UC Appliance Command Line - Part 2

Part 2 - Start, Stop, Restart

utils service list

This command will list all services on an appliance. It's usually used with the parameter 'page', so it'll pause at each page.

utils service stop
utils service start
utils service restart

These commands are used to stop/start/restart services. For example, if you'd like to restart "Cisco Tomcat" service, you type "utils service restart Cisco Tomcat".

utils system shutdown
utils system restart

These commands are used to shutdown or restart the system.

utils system switch-version

This command is used to switch software version (if you have two versions installed). For your information, Cisco Unified Appliance will keep two versions of software on hard drive - one in the root partition, the other one in "PartB" partition. This provides you an option to fall back to an old version.

To see the versions installed, use the commands below:

show version active
show version inactive

Every time you run "utils system switch-version", it'll make the active partition inactive and make the inactive partition active.

Please note that each partition (version) has it's own database, which means they don't share the same database (configuration). If you switched version, you might lose any changes you made in the other version.

UC Appliance Command Line - Part 1

Cisco built many Unified Communication "Appliance" based on Linux, such as CUCM (Communication Manager, a.k.a. CallManager), CUPS (Presence Server), CER (Emergency Responder, a.k.a. e911), etc.

Even though those appliances are built on Linux, Cisco does not give you shell access to the box (if you know about Linux, you know what a "shell" means). This is for security and maintenance purpose.

However, some of the maintenance work needs to be done via command line. Cisco built a customized command line interface (CLI) for UC appliances. Since most of the UC appliances share the same OS, they also share the same sets of CLI commands.

Mastering some of the CLI commands would make your life easier (or you may impress your colleagues or boss by showing off some of the rarely used commands).

Some basics:
0) To get access to the CLI, you need the "OS Administration" credential. "OS Administration" credential is stored in /etc/passwd file, while "Application Administration" credential is stored in database.

1) To access the CLI, you may either go to the sever console or SSH to it. (Telnet is not supported for security reasons).

2) Cisco keeps adding new commands to CLI. Some of the commands are available on new versions (such as CUCM 7.x) but not available on old versions (such as CUCM 6.x).

3) You may always use question mark (?) and tab key to get help.

4) Unlink IOS, UC Appliance CLI doesn't take abbreviations. You'll have to give the full command (either type it yourself or use the tab key).

5) "show" command is to display information

6) "set" and "unset" commands are to change configuration

7) "utils" command is run maintenance utilities (such as system reboot, backup/restore, etc.)

8) "run sql" command is to run SQL query against the database.

Part 1: Getting system info

show status

This command will give you the following information:

• Hostname of the box
• Current date/time on the box
• Current time zone configured on the box
• Current version
• How long the system has been up and running
• CPU/Memory/Hard Disk usage

For example, if you cannot access the web interface of your CUCM box, you open a case. TAC engineer asks you what version is the CUCM. If you can access to the CLI, you may find out the version. This could possibly speed up the resolution.

show hardware

This command would give you the hardware information (such as serial number of the box). If you need to find out the serial number remotely, you may SSH to the box and use this command. Serial number is critical for entitlement and tech support.

show network eth0 detail

This gives you the following information:

• IP address of the box
• MAC address
• DNS
• Gateway

This command is useful if you need to check the MAC address quickly (for licensing purpose).

To see all "show" commands, type "show ?"

"Ask The Expert" on Cisco NetPro Forum

Sorry I didn't post any new article lately.

I'll host a "Ask The Expert" event on Cisco NetPro forum June 8 - June 12.

For those new to the forum, "Ask The Expert" is a periodic event that the subject matter expert (SME) would answer questions on a specific topic (such as licensing, contact center, video conferencing, etc.). Of course, I'll be answering questions on CUPS/CUPC and presence-related questions. Bring your toughest questions! :)

Though I cannot guarantee every question be answered immediately, I'll make sure they get to the right people.

We believe Unified Communication will make our life better (though the process of deploying it might make your life tougher... LOL)

Book, charity and life

I'm a customer support engineer that supporting Cisco Unified Communication products.

I built this blog and wrote the book "Deploying Cisco Unified Prsence" with the intention of helping my customers (and my employer). The book was priced very cheap (39.99). After deducting the manufaturer and distribution cost, the revenue I received from retailers is $5.16 for each copy sold (it'll be higher if it was sold from the publisher's website).

For some reasons, my motive was questioned. (Sorry I can't disclose more details. But it makes me feel really bad.)

Thus I make an announcement here (and Lulu.com), that all (100%) revenue from this book will go to "American Red Cross International Relief Fund".

I'll try my best to answer any technical questions you have. I'll be hosting a "Ask the Expert" session on Cisco NetPro Forum in June 2009 (on CUPS/CUPC products).

God bless America. God bless you!

Donation receipts for Q1 2009:

"Hardware not supported"

When installing Cisco Unified Communication products (CUCM, CUPS, CER, UC, CUMA, etc.), you might get a message saying that the hardware is not supported. It's a pain in the butt. Espeically when you (or you client) spent quite a few $$$ to get a brand new server and yielded "not supported".

History

Cisco itself does not manufacture servers (not until lately, with introducing of 'Unified Computing'). Cisco OEM servers (x86) from IBM, HP and Dell and brand it as "Cisco MCS" (Media Convergence Server). Cisco also labels those servers with it's own model number. For example, MCS-7845-H2 is actually a HP DL380 G5 server.

Cisco recommends customers purchase "Cisco MCS" server for Unified Communication products. The major advantage of that is it guarantees the compatibility between hardware and software. For example, you may find the CUCM compatibility matrix here: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/voicesw/ps6790/ps5748/ps378/prod_brochure0900aecd8062a4f9.html


The mess

Even though Cisco recommends customers purchase MCS servers, it does not prohibit people from buying "equivalence" from manufacturers directly (ie. from IBM/HP/Dell).

If you decided to buy "equivalence", be careful, Cisco has very strict requirements on that. If you didn't order the right parts, the server could yield "not supported" (ie. the software install will fail).

What does it look for?

When the software being installed, it usually looks for the following attributes on the system:
1) Machine type (model number in BIOS)
2) Hard drive and RAID card
3) CPU speed
4) Memory

Frequently seen issues:

#1 You have an MCS I-series ("I" stands for IBM) server from Cisco. One day, the motherboard burnt out. IBM replaced the motherboard (yes, it's IBM who services the server, though you bought it from Cisco).

You tried to reinstall CUCM 6.1.2, but it kept saying the server was not supported.

Cause of the problem:
In IBM BIOS, there's a field called "Machine Type". The generic IBM machine type is different with Cisco MCS machine type.

Solution:
1) Obtain a BIOS update disk for the server from here (2000.4.4 supported version 1.14, this link is for 1.17, please note that 1.17 has NOT been tested): http://www-304.ibm.com/jct01004c/systems/support/supportsite.wss/docdisplay?lndocid=MIGR-57074&brandind=5000008

2) Boot to the disk and flash the BIOS. During the BIOS flash, you should receive a prompt as to whether or not you would like to change the MTM. Please select yes, and enter the correct machine type (e.g. 884xxxx)

Note: the above should be performed by a Cisco TAC engineer.

#2 You have an MCS H-series ("H" stands for HP) server from Cisco. One day, the motherboard burnt out. HP replaced the motherboard (yes, it's HP who services the server, though you bought it from Cisco).

You tried to reinstall CUPS 6.0.4, but it kept saying the server was not supported.

Cause of the problem:
Your old motherboard was with a CPU at speed of 2.13 Ghz. Since the 2.13 Ghz CPU was end of life, HP gave you a 2.8 Ghz CPU and thought you'd be happy with that.

Resolution:
Though you might be happy with the faster CPU, the software was not happy at all. Based on the machine type, the software expect a 2.13Ghz CPU.

#3 You ordered a server from HP, you made sure the CPU, memory, hard disks meet the Cisco requirements. But the software stills said "hardware not supported".

Root cause of the problem:
You forgot to order a "PCI-X/E Mixed Riser Option" from HP.

How do we find the "equivalence" of a MCS server (so you can order it from HP/IBM)?

Step 1: Go to product compatibility page and find a supported MCS server. e.g. for CUPS 6, go to http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cups/7_0/english/compatibility/cupcompatibility.html#wp77512. Let say, you picked MCS-7825-I3-IPC1, which is good for CUPS 6.0.4 new install.

Step 2: Go to this page and click on IBM or HP link (http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/voiceapp/ps378/product_solution_overview_list.html). MCS-7825-I3-IPC1 is an IBM server. So you would click on the IBM link.

Step 3: Search for the 2nd and 3rd part of the MCS model number. e.g. 7825-I3 in this case. You'll find something like this:

IBM x3250 with Intel 3050 Xeon 2.13-GHz Processor
"... It is the configuration equivalent of the Cisco MCS 7825-I3"

And you'll find the parts list for it:

Table 19. Non-Country Specific Hardware for IBM x3250 with Intel 3050 Xeon 2.13-GHz Processor*

Quantity	IBM Type-Model Feature	Description
1	4364-AC1** or 4365-AC1	IBM System x3250
1	0992	CPU Retention Module
1	1128	x3250 Revision 1 System Planar
1	1272	Dual Core Intel Xeon 3050 (2.13 GHz / 2M L2)
2	1903	1-GB DDR2 667 SDRAM DIMM Memory
1	2007	BIOS GBM
1	2046	Front Bezel
1	2088	3.5inch DASD Cage
2	2091	SATA Filler 3.5inch
1	2268	Base Hardware
1	4144	CDRW/DVD Combo V UltraBay Enhanced
1	4256	Rack Mount Kit
1	4367	Simple Swap SATA RAID Kit
2	5291	160GB 7200 RPM 3.5 inch Simple Swap SATA HDD
1	9011	Internal RAID - Cabled only - setup by Customer

You'll have to order each piece on the list.

If we got a "hardware not supported" message, how do we know which part is not meeting the requirements?

To see the reason of the failure, you need to review the /tmp/hw_validation_err file on the hard drive. You may press ALT+F2 while the installation is in progress (before it gets to halt state). Then you'll get to the Linux command prompt. Type the command below to display the content of the file:

cat /tmp/hw_validation_err

Other useful files include: /tmp/hw_info, /tmp/anaconda.log and /tmp/install.log.

Licensing

Licensing is another mysterious area in Unified Communication. Each product has its own licensing model.

CUCM (CallManager)

CUCM license resides on publisher. The 'host ID' in license file needs to match the MAC address of the publisher.

There are three different types of license for CUCM: node license, feature license and device license (DLU). Node license is for server node. Feature license is required for upgrade or CUCM 7 and above. Device license is required to configure devices (such as phones).

CER (Emergency Responder or e911)

CER license resides on publisher and subscriber (if you have CER subscriber). License file on pub needs to match the MAC address of pub. License file on sub needs to match the MAC address of sub.

If you received a "license expired" message on a two-node CER deployment, 99% of the chance you don't have a license for sub (wrong MAC address).

CUPS (Presence)

Like CUCM, CUPS also has node license and device license. Node license resides on CUPS publisher. Device license resides on CUCM (it's just a regular DLU license).

Node license could contain proxy or PE (Presence Engine) or both.

CCIE Voice Lab v3

Cisco is going to change the CCIE Voice Lab in mid-July 2009. Major changes are:

1) Remove analog devices (such as VG248, ATA)
2) Remove CatOS (Catalyst 65xx)
3) Replace CCM with CUCM 7 (Linux Appliance)
4) Replace Unity with Unity Connection 7 (Linux Appliance)
5) Add CUPS 7 (Linux Appliance)
6) Add SIP phones

IPExpert (a training company) provides some practice labs. The topology would be like below:



Here are some tips if you're going to build your own lab.

PSTN-WAN simulator

As shown in the diagram above, we have a PSTN cloud and a Frame-Relay cloud. We can use a single router to simulate that. And this router could also be the terminal server.

I would choose a Cisco 2811 router with the following modules:

PVDM2-16 (or other PDVM resource).
HWIC-4T : 4-port Serial module for Frame-Relay simulation.
VWIC2-1MFT-T1/E1 : 2-port T1/E1 module for PSTN simulation. You need at least three ports. So you may order two of these. Or to save some money, order one 2-port module and one 1-port module
HWIC-8A & CAB-OCTAL-ASYNC : 8-port async module for terminal service

Don't forget the female serial cable (CAB-SS-V35MT). You need at least three.

On HQ, BR1, and BR2 Gateways:

PVDM2-8 (or other PDVM2)
HWIC-1T & CAB-SS-V35MT
VWIC2-1MFT-T1/E1

On BR1 and BR2 Gateways
HWIC-4ESW-POE : Ether net module to power up the IP phones.

On BR2 Gateway
NM-CUE : Unity Express Module


Switch

Any Cisco IOS switch that supports PoE.

Servers

I recommend using virtual machine(VM) for the lab:

1. If you don't use VM, you're going to need the expensive Cisco/HP/IBM server to install CUCM, UC, CUPS.
2. If you don't use VM, you're going to need license files for CUCM, UC, CUPS.
3. If you don't use VM, you're going to need 5 servers and a couple of workstations (to simulate soft phone and run CUPC/CAD)
4. With VM, you can easily clone VMs, which saves you lots of time.

I myself use VMWare. I have no experience on Microsoft Virtual PC (HyperV).

Here are some caveats you need to know about VMWare:

1) You may either use "VMWare Server" (a.k.a. GSX) or "VMWare Infrastructure") (a.k.a. ESX)
2) GSX is free while ESX is commercial license
3) VMs on GSX has issues with NTP. This is a known issue.
4) ESX does not support audio device. Your VM might need an audio device to launch soft phone (such as CIPC or IP Blue). Try google "virtual audio cable" and you should find a solution.

Following is my lab set up with four 2811 routers, one 3560 switch, one PC (8G RAM, 750G HDD):


When creating VM, make sure you choose RHEL 4(RedHat), 32-bit, one CPU. For CUCM 7, you need at least 1G RAM and 60G hard drive. For CUPS 7, you need 1296M RAM and 75G hard drive.