ASK THE EXPERTS - UC 500 SYSTEM VOICE TECHNOLOGIES

[ciscomoderator]

Welcome to the Cisco Networking Professionals Ask the Expert conversation. This is an opportunity to learn about the voice capabilities of the UC 500 system with Marcos Hernandez.  Marcos is a Technical Marketing Engineer with the Small Business Technology Group at Cisco. He has more than 14 years of experience with voice-over-packet technologies, with focus on VoIP, SIP, QoS, Cisco Unified CallManager Express, and managed services.

Remember to use the rating system to let Marcos know if you have received an adequate response.

Marcos might not be able to answer each question due to the volume expected during this event. Our moderators will post many of the unanswered questions in other discussion forums shortly after the event. This event lasts through July 30, 2010. Visit this forum often to view responses to your questions and the questions of other community members.

[Marcos Hernandez]

Right, that is the enhancement I mentioned earlier. I will forward your request to the SPA5252G Product Team.

Marcos

[Marcos Hernandez]

Hi John,

Right now, it is not possible to dial a number without leaving the video screen. I will send this feedback to the Phone Team for consideration (I know this enhancement is coming, but we do not have an ETA).

The Door URL is a parameter currently available in the configuration UI, with its corresponding softkey in the Video screen. The idea is that after pushing a button, the phone will trigger an action to the I/O ports of a PVC2300/WVC2300 video camera using the camera API. This action is invoked via HTTP (therefore the need for a URL). You can find more information on the Camera Admin Guide:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/security/csbvsc/pvc2300_wvc2300/administration/guide/PVC2300_WVC2300_V20_UG_A.pdf

Also, if you need the API documentation for the camera, please contact your Sales SE or SBMM.

I know you probably don't want to add another component, but you could consider a Callbox from Cyberdata (using SIP), which comes with a door built-in relay. Take a look at this integration document that I wrote:

https://supportforums.cisco.com/click.jspa?searchID=14107478&objectType=102&objectID=9496

Finally, for the benefit of the broader Community, here are the manual configuration instructions for the MonitorView feature, with a little YouTube video demonstration:

https://supportforums.cisco.com/docs/DOC-9806

Let me know if this helps.

Marcos

Corrected my statement regarding the Door Softkey. I meant to say we do have it.

[John Platts]

I have noticed that the following pre-Small Business Pro SBCS solution components have been phased out and replaced with Small Business Pro products:

• Catalyst Express 520 series switches (replaced by ESW 500 series switches)
  
• AP521 wireless access points (replaced by AP541N wireless AP)
  
• 526 wireless mobility controller
• CP-521G, CP-524G, CP-521SG, and CP-524SG (replaced by SPA50x phones)

I have not seen an end-of-life notice for the UC520. Are there plans to phase out the UC520 and only offer the newer UC500 models?

Have the 3rd generation UC500 models already been planned? There are some improvements that were not made on the UC540 and UC560 models that should be made on the 3rd generation UC500 models.

[Marcos Hernandez]

Hi John,

There are no current plans to EOL the UC520. There are also no plans for a 3rd generation UC500 family, at least not for now.

Thanks,

Marcos

[John Platts]

The 7925G and 7925G-EX were the only 7900 series phones released in the last two years. All of the other 7900 series phones have been out for over 2 years. I know that Cisco has discontinued the 7940G, 7941G, 7941G-GE, 7960G, 7961G, 7961G-GE, 7970G, and 7971G-GE phones.

Are there plans to release new 7900 series phones, or is the 7900 series going to be replaced by the 6900, 8900, and 9900 series phones?

Features that are available on the 7942G, 7945G, 7962G, 7965G, and 7975G phones, but not available on the 7931G phone:

• Octo-line support
• SSL VPN client
  
• iLBC codec support
• Wideband speaker
• Additional XML phone application capabilities
• Larger LCD display
• 10/100/1000 Ethernet on 7945G, 7965G, and 7975G
• Touch screen on 7975G

Are there plans to release a new 793x phone with a button layout similar to the 7931G phone?

I have seen information about SPA300 series and SPA525G2  phones. Do these phones support octo-line? I have heard about future  plans for octo line on SPA500 phones in a webcast about the SPA500  series phones. Will there be support for octo-line on the existing  SPA500 series phones in the future, or will it only be supported on  future models?

Octo-line has been a must have feature for any new IP phone supported on the UC500 platform, as these features are dependent on octo line support:

• Extension mobility involving octo-line extensions
• Shared octo-lines
• Conference barge (cBarge)

I have read the release notes for the 9.0(2)SR1, 9.0(2)SR2, and 9.0(3) releases for the TNP phones, and I noticed that the 7942G, 7945G, 7962G, 7965G, and 7975G phones now support the SSL VPN client with the 9.0(2)SR1 release or later. When will the 9.0 firmware release for TNP phones be added to the UC500 software packs?

[Marcos Hernandez]

Focus for the high-end phone families will definitely be shifted to the 6900/8900/9900 phones over time, but the 7900's remain a safe bet for a high quality device.

I am not aware of any plans to add another 793X phone.

Octo-line support is planned for the SPA525G. I have not heard of any plans to support octo on the SPA300.

For the time being, UC500 software packs will remain on current phone firmware (for 7900's). I do not have an estimate on when this will change.

Marcos

[Steven DiStefano]

Marcos,

I have not heard the APS525G or SPA525G phone will support Octal line and didnt think it had the HW capability to support this.

This is pretty important to understand and my apology for asking (I know you are the expert) :-)

Steve

[Marcos Hernandez]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for jumping in. I stand corrected, there are no plans to support octo-lines on the SPA500 series (any model). I was going by an old roadmap presentation, but I called the Phone Product Manager and he clarified. I apologize for the confusion.

Marcos

[j.miller_32]

Hi Marcos, 

Does the UC500 offer options to secure my network when deploying SIP Trunks?

Thanks

[Marcos Hernandez]

Hi,

CCA supports, for all the ITSP's included in the list, the authentication for the SIP trunks that uses the digest mechanism.

If you are referring to security as in encryption for the SIP trunk, the UC500 CLI supports Transport Layer Security (TLS) for encryption of the SIP signaling (not media), which hardens the aforementioned authentication mechanism. You can find more information on:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/docs/ios/12_4t/12_4t11/FeatTLS.html

This is NOT supported in CCA, even with customized SIP Trunk configuration via the XML templates. The reason is that TLS requires that you enroll to a CA server, and this part is done outside of the SIP Trunk parameters.

Another important aspect of this is the support for TLS on the ITSP side. I don't know of any major SP (at least in the US) that supports TLS. TLS is usually seen in private connections across the Internet.

For media encryption, the IOS CLI supports SRTP. As with TLS, the ITSP gateways must be SRTP-aware and I know of none that are (at least in North America). Also, no CCA support for this feature. More info on:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/docs/ios/voice/sip/configuration/guide/sip_cg-srtp_ps6441_TSD_Products_Configuration_Guide_Chapter.html

Some ITSP's have resolved the incompatibility problems by requiring a full blown VPN connection between the customer and their facilities.

In short, the underlying IOS is capable of securing the SIP trunk, but the fact that not many ITSP's support this, and the fact that CCA doesn't yet have the feature, deem this implementation impractical.

I hope this helps,

Marcos

[Elijah Sinyama]

I have a situation Marcus. We recently acquired the UC520 SBCS the one with integrated Wi-Fi. My boss has given me the job to deploy it. I read through the getting started with CCA and was basically ready to begin configuration. But my boss stopped me from going ahead saying i must come up with a deployment plan of some sort. You see my argument with him is this equipment comes ready to go from the box. But he wouldn’t allow me to touch it without this deployment plan. Basically he is looking at things like, what IP scheme we will use, how i plan to deploy the SR520 router at his house and things like that. I have never installed one of these before and my reading says i must power it up (the uc500) and run the phone wizard. The SR-520 will be installed at his house. He has adsl internet there (I will obviously use the sr 520 utility). Our ip phones are SPA 525G. Is there any checklist i can use to plan my installation better. I am looking at a document that will list all the things we will configure on the uc500 and on the router. The uc500 has intergrated 8port poe switch. Our office is small with a max of 10 users. Can you please help with an initial deployment video for dummies per say? I am running out of time and don’t know what do. Apparently this is also going to serve as a demo for a client who wishes to deploy ip fones in there firm.

[craig.corbett]

Elijah, not sure if it will help, but it helped me - you could try the Site Survey doc.

https://supportforums.cisco.com/docs/DOC-9805

Craig.

[Elijah Sinyama]

Graig,

Thank you so much. This will definitely help me. I hope tomorow wednesday 28 july 2010, i will make a point with my boss. thanks once again. you are a life saver.

Elijah.

[Marcos Hernandez]

Elijah,

The Site Survey Craig mentions is a very good reference for what you want. I would also advise you to use and follow the Small Business Smart Designs, which provide instructions on how to deploy your scenarios and improve the chances of success. You can tell your boss that you are following the recommended guidelines, and then blame Cisco if it doesn't work ;-)

More info on (Partner login required):

https://supportforums.cisco.com/docs/DOC-9587

Here is the direct link:

http://www.cisco.com/web/partners/sell/smb/tools_and_resources/smart_business_comm_system.html

The site seems to be down right now due to some kind of maintenance. Try again later.

Thanks,

Marcos

[Elijah Sinyama]

Thank you Marcos,

I am hopeful that the Small Business Smart Designs link you have given me will shed more light on my situation. I have tried like you said it appears offline. But once again thank you for all the wonderful things you guys at cisco do.

Elijah.