Solved: Cisco IP Communicator Download Issues

Brook Powers · ‎08-21-2012

I recently renewed my company's Cisco SMB Select Partner Status.

Before our partnership lapsed, I was able to download and install Cisco IP Communicator in a demo/trial mode for use as a sales demo.

For whatever reason, I can no longer do so. The error I receive is "Additional Entitlement Required".

I have opened several tickets with Cisco Support, but no one knows why or how this happened or why or how I had access previously, or if I am entitled to download now as a partner.

What do I need to do to get access to the latest version of Cisco IP Communicator 8.6(02)?

danplacek · ‎08-21-2012

For your amusement (or not): https://supportforums.cisco.com/message/3551949#3551949

To summarize -- it used to be a free download. Now it is not. However no one seems to have any good information on how you purchase it or how you obtain the software after you purchase it.

View solution in original post

paolo bevilacqua · ‎08-21-2012

Partner status does not give right to download anymore.

For CIPC, you need to purchase

Cisco IP Communicator 8.6 top level part number - $0 IPCOMM86-SW

Cisco IP Communicator configurable license (order one per end user) - $90 IPCOMM86-LIC

View solution in original post

David Harper · ‎08-21-2012

Hi David,

CIPC has never been free, and all that has changed is the fact that access to software centre for the CIPC software has been restricted to people with maintenance contracts. Without getting into a debate about the rightness or otherwise of this, it was done because of the extent to which the software centre was being abused by people downloading feature upgrades they were not entitled to.

The confusion here is that there are two separate licenses in play - the license to run the CIPC software, and the license to register the software to a given call control platform. The UC500 licenses address this second license. The license to run the software is what you get with the IPCOMM part number. This has always been required, though there is no explicit enforcement implemented in the application.

Cheers,

Dave.

View solution in original post

David Harper · ‎08-22-2012

'Having to pay for it' is a funny phrase. There is nothing in the software that requires the entry of a license key before the application will run, but that doesn't absolve you of the requirement to have a license to use the software. It is an honour system. The logic is the same as when you buy a physical phone. You need to purchase the phone hardware, and you need a license on your call control platform to allow the device to register. So long as there are sufficient licenses on the call control platform, the phone will successfully register, even though the phone itself 'fell off the back of a truck'. To put it another way, the fact that you have licenses on the call control platform for all the phones won't stop the police knocking on the door if it was several thousand phones that fell off that truck.

If you are getting the message from sales or disty that IP Communicator is free, then please let me know privately who is saying this and I'll get this corrected. Certainly the Quick Pricing Tool - the recommended quoting tool for the UC500 - enforces the inclusion of the IPCOMM licenses.

So to answer your specific questions:

If I am reading you right, there is a License to Run the software and then there is a CME License that also has to be considered right?

Correct. The CME license is the piece that is bundled with the UC500 - i.e. 24 licenses on a base UC540 or UC560. To fully load that UC540 with IP Communications requires 24xIPCOMM licenses. To fully load it with IP Phones requires the purchase of 24xHandset hardware.

Is this the case when you buy a handset that you also have to buy then a license to expand the license count on the CME as well?

To split hairs slightly, you need to *have* a corresponding license for the platform when you buy an additional handset. In the case of the UC500, that means either using a spare license count out of the bundled licenses, or geting a user license upgrade for the UC500. For CUCME and CUCM, it means purchasing the necessary license for that platform.

Or does not purchasing a handset constitute a license upgrade anymore? And these are treated as separate items??

Purchasing handset hardware never did automatically include the license. However, there are a number of bundle product codes that include the handset hardware and the license. But the price point is higher than that of the hardware alone.

Hope that helps a bit.

Cheers,

Dave.

View solution in original post

danplacek · ‎08-21-2012

For your amusement (or not): https://supportforums.cisco.com/message/3551949#3551949

To summarize -- it used to be a free download. Now it is not. However no one seems to have any good information on how you purchase it or how you obtain the software after you purchase it.

paolo bevilacqua · ‎08-21-2012

Partner status does not give right to download anymore.

For CIPC, you need to purchase

Cisco IP Communicator 8.6 top level part number - $0 IPCOMM86-SW

Cisco IP Communicator configurable license (order one per end user) - $90 IPCOMM86-LIC

Brook Powers · ‎08-21-2012

Thanks guys.

Thats 18 hours of my life, over 5 days, dealing with Cisco Partner Support - that I will never get back.

What a short-sighted policy. I used to be able to sell the software using a demo.

paolo bevilacqua · ‎08-21-2012

You can use any version, they all really are the same for most purposes.

Thanks for the nice rating and good luck!

pierrescotland · ‎08-28-2012

Hi Paolo,

just to confirm, we are talking about the UC500 here, which includes the user license, so for 20 x IP communicators as endpoint, all that's required is

20 x IPCOMM86-SW , right? Which are free. At this point the software download is then available?

Anyone know if you can add a smartnet for future upgrades? Has anyone actually gone through the process above?

cheers

David Trad · ‎08-21-2012

WOAH!!!

I had no idea you had to pay for this now

Back when I was working in the Cisco world it would form part of the license on the system, you had reserved licenses on the system for a CIPC, this was happy days as the Desktop Software was not charged out unless you needed more licenses.

If this has changed, then selling this will have become much harder, and I remember doing a law firm where I had 30 of the CIPC's to install as they didn't want desk phones, this would have been annoying to go through.

I am really thinking with some of the bizarre changes that have happened since I moved on that maybe I picked the right time LOL

Cheers,

David Trad.

Cheers, David Trad. **When you rate a persons post, you are indicating a thank you or that it helped, but at the same time you are also helping to maintain the community spirit - You don't have to rate posts and you wont be looked down upon :) *

David Harper · ‎08-21-2012

Hi David,

CIPC has never been free, and all that has changed is the fact that access to software centre for the CIPC software has been restricted to people with maintenance contracts. Without getting into a debate about the rightness or otherwise of this, it was done because of the extent to which the software centre was being abused by people downloading feature upgrades they were not entitled to.

The confusion here is that there are two separate licenses in play - the license to run the CIPC software, and the license to register the software to a given call control platform. The UC500 licenses address this second license. The license to run the software is what you get with the IPCOMM part number. This has always been required, though there is no explicit enforcement implemented in the application.

Cheers,

Dave.

David Trad · ‎08-21-2012

Hi David,

Thanks for the clarification... I don't ever recall having to pay for it other than when licenses for the UC-500 was required, to use the CIPC because there wasn't enough licenses on the box to support more extensions I.E a default of 12 (Example only) and you reached that limit and you purchases some CIPC's to run on it (Like you would with a phone) which then entitles you to upgrade the license count on the UC (Although this was another section that was abused as well).

However I don't ever recall having to pay for it when there was usable licenses on the UC (When it wasn't abused), it was always understood that if you needed it and you paid for it, it increased your license count on the system as well.... Well this is how it was always explained by the Local Cisco AM's and also the Disties and this is how the partners operated.

If I am reading you right, there is a License to Run the software and then there is a CME License that also has to be considered right? Is this the case when you buy a handset that you also have to buy then a license to expand the license count on the CME as well? Or does not purchasing a handset constitute a license upgrade anymore? And these are treated as separate items??

I only ask as this may pop up as a requirement in the next 2 weeks and I need to advise the client what to do when I find a suitable Cisco Partner to sell them the hardware, I would like to avoid ill advice, as maybe too much has changed and I haven't kept up too date.

(PS) And I fully understand the requirement for stopping the abuse as there was plenty of it going around, I could never bring myself to abuse the goodwill or trust system that Cisco had in play, but I also operated on the given advice at the time (Which I hope now was not wrong)

Cheers,

David Trad.

Cheers, David Trad. **When you rate a persons post, you are indicating a thank you or that it helped, but at the same time you are also helping to maintain the community spirit - You don't have to rate posts and you wont be looked down upon :) *

David Harper · ‎08-22-2012

'Having to pay for it' is a funny phrase. There is nothing in the software that requires the entry of a license key before the application will run, but that doesn't absolve you of the requirement to have a license to use the software. It is an honour system. The logic is the same as when you buy a physical phone. You need to purchase the phone hardware, and you need a license on your call control platform to allow the device to register. So long as there are sufficient licenses on the call control platform, the phone will successfully register, even though the phone itself 'fell off the back of a truck'. To put it another way, the fact that you have licenses on the call control platform for all the phones won't stop the police knocking on the door if it was several thousand phones that fell off that truck.

If you are getting the message from sales or disty that IP Communicator is free, then please let me know privately who is saying this and I'll get this corrected. Certainly the Quick Pricing Tool - the recommended quoting tool for the UC500 - enforces the inclusion of the IPCOMM licenses.

So to answer your specific questions:

If I am reading you right, there is a License to Run the software and then there is a CME License that also has to be considered right?

Correct. The CME license is the piece that is bundled with the UC500 - i.e. 24 licenses on a base UC540 or UC560. To fully load that UC540 with IP Communications requires 24xIPCOMM licenses. To fully load it with IP Phones requires the purchase of 24xHandset hardware.

Is this the case when you buy a handset that you also have to buy then a license to expand the license count on the CME as well?

To split hairs slightly, you need to *have* a corresponding license for the platform when you buy an additional handset. In the case of the UC500, that means either using a spare license count out of the bundled licenses, or geting a user license upgrade for the UC500. For CUCME and CUCM, it means purchasing the necessary license for that platform.

Or does not purchasing a handset constitute a license upgrade anymore? And these are treated as separate items??

Purchasing handset hardware never did automatically include the license. However, there are a number of bundle product codes that include the handset hardware and the license. But the price point is higher than that of the hardware alone.

Hope that helps a bit.

Cheers,

Dave.

Brook Powers · ‎08-23-2012

As a Cisco SMB Select Partner, what is the process for acquiring a NFR priced copy of the software for use as a sales demo?

David Harper · ‎08-23-2012

The process should be the same as getting a NFR discount for any product. I'm afraid I can't be all that specific because I am a bit removed from the sales side of the organisation, and in any case, the processes do vary a bit between geographic regions (I'm in the Asia Pacific region). Have a chat to your sales rep from either your preferred distributor or Cisco and they should be able to sort this out for you.

Cheers,

Dave.

David Trad · ‎08-23-2012

As Always David...

Appreciate your feedback and taking the time to respond

Cheers,

David Trad.

Cheers, David Trad. **When you rate a persons post, you are indicating a thank you or that it helped, but at the same time you are also helping to maintain the community spirit - You don't have to rate posts and you wont be looked down upon :) *