Cisco UCS Manager

Introduction

This document outlines the checklist for VMware deployment on Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise (UCCE) and the steps to take in order to disable or enable specific settings at these levels:

• UCS
• VMware
• Virtual Machine

Prerequisites

Requirements

Cisco recommends that you have knowledge of these topics:

• Cisco Unified Computer System (UCS), Cisco Integrated Management Controller (CIMC), and Cisco UCS Manager
• ESXi and VMware
• Microsoft Windows Operating Systems
• Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise (UCCE)
• Unified communications

Components Used

This document is not restricted to specific software and hardware versions.

The information in this document was created from the devices in a specific lab environment. All of the devices used in this document started with a cleared (default) configuration. If your network is live, make sure that you understand the potential impact of any command.

Conventions

Refer to Cisco Technical Tips Conventions for information on document conventions.

UCS Level

Drivers, Firmware, and BIOS

Be aware of the compatibility version between the different adapters and their driver, firmware, and BIOS versions. Refer to these resources in order to confirm compatibility:

• UCS HW and SW Interoperability
• Hardware and Software Interoperability Matrix

Note: The key concern is whether the Ethernet network interface controller (eNIC) drivers are compatible with the host firmware. When you run the Host Upgrade Utility (HUU), it does not upgrade the eNIC drivers. Thus, you must erase and reprogram the eNIC drivers after you have run the HUU.

VMware Level

Disable Interrupt Remapping

You must disable interrupt remapping on ESXi/ESX 4.1/5.0 as discussed in this VMware knowledge base article, vHBAs and other PCI devices may stop responding in ESXi 5.x and ESXi/ESX 4.1 when using Interrupt Remapping (1030265).

Refer to Cisco defect CSCty96722 BIOS fix for VMware esx intel interrupt remapping issue for EX platforms.

Enter this command in order to check if interrupt mapping is enabled:

/var/log # esxcfg-advcfg -j iovDisableIR
iovDisableIR = FALSE

Enter this command from a console or secure shell (SSH) session in order to disable interrupt remapping on ESXi/ESX 4.1/5.0:

# esxcfg-advcfg -k TRUE iovDisableIR

Enter this command twice in order to back up the current configuration:

# auto-backup.sh

Note: You must enter this command twice in order to save the change.

Then, reboot the ESXi/ESX host with this command:

# reboot

Enter this command in order to verify whether interrupt mapping is set after the reboot:

# esxcfg-advcfg -j iovDisableIR
iovDisableIR=TRUE

Disable LRO Settings in ESXi

In ESXi Release 4.1 or 5.0, issues have been found with large file transfers, such as Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) transfers. In order to resolve these issues, disable the Large Receive Offload (LRO) options on the ESXi host. Navigate to the host Configuration tab > Advanced Settings > Net.

There are several LRO settings on this page. If a virtual machine (VM) has been cloned and uses static MAC addresses, verify that there are no duplicate MAC addresses in the network. For more details, refer to Disable LRO and Unified Communications VMware Requirements.

Virtual Machine Level

Disable TCP Chimney, TCP Offload Engine, NetDMA, RSS, and IPv6 on All VMs

Caution: Any change to any of these settings might disrupt network comunications. Take appropriate cautions when you make these changes.

If issues continue to be observed, update the network interface controller (NIC) firmware and the driver software to the latest versions, then update the Microsoft TCP Chimney, Receive Side Scaling, and the TCP Offload Engine (TOE) features.

Cisco recommends that IPv6 be disabled globally on Windows 2008 and 2008R2 servers.

Windows 2003, 2008, and 2008R2 Servers

For Windows 2003, 2008, and 2008R2 servers, problems can be caused by an incompatibility between the Microsoft Scalable Network Pack (SNP) release (specifically, the TCP/IP Offload feature) and certain NIC cards that support this feature. This is also possible with an earlier driver version.

Network connectivity over a NIC connection can be lost when the NIC hardware supports TOE.

NIC Interface Support for TCP/IP Offloading

This procedure describes how to check if a NIC interface supports TCP/IP Offloading:

1. Navigate to the Network Connections Control Panel, right-click NIC interface, and click Properties.
2. In the General tab, click the Configure button.
3. Click the Advanced tab. A list of properties associated with this device is displayed . If you see an entry that states IPv4 Checksum Offload, the device supports TCP/IP Offloading. The NIC driver software can be an earlier version.

TCP/IP Offloading Enabled on NIC Interface

In order to check if a NIC interface has TCP/IP Offloading enabled, enter the netsh int ip show offload command from a command prompt. The output lists the TOE checksums enabled for each NIC. No entries is the desired result. This is example output:

netsh int ip show offload
Interface 1: Loopback Pseudo-Interface 1
udp transmit checksum supported.
tcp transmit checksum supported.
udp receive checksum supported.
tcp receive checksum supported.
Interface 2: Public Network Card
Interface 3: Private Network Card

The listing for Interface 1: Loopback Pseudo-Interface 1 can be safely ignored for Windows 2008R2.

Disable TOE Settings

This procedure describes how to disable TOE settings for Windows 2003 Server with Service Pack 2 installed and with SNP installed and enabled:

1. Navigate to the Network Connections Control Panel, right-click NIC interface, and click Properties.
2. In the General tab, click the Configure button.
3. Click the Advanced tab.
4. If you see an entry that states IPv4 Checksum Offload, set it to disable.
5. Apply your changes.

Network comunication is affected when adapters are reset.

Refer to the Field Notice: FN - 63215 - ICM/UCCE Potential Loss of Server Network Connection.

Windows 2008 and 2008R

For Windows 2008 and 2008R2, you should be familiar with the new way to disable TCP Chimney and with additional information about Receive Side Scaling (RSS), NetDMA, and IPv6.

Enter this command from the command prompt in order to show the current state of TCP Chimney, RSS, and NetDMA on Windows Server 2008:

netsh int tcp show global

Disable TCP Chimney

This procedure describes how to disable the TCP Chimney:

1. Use administrative credentials to open a command prompt.
2. At the command prompt, enter this command, and press the Enter key:

     netsh int tcp set global chimney=disabled

Disable RSS

This procedure describes how to disable RSS:

1. Use administrative credentials to open a command prompt.
2. At the command prompt, enter this command, and press the Enter key:

     netsh int tcp set global rss=disabled

Disable NetDMA

This procedure describes how to disable NetDMA:

1. Locate the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters registry subkey.
2. Double-click the EnableTCPA registry entry.
   
   

   Note: If this registry entry does not exist, right-click Parameters, point to New, click DWORD Value, enter EnableTCPA, and press Enter.

3. Enter 0 in the Value data box, and click OK.
4. Restart the server for the changes to take effect.

Refer to these resources for further information:

• Contact Center Networking: Offload, Receive Side Scaling and Chimney
• Information about the TCP Chimney Offload, Receive Side Scaling, and Network Direct Memory Access features in Windows Server 2008
• What is a TOE NIC and does ESXi/ESX support any TOE NICs?

Because the Intelligent Contact Management (ICM) does not support IPv6, Cisco recommends that you disable IPv6 globally on Windows 2008 server. Otherwise, the server still resolves an IPv6 address for localhost and, in some cases, the hostname. This might break any application or feature that uses hostnames.

Disable IPv6 Globally on Windows 2008 Server

This procedure describes how to disable IPv6 globally on a Windows 2008 server:

1. Export this registry branch as a backup HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\TCPIP6.
2. From the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\TCPIP6\Parameters\, create the new Dword DisabledComponents with a value of ffffffff.
3. Navigate to Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network Connections >. Right-click each NIC, and select Properties. Uncheck IPv6 from the list of protocols, and apply the changes.
4. Restart the server for these changes to take effect.

For more information, refer to Staging Guide for Cisco Unified ICM/Contact Center Enterprise & Hosted Release 9.x(y).

The virtualized platform does not require NIC speed and duplex to be set, although the UCCE Virtual Machine Template (OVA) sets this to Auto. The settings at the VM/OS level do not matter; it is the physical host on which the VM resides that determines the settings. The transfer of data between the virtual machine and the network is determined by the physical port that is used on the physical host, and it is this physical host on which you configure the network speed, duplex, and so forth. For example, if you have five virtual machines on a host, and they all have different settings, the physical NIC does not honor them.

Related Information

• UCS HW and SW Interopability
• Hardware and Software Interopability Matrix (PDF)
• CSCty96722 BIOS fix for VMware esx intel interrupt remapping issue for EX platforms
• Disable LRO (docwiki)
• Unified Communications VMware Requirements (docwiki)
• Field Notice: FN - 63215 - ICM/UCCE Potential Loss of Server Network Connection
• Staging Guide for Cisco Unified ICM/Contact Center Enterprise & Hosted Release 9.x(y) (PDF)
• Contact Center Networking: Offload, Receive Side Scaling and Chimney (docwiki)
  
• Information about the TCP Chimney Offload, Receive Side Scaling, and Network Direct Memory Access features in Windows Server 2008
• What is a TOE NIC and does ESXi/ESX support any TOE NICs?
• Technical Support & Documentation - Cisco Systems