CCM and ArcConsole !!!

[t.orn]

Does any one know of some issues between CCM and ArcConsole that could influence the decision of using those two products together ?

[gary.shaw]

I have worked on a solution that uses both together and there were some issues, but arcconsole is designed to work with CCM.

[xsiquin]

Same answer as for Netwise :))

ArcSolutions is also part of the AVVID Partner Program and has been verified on either 3.0 and 3.1

See the Cisco Web Site for additiona info.

If you want more info regarding the product you should contact your regional Cisco SE

[paul.harrison]

The only problem with the ARC console and Call Manager is the Busy lamp field in an environment that uses extension mobility.

Cisco do not send the correct messages over the tapi link so the ARC BLF is not updated. It's not ARCs problem it's Cisco's

Otherwise its a good product.

Paul

[gary.shaw]

Hmmm its difficult to comment further really without wanting to upset Arc, every product has its problems Im sure, I know that the customer we installed CM for used it and had a lot of problems with having to restart the servers on a regular basis etc. Have you tried the new Webattendant on 3.2? It looks a lot better you might not even need a 3rd party console app anymore.

(The views expressed on this post are my own and do not reflect my companies views in anyway) - Just in case ;)

[paul.harrison]

It's OK Gary, you've not filled in your details so we don't know who you work for anyway. ;-)

But on the attendant console, well lets just say it's better than web attendant but I wouldn't want to be the person who had to take a "real" console away from an operator and give her (or him let's not be sexist) the attendant console. At least not without a fast car parked outside with the engine running.

paul

[xsiquin]

What do you mean bu the correct messages ?

When a phone goes out of service (ie. when it's unplugged) an OUT_OF_SERVICE msg is sent through T/J TAPI. (IN_SERVICE when a replug/restart)

So the question is do we have the same message when a user lougout and login ?

Do you confirm that we don't have any messages transmitted through T/J TAPI in that particular case ?

[paul.harrison]

I can't confirm any message details, I'm not the product developer, however I know I've been on to ARC for about 9 months with this problem and they insist that they can not do anything until Cisco change the messaging on the TAPI link.

The messages may be sent on the JTAPI link but ARC use TAPI

paul

[John]

We have an installation using callmanager 3.12c and Arc console for a multi-tenant configuration. There are some issues concerning forwarding calls to Unity voicemail directly. We also had some stability issues early on but we believe these were caused by the operator opening other applications while waiting for a call to come in. Also the night answering service doesn't forward the cli to Unity but we were able to workaround all of these issues and the client is happy with the operation.

Arc is not perfect but it is the best solution right now for an intelligent front desk console.

[jon.morris]

Tomas,

If you're going for Cisco IP Telephony (which I presume you are) then there's no other realistic choice than the Arc Console for your operators. Cisco will admit themselves that WebAttendant cannot compete on features with the Arc Console and depending on your requirements (Cisco) will most likely recommend its use.

It sounds like I came across the same issue with the Arc Server requiring restarts that Gary Shaw speaks of. The problem was not with Arc but a bug that existed with Cisco's CTI Manager service. If the primary CallManager went down the Arc Server would re-home via the CTI Manager to the secondary CallManager. When the primary came back up the Arc Server required a restart to re-home to the primary. This was about 5 months ago (a long time for IP Telephony!) and there's been a lot of updates and bug fixes to the CCM code since then.

Everyone will admit there have been problems in the past and a few limitiations still exist. However, one of the advantages of IP Telephony and its applications is that it's just software that can be upgraded whenever new features/fixes are released.

Remember that your Systems Integrator should make you aware of the potential limitations and unfortunately not all SI's have the knowledge and understanding to do this. If I were in your position I'd work out with my SI all the features and functionality I want, then get them to confirm with Arc/Cisco that they're all supported and what limitiations exist. I've found in the past that Arc is very honest and up front and when issues do arise they work flat out with Cisco to resolve them.

Cheers, Jon

(These are my own opinions not my company's. Incase you're wondering - I'm an engineer trying to present a fair view and not a salesman!)