UC540 Logical Replacement for UC520?

[WMurray219]

Hi guys,

I've just lost a UC520 (4 FXO, 16 users)  to lightning.  My partner had none in stock and shows none in the distribution channel.  I had him go ahead and ship me a UC540, but wanted to see if anyone knows if one of the newer product lines is a better replacement.  I know I'll have the same capabilities in the UC540, but hate the thought of losing SMARTNet.  The rest of our infrastructure consists of ESW500 series switches and AP541N access points, 7900 series phones (mostly 7971s and 7961s) and a few SPA525Gs that connect by WiFi.  The only thing that the UC500 lacks for me is a supported way to cleanly implement multiple WAN connections.  We're using AT&T U-Verse, and their gateway will not pass the entire block of IP addresses to the UC520.  They require separate MACs for each address to be allocated.  I'd appreciate any thoughts that you guys could share.

Thanks!

Will Murray

[aapexisinc]

Hi, Will,

In my opinion, the UC540 is a superior replacement for the UC520;  I had all kinds of trouble with the 520, and none with the 540.  As far as support goes, the small business support group is every bit as good, if not better (because they are focused on these products) than the TAC.  I can't address the multiple WAN issue, but otherwise I'm sure you'll be quite happy with the 540.

Richard Seeder

[rcastill]

You should also check with your local SBAM to take advantage of the "Change Your Voice" promotion which expires at the end of July.  It will allow you to turn in your UC520 as a legacy system and receive a rebate of up to $1250 for it.  Another option for you is to order a NFR Demokit of the UC540 which offers a deep discount and can be used in your office.  D&H offers an additional $500 rebate on any additional system you sell after you purchase the demokit from them.

If they are not your distributor of choice then you could add them as one to have access to the promotions they offer.  Having multiple distributors can only benefit you in the future.  I have attached a pdf to explain the promotion.

As far as a solution for the multiple WAN configuration you might take a look at an ASA appliance that can satisfy this.

The Small Business Technical Assistance Center can be reached at 1-866-606-1866 and I concur, they know there stuff!  I might also add that I am a Technical Enablement Engineer that specializes in training Cisco Partners around the country how to implement to UC540/560 and soon the BE3000.

There are 9 of us around the country working with the SE in your area.  We can also provide training via Webex if you are in one of our territories.  I personally cover Georgia,Tennessee, and Alabama so please reach out to me if I can be of any assistance to you at rcastill@ciscosmallbiz.com

All the best,

Robcast

[WMurray219]

Robert,

Thanks for the info!  I'll definitely take advantage of the rebate.  I hadn't thought of looking at an ASA, but see that it could work.  Just wondering if I'm going to to end up with redundant licensing on VPN, etc. since the UC540 is similarly equipped in some areas.  I'm going to investigate the feasibility of using the ASA 5505 for that role.  You mentioned the BE3000, I've only seen limited info on it - where do you see that product fitting into the current market?

Thanks,

Will

[rcastill]

The Business Edition 3000 is Call Manager.  It can handle up to 300 users with a multisite config of up to 10 sites if needed.  A recorded presentation of the unit's capabilities can be found here:

https://cisco.webex.com/ec0605lc/eventcenter/recording/recordAction.do;jsessionid=s3rTTLbV3QV8TzgGTdwtMT7XFyx1rFrb2Mv13GRYZtyXhXLpgJ5q!-1928968881?theAction=poprecord&actname=%2Feventcenter%2Fframe%2Fg.do&actappname=ec0605lc&renewticket=0&renewticket...

All the best,

Robcast

[WMurray219]

Richard,

Thanks for the feedback!  I'm glad to hear that my worries about the Small Business Support are unfounded.  I'll have to try and work through CCA and avoid using the CLI if possible.  Do you by chance have any experience with the SA520 router?  It looks like I should be able to use the two WAN ports on it to at least separate my Citrix server out on its own IP from everything else.  Just not sure how well that model integrates with the UC500 series.

Thanks again,

Will

[aapexisinc]

Will,

I have no direct experience with the SA520, but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't play nice with the UC540.  In fact, the SA520 administration guide shows a scenario with it and a UC500 system.

Richard

[daviddun]

The following (TEL) Technical Enablement Lab shows you the ease of integration in the UC540 platform

Link below

I hope this helps

https://supportforums.cisco.com/docs/DOC-9767

[David Trad]

Hi Will,

The UC-540 is a logical replacement, it is a tidy little system

The differences I guess are as follows;

UC-520:

• Has slightly more resources than the new 540
• Can handle more users depending on the build parameters
• Has TAC support if you are UC Express certified
• Can be purchased without WiFi (Older releases??)
• Supports 10 VPN Tunnels
• Supported up to 5 Multisite deployment (This might have changed with newer IOS revisions)
• Supported up to 64 users

UC-540:

• Slightly cheaper (I guess depending on your Disti and your location)
• Good for small to mid range business
• Is supported by the SBCS which are SMB Product focused
• Perfect for CCA build design and management
• Only has WiFi Option
• Can be managed via CLI but requirement of UC Express certification
• Supports 5 VLAN's
• Supports 3 SSID's (Only 1 broadcast)
• Supports 10 VPN tunnels
• Supports up too 10 remote Teleworker sites (This eats into the 10 VPN as well)
• Supports up too 5 users per Teleworker site
• Supports up to 5 Multisite deployments

All-in-All the 540 is a good migration path if a UC-520 is not being offered up, if you wanted a more powerful system the 560 is the best option.

There is a platform reference guide on Cisco's website, i stumbled across it the other day but forgot to book mark it If you find it, it has powerful information on what is exactly supported on each platforms, great literature that is.

Cheers,

David.

(PS) The BE-3000 supports up too 250 users, which is fantastic but the limited phone support is woeful and will hinder its sales in a major way, it seriously needs to support at least the 8900 series phones doesn't matter if it does not support the SPA series but more than just the basic 6900 series.

[Nathan Compton]

The UC540 is the logical replacement because....

Cisco announces the end-of-sale and end-of-life dates for the Cisco

^® Unified Communications 520 for Small Business. The last day to order the affected product(s) is September 13, 2011. Cisco announces the end-of-sale and end-of-life dates for the Cisco^® Unified Communications 520 for Small Business. The last day to order the affected product(s) is September 13, 2011.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/voicesw/ps6788/vcallcon/ps7293/end_of_life_notice_c51-655215.html

Regards,

Adam Compton