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Upgrading CUCM from 7.X to 9

mahmoodmkl
Level 7
Level 7

Hi All,

Please bare with me as i am new to IPT and trying to learn things.

I am planning to upgrade my UC infrastructure from 7.X to 9 and i m not sure what all the things needed to be considered before moving forward.

Could you please guide me or provide me with any links which might point me in the right direction.

Thanks           

11 Replies 11

Aman Soi
VIP Alumni
VIP Alumni

Hi Mahmood,

You need to consider the following:

a. software compatbility matrix from call manager

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cucm/compat/ccmcompmatr1.pdf

b. Hardware support

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/voicesw/ps6790/ps5748/ps378/prod_brochure0900aecd8062a4f9.html

c. You need to have valid UCSS and ESW contract for doing major upgradation.

d. Also, upload unused DLUs to call manager 7 before u upgrade to 9.

https://supportforums.cisco.com/docs/DOC-27483

regds,

aman

Hi Aman,

Thanks for the reply.

From the above i can figure out that if we plan to move ahead with version 9 we need to go with UCS,am i correct in thinking this..?.

Can you please guide me what to look exactly from the software compatibility matrix do u mean whether particular version is compatibale with HW or not etc.

I am very confused about the licensing in Cisco regarding UC,currently we have a CUWL and please could you explain me how this lincenses will be transferred to version 9.

Thanks

From the above i can figure out that if we plan to move ahead with version 9 we need to go with UCS,am i correct in thinking this..?.

There are MCS servers that support 9x. The HW compatibility guide that Aman posted identifies supported platforms.

Can you please guide me what to look exactly from the software compatibility matrix do u mean whether particular version is compatibale with HW or not etc.

You need to look at the SW compatibility matrix to research all of the depencies you may have. Check compatibility for voice messaging, contact center, phones, presence, etc. Pretty much any Cisco UC app you can think of will either have a detailed compatibility matrix table in the SW compatibility matrix that Aman provided or it will give you another link that you can jump to. Most apps give you both. The SW compatiblity matrix will also lay out upgrade paths. It is actually pretty helpful but you will need to walk through the document yourself since we don't know what you have installed in your environment.

I am very confused about the licensing in Cisco regarding UC,currently we have a CUWL and please could you explain me how this lincenses will be transferred to version 9.

Yeah, the licensing is a pain in the you-know-what. Even when you think you have everything lined up, it can still be a major hudle. You want to give yourself at least 4 weeks lead time to get your licensing straight. The fact that you have CUWL should help, but a recent experience I had goes against that assumption. Anyway, Cisco has a program in play right now called "Drive to 9". One aspect of that program is that there is a licensing SWAT team on deck to help with all of the licensing migration cases.

At a high level, licensing goes like this:

1. Make sure you are well rested and drink plenty of coffee. If the opportunity presents itself, perform a good deed. You need all of the good karma you can drum up. (just kidding)

2. Make sure you have activated and installed all of the license PAKs you have socked away in your filing cabinet or email Inbox/archive/PST.

3. If you have EVER had a different Publisher MAC address in play (ie. you have migrated from one hardware platform to another), try to take note of the old MAC address along with the current MAC address. Licenses are tied to the MAC addresses of physical servers. I had a problem where I needed to dig up an old MAC address even though the licenses were migrated to a new MAC address.

4. Make sure you identify the sales order number for the UCSS contract. Oh, make sure you have a valid UCSS contract first. Then get the sales order number / service contract.

5.  Download the latest License Count Utility. (

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cucm/upgrade/uct/9_1_2/CUCM_BK_U0AE00F5_00_uct-admin-guide_chapter_01.html)

6. Run the LCU and gather information from your CUCM clusters. The tool can gather information from more than one CUCM cluster (which is nice).

With the latest version of the LCU (at least, the 9.1.2 version I used a few weeks ago) all you need to do is gather the info. Add any notes you think would help Cisco and add info on service contracts/sales order numbers. The LCU will create a zip file. You can then send the zip file to licensing@cisco.com.

Now, when you send the information to licensing@cisco.com, you want to clearly identify that you are upgrading to 9.1.2. I think there may be a specific subject line that will help you move it along. By now, I think TAC knows what they are doing (I hope). Anyway, what you want to do is let TAC know you are upgrading to 9x from a pre-9x version and that you need the SWAT team engaged.

TAC may ask you questions that are already answered by the data in the LCU file. This is why you want to start the process well in advance of your actual cutover date. Once they get on the same page with you, it can take 3-5 business days to turn something around. That "something" may be wrong. So, be prepared to double check things. You can open the LCU and see what they see. That may help.

If you have good records on your CUWL entitlement then the process is painless. The lead time may still be long but you shouldn't have to do a lot of heavy lifting. If your records aren't in proper order then it could get painful. I have found that Cisco doesn't necessarily have the same world view as some of my customers. Harken back to the MAC address issue I noted earlier. I had an instance where TAC said the customer had fewer licenses than the custome thought they should have. Fortunately, we had the old MAC address (we did the previous upgrade) and that seamed to resolve the issue within a few DLUs. Which was nice.

HTH.

-Bill (http://ucguerrilla.com)

HTH -Bill (b) http://ucguerrilla.com (t) @ucguerrilla

Please remember to rate helpful responses and identify

Hi Mahmood,

Great explaination by William[+5].

you can also , go for MCS servers if u have with you.You need to look into DRAM and HDD for version 9.

But from CUCM version 10 onwards, only UCS platform is supported.

Secondly, from CUCM ver. 9, ELM has been introduced which can be co-resident with Publsiher or u can install standalone for ELM.

You can refer the DOC on ELM

https://supportforums.cisco.com/docs/DOC-34910

regds,

aman

Hi Aman,

Thanks for your reply.

I think from version 10 CUCM will become hardware independent and we can install in on any hardware i suppose as per my info from a partner.

Thanks

Hi Mahmood,

From CUCM ver. 10, only virtualisation is supported.

You can install on third party platform which supports virtualisation.

regds,

aman

Hi William,

Thanks for the detailed explanation.

I have gone through the software compatibility matrix,a bit boring must say .Below is my conclusion if i understand what the guide was trying to explain.

1.Gives you whether u want to use US-restircted version or un-restricted version.

2.Gives you the upgrade path from one train to other.

3.Gives  you the firmware info for the devices which will as device defaults..I  remember from your blog from Netcraftsmen to be careful is this  selection as we might have the latest firmware then the we will have  once we upgrade.

4.The model of phones supported i belive.

5.Compatibility with other UC applications like Unity,Unity Connection,presence UCCX etc.

I am i correct in the above.

Hi William,

Thanks for the detailed explanation.

I have gone through the software compatibility matrix,a bit boring must say .Below is my conclusion if i understand what the guide was trying to explain.

1.Gives you whether u want to use US-restircted version or un-restricted version.

2.Gives you the upgrade path from one train to other.

3.Gives you the firmware info for the devices which will as device defaults..I remember from your blog from Netcraftsmen to be careful is this selection as we might have the latest firmware then the we will have once we upgrade.

4.The model of phones supported i belive.

5.Compatibility with other UC applications like Unity,Unity Connection,presence UCCX etc.

I am i correct in the above.

Thanks

Chris Deren
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame

In addition to Aman's correct response (+5) review the upgrade guide which lists all necessary tasks:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cucm/upgrade/9_1_1/CUCM_BK_UAEC4331_00_upgrade-guide-cucm-91.html

HTH,

Chris

Earl Granger IV
Level 1
Level 1

Hey man the drive to 9 IPAD app is sweet and it will assist you in everything you will need in order to perform the migration.

Hi Mahmood,

You can also refer the link of UC Hardware readiness written by Mpaneers.

https://supportforums.cisco.com/docs/DOC-37107

regds,

aman

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