Configure Cisco Unity Connection for Voicemail and Messaging

Cisco Unity Connection

As you start configuring your voicemail and messaging system, be aware of the options that you have for adding users, enabling features, and integrating Cisco Unified Communications Manager with Cisco Unity Connection.

When integrated with Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Cisco Unity Connection (the voicemail and messaging system) provides voice-messaging features for users that you configure manually, through AXL services, or through LDAP integration. After receiving voice messages in their mailboxes, users receive message-waiting lights on their phones. Users can retrieve, listen to, reply to, forward, and delete their messages by accessing the voice-messaging system with an internal or external call.

Your system supports both directly connected and gateway-based messaging systems. Directly connected voice-messaging systems communicate with Cisco Unified Communications Manager by using a packet protocol. A gateway-based voice-messaging system connects to Cisco Unified Communications Manager through analog or digital trunks that then connect to Cisco gateways.

When you integrate Unified Communications Manager and Cisco Unity Connection, you can configure the following features for your users:

  • Call forward to personal greeting

  • Call forward to busy greeting

  • Caller ID

  • Easy message access (a user can retrieve messages without entering an ID; Cisco Unity Connection identifies a user based on the extension from which the call originated; a password may be required)

  • Identified user messaging (Cisco Unity Connection automatically identifies a user who leaves a message during a forwarded internal call, based on the extension from which the call originated)

  • Message waiting indication (MWI)

  • The configuration of a secure SIP trunk integration between a Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Cisco Unity Connection server requires that the Cisco Unified Communications Manager cluster is configured in mixed mode.

Cisco Unified Communications Manager interacts with Cisco Unity Connection through one of the following interfaces:

  • SIP Trunk—You can integrate Cisco Unity Connection and Unified Communications Manager by using SIP. Instead of multiple SCCP ports involved with traditional integrations, SIP uses a single trunk per Unity Connection server. The SIP integration eliminates the requirement to configure directory numbers for Voicemail Ports and message-waiting indicators (MWI).

  • SCCP Protocol—You configure the interface to directly connected voice-messaging systems by creating voicemail ports. These establish a link between Unified Communications Manager and Cisco Unity Connection.

    To handle multiple, simultaneous calls to a voice-messaging system, you create multiple voicemail ports and place the ports in a line group and the line group in a route/hunt list.

    Cisco Unified Communications Manager generates SCCP messages, which are translated by Cisco Unity Connection. The voicemail system sends message-waiting indications (MWIs) by calling a message-waiting on and off number.

    When you configure security for voicemail ports and Cisco Unity SCCP devices, a TLS connection (handshake) opens for authenticated devices after each device accepts the certificate of the other device; likewise, the system sends SRTP streams between devices; that is, if you configure the devices for encryption.

    When the device security mode is set to authenticated or encrypted, the Cisco Unity TSP connects to Cisco Unified Communications Manager through the Unified Communications Manager TLS port. When the security mode is nonsecure, the Cisco Unity TSP connects to Cisco Communications Manager through the Unified Communications Manager SCCP port.

For more information about configuring Cisco Unity Connection to integrate with your system, see the Cisco Unified Communications Manager SCCP Integration Guide for Cisco Unity Connection or the Cisco Unified Communications Manager SIP Trunk Integration Guide for Cisco Unity Connection at http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/unified-communications/unity-connection/products-installation-and-configuration-guides-list.html.

Cisco Unity Connection for Voicemail and Messaging Configuration Task Flow

Procedure

  Command or Action Purpose

Step 1

Configure Cisco Unity Connection for Voicemail and messaging.

To configure Cisco Unity Connection, see the Cisco Unified Communications Manager SCCP Integration Guide for Cisco Unity Connection or the Cisco Unified Communications Manager SIP Trunk Integration Guide for Cisco Unity Connection at http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/unified-communications/unity-connection/products-installation-and-configuration-guides-list.html

Step 2

Enable PIN Synchronization

Optional. Use this procedure to enable a common PIN synchronization so that

Enable PIN Synchronization

Use this procedure to enable PIN synchronization so that the end users can log in to Extension Mobility, Conference Now, Mobile Connect, and the Cisco Unity Connection Voicemail using the same PIN.


Note

The pin synchronization between Cisco Unity Connection and Cisco Unified Communications Manager is successful, only when Cisco Unified Communications Manager publisher database server is running and completes its database replication. Following error message is displayed when the pin synchronization fails on Cisco Unity Connection: Failed to update PIN on CUCM. Reason: Error getting the pin.

If the PIN Synchronization is enabled and the end user changes the pin, then pin is updated in Cisco Unified Communications Manager. This happens only when the pin update is successful in at least one of the configured Unity Connection Application servers.


Note

For PIN Synchronization to take effect, administrators must force the users to change their PIN after successfully enabling the feature.

Before you begin

This procedure assumes that you already have your application server connection to Cisco Unity Connection setup. If not, for more information on how to add a new application server, see the Related Topics section.

To enable PIN Synchronization feature, you need to first upload a valid certificate for the Cisco Unity Server connection from the Cisco Unified OS Administration page to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager tomcat-trust. For more information on how to upload the certificate, see the "Manage Security Certificates" chapter in the Administration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager at http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/unified-communications/unified-communications-manager-callmanager/products-maintenance-guides-list.html.

The user ID in the Cisco Unity Connection Server must match the user ID in Cisco Unified Communications Manager.

Procedure

Step 1

From Cisco Unified CM Administration, choose System > Application Servers.

Step 2

Select the application server that you set up for Cisco Unity Connection.

Step 3

Check the Enable End User PIN Synchronization check box.

Step 4

Click Save.