Ask the Expert: Installing, Integrating, and Troubleshooting Cisco Unity Connection

[ciscomoderator]

Welcome to this Cisco Support Community Ask the Expert conversation. This is an opportunity to learn and ask questions about integrating Cisco Unity Connection into your environment and troubleshooting the many features that are available with the Cisco Unity Connection voicemail solution with expert Brad Magnani.

Cisco Unity Connection is a voicemail and unified messaging platform with a comprehensive feature set and is based on the Linux unified communications operating system. With Cisco Unity Connection, you can access and manage voice messages in variety of ways, using your email inbox, web browser, the Cisco Jabber messaging integration platform, Cisco Unified IP Phone, smartphone, tablet, and more. Cisco expert Brad Magnani will cover and answer all of your questions about Cisco Unity Connection.

Brad Magnani is currently a member of the Applications TAC team in Richardson, TX. He has attended Cisco Live and has provided mentorship and technical training in the Bangalore and Krakow TAC centers. His areas of expertise for the past six years have been Cisco Unity and Cisco Unity Connection. Brad also has experience troubleshooting and working with various voice products, including Cisco Unity, Cisco Unity Connection, Presence, Communications Manager, and Jabber. He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in applied networking and system administration from Rochester Institute of Technology. He has achieved certifications for Unity Support Specialist and CCNP-Voice.

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

Because of the volume expected during this event, Brad might not be able to answer every question. Remember that you can continue the conversation in the Collaboration, Voice and Video community, under subcommunity Unified Communications Applications, shortly after the event. This event lasts through March 28, 2014. Visit this forum often to view responses to your questions and the questions of other Cisco Support Community members.

[Jackson Braddock]

Hello Brad,

Thank you for covering this topic.  My question is, when I'm trying to export messages from Unity Connection using COBRAS, it fails to connect even though the port is open on the network.  Why is this happening? Please help.

Thank you.

Jackson

[Bradford Magnani]

Hi Jackson,

It's a common snag admins run into with COBRAS, but there can be several different causes.  The COBRAS import log would be a good place to start looking at what error you may be getting.  Next, I would double check the requirements for message exports in the COBRAS help: http://www.ciscounitytools.com/Applications/General/COBRAS/Help/COBRAS_Briefcase/COBRAS_Briefcase.htm#_Toc330199806

NOTE: Unrestricted versions of Connection (those that lack high encryption capabilities) cannot allow message exports using IMAP via COBRAS because the super user IMAP access needed by COBRAS for this works only over TLS/SSL which is not supported on unrestricted versions.  To get messages from an unrestricted version you need to use the /UseCUMI command line option which extracts messages via HTTP which is slower than IMAP but does not require the SSL support missing in unrestricted versions.

If you're not sure which version you're running, from the command prompt you can run "show cuc version" and it will tell you if you're running Unrestricted.  If you don't see it, it means you're running Restricted.

Hope that helps,

Brad

[clark white]

Hello Brad

I have a CUC 8.6.2, i want to configure single inbox but i am confused in section of

"Determining which Exchange servers you want" we have Exchange 2013, but in unity connection i dont see any option for exchange 2013 only previous versions

Thanks

[Bradford Magnani]

Hi Clark,

First, make sure you're running a compatible version of 8.6.2 that supports Exchange 2013 for Unified Messaging (8.6.2 SU3 and later): http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/voice_ip_comm/connection/8x/requirements/8xcucsysreqs.html#wp351855

To answer your question, there's no selection for Exchange 2013, you just use the 2007/2010 drop down.

Hope that helps,

Brad

[clark white]

Hey Brad,

Thanks for the reply,

I am using the same version (8.6.2 SU3 ) , but on top of that you have mentioned that we can use a  previous version for exchnage  2013 servers no issues i will try to configure and post if i face any issues,

As in this scenario Exchange servers are coming in picture exchange administrators are asking how would will be mail flow hop-by-hop so is it possible for you to  explain me the mail flow, and also steps for troubleshooting to check things where things are going wrong

[Bradford Magnani]

Hi Clark,

Unified Messaging uses Microsoft's Exchange Web Services (EWS) protocol which operates over HTTP or HTTPS.  This is different than the Unity Enterprise version that ran on Windows that integrated with Exchange via MAPI.  UC sends messages directly into users' Exchange mailbox using this protocol.

There are a couple good Troubleshooting guides you can save:

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/voice_ip_comm/connection/8x/troubleshooting/guide/8xcuctsgx/8xcuctsg038.html

and

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/unified-communications/unity-connection/116001-uc-singleinbox-00.html

Hope that helps,

Brad 

[jack samuel]

Dear Brad,

I have freah installed the unity connection 9.1 and integrated with AD successfully.

Now for every user it is not possible for me to teach them first time login setup such as recorded name first and last name, listing in directory services, etc etc,

Is it possible to do this in bulk ?? and also the user dont want to use his voice in recorded name he needs the system lady voice to speak for him.

Thanks

[Bradford Magnani]

Hi Samuel,

It sounds like what you're looking for is covered by configuring user templates so that when you import users, the settings that you've pre-configured will get applied to the users. 

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/voice_ip_comm/connection/9x/user_mac/guide/9xcucmacx/9xcucmac070.html

With the user templates you can determine what features you want enabled/disabled/configured, etc. when you import users for the first time.  Keep in mind though that user templates only get applied upon initial import/creation.  Modifications to the template don't modify existing users.

If you've got users already configured that need changes made in bulk, you can bulk select users from the Users page and use the "Bulk Edit" button: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/voice_ip_comm/connection/9x/user_mac/guide/9xcucmacx/9xcucmac090.html#wp1049549

If a user already has recorded a recorded name, the only way to clear that would be to deleted and re-add the user.  Unfortunately setting the recorded name back to the default text-to-speech method isn't possible like resetting Greetings back to system default.

Hope that helps,

Brad

[jack samuel]

Dear Brad

Thanks for the reply,

I have integrated with AD still i have not import them except for 2 or 3 users just for testing purpose,Now i am planning to import all so where i shld do the setting for text-to-speech for the user recorded name ???

also i shld removed the tick from the recorded name in  VOICEMAIL USER COS

[Bradford Magnani]

It's the default, until users record their own recorded name, the system will attempt to read the user's name on it's own (sounds sort of like a robot).  Once a recorded name is recorded by the user, it will be used from that point onward unless you delete the user and re-import the user.  If you want to prevent users from recording a name, yes, uncheck the value in the Class of Service.

[clark white]

Dear Brad,

please take your precious time to answer our question.

I want to know the  packet flow path from end user outlook new voice message to the outside domain such as gmail user. actually I want to know the where unity connection role is interacting with exchange,

And also the vice versa.(from internet to end user inbox )

Thanks

[Bradford Magnani]

This can be a complex question as there are more details needed.  You also mention gmail which is not supported as far as Unified Messaging is concerned.  UC is only supported for UM with Microsoft Exchange/Office 365 so I don't know if you realize that you may be asking a different question than you think (I speak to this below).  It would be best for you to explain your environment and/or where an end user may be located, and what they're trying to accomplish.

Let's talk about UM with Exchange since that's what we support.  From a UM perspective, when a user receives a voicemail, UC syncs that message out to Exchange using the EWS protocol.  That message arrives on the Exchange server and can be seen by the user's Outlook client or Outlook Web Access web page.  When that message is read/unread/deleted, that information is sent back to UC over the EWS subscription for that user.  UC then determines what action needs to be taken on the message (read/unread/delete) and then will perform it, then turn the light on/off on the phone.  There is a 1:1 mapping between the message in UC and the message sitting in your Exchange inbox.

Now, switching gears, If you're talking about gmail, you may be asking how do you get the message delivered to an external email address?  I'll assume that's what you're asking.  This is a different feature called "Accept and Relay" or "Relay" that you have the ability to use.  They are both explained here: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/voice_ip_comm/connection/8x/user_mac/guide/8xcucmacx/8xcucmac040.html#wp1330388

This feature sends a copy of the voicemail to an SMTP smart host you have configured UC to point to that you have configured in your environment.  It's important to understand this is just a copy, so any action taken on the .wav file in gmail or yahoo, or whatever external email address it gets delivered to, will not reflect in UC.  This is not unified messaging which you may be getting confused with.

Hope that helps,

Brad

[clark white]

Dear Brad,

you took my question in different way,i will explore more.

As to send a voice message within an organization it uses a proxy smtp address for the user and it delivers, according to the link http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/voice_ip_comm/connection/9x/administration/guide/9xcucsa/9xcucsag175.html in section " Example Using IMAP and Cisco Unity Connection ViewMail for Microsoft Outlook 9.x"

suppose for example, if a corporate user clark@abc.com want to sends a mail to clark@gmail.com, so how will be voice message flow ??? Thanks

[lambay2000]

Dea Brad,

when i add a new phone system by keeping the default "phone system"untouch the portgroup and ports are created successfully while configuring but when i do a test by the drop down box top right at the corner it pop-up with the error there are no ports for the "phone system" phone system,

rather pointing to the newly created it is pointing to he default phone system,

why it is pointing to the default though i have selected appropriate (new) phone system while creating the portgroup and ports