Quick Note: I thought I would make a quick post around how I prepare audio files for deployment in Unity Connection, Communications Manager, Contact Center Express, and other Cisco UC1 products. This post will be focused around Unity Connections but the same method can be used for all applications. The Request: Due to inclement weather conditions in the southeast I had multiple clients that needed emergency messages uploaded to their Unity Connection auto attendants. I have some clients that have call handler managers and record and configure their own messages on the systems. But, I have quite a few that would much rather just record a message with whatever is handy (an iPhone more and more these days) and e-mail it to me for uploading and configuration. ...

The Request: Two new Nexus 7Ks have been installed at one of my client’s data centers. Management connectivity was brought up to the data center core and verified. I was given console access and told to configure TACACS+1 authentication and authorization on the F2 VDC2. The Solution: Configuring TACACS+ on the Nexus 7K is totally different than on IOS and even different than on the Nexus 5K equipment. It also requires a certain order of operations and there is one solid “gotcha” that most people run into. But, knowing these going in will make this a painless procedure. The first thing to remember is that you MUST enter the TACACS+ server key UNENCRYPTED. Most templates within many organizations I work with keep the TACACS+ key in its encrypted format within template documents. Entering it into a Nexus 7K in this format WILL NOT WORK. Been there…done that… First you will need to make sure the TACACS+ feature in enabled on the NEXUS 7K by entering the following command: ...

The Request: I was engaged by a long time client who was having an issue with their local SFTP1 server. After some upgrades to their server infrastructure they noticed their phone/voicemail system had not been backed up in MONTHS! They asked if there was a way for me to perform an “emergency” backup to my system if they gave the voice VLAN access to the Internet temporarily while they fixed their SFTP issues. ...

The Request: I had a new client contact me requesting that I investigate a call that came in over the weekend where an external customer was able to leave a voicemail on an internal users extension, using the corporate IVR, instead of being routed to the weekend service. This behavior was unacceptable and caused much concern throughout the leadership. The client provided me the internal extension where the voicemail was left and a timeframe. Since I was relatively new to the system I was excited to get my hands dirty and really investigate the routing. As all voice engineers know, coming into a system someone else built can always be an adventure… ...

The Request: I was approached by a client who wanted me to build their multi tenant network for a small office building. During the initial meeting it came out that they already had equipment and would like to use this equipment without purchasing much more. This is what I had to work with: 1 x Cisco X8XX Series ISR1 6 x Cisco 2960X Switches The client also has an existing Cisco Unified Communications System that they will be configuring to provide voice services to all of the tenants. There will be no LAN-to-LAN communications between the tenants. There will be a reasonable amount of commercial grade Internet access and the tenants will be allowed to host some services locally (e-mail, collaboration software, etc.). ...