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Cisco Unity Express includes a Backup and Restore facility that uses an FTP server as the destination device of the backup. You cannot use Flash or other types of media for backup and restore. You can locate the FTP server anywhere in the network, and you do not need to collocate it with the Cisco Unity Express system that is backed up. An FTP server login and password provide secure access to the backup and restore operations.
Backups are invoked manually from the Cisco Unity Express system and use either the CLI or GUI interface. The system must be offline during a backup. Therefore, no calls can be active in the system when a backup is done. After a restore operation, you must restart the application.
Note: Offline mode terminates all voice-mail calls that exist, and no new voice-mail calls are allowed. Calls to auto attendant are allowed. It is recommended to perform a backup when telephone users are not active on calls.
Although the Cisco Unity Express system has no mechanism to schedule unattended backups, the backup functionality is available through the CLI. Therefore, it is possible for you to develop a script on another server that automatically, for example, based on time of day, logs into the CLI of the Cisco Unity Express system and initiates a backup.
Refer to Perform Backup and Restore of Cisco Unity Express with Microsoft FTP Server for more information on Backup and restore of Unty Express with the use of the FTP server.
How to Determine Backup File Sizes
The largest contribution in size to a typical Cisco Unity Express backup is the actual voice mail message content. Messages are stored in G.711, which is a 64-Kbps codec, so the size can be calculated as 64000 / 8 = 8000 bytes per second, which is 8 KB per second of recorded voice. This factor applies to mailbox greetings, spoken names, and voice message content.
The components of a Cisco Unity Express system that determine the backup file size include:
- The base system configuration
- User and mailbox definitions, which includes spoken names and greetings
- Voice message content
- Custom AA scripts and prompts
- Hard Drive space requirement An average of 300 minutes of voice recording can be stored on 1 GB of hard drive space. This is an approximate estimate and can vary which depends on other scenarios.
Refer to the Backing Up and Restoring Data section of Cisco Unity Express CLI Administrator Guide for Cisco CallManager Express, Release 2.1 for more information.
