Help completing my Voice Lab..

Well, first off thank you for your service.

Secondly, I assume your voice lab is in prep for a cert/job so I would say that as far as a CCNA Voice lab you have enough to get going with. A single site VoIP configuration is just fine for that, big got to haves for a Cisco Voice lab are: CUCM, CME, CUPS, and Unity Connection. You can use the 1721's as MGCP gateways, running CME/SRST and have the switches/phones behind them as remote devices. On the routers/switches configure basic QOS to prioritize Voice traffic, and point the voice vlan tftp option 150 to your main sites CUCM.

(Side note: some people new to VoIP ask if CUCM has to be in the same subnet as the phones, the answer is no. Just make sure they have a L3 devices to route between vlans.)

At your main site, you can use your PC to host your UC servers either wipe it and use ESXi 4.1 or just use vmware workstation if you want to keep your current OS. You also mentioned VWICS & FXS/FXO cards, well I wouldn't invest too heavily into analog stuff but if you throw the FXS/FXO cards on either your main site router (think of it as a gateway) you can route calls out of it, and configure the FXS ports with Extensions great to play with them in CME first. The VWICS are cool because they can simulate a PRI connection or can be used as plain old T1 ports that is why I personally prefer the 2 port VWICs to 1 port HWICs. As for DSP chips, in a lab you really don't need to worry about them too much all they are is resources for codec translation (EX: SIP to H.323), or going from Analog to digital. A single 32 DSP chip is fine and you can stick your FXO/S cards directly into the slots of your 2811 ISR router. (Side note on router: You are running 15.1 IOS so be sure to do a show licence to see what features are available, SRST will not work after the trial period, so you may consider downgrading to 12.4)

Hope this helps!

Dexter,

LOL, I sure hope that once I start studying for the CCNA:Voice, that I will understand more of the terms that get thrown around in these threads..

Russ

pogue wrote: »

Dexter,

LOL, I sure hope that once I start studying for the CCNA:Voice, that I will understand more of the terms that get thrown around in these threads..

Russ

Sorry dude!

CUCM = Cisco Unified Communication Manager (Call Manager)
CME = Call Manger Express
CUPS = Cisco Unified Presence Server (Mostly an IM server)
Unity Connection = Voice mail system
MGCP = Media Gateway Control Protocol (Allows CallManager to control routes and use them as VoIP gateways)
SRST= Survivable Remote Site Telephony (if connection to CallManager is lost the router can take over for the phones and use a local analog line or PRI to route outbound)

Hope that helps!

Dexter,

Thanks for the assistance!!

Update: Ebay seller sent me the 2811 with 256Mb DRAM/64Mb Flash, IOS 12.4(3), and no CME installed. I have been in contact with him and he says he is sending the software, but he has not answered my issue with the memory sizes. I am giving him the benefit of the doubt, and hopefully he will take care of everything without me having to raise a stink.

Russ

Update... Seller sent me the correct IOS on the correct sized Flash card, with the additional DRAM.. All is installed and working well..

I do have another question.. Hopefully someone with more knowledge that I will be able to answer..

I am looking at purchasing a VIC2-4FXO card in order to connect my system to my Vonage connection so I call recieve calls from POTS..

Now, I looked up the data sheet on the 2800 series, and the following line seems to indicate a Voice module will work fine in an HWIC slot:

Q. Are the VICs supported in the integrated HWIC slots?
A. Yes, because the Cisco 2800 Series has PVDM slots on the motherboard, these DSPs are available to support VICs in the integrated HWIC slots.

So, I am assuming I don't need any sort of NME, right?

Thanks,

Russ

The majority of VICx and VWIC cards will work fine in the 2800 series, just add PVDM2's and viola, a working POTS voice gateway! No NME required, though they can still be used.

I think there are a handful of VIC's that are unsupported (VIC-2FXO?, VIC-2FXS?, VIC-2E&M), mostly the original 1st Generation 2 port VIC's, but any later ones should be fine.

azaghul,

Thank you very much for the response..

Another question.. Looking on Ebay, the VIC2-2FXO's seem to be much more expensive than the VIC2-4FXO...

Do you have any idea why?

Thanks,

Russ

Hi Russ

absoluetly no idea really, availability maybe? price originally paid?...I've seen 3560-24PS selling for more than a 3750-48PS (and from the same seller as well!)...just one of those bizarre quirks of eBay

azaghul wrote: »

The majority of VICx and VWIC cards will work fine in the 2800 series, just add PVDM2's and viola, a working POTS voice gateway! No NME required, though they can still be used.

I think there are a handful of VIC's that are unsupported (VIC-2FXO?, VIC-2FXS?, VIC-2E&M), mostly the original 1st Generation 2 port VIC's, but any later ones should be fine.

I looked up the VIC-4FXS/DID card, and it looks like it is EoL, but is supported in the 2811. Am I correct in assuming this card supports the same functions as the VIC2-2FXS and VIC2-4FXS cards?

Thanks,

Russ

Hi Russ,

There may be some feature enhancements as the cards mature, as VICs became VIC2s became VIC3s (caller ID, fax/modem support, etc [and I'm just guessing at actual features]). But being an FXS card, the device attached is not that intelligent anyway. I think most/all 1st generation VICs are now EOL.

The main difference/feature is the 4FXS/DID is also capable analogue Direct Inwards Dialling from the PSTN to attached phones, not sure if the later cards support that. Not something I've actually tested. Usually once you get tho the stage of needing DID (usually due to company growth/port density), full/fractional ISDN PRI would become a stronger contender.

After earning CCNP R&S I'm going to start to learn the CCNA VOICE. I already have L2 and L3 switches.
There are almost no questions concerning routers and cards. However not all clear about the Cisco Unified software.
As far as I understood from the CCNA Voice Lab Manual book track at least CUCM, CUC and CUPS are required.
While not diving deeply into this subject I suspect that this software is not free. Actually the questions on this list of software are the next:
1. Will I have to buy it? If yes then how much will it cost?
2. If I'm no mistaken the software should be installed on VMware Workstation. Why it should be installed on virtual machine?

sacredboy wrote: »

1. Will I have to buy it? If yes then how much will it cost?2. If I'm no mistaken the software should be installed on VMware Workstation. Why it should be installed on virtual machine?

Cisco is a bit of a stickler on handing out Unified Communication software, so yes you will have to buy it. A quick search on Ebay for CUCM/CUPS/VOICE LAB shows virtual machines and lab kits for sale: cucm | eBay are typically vmdk files that are for an ESXi 4.1 host or you could run them on vmware workstation. The reason these should be installed on a VM is so that you have one physical machine running all your virtual lab servers instead of having half a dozen physical boxes sitting around eating up your electric bill, that are wasting RAM/CPU resources because they only utilize a small percent of them. Also, CUCM does a very strict hardware compatibility check so unless you want to buy several MCS servers : Supported Servers for Releases of Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Including Business Edition 3000/5000/6000 and Session Manager Edition) and Cisco Intercompany Media Engine [Cisco 7800 Series Media Convergence Servers] - Cisco Systems

Guys, is it a task to install VWIC2 and PVDM modules on router?

shodown

no the VWIC will go right into the slot. For a PVDM you will have to open up the router on the 2800 routers, but its not hard.

BTW I know that in new 15.XX IOS some features should be licensed. Is there any features related to VOICE that should be licensed prior to using them?

shodown

yes you need to UC feature pack. Without that the voice commands will not work if you have a 2900/3900 series router.

On the one hand there is a 15.xx IOS that current CCNP VOICE track is based on. On the other hand with 12.xx IOS that is considered to be outdated in terms of VOICE track but there is much less headache related to licensing IOS features. Is there a compromise?

For 2800/3800 series I'd recommend IOS v15.0/15.1 for mainline voice features (no license required), or 12.4T when you need gatekeeper functionality (limited to 90 day(?) eval under IOS v15.0/15/1).

For older 1700/2600xm/3700 series we're limited to 12.4T.

For newer 2900/3900 series, I guess if you can afford those you can afford the license as well

About modules: is it enough WIC2-1MFT-T1/E1 and PVDM2-16 on each router or it is better to get some other modules?
About phones: 3 is a minimum?
About routers: is there any difference which one to buy 2801 or 2811 (i.e. which one is more preferable)?
About IOS: should it be adventerprise?

For modules: WIC2-1MFT-T1/E1 + PVDM2-16 will be fine for each router, if you can get VIC-4FXO and/or VIC-4FXS (to config analogue ports) and PVDM2-32 (to config transcoding/conferencing) for one router it would be handy
For phones: 3 minimum + CIPC soft phone, CP7941/42/61/62 prefered
For routers: depending on price, I'd recommend the 2811, you get an added NM slot and its quieter
For IOS: adventerprise, advipservices, ipvoice in decreasing order.

Guys what is the minimum and what is preferable amount of flash memory for 15 IOS + CME ?

sacredboy wrote: »

Guys what is the minimum and what is preferable amount of flash memory for 15 IOS + CME ?

128 meg is pretty standard, i guess preferable would be 256 or 512 is you got 2 flash slots like on most ISR routers (2800 series, 2900, etc...)

Hi guys. Is it OK to obtain VWIC2-1MFT-T1/E1 WAN instead of VWIC2-2MFT-T1/E1 WAN and PVDM2-16 instead of PVDM2-32?[h=1][/h][h=4][/h]

sacredboy wrote: »

Hi guys. Is it OK to obtain VWIC2-1MFT-T1/E1 WAN instead of VWIC2-2MFT-T1/E1 WAN and PVDM2-16 instead of PVDM2-32?

That's entirely up to you, but I would definitely go PVDM2-32.

DexterPark wrote: »

That's entirely up to you, but I would definitely go PVDM2-32.

Could you please explain why. Just in brief. And what about VWIC2-1MFT-T1/E1 vs VWIC2-2MFT-T1/E1?

The bigger the PVDM2 (8,16,32,48,64), the more resource it can allocate to supporting voice services and the higher the resource density in the router.

A PVDM2-16 can support up to 16 traditional voice channels: 4 x FXS ports, 4 x FXO ports , 8 x E1/T1 channels.
A PVDM2-32 can support up to 16 traditional voice channels: 4 x FXS ports, 4 x FXO ports , 24 x E1/T1 channels. etc

They also perform transcoding between codecs, and mixing of audio streams in conference calls, which also consume the PVDM2 resources (DSP chips).

In a normal home lab you can usually get away with the HQ router having a PVDM2-32/64 and branch offices with PVDM2-8.

As for the VWIC2-1MFT-T1/E1 vs VWIC2-2MFT-T1/E1. The 1MFT supports 1 x E1/T1 circuit while the 2MFT supports 2 (ether E1 or T1).

In the end, what gets bought for the lab comes to what you are prepared to spend or can afford.

sacredboy wrote: »

Could you please explain why. Just in brief. And what about VWIC2-1MFT-T1/E1 vs VWIC2-2MFT-T1/E1?

Pretty much what Azaghul said, (Although I doubt I'd have been as articulate...) You really can't create a PRI without at least a PVDM2-32 chip. It will bark at you if you try. A PRI has 23 B-channels that your voice traffic traverses and a single D-channel that keeps sync and does all the signaling.

As for which card to choose I will again say that depends on you

What do you want to accomplish with them and how do you want your branch routers to connect to the WAN & PSTN?

Will you have a PRI at each site? If that's the case you will need at least a single port PRI card, and you will also have a T1 at each site as well for WAN connectivity.

Why not save slots by getting a VWIC2-2MFT-T1/E1 and use one port for a T1 and another for a PRI?

Maybe you finally decide to go SIP and have your HQ router/CUCM server be the central PSTN gateway accessible to the remote sites via the WAN.

In that case, you could take your two port PRI card and have two bonded T1's in a multilink interface which provides a 3 Mbp/s link to your HQ.

It's all about the design my friend.

Guys I appreciate your detailed explanation.

I am going to obtain VIC2-2FXS and VIC2-2FXO. Just a couple of questions:
1. How many of each type of card I will need (currently I have 2 routers)?
2. What would you say about obtaining VIC2-4FXS instead of VIC2-2FXS and VIC2-4FXO instead of VIC2-2FXO?

swild

The difference between a VWIC2-2FXS and VWIC2-4FXS is that the first has 2 FXS ports and the other has 4 FXS ports. Same for the FXO cards. Either would be sufficient for a lab. Get whichever you can find cheapest.

You will need 1 FXO card per router and probably just one FXS card so you can learn how to configure it.