Over my years working with Cisco Voice I have learned a million ways to configure a Cisco IP Telephony System. There are times that only a unique configuration will meet a customer demand or to resolve an issue with the software.
Nevertheless, each different type of configuration has pros and cons in regards to providing the best performance, tightest security, and better reliability. This is why best practices exist to illustrate which method outweighs others.
But in the real world, most engineers tend to take shortcuts. These shortcuts lead to problems over time, especially when the engineer responsible for setting up the system leaves the company. The new engineer typically has to take several days (or weeks) to determine what configurations were used. If Cisco-recommended best practices were used, a lot of this time could be reduced.
Just a couple of weeks ago while in a Cisco IPT design workshop with a client and another vendor responsible for implementing the solution, I requested that the vendor follow Cisco best practices. But when I mentioned best practices, one of the engineers said that those practices weren’t followed, because they aren’t necessary.
When I heard this, I was a little shocked. So I asked the engineer “What are best practices?” He replied with nothing. I replied with:
Cisco Call Manager Best Practices aren’t just words or pretty little diagrams in a book; they are recommended support solutions by Cisco. These are solutions that all Cisco Voice Engineers expect to see when reviewing any configuration of Communication Manager or Voice Gateways.
So for all of you that are unfamiliar with these practices, please take the time to read Cisco SRND guides or Cisco Call Manager Best Practices book. These guides are great for conducting IPT assessments and increasing your knowledge on Cisco IPT.
Author: Chris Foster
0 Responses to “Cisco Call Manager Best Practices”