Cisco MCM and Siemens HiPath 5000

[Kevin Dorrell]

I have been asked to look ionto integrating the MCM functions of a routers - both gatekeeper and gateway function - with a Siemens HiPath 5000 call manager.

Can anyone give me a few pointers to get me started. I am a complete beginner as far as VoIP is concerned.

Thanks in advance.

Kevin Dorrell

Luxembourg

[teodorgeorgiev]

Hi Kevin,

Siemens HiPath 5000 Call Manager is generally a softswitch. I am working with a large network of Siemens HiCom 300 PBXes), but I have used their HG-1500 H323 module mostly. The HiPath 5000 can speak H323, but be careful - it still has a number of problems. Some of them -

1. You can connect IP phones is by registering them as H323 terminals (RRQ) into the HiPath 5000. But here comes another issue... --> The HiPath 5000 working as an H.323 gatekeeper can NOT support gatekeeper-routed signalling model, only direct signalling model. Which means that the Q.931/H225 call signalling thread is passing between the registered IP phone and the other side, bypassing the HiPath 5000. Very ugly :(

2. The only way to interconnect with gatekeepers/gateways is via remote-zone-routing (LRQ/LCF). You can NOT use direct H225 gw-to-gw signalling on HiPath 5000 :(

If you need any further help - do let me know.

[Kevin Dorrell]

Thanks for those tips Teodor.

I should be getting a router and a HiPath to test next week, so I shall be able to evaluate it a bit better, and I shall look out for those pitfalls. Maybe once I start playing with the real kit it will start to make more sense.

Thanks again.

Kevin Dorrell

Luxembourg

[teodorgeorgiev]

OK, wish you luck. Need any help --> tgeorgiev@is-bg.net

I am sure it can be done to work. In the worst case - it will work in an ugly manner :)

Meanwhile, I wll suggest you to read this chapter of the "IP telephony cookbook". Trust me, it will worth the time spent.

http://www.terena.nl/library/IPTELEPHONYCOOKBOOK/chapters/Chapter2.pdf