "gotcha" for me is that this has been ongoing for 6 months now and I don't have the ability to tell them to just get rid of it and replace it with a different product, the issues do not occur on demand and don't occur daily, but when they do, its ugly.

[Alberto Montilla]

Hi Bill;

I appreciate your patience. UC560 with SPA should work same way as CME on ISRs for your scenario.

As David commented, at first look, your issue may be related to a defective unit (UC560). I suggest you open a case with SBSC to take through resolution. I am confident, based on all the deployments we have, that you will end up with a reliable system based on UC560.

In addition, I talked to the Small Business Account Manager on the region and he will try to get in contact with you and the partner to help fix this issue.

Regards
Alberto

[bill.roland]

Alberto, much appreciated.  I will open a case with SBSC.

[bravery]

Bill,

Hello I am the Small Business Manager for Cisco Systems here in Florida.  I manage and support all of our Small Business partners and sales efforts here in the state.  I am following up on your posts here on the Support Community.  I have been in this role for over five years and while it may not be of great comfort to you, it is very rare I get involved in customers who have the issues you are having.

An IP phone system is a lot like a high performance sports car or airplane.  If properly tuned and maintained, it can perform phenomenally well. But if mis-configured or mis-tuned, it will sputter, stall or even crash!

Anyway, I would be happy to speak with you and try to offer some guidance and assistance.  Please let me know where in Florida you are located and the best method to contact you so that we can have a follow up conversation.

Best Regards,

Brian

[bill.roland]

Hi Brian, I replied in a Private Message to you with contact info.  Thanks!

Bill

[David Trad]

Hi Bill,

I am not trying to "pin" anything on the partner who sold us this system, their installer and system coordinator have gone above and beyond the call to try and help me out and I am thankful to them

Sorry if I gave of the impression of pinning them it was not my attention, I was trying to resolve in my mind how an end user got to this point where they are searching for the answer or working harder to get the problem resolved, but alas you pointed out how much they have helped and that is good news to see indeed.

I'm trying to figure out how to make lemonade out of the lemon at this point, basically I wanted a CME/CUE system with Unified IP 7900 series phones, and I've ended up with the UC560 with SPA phones and the frustration of having to deal with QA problems and the limitations of CCA.

I am sure if you are willing to get into the guts of CCA you will find that not only will it make lemonade it may even make you Sunkist you have a powerful system there, there is very little difference between it and say an ISR 2800 series, other than the UC-500 is moving away from command line to CCA to ensure consistent programming of the system and better support over time, which I fully and completely understand, the question now is can we help you overcome the limitations you are experiencing with CCA???

The "gotcha" for me is that this has been ongoing for 6 months now and I don't have the ability to tell them to just get rid of it and replace it with a different product, the issues do not occur on demand and don't occur daily, but when they do, its ugly.

Bill please I encourage you to log a case on this right now if you haven't already done so, the issue you are describing is not a small one and I am very doubtful you will get the answers you want on here, if it is the same as the one being reported by other partners/users then you need to act on it now before you reach your ends (If you haven't already), I am certain there is a fix for it, if not a replacement by Cisco of the system and their full support in backing up your configuration and restoring it on a new system...

These are the steps I recommend you take right now if you can:

• Write down a list of all the issues you are experiencing and with as much detail as possible, this will be used to give to Support when you log the case, the more information provided the easier it is to work on
• Write down all the issues or limitations you are having with CCA and ask then to help you through it, Cisco SMB support are kind and patient and will give you configuration assistance if you ask for it, they may not do it though until this case is resolved, but they will if you ask for it
• Have them update the firmware of the SPA phones to the very very latest, even if it is a beta one, and in particular the firmware that is targeting the problem you are having, there is enough of these cases on file now for them to know what to do to resolve it
• Have them check to make sure you are running the latest UC software pack, if not then undergo an update to the system (This will require some off-line time so many a schedule out of hours work??)
• Last resort is to RMA the system out, including the phones that are rebooting/locking up (As I suspect not all of them are)

The above steps I am fairly certain will get you to the resolution point, but it only works as long as you follow it and extend some patience towards it.

I know and am confident you will like the system once these issues are resolved and you are showing how to use CCA properly, although I point out that CCA was actually only ever intended for partners to use.

Cheers,

David.

[Nishanna Gunasekera]

We are having the same issues with a new customer install, except we're using customer supplied Dell switches.  The SPA525G2 phones will freeze (user can't hang up a call, buttons won't respond), eventually the phone will show "network error" and reset.  After the reset, the phone is usable again.

At first, we thought this was only happening on the main receptionist phone so we opened up a TAC case for it, but now we have just learned it is a system-wide problem after users complained during a end-user training session.

Were you able to find a solution to your problem?

[bill.roland]

Unfortunately, I don't have any good news for you.  I got rid of the SPA508G phones and relegated the SPA525G's to light/common area duty.  Replaced the heavily used/critical phones with 7900 series phones and magically, there haven't been any dropped calls or "Network Error" issues with them.   

It appears very much to me that the SPA phones are just not as stable a product as the 7900's..