Core Settings for Device Pools Overview, page 1 Core Settings for Device Pools Prerequisites, page 4 Core Settings for Device Pools Task Flow, page 4 Core Settings for Device Pools Overview In Cisco Unified Communications Manager, configure your core system settings, such as a server group, time zone information, and a region (codec selection). These settings are fundamental and become the foundation for basic device pools. Phone NTP References Network Time Protocol (NTP) references in Cisco Unified CM Administration ensures that an IP phone that is running SIP gets its date and time from an NTP server. If a phone that is running SIP cannot get its date and time information from the provisioned Phone NTP Reference, the phone receives this information when it registers with Cisco Unified Communications Manager. Date/Time Groups With date/time groups, you can define time zones for the various devices that are connected to Cisco Unified Communications Manager. The default group, CMLocal, configures automatically upon installation. However, We recommend that you configure a group for each local time zone. CMLocal synchronizes to the operating system date and time whenever you restart your system or upgrade it to a new release. Do not change the name of CMLocal. 1
Regions Regions Regions provide capacity controls for Cisco Unified Communications Manager multi-site deployments where you may need to limit the bandwidth for individual calls that are sent across a WAN link, but use a higher bandwidth for internal calls. Additionally, the system uses regions for applications that only support a specific codec. Cisco Unified Communications Manager supports video stream encryption and the following audio codecs: Audio Codec G.711 G.722 G.722.1 G.723.1 G.728 G.729 GSM L16 AAC-LD (mpeg4-generic) AAC-LD (MP4A-LATM) Internet Speech Audio Codec (isac) Description The most commonly supported codec, used over the public switched telephone network. Wideband codec often used in video conferences. This is always preferred by Cisco Unified Communications Manager over G.711, unless G.722 is disabled. Low complexity wideband codec operating at 24 and 32 kb/s. The audio quality approaches that of G.722 while using, at most, half the bit rate. Low bit rate codec with 6.3 or 5.3 kb/s compression for Cisco IP Phone 12 SP+ and Cisco IP Phone 30 VIP devices. Low bit rate codec that video endpoints support. Low bit rate codec with 8 kb/s compression that is supported by Cisco Unified IP Phone 7900, and typically used for calls across a WAN link. The global system for mobile communications (GSM) codec. GSM enables the MNET system for GSM wireless handsets to operate with Cisco Unified Communications Manager. Advanced Audio Coding-Low Delay (AAC-LD) is a super-wideband audio codec that provides superior sound quality for voice and music. This codec provides equal or improved sound quality over older codecs, even at lower bit rates. Supported for SIP devices, in particular, Cisco TelePresence systems. Low-overhead MPEG-4 Audio Transport Multiplex (LATM) is a super-wideband audio codec that provides superior sound. Supported for SIP devices including Tandberg and some third-party endpoints. AAC-LD (mpeg4-generic) and AAC-LD (MPA4-LATM) are not compatible. An adaptive wideband audio codec, specially designed to deliver wideband sound quality with low delay in both low and medium bit rate applications. 2
Unified Communications Manager Groups Audio Codec Internet Low Bit Rate Codec (ilbc) Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) Adaptive Multi-Rate Wideband (AMR-WB) Opus Description Provides audio quality between G.711 and G.729 at bit rates of 15.2 and 13.3 kb/s while allowing for graceful speech quality degradation in a lossy network due to independently encoded speech frames. ilbc is supported for SIP, SCCP, H323, and MGCP devices. H.323 Outbound FastStart does not support the ilbc codec. The required standard codec for 2.5G/3G wireless networks based on GSM (WDMA, EDGE, GPRS). This codec encodes narrowband (200-3400 Hz) signals at variable bit rates ranging from 4.75 to 12.2 kb/s with toll quality speech starting at 7.4 kb/s. AMR is supported only for SIP devices. Codified as G.722.2, an ITU-T standard speech codec formally known as Wideband, codes speech at about 16 kb/s. This codec is preferred over other narrowband speech codecs such as AMR and G.711 because it provides better speech quality due to a wider speech bandwidth of 50 Hz to 7000 Hz. AMR-WB is supported only for SIP devices. Opus codec is an interactive speech and audio codec, specially designed to handle a wide range of interactive audio applications such as voice over IP, video conferencing, in-game chat, and live distributed music performance. This codec scales from narrowband low bit rate to a very high quality bit rate ranging from 6 to 510 kb/s. Opus is supported for SIP devices. The Opus codec service parameter Opus Codec Enabled is set to Enabled for All Devices by default. The service parameter settings can be configured to enable Opus codec for all non-recording devices or can be set to Disabled in the Service Parameter Configuration window. Unified Communications Manager Groups Designature backup Cisco Unified Communications Managers in your system. They handle call processing for a node in your system that experiences an outage or failure. A Cisco Unified Communications Manager group is a prioritized list of up to three nodes. Each group must contain a primary node, and the group can contain one or two backup nodes. The order in which you list the nodes in a group determines their priority. Cisco Unified Communications Manager groups provide both call-processing redundancy and distributed call processing. How you distribute devices, device pools, and the nodes among the groups determines the level of redundancy and load balancing in your system. In most cases, you must distribute the devices to prevent the other nodes from becoming overloaded if one of the nodes in the group fails. 3
Device Pools Device Pools Use a device pool to group together device-specific settings. After you create a device pool, you can associate devices so that they inherit the device pool settings, rather than configuring each device individually. Add new device pools based on what you want to do with them. For example, you can use device pools that is configured with server load balancing or physical location in mind. This section covers the steps to configure a basic device pool. As you configure further functions in your system, you can return to the device pool or pools that you added and update them with the settings that you you want to apply. Core Settings for Device Pools Prerequisites To ensure that Cisco Unified Communications Manager includes the latest time zone information, you can install a Cisco Options Package (COP) file that updates the time zone information after you install Cisco Unified Communications Manager. After major time zone change events, we will contact you to let you know that you can download latest COP file at https://software.cisco.com/download/navigator.html. Change the settings for CMLocal to your local date and time. Core Settings for Device Pools Task Flow Command or Action Add a Phone NTP Reference, on page 5 Purpose Configure phone network time protocol (NTP) references to ensure that an IP phone that is running SIP gets its date and time information from an NTP server. After you create an NTP reference you must add the reference to a date/time group. In the date/time group, you prioritize the phone NTP references, starting with the first server that you want the phone to contact. Add a Date/Time Group, on page 6 Define time zones for the various devices that are connected to your system. After adding a new date/time group to the database, you can assign it to a device pool to configure the date and time information for that device pool. Add Region, on page 6 Configure Cisco Unified Communications Manager Groups, on page 7 Limit the bandwidth for individual calls that are sent across a WAN link while allowing you to use a higher bandwidth for internal calls. Tip You do not need to configure regions if you are using only the default G.711 audio codec. Configure a Cisco Unified Communications Manager Group to group together three nodes that devices can use for registration, call processing, and redundancy in the event of an outage. 4
Add a Phone NTP Reference Step 5 Command or Action Configure a Basic Device Pool, on page 8 Purpose Configure device pools to contain common settings that can be assigned to devices, rather than defining the same settings each time you add a device. Start with a basic device pool to configure Unified Communications Managers, date/time information, and the codecs that the associated devices will use. Add a Phone NTP Reference Configure phone network time protocol (NTP) references to ensure that an IP phone that is running SIP gets its date and time information from an NTP server. After you create an NTP reference you must add the reference to a date/time group. In the date/time group, you prioritize the phone NTP references, starting with the first server that you want the phone to contact. Cisco Unified Communications Manager does not support the multicast and anycast modes. If you choose either of these modes, your system will default to the directed broadcast mode. Before You Begin Step 5 From Cisco Unified CM Administration, choose System > Phone NTP Reference. Click Add New. In the IP Address field, enter the IP Address of the NTP server that you want the phone that is running SIP to use to get its date and time. In the Description field, enter a description for the phone NTP reference. From the Mode drop-down list, choose the mode for the phone NTP reference from the following list of options: Unicast If you choose this mode, the phone will send an NTP query packet to that particular NTP server. Directed Broadcast If you choose this default NTP mode, the phone accesses date/time information from any NTP server but gives the listed NTP servers (1st = primary, 2nd = secondary) priority. Step 6 Click Save. 5
Add a Date/Time Group What to Do Next Add a Date/Time Group, on page 6 Add a Date/Time Group Define time zones for the various devices that are connected to your system. After adding a new date/time group to the database, you can assign it to a device pool to configure the date and time information for that device pool. You must reset devices to apply any changes that you make. Tip For a worldwide distribution of Cisco Unified IP Phones, create a date/time group for each of the 24 time zones. Before You Begin Add a Phone NTP Reference, on page 5 From Cisco Unified CM Administration, choose System > Date/Time Group. Click Add New. Configure the fields on the Date/Time Group Configuration window. See the online help for more information about the fields and their configuration options. Click Save. What to Do Next Add Region, on page 6 Add Region Limit the bandwidth for individual calls that are sent across a WAN link while allowing you to use a higher bandwidth for internal calls. Tip You do not need to configure regions if you are using only the default G.711 audio codec. For enhanced scalability and to ensure that the system uses fewer resources, we recommend that you set the default values in the Service Parameters Configuration window for the maximum bit rates for audio and video calls and the link loss type; then, when you configure regions, choose the default settings in the Region Configuration window. Before You Begin Add a Date/Time Group, on page 6 6
Configure Cisco Unified Communications Manager Groups Step 5 From Cisco Unified CM Administration, choose SystemService Parameters. Choose the node. Choose the Cisco CallManager service. Scroll to the Clusterwide Parameters (System-Location and Region) pane. Create regions specifying the maximum bit rates to use for calls within those regions and between other regions. For audio calls, the default value within a region is 64 kb/s (which means that G.722 or G.711 may be used for the call, with G.722 being preferred because it has better audio quality). For audio calls, the default value between regions is 8 kb/s (G.729). For video calls (includes audio), the default value 384 kb/s. Step 6 Click Save Cisco Unified Communications Manager allows you to add a maximum of 2000 regions. You must specify the maximum bit rate for devices that are using regions. What to Do Next Configure Cisco Unified Communications Manager Groups, on page 7 Configure Cisco Unified Communications Manager Groups Configure a Cisco Unified Communications Manager Group to group together three nodes that devices can use for registration, call processing, and redundancy in the event of an outage. Do not use the default server group, because it is not descriptive and can cause confusion. Step 5 Step 6 From Cisco Unified CM Administration, choose System > Cisco Unified CM Group. In the Name field, enter a name. Consider identifying the order of the nodes in the name so that you can easily distinguish the group from others, for example, CUCM_PUB-SUB. From the Available Cisco Unified Communications Managers list, choose the node that you want to add to this group. Click the down arrow to move the node to the Selected Cisco Unified Communications Managers list. Add any other nodes to this group as needed. Click Save. 7
Configure a Basic Device Pool What to Do Next Configure a Basic Device Pool, on page 8 Configure a Basic Device Pool Configure device pools to contain common settings that can be assigned to devices, rather than defining the same settings each time you add a device. Start with a basic device pool to configure Unified Communications Managers, date/time information, and the codecs that the associated devices will use. Do not use the default device pool, because it is not descriptive and can cause confusion. Before You Begin Configure Cisco Unified Communications Manager Groups, on page 7 Add a Date/Time Group, on page 6 Add Region, on page 6 From Cisco Unified CM Administration, choose System > Device Pool. Click Add New. Configure the fields on the Device Pool Configuration window. See the Related Topics section for more information about the fields and their configuration options. Click Save. Related Topics Basic Device Pool Configuration Fields, on page 8 Basic Device Pool Configuration Fields Table 1: Basic Device Pool Configuration Fields Field Device Pool Name Description Enter the name of the new device pool. You can enter up to 50 characters, which include alphanumeric characters, periods (.), hyphens (-), underscores (_), and blank spaces. 8
Configure a Basic Device Pool Field Cisco Unified Communications Manager Group Date/Time Group Region Description Choose the Cisco Unified Communications Manager group to assign to devices in this device pool. A Cisco Unified Communications Manager group specifies a prioritized list of up to three Cisco Unified Communications Manager nodes. The first node in the list serves as the primary node for that group, and the other members of the group serve as backup nodes for redundancy. Choose the date/time group to assign to devices in this device pool. The date/time group specifies the time zone and the display formats for date and time. Choose the region to assign to devices in this device pool. The region settings specify voice and video codecs that can be used for communications within a region and between other regions. 9
Configure a Basic Device Pool 10