CUCM & CUCME solution

[fdouble08]

A current project to deploy VoIP at my company is under way.  We had planned on providing voice mail via our Unity Server.  This requires users to have exchange mail boxes.  At a temporary facility ( 2 years temporary ) we have contract employees that we need to provide with phones and voice mail.  We do not want to provide these individuals with excange mail boxes.  So we have a CUCM solution and a Voice Gateway with 2 PRIs that host the DIDs for all of the VoIP phones.  Is there a way to set up a UC500 or something that stores VM on flash instead of requiring an exchange mail box, that can also recieve off-net calls via DIDs on the voice gateway, or is the UC500 restricted to only receiveing calls via it's interfaces?

Thanks!

[Aaron Harrison]

Hi

CUCME/UC500s are call processors, like CUCM. If you already have a CUCM installed, then I would probably use that to manage the IP Phones if you have suitable connectivity etc to this temporary facility; especially as it sounds like you want the calls delivered on your existing CCM trunks.

If it's just a matter of wanting to avoid giving them Unity/Exchange mailboxes, then your main other options would be either CUE, or CUC. CUE (Cisco Unity Express) is a linux-based basic version of Unity that runs on various Network Modules, AIMs, etc installed in a router (any capable ISR, 28xx, 29xx, 3xxx etc).

Unity Connection is a standalone, server based voicemail system that doesn't use Exchange. That would no doubt be more costly but I mention it as it's more scalable.

I would imagine a CUE module would suit your needs though; it's commonly used with CME, but is compatible with CUCM as well according to the datasheet you can squeeze 500 users on if you get the correct module (different modules, different scalability) - have a look at this:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/voicesw/ps6789/ps5745/ps5520/product_data_sheet0900aecd806aefe4.html

Also this is a useful compaison chart for the products:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/voicesw/ps6789/ps5745/ps2237/product_data_sheet0900aecd806bfc37_ps5520_Products_Data_Sheet.html

Aaron

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[fdouble08]

The NME-CUE could be a good option. I will have a 2821 and it may have an available slot that we could populate with the NME-CUE. With regards to the CUCM itself, will it be possible to configure some of the phones in the CUCM to use our Unity Server and some of the phones to use the Unity Express module? Or would this scenario require separate call processors ( CUCM for Unity & CUCME for Unity Express )?

Thanks!

-- Curt

[Aaron Harrison · Accepted solution]

Hi

Assignment of different VM solutions can be doen within one cluster, so you don't need a CME for that.

Basically you would do this:

1) Set up the new CUE module; this integrates as a set of CTI RPs and CTI Ports. One of the RPs would be a the VM Pilot number.

2) Set up a new VM Pilot number and VM Profiel using that pilot number.

3) Assign the new VM Profile to the phones that will use the CUE

The 2821 can take the Network Module variety of CUE, or the AIM module (check the user count though, AIM has lower max capacity)...

As an extra note, your 2821 is capable of running CME by adding a feature license (based on the number of users you want) - if, for example, you have your CUCM integrated to AD (which means you can't add non-AD users to it) you may want to get one of those. Or if you just wanted the users to be seperate... they are very different systems though; they use the same phones but there are lots of functional differences.  A single system would be my preference.

Regards

Aaron

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[fdouble08]

Sounds like a good possibilty.  I'll pursue this option with our engineers.

Thanks!