Troubleshooting Guide for Cisco Unity Connection Release 10.x

Rules Not Applied When a User with Active Rules Receives a Call

There are several reasons that a rule set can fail:

• Personal call transfer rules are used only when the active basic rule—the standard, alternate or closed transfer rule—is set to apply personal call transfer rules instead of the basic settings.
• If the rule set is specified for a day of the week, but another rule set is enabled for a date range that includes the current date, the date range rule set takes precedence.
• Transfers to a destination without a complete dialable phone number may fail. If there is no other destination to try, the caller is transferred to voicemail.

Use the following troubleshooting steps to resolve the problem:

• Confirm that the active basic transfer rule is configured to use personal call transfer rules. See the “Configuring Basic Transfer Rules to Use Personal Call Transfer Rules” section.
• Use the Call Transfer Rule Tester to check the validity of the rule. The test tells you which rule is currently being invoked. Based on the results, you may want to reprioritize the rules within the rule set.

Note The rule set that contains the rule that you are testing must be enabled or active in order for the Call Transfer Rule Tester to work.

• Confirm that the destinations for the rule set contain dialable phone numbers, including any outdial access codes required by the phone system.
• On the Rules Settings page, confirm that the Disable All Processing of Personal Call Transfer Rules check box is not checked. When the check box is checked, all rule processing is disabled.

Configuring Basic Transfer Rules to Use Personal Call Transfer Rules

Personal call transfer rules are used only when the active basic rule—the standard, alternate or closed transfer rule—is set to apply personal call transfer rules instead of the basic settings.

To turn on personal call transfer rules for a user, do the following procedure.

Users can also use the Messaging Assistant to configure their basic transfer rules to apply personal call transfer rules.

To Turn On Personal Call Transfer Rules for an Individual User

Step 1 In Cisco Unity Connection Administration, expand Users, then select Users. On the Search Users page, select the alias of the user for whom you want to turn on personal call transfer rules.

Step 2 On the Edit menu, select Transfer Rules.

Step 3 In the Transfer Rules table, select the transfer rule that you want to use with personal call transfer rules.

Step 4 On the Edit Transfer Rule page, in the When This Basic Rule Is Active field, select Apply Personal Call Transfer Rules and select Save.

Step 5 Repeat Step 2 through Step 4 for each additional transfer rule that you want to use.

Rules Based on a Meeting Condition Not Applied Correctly

When a personal call transfer rule has a condition that is based on a Microsoft Exchange calendar appointment, the rule might not be applied as expected. Calendar information is cached every 30 minutes, so a newly created appointment may not yet be cached.

Try the following troubleshooting steps:

• Confirm that the Exchange external service is configured properly. In Cisco Unity Connection Administration, expand Unified Messaging > Unified Messaging Services, confirm that all settings are correct.
• Confirm that the applicable service is configured as an Unified Messaging Account for the user. In Cisco Unity Connection Administration, select Users and search for the user. On the Edit User Basics page, on the Edit menu, select Unified Messaging Accounts and verify settings.

Note See the “Calendar and Contact Integration” section of the “Introduction to Unified Messaging” chapter of the Unified Messaging Guide for Cisco Unity Connection, Release 10.x, available at http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/voice_ip_comm/connection/10x/unified_messaging/guide/10xcucumgx/10xcucumg010.html#pgfId-1194107 for detailed information on setting up external service accounts.

• Confirm that the Exchange-server and Unity Connection-server clocks are synchronized to the same time source.
• If you believe that the problem is due to newly created calendar appointments, you can get around the 30-minute lag for caching appointments by forcing an immediate caching. See the “Forcing an Immediate Caching of Calendar Appointments” section.
• To permanently change the interval at which Unity Connection caches calendar information, see the “Changing the Interval at Which Unity Connection Caches Calendar Information” section.

See the “” section for detailed information on troubleshooting Calendar Integrations.

Forcing an Immediate Caching of Calendar Appointments

Do the following procedure to force Cisco Unity Connection to immediately cache calendar information.

To Force an Immediate Caching of Calendar Appointments

Step 1 In Cisco Unity Connection Serviceability, on the Tools menu, select Service Management.

Step 2 Under Optional Services, for the Connection Groupware Caching Service, select Stop.

Step 3 After the screen refreshes, for the Connection Groupware Caching Service, select Start.

Changing the Interval at Which Unity Connection Caches Calendar Information

Do the applicable procedure to permanently change the interval at which Unity Connection caches calendar information:

• To Change the Interval at Which Cisco Unity Connection Caches Calendar Information
• To Change the Interval at Which Cisco Unity Connection Caches Calendar Information)

To Change the Interval at Which Cisco Unity Connection Caches Calendar Information

Step 1 In Cisco Unity Connection Administration, expand System Settings > Advanced, then select Unified Messaging Services.

Step 2 On the Unified Messaging Services Configuration page, in the Calendars: Normal Calendar Caching Poll Interval (In Minutes) field, enter the length of time that Unity Connection waits between polling cycles when it caches upcoming Outlook calendar data for users who are configured for a calendar integration.

A larger number reduces the impact on the Unity Connection server while reducing the ability of the server to handle last-minute changes to the Outlook calendar data for users in a timely manner. A smaller number increases the impact on the Unity Connection server while increasing the ability of the server to handle last-minute changes to the Outlook calendar data for users in a timely manner.

Step 3 In the Calendars: Short Calendar Caching Poll Interval (In Minutes) field, enter the length of time that Unity Connection waits between polling cycles when it caches upcoming Outlook calendar data for calendar users who must have their calendar caches updated more frequently.

This setting applies to users who have the Use Short Calendar Caching Poll Interval check box checked on the Edit User Basics page and select Save.

To Change the Interval at Which Cisco Unity Connection Caches Calendar Information)

Step 1 In Cisco Unity Connection Administration, expand System Settings > Advanced, then select External Services.

Step 2 On the External Services Configuration page, in the Normal Calendar Caching Poll Interval field, enter the length of time in minutes that Unity Connection waits between polling cycles when it caches upcoming Outlook calendar data for users who are configured for a calendar integration.

A larger number reduces the impact on the Unity Connection server while reducing the ability of the server to handle last-minute changes to the Outlook calendar data for users in a timely manner. A smaller number increases the impact on the Unity Connection server while increasing the ability of the server to handle last-minute changes to the Outlook calendar data for users in a timely manner.

Step 3 In the Short Calendar Caching Poll Interval field, enter the length of time (in minutes) that Unity Connection waits between polling cycles when it caches upcoming Outlook calendar data for calendar users who must have their calendar caches updated more frequently.

This setting applies to users who have the Use Short Calendar Caching Poll Interval check box checked on the Edit User Basics page and select Save.

Phone Menu Option to Set or Cancel Forwarding All Calls to Unity Connection Unavailable

Note The information in this section is not applicable to Cisco Business Edition.

If the phone menu option that sets or cancels forwarding all calls to Cisco Unity Connection is unavailable, try the following troubleshooting steps:

1. Confirm that the AXL server settings for the phone system are correct. In Cisco Unity Connection Administration, expand Telephony Integrations > Phone System. On the Phone System Basics page, on the Edit menu, select Cisco Unified CM AXL Servers, and verify settings.

Note See the “Phone System” section of the “Telephony Integrations” chapter of the System Administration Guide for Cisco Unity Connection Release 10.x for detailed information about AXL server settings. The guide is available at http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/voice_ip_comm/connection/10x/administration/guide/10xcucsagx/10xcucsag070.html.

2. Check to see if the publisher Cisco Unified CM server is shut down or if there are network connectivity issues between Unity Connection and the publisher Cisco Unified CM servers. Use the Test button on the Edit AXL Server page to test the connection. If the Cisco Unified CM publisher database is down, Unity Connection cannot change the Call Forward All (CFA) setting for the phone.

The option to forward all calls to Unity Connection is available only in integrations with Cisco Unified CM versions 4.0 and later. The option is not available with earlier versions of Cisco Unified CM or with Cisco Unified CM Express.

Inconsistent Behavior in Calls Placed through Unity Connection and Calls Placed Directly to a User Phone

Callers may notice inconsistent behavior when calling a user through the Unity Connection automated attendant and when dialing the user phone directly. Rules are typically applied immediately to calls placed through the automated attendant, while direct calls must wait until the Call Forward No Answer timer for the phone expires before the call is forwarded to Unity Connection. Rules are then applied.

Use the following steps to provide a consistent caller experience regardless of how a call is placed:

1. To set a user phone to always ring first before rules are applied, turn off the Forward All Calls to Cisco Unity Connection feature by phone. Then, in the Personal Call Transfer Rules web tool, on the Preferences menu, select Rules Settings. On the Rules Settings page, check the Always Ring Primary Extension Before Applying Call Transfer Rules check box.

2. To set user rules for immediate processing, turn on the Forward All Calls to Cisco Unity Connection feature by phone. Then, in the Personal Call Transfer Rules web tool, on the Preferences menu, select Rules Settings. On the Rules Settings page, uncheck the Always Ring Primary Extension Before Applying Call Transfer Rules check box.

Call Looping During Rule Processing

Call looping can occur when calls that are forwarded by Unity Connection are forwarded back to Unity Connection and rules are applied again. Callers may experience inconsistent behavior, such as repeated instances of the opening greeting or continuous attempts to reach the same destination.

The following settings can be used to prevent call looping conditions:

• In Cisco Unity Connection Administration, expand Telephony Integrations > Phone System and select the applicable phone system. On the Phone System Basics page, check the Enable for Supervised Transfers check box. The Enable for Supervised Transfers setting causes Unity Connection to detect and terminate call looping conditions so that calls proceed correctly.
• In the Personal Call Transfer Rules web tool, on the Destinations > View Destinations page, check the Loop Detection Enabled check box for any phone-type destinations to help eliminate call-looping problems with Unity Connection forwarding calls to the mobile phone of the user, and the mobile phone forwarding the calls back to Unity Connection. When the Loop Detection setting is enabled, Unity Connection either transfers the call to the next assigned device (if the user has created a destination group) or transfers the call to voicemail if there are no additional destinations defined.
• Allow Unity Connection to maintain control of calls by setting the value in the Rings to Wait field for rule destinations to be less than the value in the Cisco Unified Communications Manager Forward No Answer Timer field. The Cisco Unified CM Forward No Answer Timer value defaults to 12 seconds. A ring occurs approximately every 3 seconds. Therefore, setting the Rings to Wait value for Unity Connection destinations to 3 rings allows Unity Connection to maintain control of the call. The supervised transfer initiated by Unity Connection pulls the call back before the loop begins, and attempts to transfer the call to the next destination or to voicemail, as applicable.