UC500s in Multisite Configuration question

[bill.roland]

We are planning on eventually having several UC500's in a multisite configuration.  I know 4 digit dialing across the systems works, but how about some other things, such as dialable intercom (voice call in the Nortel world)?  Can I park a call on one system and pick it up from another (this assumes unique park slots are configured of course, perhaps 8000-8007 at one site, 8008-80115 at another, etc)?  Lets say each UC is in a different area code, can I select which PRI I want to go out to save on tolls?

I want to make sure these things will work (and are supported) before I invest more into this solution.  Thanks in advance.

Bill

[David Trad]

Hi Bill,

What you are asking about can be done, however there is caveats attached to it

Some of what you want can be done using CCA, but there are quite a few things that would need to be done via CLI, this is where the sticking point is, and if I was a betting man I would go as far as to say that the majority of SBS staff would not know how to apply these settings on the CLI and not break CCA.

You may need to weigh up the factors of SBS support versus functionality... A rock between two hard places scenario

Cheers,

David.

[bill.roland]

Hi David, thanks for your reply.  I was afraid of this.  Sales of course has said "oh sure, no problem, it can do multi-site!" but I don't think they have contemplated what people expect from a multi-site solution.  In my book, extension dialing is just a small part of it. 

Let me ask you a straight forward question.  Knowing what you know about what I'm trying to accomplish above, in your opinion, is this the right solution from Cisco to do it? 

[David Trad]

Hi Bill,

Hi David, thanks for your reply.  I was afraid of this.  Sales of course  has said "oh sure, no problem, it can do multi-site!" but I don't think  they have contemplated what people expect from a multi-site solution.   In my book, extension dialing is just a small part of it.  

I have a saying that I often use which my colleague has written it up on a white board with permanent marker so the sale people always see it... "They sell the dream, we inherit the nightmare" It is a true and known fact, it cannot be denied nor debated, it is the DNA of a sales person to just SELL..SELL..SELL and often more than not the mentality of "They will figure it out" is often applied... Alas I am happy to be disproved on this matter

Let me ask you a straight forward question.  Knowing what you know about  what I'm trying to accomplish above, in your opinion, is this the right  solution from Cisco to do it?  

That question in itself is quite ambiguous in nature, the reason for this is that the Cisco landscape, in particular the UC500 series, has changed in a dramatic way (Not saying a bad way either). To do what we once did no so long ago is not possible now without the UC Express certification, which is fair enough, but the power to control the UC is a little diminished in its current state, CCA is a brilliant configuration tool, but lacks the foresight of what an engineer actually needs in its present incarnation.. Therein lays the problem.

What you want to achieve is Dial-Peer manipulation to a granular level, easily achievable on a CLI level, not sure how you can do this on a CCA level as I have not been able to do this to date, and if I am unable to do it myself I am in no position to advise on it with a level of confidence.

I have done multiple deployments articulating the exact nature of what you want to achieve so yes what you are asking for IS ACHIEVABLE, but in the landscapes present format, I do not believe it to be so.

LCR or Leased Cost Routing is done at a Dial-Peer level, and it is not uncommon to be asked about this, and it should be asked about as it is a great selling point to reduce their tolling costs, managing the call hand offs is common practice but these days I only see it with ISR's which I don't deal with anymore as the company I work for now has no desire to sell them and is not certified for them.

Ring SBS support, present them with a Call flow topology, network topology and a list of requirements, book a time to have a fully qualified engineer to go over it with you, have them work the solution up so that way it remains SBS and if possible CCA compliant, but make sure you ask for a high level SBS rep so you actually get someone who actually knows what you want to achieve and understands what you want to deploy.

I know it is not the answer you wanted to read, but it is all I can offer to you at this stage

Cheers,

David.

[bill.roland]

Hi David.  I appreciate your "diplomatic" answer .  I really hate posting things like this because I know it comes across as though I'm Mr. Negativity who just hates Cisco.  In actuality nothing could be further from the truth, I love Cisco networking gear.  I like the CME based phone systems, too, What I don't like is the hoops and roadblocks that seem to be thrown up every 10 feet around the UC system.  I guess I'm just trying to figure out if I should have gone with something like Cisco Unified Communications Manager Business Edition 5000. 

I need to figure it out before we spend anymore money on this solution.

[David Trad]

Bill,

I need to figure it out before we spend anymore money on this solution.

I am quite green on the Business Edition solutions, here in Australia we have only just been given access to the BE 3000 series, and all the literature I have read on it so far indicates for what you want to do is the "CORRECT" solution, and if that is the case then the BE-5000 solution should be equally the same.

Marcus has a point (Below) that you should have a centralized concentrator, and of the BE series you can run the other sites as satellite sites with smaller hardware appliances which the BE series support, they are a little overkill as the systems support 75-250 users (BE-3000 model) but hey in my humble opinion this is cheaper then throwing copious amounts of money at a make-shift solution that is not best fitting for the client.

If you are interested in providing a genuine best fit solution (Which you are) then this is what you need to be looking at.

Talk to your local Cisco Account manager and have them work alongside you on this, that is what they are for and this is their job and they can bring in technical resources from within Cisco to help you out on the best fit solution.

Cheers,

David.

[mcasimirc63]

The proper way to go about doing it would be to have the following at very minimum

Headquarters

     MCS7828 running CUCMBE

     ISR 2900 or 3900 series running MGCP and CME for SRST

     ESW, Catalyst or SG switches

Remote Sites

     ISR 2900 series running MGCP and CME for SRST

     ESW, Catalyst or SG switches

Im not sure if the 1900 series runs MGCP.  If they do you could use them at the remote sites.

[bill.roland]

Thank you gentlemen for your answers and insights.  Its a lot of information to take in and contemplate.  What I think I need to do is sit down with a trusted Cisco partner and figure out the right course of action.  Just in case somebody is wondering why I didn't find out about this initially, when we were sold the UC560 last year, I had the same list of desires that I wrote initially here and was told "absolutely, it does it all."  Having plundered around in CCA quite a bit, I came to suspect it does not "do it all" hence why I came here looking for field experience.  Thank you very much for the answers, its very helpful. 

[David Trad]

Hi Marcus,

Just for clarification, the solution you propose is indeed correct, but there is also this which references back to my original suggestion which would be easier to deploy and also easily managed due to less equipment and required skill sets to program the system up.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps11370/product_solution_overview_list.html

This is the wrong forum for it anyway, but we are in the throws of proposing this type of system but is looking now at collapsing since there are no Gig-E phones now available for either the UC-500 series and now the BE-3000 series, but again that is another subject and best not to hijack the thread, but all documentation now stipulates clearly what can and cannot be done

Cheers,

David.

[rcastill]

In reference to the comment made "there are no Gig-E phones now available for either the UC-500 series" I wanted to provide some clarification.  Both the 7965G and the 7975G Gig-E phones work with the UC500 platform.  I have attached a phone comparison for your review.

All the best,

Robcast

[David Trad]

My bad... should have stated greyscale (lower end) phones.. Your comparison matrix is great, but not on my side of the world, our buy price is no where near as good as what you guys get

Cheers,

David.

[mcasimirc63]

Hi Bill,

Here are my observations from what I tested.

• You can park a call and retrieve it at any site.
• Dialable intercom does not work across sites
• You can't do TEHO (Tail end hop off) through CCA.  It requires manipulation of translation rules, profiles and dial peers on one end and dial peer manipulation on the other end.

Having a centralized call control model would be your best bet for seamless operation of what you are looking to do.  One UC500 + multiple SR520's might be your best bet, if possible.  You can always scale up from here into an ISR or CUCM, which would give you more flexibility.