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Q. What is Cisco® Unified Operations Manager 1.1?
A. Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 is a software application that is part of the Cisco Unified Communications Management Suite. It provides a real-time service-level view of your entire unified communications solution and presents the current operational status of each element in the Cisco Unified Communications solution, including the underlying transport infrastructure. The application remotely polls and collects data from the various devices and provides diagnostic capabilities for faster trouble isolation and resolution. It continuously monitors the different elements such as Cisco Unified CallManager, Cisco Unified CallManager Express, Cisco Unity® software, Cisco Unity Express, Cisco Unity Connection, Cisco Unified Contact Center, Cisco Unified Contact Center Express, and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace® Express, as well as Cisco gateways, routers, switches, and IP phones. The application does not deploy any agent software on the devices being monitored and thus is completely non-disruptive to system operations. Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1:
• Presents the current operational status of the Cisco Unified Communications elements and provides visibility through real-time service-level views of the entire solution.
• Increases the productivity of network managers by providing contextual diagnostic tools to accelerate trouble isolation and resolution
-Through diagnostic tests, performance, and connectivity details about different elements of the unified communications solution
-Using synthetic tests (including phone tests) that replicate end-user activity and verify gateway availability as well as other configuration aspects of the unified communications infrastructure
-Through IP service-level agreement (SLA)-based diagnostic tests that can measure the performance of WAN links and measure node-to-node service quality
-By providing actionable information in notification messages through context-sensitive links to more detailed information about service outages
-By context-sensitive links to CiscoWorks products and Cisco management systems (when those are deployed), to provide the user with a broad and deep array of diagnostics capabilities
• Presents service-quality alerts by using the information available through Cisco Unified Service Monitor 1.1 (and 1.0 as well) when the latter is deployed. It displays mean opinion scores (MOS) associated with service quality between pairs of endpoints (the endpoints can be IP phones, messaging systems, conferencing systems, or voice gateways) at specified times involved in the monitored call segment and other associated details about the service-quality problem. When Cisco Unified Service Monitor reports a MOS threshold violation, Cisco Unified Operations Manager can further perform a probable path trace between the two endpoints and can report on any outages or impairments associated with intermediate nodes in the path.
• Provides current information about connectivity-related and registration-related outages affecting IP phones (both Session Initiation Protocol [SIP] and Skinny Client Control Protocol [SCCP]-based phones) in the network and provides additional contextual information to determine the location and identification of the IP phones.
• Facilitates tracking of devices and IP phone inventory, tracks IP phone status changes, and creates a variety of reports that document move, add, and change operations associated with IP phones in the network.
• It provides flexible north-bound interfaces using Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) traps, syslog messages, and e-mails that let Cisco Unified Operations Manager report the status of the network being monitored to a higher-level entity (typically a manager of managers).
Q. What's new in Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1?
A. Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 continues its industry-leading support for Cisco Unified Communications devices by adding support for newly released Cisco products such as Cisco Unified CallManager 5.0 and 4.2, Cisco Unity Connection 1.1, and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express. Additionally, Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 can discover and continuously monitor SIP phones in the unified communications deployment. It can also support diagnostic tests to SIP phones and present an inventory of all the SIP phones in the deployment. The support for the new versions of Unified Communications elements is in addition to the list of applications and devices that were supported in Operations Manager 1.0.
Q. Does Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 use any agents?
A. No, Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 does not deploy any agent software on any platform it monitors and thus is completely non-disruptive to system operations. It uses open interfaces such as SNMP and HTTP (AVVID XML Layer - AXL) to remotely (and periodically) poll the devices being monitored and thus collects status information. It also performs several diagnostic tests (SCCP-based and IP SLA-based) and uses the results of these tests to determine the operational status of the monitored devices. The user interface is browser-based to enable remote login from anywhere in the network and provide instant access to real-time information on the current status of the devices.
Q. How is Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 different from other products that manage Cisco Unified Communications?
A. Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 is part of the new industry-leading Cisco Unified Communications Management Suite. It is differentiated from other products that manage Cisco Unified Communications because it comes with the Cisco commitment to quality and 24-hour support and combines all of the following capabilities into a comprehensive management package that provides:
• Extensive coverage of unified communications devices as well as the underlying transport infrastructure
• Service-level view of the entire deployment, with current status information about all monitored elements
• Context-sensitive tools that can be launched from different user interfaces to aid in trouble isolation and resolution
• Diagnostic tests that can replicate end-user activities such as making phone calls, leaving voice mail, etc.
• Use of open interfaces such as SNMP and HTTP to remotely and periodically poll devices, and no use of any kind of agent software
• Phone reports with extensive information such as IP/MAC addresses, physical connectivity information, signaling status, etc.
Q. What Cisco Unified Communications elements does Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 monitor?
A. Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 monitors Cisco Unified CallManager, Cisco Unity software, Cisco Unity Connection, Cisco Conference Connection, Cisco Emergency Responder, Cisco Unified Contact Center, Cisco Unified Contact Center Express, Cisco Unified CallManager Express, Cisco Unity Express, Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express, and the Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST) router family of product systems. It monitors endpoints such as Cisco IP phones (hardware-based phones) and Cisco IP communicators (software-based phones) as well. It supports SIP-based and SCCP-based IP phones.
Q. What IP transport elements does Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 monitor?
A. Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 monitors routers, inline power switches, gateways, and gatekeepers.
Q. Can Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 be used for IP phone inventory tracking? If so, how?
A. Yes, Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 can be used for IP phone tracking. It provides two types of information. The Phone Status Display (an auto-refreshing real-time display) shows details about all IP phones that are currently experiencing connectivity or signaling outages. A second source is the different reports that show phone status and phone status change information. The Phone Move Report captures phone movements (both physical movements and failovers) and shows past and current information with appropriate time stamps. The Phone Audit Report captures state changes in the phones and documents those changes with associated time stamps. These two reports serve to document moves, adds, and changes to the IP phones, and are available for both SIP- and SCCP-based IP phones.
Q. How can Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 monitor my Cisco Unified Communications solution?
A. Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 uses a seed device as a starting point, discovers the entire unified communications network using the Cisco Discovery Protocol, and creates a service-level topological view of the entire deployment. Depending on the type of device, Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 actively monitors different conditions using Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) polling, HTTP-based polling, SCCP-based synthetic tests, SNMP MIB interrogation, and SNMP trap reception. It tracks only those conditions known to cause higher-level problems in that particular device. If Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 receives information from the device and that information is not a known condition of a higher-level problem, it ignores the information, minimizing the need for IT managers to look at every event happening on the network. This helps IT managers to more productively manage Cisco device faults. Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 also carries out diagnostic tests that ascertain the current operational status of the Cisco Unified Communications network and reports on any kind of problems it encounters. Whenever such diagnostic tests fail, suitable alerts are generated that inform network managers of potential service problems. All these alerts are shown on real-time displays such as the alerts console and the service-level views. It is also possible to forward alerts reported by Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 to other management tools by northbound interfaces using SNMP traps, syslog messages, and e-mail.
Q. How is Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 packaged?
A. Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 is packaged together with Cisco Unified Service Monitor 1.1 and the underlying Common Services 3.0 on a single CD. The user follows a single process to install all three components on the server. Depending on the license that is provided during the installation, appropriate features are enabled. The two different licensing options that are available are (1) Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 only on a server and (2) Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 with Cisco Unified Service Monitor 1.1 on a single server.
Q. How can I license Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1?
A. Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 can be licensed at different deployment scales and is appropriate for enterprises of all sizes. Licensing is controlled by means of a license file, and network administrators can upgrade the license as they grow their unified communications deployment without disrupting the monitoring or having to decommission the server. Upgrading the license is as simple as logging onto the Cisco Website, procuring a new license, and deploying it on the server. Licenses are available for monitoring 1000 phones, 2000 phones, 5000 phones, and increments of 5000 phones up to a maximum of 30,000 phones per Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 server. Depending on the license installed on the server, server hardware requirements and scalability limits are enforced to help ensure acceptable performance. For unified communications deployments of more than 30,000 phones, multiple Operations Manager 1.1 servers can be deployed. These servers can share device and credential information between them and administrators can perform centralized device and credential management. By integrating the Operations Manager with a Cisco Secure Access Control Server, administrators can centrally control user access. Each of these Operations Manager servers will roll up the status of the network being monitored to a higher-level entity (typically a manager of managers) through SNMP traps and syslog notifications.
Q. On what operating systems can Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 run?
A. Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 is intended for a dedicated hardware platform using Microsoft Windows Server 2003. It is designed to simply management of complex unified communications implementations. This requires significant resources, and, as a result, a dedicated server is recommended (with the exception of Cisco Unified Service Monitor 1.1 sharing a single server with Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 which is applicable for small network configurations). As a general rule, a larger hardware platform (in terms of speed and number of processors) and more system memory (a minimum of 3 GB is required) will improve the performance and scalability of the management solution provided by Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1.
Q. What will happen to CiscoWorks IP Telephony Environment Monitor (ITEM) 2.0 and its downloadable utilities?
A. Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 will replace CiscoWorks ITEM 2.0. CiscoWorks ITEM 2.0 has reached end-of-sale status. Cisco Systems® will continue to support existing deployments of CiscoWorks ITEM 2.0 per the Cisco Support Policy, but there will be no new versions of the CiscoWorks ITEM product line. Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 incorporates all the functionality that was present in the downloadable utilities of CiscoWorks ITEM available through Cisco.com, and these utilities will no longer be available separately. All current customers of CiscoWorks ITEM 1.x and CiscoWorks ITEM 2.0 are strongly encouraged to migrate to Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 to help ensure that they have the necessary capabilities to manage the full scope of the latest technologies in Cisco Unified Communications solutions.
Q. Why should I migrate from CiscoWorks ITEM 2.0 to Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1? What new benefits does Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 provide?
A. Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 provides coverage for the latest Cisco Unified Communications technologies such as Cisco CallManager Express, Cisco Unity Express, Cisco Unified Contact Center (Enterprise and Express editions) in addition to providing new and useful interfaces for monitoring the overall status of the deployment. It integrates with another new offering, Cisco Unified Service Monitor 1.1, to present real-time service quality alerting. Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 can carry out different diagnostic tests to evaluate the general health of the Cisco Unified Communications environment in the monitored network. Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 uses its sophisticated evaluation and correlation capabilities to help ensure timely information about the health of unified communications environments. Using several data collection and analysis techniques, Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 generates intelligent traps that can be forwarded to other event-management systems installed in the network, sent to e-mail or pager gateways, or displayed on the Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 GUI.
Q. Is there an upgrade path from CiscoWorks ITEM 2.0 to Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1?
A. Yes, customers with existing CiscoWorks ITEM deployments (both 1.x and 2.0) will be able to order Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 directly at a specially discounted upgrade price. Specialized part numbers are available for this upgrade path. Please contact your Cisco sales representative or channel partner for ordering assistance.
Q. How does Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 integrate with CiscoWorks products?
A. Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 works with the entire family of CiscoWorks products. It runs on Common Services 3.0 which is shared with applications such as CiscoWorks LAN Management Solution (LMS). Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 integration with the CiscoWorks family includes:
• CiscoWorks security roles
• CiscoWorks server process and backup management services
• Device and credential repository
• Cisco Secure Access Control Server (ACS) integration
In addition, Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 can perform a context-sensitive launch of different CiscoWorks products (such as Resource Manager Essentials, CiscoView, Campus Manager, and so on) from its different user interfaces to accelerate trouble isolation and resolution.
Q. How does Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 integrate with Cisco Unified Service Monitor 1.1?
A. Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 can use the information provided by Cisco Unified Service Monitor 1.1 to present service-quality (quality-of-voice) alerts on a real-time basis. The service-quality alerts are associated with IP phones or unified communications devices that are currently monitored by Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 and present that information in the Service Quality Alerts Display. Details about connectivity of the IP phones and devices are available as well. Context-sensitive diagnostic tools such as a probable path trace, node-to-node IP SLA tests, and phone status tests can be run to perform further troubleshooting. A node-to-node test between the routers serving the path can help network managers identify potential problems in intermediate nodes and can influence service quality. A phone status test on either endpoint verifies the IP connectivity of the phone(s) involved in the call segment that had the poor service quality. Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 has specialized reports that present historical information.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information about Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1, please visit http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6535/index.html, contact your local account representative, or send e-mail to the Cisco Systems® product marketing group at ask-ipc-management@cisco.com.