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Cisco Unified Communications
Cisco® Unified Communications (UC) solutions unify voice, video, data, and mobile applications on fixed and mobile networks, facilitating easy collaboration every time from any workspace. Part of a comprehensive solution that includes network infrastructure, security, wireless, management, or third-party applications and lifecycle services, Cisco Unified Communications management solutions can accelerate deployment, provide cost savings, and enhance productivity.
Cisco Prime
Cisco Prime™ for Enterprise is an innovative strategy and portfolio of management products that empower IT departments to more effectively manage their networks and the services they deliver. Cisco Prime is built upon a network services management foundation and a set of common attributes. It delivers an intuitive workflow-oriented user experience across Cisco architectures, technologies, and networks. Cisco Prime simplifies network management, improves operations efficiency, reduces errors, and makes the delivery of network services more predictable.
Product Overview
Cisco Prime Unified Service Monitor (USM) is part of the Cisco Prime Unified Communications Management Suite, consisting of Cisco Prime Unified Provisioning Manager (UPM), Cisco Prime Unified Operations Manager (UOM), Cisco Prime Unified Service Monitor, and Cisco Unified Service Statistics Manager (USSM). Cisco Prime Unified Service Monitor continuously monitors active calls supported by the Cisco Unified Communications system and provides near real-time notification when the voice quality of a call fails to meet a user-defined quality threshold (refer to Figure 1). In addition to voice-quality monitoring, Cisco Prime Unified Service Monitor allows you to perform call classification based on a local dial plan. The on-demand call detail record (CDR) reports allow you to view the call records for call analysis.
Figure 1. Voice Transmission Quality and Most Affected Endpoints Report
USM monitors, evaluates, and generates reports about user-experience metrics associated with active calls on the Cisco Unified Communications system. It provides a comprehensive list of voice-impairment metrics useful in troubleshooting voice-quality problems.
The system generates user-experience reports that provide lists and details of the endpoints (for example, phones and gateways) that are most frequently affected by voice-quality problems. The reports allow you to understand service quality at a system level through call-quality metrics gathered from Cisco Voice Transmission Quality (VTQ) functions. The reports provide information about real-time service quality through Cisco 1040 Sensors and the Cisco Network Analysis Module (NAM) 4.0 and later. The enhanced call-stream correlation report (Figure 2) provides detailed call metrics collected from multiple instances of Cisco 1040 Sensors and the Cisco NAM, which will allow system administrators to identify network segments that have a lower-quality user experience.
Figure 2. Stream Correlation Report
Features and Benefits
Voice-Quality Measurements and Alerts
USM monitors voice-quality measurements in a voice-over-IP (VoIP) network and produces alerts based on measurements exceeding preset thresholds. Key voice-call characteristics such as codec type, jitter, and packet loss are collected and reported.
The phone-based Cisco VTQ solution provides user-experience metrics at the end of all active calls in the network, expressed as a Mean Opinion Score (MOS) calculated value. Real-time MOS values can be produced every 60 seconds for monitored active calls using Cisco 1040 Sensors and the Cisco NAM. Threshold-based alerts are sent to upstream applications such as Cisco Prime Unified Operations Manager or a manager-of-managers application.
Thresholds
USM allows you to set MOS thresholds based on the phone codec types and includes reporting data export. Alerts are sent to Cisco Prime Unified Operations Manager or any Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) manager when a MOS threshold is violated.
Call Classification
USM allows you to classify calls based on dial plan per cluster. Call classification has default system-defined call categories and also allows you to define call categories to suit the deployment. USM can classify calls to multiple categories to help ensure that users can track calls based on call types. The on-demand CDR reports provide a rich set of filters to generate important call information to facilitate detailed analysis.
Integration with Cisco Prime Unified Operations Manager
Cisco Prime Unified Operations Manager receives the MOS threshold exception alerts generated by USM. They are displayed in the Fault Monitor and correlated to the appropriate UC Device Pool in the Diagnostic View. Another important integration point is the correlation of service quality statistics on the new UC Opsview dashboard that shows the top 5 affected sites due to service quality issues and the top 5 affected due to call failures. For more information, please visit http://www.cisco.com/go/cuom.
Integration with Cisco Unified Service Statistics Manager
Integration with Cisco Unified Service Statistics Manager provides 3-month statistics analysis and reports for Cisco Unified Communications networks. Using the data collected by Cisco Prime Unified Operations Manager and Cisco Prime Unified Service Monitor, Cisco Unified Service Statistics Manager provides predefined and customizable reports that give visibility into critical metrics, including call volume, service availability, call quality, resource usage, and capacity across the Cisco Unified Communications system. For more information, please visit http://www.cisco.com/go/cussm.
Cisco 1040 Sensors
Cisco 1040 Sensors, deployed close to the endpoint (IP phone, gateway, or voicemail system), monitor and evaluate call quality and report this information for active calls every 60 seconds, providing MOS exception alerts on calls in progress and reducing the sample time to help capture short-term impairment bursts. The Cisco 1040 Sensor, shown in Figure 3, collects RTP streams from a spanning port, obtains Power over Ethernet (PoE) through its connected device, and automatically finds USM in the network for easy field installations.
Figure 3. Cisco 1040 Sensor
Cisco Network Analysis Module
The Cisco Network Analysis Module Family of products offers superior visibility into application and network performance to help ensure consistent and efficient delivery of applications and services to end users. USM 1040 software is available for the NAM, at no charge, and adds a distributed MOS collection capability. The family includes both integrated service modules and self-contained appliances offering deployment flexibility essential for managing application performance and improving operational manageability of the underlying network. For more information, please visit http://www.cisco.com/go/nam.
Table 1 lists the differences between the Cisco 1040 Sensor and the Cisco Network Analysis Module.
Table 1. Differences Between Cisco 1040 Sensor and Cisco Network Analysis Module 4.0 and Later
Features and Benefits
Table 2 lists additional features and benefits of Cisco Prime Unified Service Monitor.
Table 2. Additional Features and Benefits
System Requirements
Table 3 lists the minimum system requirements for USM. For VMware platform and more detailed specifications please refer to the USM Installation Guide at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6536/prod_installation_guides_list.html.
Table 3. System Requirements
Supported Devices
For the specific versions of device and Cisco IP Phone models that have been certified in testing, visit http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6536/products_device_support_tables_list.html.
Ordering Information
The base part number includes licensing for the indicated number of phones, and licenses are added to increase the number of phones supported (Table 4). You can order Cisco Prime Unified Service Monitor as part of a management suite bundle or as a standalone product. You can order the Cisco 1040 Sensor as a standalone component or as part of the UCMS-MON bundle. The Cisco 1040 Sensor comes in two- and five-pack versions, as shown in Table 4.
USM 9.0 is a minor upgrade from USM 8.0, 8.5, 8.6, or 8.7 and does not require a new license. For the minor upgrade, download the USM 9.0 software image from the Cisco.com software download site. USM 9.0 is a major upgrade from USM 2.x so all existing USM 2.x customers must purchase the upgrade license (L-USM-B-UPG=) to activate the upgrade software image. The upgrade part number is the single part number required to update any USM 2.x, regardless of the number of phones supported.
To place an order, visit the Cisco Ordering Homepage. The Cisco Prime Unified Communications Management Suite Ordering Guide, available to Cisco employees and partners, provides instructions on how to order management product bundles that deliver significant savings over the individual product pricing. Please contact your Cisco account representative for details.
Table 4. Ordering Information
Cisco Unified Communications Services
Cisco Unified Communications Services allows you to accelerate cost savings and productivity gains associated with deploying a secure, resilient Cisco Unified Communications Solution. Delivered by Cisco and our certified partners, our portfolio of services is based on proven methodologies for unifying voice, video, data, and mobile applications on fixed and mobile networks. Our unique lifecycle approach to services enhances your technology experience to accelerate true business advantage. For more information about Cisco services, refer to Cisco Technical Support Services or Cisco Advanced Services.
For More Information
For more information about USM, please visit http://www.cisco.com/go/cusm, contact your local Cisco account representative, or send an email to the Cisco product marketing group at ask-ucms@cisco.com.