About this Course

Administering Cisco Unified Communications Manager (ACUCM) v8.0 provides system administrators and networking professionals with an understanding of the Cisco Unified Communications Manager System. This course teaches the concepts of IP telephony based in system administration, including its function, features, and configuration. This is an entry-level course that begins with the basic concepts of IP telephony and very quickly moves the learner forward into an understanding of system concepts: clustering, creation of phones and users, route plans, digit manipulation, media resources, and phone features, which are all important to supporting IP telephony in the enterprise network. The course focuses on Cisco Unified Communications Manager version 8.x.

The course is geared to individuals that will be using and managing the system and performing administration for Level 1 and Level 2 support. Level 1 support is geared toward supporting phone users and making moves, adds, and changes to the desktop phone environment. Level 2 support is oriented to supporting changes in the organization, such as opening new office locations or relocating departments. The course does not cover issues of initial deployment, new cluster deployment or international deployments. Also, the course does not cover issues with the underlying network that involve routers, switches, or Cisco IOS software configuration.

This course includes various lab exercises to apply what was learned in each preceding lesson. Labs begin with a newly installed publisher and subscriber. The only element that is preconfigured is two MGCP gateways, for the headquarters (HQ) and branch (BR), and an intercluster trunk pointing to the neighbor’s pod. Therefore, the student will become familiar with all the various concepts through configuration of the elements in the lab environment.

Administering Cisco Unity Connection (AUC) v8.0 describes Cisco Unity Connection administration features, options, and configuration settings as they apply to the administrator. The course presents Cisco Unity Connection with the focused goal of providing the administrators with the necessary skills to perform their day-to-day job functions using the Cisco Unity Connection version 8.x system. Students that require skills beyond administration where engineering, integration, and networking skills are required should consider the Implementing Cisco Unity Connection (IUC) course.

Audience Profile

The primary audiences for this course are:

• Phone network administrators
• Data system administrators
• Entry-level network engineers
• Administrators
• IT support personnel
• Helpdesk support staff

The secondary audience includes:

• Learners looking to gain a technical overview of Cisco Unified Communications Manager
• Learners who need a preparatory course before taking Implementing Cisco Unified Communications IP Telephony Part 1 (CIPT1) and Implementing Cisco Unified Communications IP Telephony Part 2 (CIPT2)
• Introduction to Cisco Unity Connection for Network Engineering Staff Personnel

At Course Completion

After completing this course, students will be able to...

• Describe the Cisco Unified Communications Manager network, service, and features
• Understand the importance of and configuration of redundancy and high availability in the enterprise network
• Describe user configuration and the user web interface
• Explain basic phone options and the use of BAT
• Explain the route plan and on-net/off-net calling
• Describe the various media resources, including conferencing and MOH
• Describe the basic phone features and use of hunt groups
• Explain the function of Cisco Unity Connection and the various interfaces that are used to access the system
• Describe the components that are required for user call processing by Cisco Unity Connection
• Implement the various features and options that are available to users in Cisco Unity Connection
• Use the various applications, tools, and reports that are available in Cisco Unity Connection

Prerequisites:

To fully benefit from this course, students should have the following prerequisite skills and knowledge:

• Basic knowledge of IP and networking or voice networks is suggested, but not required
• Basic knowledge of the Windows desktop environment
• Basic understanding of fundamental terms and concepts of computer networking, including LANs, WANs, and IP switching and routing.
• Basic knowledge of traditional PSTN operations and technologies, including PBX and voice-mail administration tasks
• Basic understanding of Cisco Unified Communications Manager

ACUCM Course Outline:

Module 1: Introduction to IP Telephony

• Lesson 1: Exploring IP Telephony
• Lesson 2: Describing Deployment Models
• Lesson 3: Understanding Advanced Multisite Features

Module 2: Defining the Basic Configuration

• Lesson 1: Logging In to Cisco Unified Communications Manager
• Lesson 2: Examining Basic Server Configuration
• Lesson 3: Describing Multilevel Administration
• Lesson 4: Configuring DRS Backup and Restore Procedures

Module 3: User Administration

• Lesson 1: Understanding User Configuration
• Lesson 2: Using the User Web Pages

Module 4: Exploring Phone Registration and Cisco Unified IP Phones

• Lesson 1: Configuring System Parameters
• Lesson 2: Supporting Cisco Unified IP Phones
• Lesson 3: Exploring Phone Registration and IP Phone Communications
• Lesson 4: Utilizing the Bulk Administration Tool (BAT)

Module 5: Basic Route Plan Configuration

• Lesson 1: Implementing Dial Plan Connectivity 
• Lesson 2: Creating Route Plans

Module 6: Route Filters and Digit Manipulation

• Lesson 1: Configuring Translation Patterns and Route Filters
• Lesson 2: Implementing Digit Manipulation

Module 7: Class of Control

• Lesson 1: Defining Class of Control
• Lesson 2: Using Class of Control Features

Module 8: Understanding Media Resources

• Lesson 1: Defining Media Resources
• Lesson 2: Exploring Media Resource Management

Module 9: Features and Services

• Lesson 1: Describing Basic Features
• Lesson 2: Exploring Hunt Groups
• Lesson 3: Describing Phone Services

AUC Course Outline:

Module 1: Introduction to Cisco Unity Connection

• Lesson 1: Overview of Cisco Unity Connection
• Lesson 2: Navigating Cisco Unity Connection
• Lesson 3: Understanding Call Handlers, Users, and Call Flow

Module 2: Configuration of Users and Contacts

• Lesson 1: Explaining Users and Contacts
• Lesson 2: Managing Multiple Users

Module 3: Implementation of Features

• Lesson 1: Implementing the Dial Plan
• Lesson 2: Understanding User Features
• Lesson 3: Accessing Voice Messaging and User Features
• Lesson 4: Managing Distribution Lists

Module 4: Use of Cisco Unity Connection Applications, Tools and Reports

• Lesson 1: Designing an Audiotext Application
• Lesson 2: Using Cisco Unity Connection Tools and Reports
• Lesson 3: Using the DRS

Additional Material: 

Cisco Unified Communications Solutions Maintenance

Lesson 1: Understanding Cisco Unified Communications Manager Reports

• Generating Reports on Cisco Unified Communications Manager
• Analyzing Generated Reports

Lesson 2: Understanding the Call Detail Record Analysis and Reporting Tool (CAR)

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager CAR Tool Overview
• CDR Management and System Settings
• Generating CDR Reports

Lesson 3: Monitoring the System with Cisco Unified Real-Time Monitoring Tool (RTMT)

• Cisco Unified RTMT Overview
• Monitoring the System with Cisco Unified RTMT
• Monitoring Cisco Unified Communications Manager with Cisco Unified RTMT

Labs:

• Lab 1: Generating Cisco Unified Communications Manager Reports
• Lab 2: Generating Cisco Unified Communications Manager CAR Tool Reports
• Lab 3: Monitoring the System with Cisco Unified RTMT