CUCM Lab

Hi All,

I'm looking to set up a CUCM lab, I've read through a few threads and there is no step by step process that I can find, especially in regards to where to get the ISO. Does the hardware matter or does the VM do all the work to emulate the hardware?

Thanks in advance!!

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Comments

JeanM

It really depends on the version, older versions didn't run in VMware, and the newer versions do it easily.
I've had no issues installing 8.6 ad 9.x in ESXi 5.5 lab. There are guides and step by step install videos out there but you need a cisco or partner id to get the images.

azaghul

You used to be able to buy the ISO's on eBay, but just checked and nothing really there...if you can find them, I'd stick with v8.x as it has a non-expiring license, where 9.x / 10.x has only a 90 or 120 day trial (unless this has changed).

As for step-by-step install, INE / IPExpert / CBT Nuggets videos will walk you through this.

As for hardware / vmware, I think Intel processors are preferred (AMD had issues at one stage) and CUCM will easily run in VM Workstation or ESXi.

cisco_kidd20

Probably a stupid question - if I configure a VM on a Windows 7 PC, can I configure the VM to any spec I want or is the VM config limited to the specs of the actual hardware?

JeanM

Well, the PC in your case would be a "host" , you can "over provision" but it comes down to still the specs of the host where the virtualizer is running on

Look up for example thin vs thick provisioning ...you can over provision on ram as well...but it all depends on the "guest" operating systems etc running in the host as VMs in terms of how much you can do. I would say if you have 8+gb you can easily play with CUCM as a VM inside workstation, w/o slowing down your whole system down.

CUCM versions have their own requirements for minimum cpu/ram/hdd, each version is different too.

ampdeck

cisco_kidd20 wrote: »

Hi All,

I'm looking to set up a CUCM lab, I've read through a few threads and there is no step by step process that I can find, especially in regards to where to get the ISO. Does the hardware matter or does the VM do all the work to emulate the hardware?

Thanks in advance!!

you may want also to check this site.... RouteHub

theodoxa

A few things to be aware of --

1) If you're running VMware ESXi make sure that your hardware (particularly your NIC and SATA Controller) are on VMware's list of supported hardware. I got somewhat lucky in that even though my NIC and SATA controller were not on the list, that they were common enough that I was able to find VIBs (Basically Device Drivers for VMware ESXi) for them. VIBs are very difficult to find for most hardware.

2) Memory is going to be very important. For some reason, Cisco UC software tends to require a lot of RAM, which is odd considering Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Core can run on a small fraction of the RAM CUCM requires. I currently have 16 GB in my server, which should be sufficient for CUCM + CUPS + CUC + MS Active Directory (Server Core). If you want to run more VMs (say Windows 7 with CIPC), you might need more RAM.

3) Cisco UC Software, in particular Unity Connection (CUC) require a LOT of hard disk space. I had originally planned to install everything on an SSD (for speed), but ended up buying a 1 TB HDD (Non-SSD) to install CUC and CUPS on, because the SSD I had was too small to install all 3 servers. Figure on at least 480 GB to run everything.

negru_tudor

Hey there,

For virtualization purposes I can vouch for Oracle's Virtualbox (free) and VMware Workstation.

Myself, I have an i7-3610QM, 16 GB RAM and a 128GB SSD(OS) + 256 GB SSD (VMs and other stuff) notebook and can successfully run the following on Windows 7 without too much hassle:

- 1 x CUCM Publisher (2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 80 GB virtual HDD)
- 1 X CUC Publisher (2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 80 GB virtual HDD)
- 1 X CUPS Publisher (2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 80 GB virtual HDD)
- 2 x Win XP Vms with CIPC and CUPC clients (1 CPU, 1 GB RAM, 20 GB HDD)
- GNS3 with 2 x 3745 H323 gateways on IOS 12

The only thing with ESXi is that you'll need a separate host server to install on. If you're like me and need flexibility and a "lab-on-wheels", you can just use VirtualBox or VMware Workstation and you can literally take your lab with you wherever you go.

Oh, and my VMs (CUCM, CUC and CUPS) only eat up about 22 GB of real HDD space on my 256 GB SSD (I do have compression enabled on the VM folders though). RAM-wise, they do eat up a lot of RAM when they're all fired up..I'd say anywhere in between 8 GB to 12 GB of RAM depending on the load but that's for ALL of what I said above AND my Win 7 notebook's OS

Hope this helps.

theodoxa

negru_tudor wrote: »

- 1 X CUC Publisher (2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 80 GB virtual HDD)

CUC requires 160 GB of HD Space per Cisco. I'm not sure how low it will actually accept (CUCM was willing to accept slightly less than the stated 80 GB, but the OVA had a profile that had lower HDD/RAM requirements than what is listed by Cisco), but when I tried to install it (CUC on ESXi 5.5) on a disk sized for CUCM, the installer stated that Unity Connection was not available. Once I upped the Disk Size to 160 GB, it installed fine.

80 (CUCM) + 160 (CUC) + 80 (CUPS) = 320 GB

Plus, you'll want some additional space for Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 7, Linux, whatever.

negru_tudor

Well I did edit the requirements on the ISO image to allow CUC to work in VMware and I think (don't recall exactly as I did this a long time ago) I might have "tweaked" the HDD space as well. They worked by provisioning 80 GB HDD space though and that's just what you're telling the VM it's entitled to..in reality, they take up a lot less HDD space that the sum of their virtual HDDs. Now if you have a CUC server with 500 mailboxes in your lab then sure, it can grow up to those 160 or 80 GB but the point I'm trying to make here is that, based solely on my own home lab and experience, you can make due with the stuff I posted above.
Good luck with the studies guys! See you on the NP-Voice side!

cisco_nerd

I have had a few issues running my cluster within VMWare Workstation with regards to the virtual NIC.

Everytime I powered on my servers (2x CUCM, 1x CUC, 1x CUPS) I would then need to spend upwards of 30mins trying to get network connectivity (by bouncing the NIC in CLI for each server) back between the cluster and my host. Problem with this is you waste your study time mucking with faults that are outside the scope of the exams.

But even this was very unstable... so in the end I deleted it all, and went back to ESXi 6.0 as it supports 802.1Q and is just much more stable.

If you want to just play around with each individual server, then Oracle or Workstation might be ok for this but just keep in mind that you may have issues with your NIC. - or it could just be my setup

With regards to obtaining the .IOS... well, if you have a friend / colleague that has studied this then you may be able to obtain v8.x, or you might be able to get it from work if thats available... stick with v8.x for now as you get 150DLUs but remember that CUPS v8.x has a 90day "demo licence" but it is simple to rebuild or just take a snapshot of the VM.

If you plan on doing the Collab path then you will need to upgrade to 9.1 at a minimum. Unsure if CCNP Collab will be going with 9.1 or 10.5, but 9.1 will match up with CCIE Collab. v11 is also just around the corner...

All the best with your studies.