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Cisco CallManager Best Practices: A Cisco AVVID Solution
Read an excerpt:
Chapter 1: Planning the CallManager Implementation
Copyright© Cisco Systems, Inc. Published by Cisco Press. Written permission from the publisher is required for any use of this material.
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Customer Reviews: 1 Average Customer Rating:   Write a Review and tell the world about this title! People who purchase this book frequently purchase: - Configuring CallManager and Unity: A Step-by-Step Guide; David Bateman, $48.95, 30% Off!
- Cisco CallManager Fundamentals, 2nd Edition; John Alexander, et al, $52.50, 30% Off!
- Troubleshooting Cisco IP Telephony; Paul Giralt, et al, $52.50, 30% Off!
- Cisco Unity Fundamentals; Brian Morgan, et al, $38.50, 30% Off!
Books on similar topics, in best-seller order:Books from the same publisher, in best-seller order:
Delivers the proven solutions that make a difference in your Cisco IP Telephony
deployment
- Learn dial plan best practices that help you configure features such
as intercom, group speed dials, music on hold, extension mobility, and
more
- Understand how to manage and monitor your system proactively for maximum
uptime
- Use dial plan components to reduce your exposure to toll fraud
- Take advantage of call detail records for call tracing and accounting,
as well as troubleshooting
- Utilize the many Cisco IP Telephony features to enable branch site deployments
- Discover the best ways to install, upgrade, patch, and back up CallManager
- Learn how backing up to remote media provides both configuration recovery
and failure survivability
IP telephony represents the future of telecommunications: a converged data
and voice infrastructure boasting greater flexibility and more cost-effective
scalability than traditional telephony. Having access to proven best practices,
developed in the field by Cisco IP Telephony experts, helps you ensure a
solid, successful deployment.
Cisco CallManager Best Practices offers best practice solutions
for CallManager and related IP telephony components such as IP phones, gateways,
and applications. Written in short, to-the-point sections, this book lets
you explore the tips, tricks, and lessons learned that will help you plan,
install, configure, back up, restore, upgrade, patch, and secure Cisco CallManager,
the core call processing component in a Cisco IP Telephony deployment. You'll
also discover the best ways to use services and parameters, directory integration,
call detail records, management and monitoring applications, and more.
Customers inspired this book by asking the same questions time after time:
How do I configure intercom? What's the best way to use partitions and calling
search spaces? How do I deploy CallManager regionally on my WAN? What do
all those services really do? How do I know how many calls are active? How
do I integrate CallManager with Active Directory? Years of expert experiences
condensed for you in this book enable you to run a top-notch system while
enhancing the performance and functionality of your IP telephony deployment.
This book is part of the Networking Technology Series from Cisco Press,
which offers networking professionals valuable information for constructing
efficient networks, understanding new technologies, and building successful
careers.
Table of Contents
Foreword.
Introduction.
1. Planning the CallManager Implementation.
Read the Solution Reference Network Designs.
Check the Compatibility Matrix. Assess the Current Data Infrastructure.
Assess the Current Voice Environment. Choose the Right Equipment. Create
a Training Curriculum for Users and Administrators. Establish a Rollout
Plan. Summary.
2. Planning Centralized Call Processing Deployments.
Establishing Basic WAN Connectivity. Tuning
Quality of Service on the WAN. Preventing WAN Oversubscription by Using
Locations-Based Call Admission Control (CAC). Dynamically Rerouting Calls
Using Automated Alternate Routing. Survive WAN Outages by Using SRST. Choosing
Gateways to Support Centralized Call Processing Functionality. Summary.
3. Installing CallManager.
Before the Installation. During the Installation.
After the Installation. Summary.
4. Backing Up and Restoring the Environment.
Consider the Whole Deployment. Five Steps
to a Solid Backup. Planning Your Backup Strategy. Things to Be Aware of
When Restoring from a BARS Backup. Troubleshooting Typical Backup Problems.
Summary.
5. Upgrading and Patching CallManager.
Installing Windows OS and CallManager Service
Releases. Summary.
6. Securing the Environment.
Classes of Voice Security Threats. Create
a Security Policy to Guide Your Efforts. Avoid Single Points of Security
Policy Failure. Review an Infrastructure Security Feature Checklist. Harden
Access to Routers and Switches. Harden Access via IP Phones. Harden CallManager
and Voice Application Servers. Secure Remote Administration of CallManager.
Secure Endpoint Provisioning. Secure Endpoint Operation. Secure Interserver
Communication for MGCP, SIP, H.323, and Java Telephony API Signaling via
IPSec. Implementation Considerations. Summary.
7. Configuring CallManager and IP Telephony Components.
General CallManager System Best Practices.
IP Phone Best Practices. Gateway Best Practices. Dial Plan Best Practices.
Best Practices for Configuring Features. Tools and Application Best Practices.
Summary.
8. Managing Services and Parameters.
About Services. About Service Parameters.
Cisco CallManager Service and Related Parameters. Cisco TFTP Service. Cisco
Messaging Interface Service and Related Parameters. Cisco IP Voice Media
Streaming App Service. Cisco CTIManager Service. Cisco Telephony Call Dispatcher
Service. Cisco MOH Audio Translator Service and Related Parameter. Cisco
RIS Data Collector Service and Related Parameters. Cisco Database Layer
Monitor Service and a Related Parameter. Cisco CDR Insert Service. Cisco
CTL Provider Service. Cisco Extended Functions Service and a Related Parameter.
Cisco Serviceability Reporter Service. Cisco WebDialer Service. Cisco IP
Manager Assistant Service. Cisco Extension Mobility Service and Related
Parameters. General Enterprise Parameters. Summary.
9. Using Multilevel Administration.
Changes from the Previous Release. Enable
MLA for Added Security. No MLA Access When the Publisher Is Down. Enable
Tracing for MLA. Monitor the Access Log for Malicious Login Attempts. Check
the Privileges Report. Create User-Specific Accounts. Create Custom Functional
Groups. Create Custom User Groups. Assign Group Privileges. Manage Overlapping
Permissions. Keep an Eye on Your System. Maintain the Tightest Security
Possible. Summary.
10. Mastering Directory Integration.
Directory Access Versus Directory Integration.
Directory Access for IP Telephony Endpoints. Directory Integration for CallManager.
Best Practices for Directory Integration. Summary.
11. Administering Call Detail Records.
Use CDR Data for Accounting/Billing or Troubleshooting.
Enable CDR Data Collection. Limit the Number of CDR and CMR Entries. Configure
CDR Enterprise Parameters. Enable Network Time Synchronization on All CallManagers
and Update the Configuration File if Needed. Understanding the Call Detail
Record Format. Understanding CDR Data Through Call Examples. Search the
CDR SQL Database. Export CDR Data for Further Analysis. Convert Epoch Time
to Human-Readable Time Using the CDR Time Converter Utility. Convert a 32-Bit
Signed Integer Value to an IP Address. Using the CAR Tool. Third-Party CDR
Applications. Summary.
12. Managing and Monitoring the System.
Choosing the Best Overall Methodology. Make
Monitoring a Daily Process. Configuring Authentication, Authorization, and
Accounting on Cisco IOS Gateways. Using Syslog to Monitor the System. Using
SNMP Where Possible. Use Microsoft Performance for Real-Time Data If It
Fits Your Current Model. Check the Serviceability Reports Archive Every
Day. Check the CallManager Trace Facility Configuration and Log Files. Using
Windows Terminal Services. Using VNC. Summary.
13. Using Real-Time Monitoring Tool.
Configuring RTMT. Summary.
Appendix CallManager 4.0 New Feature Description.
CallManager Release 4.0(1) Feature List.
Glossary.
Index.
About the Authors
Salvatore Collora, CCIE No. 4321, is a network consulting
engineer for Cisco Systems Advanced Services who specializes in implementing
IP telephony and security in large customer networks. He has deployed many
large CallManager-based IP telephony networks and often works in emergency
situations to fix improper installation and configuration of CallManager.
Anne Smith is a technical writer in the CallManager engineering
group at Cisco Systems. She has written technical documentation for the
Cisco IP Telephony solution since CallManager release 2.0 and was part of
the Selsius Systems acquisition in 1998. Anne writes internal and external
documents for CallManager, IP phones, and other Cisco IP Telephony products.
Ed Leonhardt, CCIE No. 3264, is a consulting systems
engineer and serves as a technical lead in the combined Enterprise/Service
Provider IP Telephony Technology Leadership Program at Cisco Systems. He
drives new product requirements to the individual product teams and guides
overall system engineer development in technologies surrounding IP telephony.
Customer Reviews
Customer Reviews: 1 Average Customer Rating: Dec 24, 2004 Michael J. Morris from Raleigh, NC
Great Book for experienced IP Telephony engineers
Cisco CallManager Best Practices is a very well written book with plenty of useful information. However, please note, this is not an introductory book for Cisco IP Telephony. As its name implies, this book provides best practices for installing, running and optimizing an IP Telephony network. Thus, this book should be used by experienced IP Telephony engineers in order to plan new deployment or optimize existing IP Telephony networks.
Beyond that one caveat, I highly recommend this book. It is well written and has very good information. I did not find any errors and found the technical information very in-depth and thorough.
I particularly liked Chapter 6: Securing the Environment. While obviously slanted toward IP Telephony, this chapter provided detailed security practices that should be applied to all networks. This chapter focuses on how overall network security leads to secure IP Telephony environments, which is the way security should be approached. By simply securing your IP Telephony assets (CallManagers, Gateways, etc), but not implementing standard security technologies (private VLANs, ARP inspection, 802.1x, etc) engineers will still leave their IP Telephony network subject to attack. Rightfully so, this chapter explains how IP Telephony is just a part of overall security, and then explains basic security technologies with an inkling toward IP Telephony.
My only complaint about this book, and why it only received 4 out of 5 stars, was its lack of flow. Chapters did not build on one another, despite appearing that way from the Table of Contents. Each chapter started fresh. However, I think this may be a factor of the books purpose: providing Best Practices and not laying out a step-by-step process for IP Telephony deployments. As I mentioned above, this is not a book to use for someone new to IP Telephony or for your first deployment. This book should be used by experienced IP Telephony engineers to enhance their knowledge for new deployments and bolster existing IP Telephony networks.
Michael J. Morris CCIE #11733, MCSE
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