So one of the major tasks in setting up a CCIE Voice lab is to configure all the various UC components (Call Manager, Unity, Presence, Contact Center) in either a virtual or physical environment. The obvious choice is to setup these servers in a virtual environment. All my hardware runs ESXi5.
Firstly the hardware that I have used...
ESXi Server:
HP XW6600 Workstation
2 X Xeon 5420 (2 X Quad Core 2.5Ghz)
16GB Ram
4 Port Intel GB Nic (Trunked (Portchannel) to 3750 for maximum throughput to SAN)
1 Port Intel GB Nic (Onboard, dedicated management)
SAN:
Whitebox
i7 870 (2.93 Ghz)
8GB Ram
5 x 2TB WD Green HDD's
4 Port Intel GB Nic (Trunked (Portchannel) to 3750 for maximum throughput to ESXi Boxes)
1 Port Intel GB Nic (Onboard, dedicated management)
I also have a backup ESXi server that I use for customer testing/deployments and the occasional test VM.
Backup ESXi Server:
Dell T5400
2 X Xeon 5420 (2 X Quad Core 2.5Ghz)
8GB Ram
Some people have have asked me why the need for the 4 port GB NIC's in all of my servers. The answer is simple. Speed. If I am running a lab, and I make a mistake, I need to be able to revert back to a snapshot I have taken quicky so I can continue the lab with minimal interruptions. Running several VM's and restoring snapshots across a single 1GB link is quite slow. Just food for thought for anyone looking at doing something similar.
All is interlinked with a 3750G, and this links into my home network also. I will provide details on my topology in another post. Lets stay on track!
So now that you know what hardware I am using, I thought I would give a brief note on each of the VM configs. I have read various configurations to make the Cisco VM's work correctly, and some worked some didn't, so I think it is somewhat dependant on the hardware you are using, along with the version of software you happen to obtain.
The following information is for setting up the Cisco VM guests on your ESXi host. Keep in mind this is specific to the versions I obtained (7.0.X). You may find the below settings do not work for you as you have a slightly different version.
VM Guest Configurations:
CUCM (Pub and Sub)
No issues with install.
OS: Red Had Enterprise Linux 4 (32 Bit)
Ram: 1024 MB
CPU: 1
HDD: 80 GB
SCSI Controller: LSI Logic Parallel
NIC: E1000
UC
Unity had me beat for quite a few days (install errors) until I changed the HDD bus to IDE! Watch out for this!
OS: Red Had Enterprise Linux 4 (32 Bit)
Ram: 1024 MB
CPU: 1
HDD (IDE): 80 GB
NIC: Flexible
CUPS
CUPS had me beat for a day. The bootable media is impossible to download anywhere (doesn't seem to exist), so you need to create your own. I did this by following this guide here: http://htluo.blogspot.com.au/2010/04/how-to-make-non-bootable-iso-image.html. Once I created the bootable ISO, everything flowed as you would expect. Install is virtually identical to CUCM.
PS. You WILL need a CCO account to get the original CUPS non-bootable media to convert
OS: Red Had Enterprise Linux 4 (32 Bit)
Ram: 1024 MB
CPU: 1
HDD: 80 GB
SCSI Controller: LSI Logic Parallel
NIC: E1000
CUCCX
Contact Center was the biggest challenege. I tried over and over again to setup a normal Windows Server 2003 server, apply the registry tweaks, and apply Cisco OS patches (this is where I kept hitting a wall). All this needs to be done prior to even installing UCCX. If you do not know what I am referring to when I say registry tweaks to make it all work, google it.
I eventually stumbled across another method. Using the Cisco Server 2003 Install, and going from there. Once I obtained the software (which was a royal pain!), everything went smoothly. Install Server OS, apply Cisco updates, install UCCX!
PS. You WILL need a CCO account to get the Cisco updates required for UCCX install
OS: Windows Server 2003 (32 Bit)
Ram: 2024 MB
CPU: 1
HDD: 80 GB
SCSI Controller: LSI Logic Parallel
NIC: E1000
Keep in mind and depending on your lab topology, all these servers need to talk back to a common VLAN in your lab. Well that's it for this post. Just wanted to note down how I setup my environment, and the gotchas so that anyone else looking for this information can benefit, and also if I even need to do it again!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Monday, December 10, 2012
A welcome note...
Welcome to my CCIE and Technology related blog.
If you have landed here you obviously have some interest in Cisco, CCIE, technology, or your lost.....
A small note about me. I am a network consultant for one of Australia's largest IT service provider's. I have been working with networks, specifically Cisco for the last 10 years or so. I also have exposure to a wide array of other vendor technologies including F5, Juniper, HP, Checkpoint, etc so expect to see some posts about "gotcha's" and leanings from these other areas also.
This blog has primarily been setup to detail my personal notes, links, labs, questions, "gotcha's", videos, and all things related to my CCIE Voice studies. Its as much a tool and reference for me as I hope it is for you.
Stay tuned for my next post as I will detail the foundations of my home lab, including all the equipment I have setup, and how I have it configured.
If you have landed here you obviously have some interest in Cisco, CCIE, technology, or your lost.....
A small note about me. I am a network consultant for one of Australia's largest IT service provider's. I have been working with networks, specifically Cisco for the last 10 years or so. I also have exposure to a wide array of other vendor technologies including F5, Juniper, HP, Checkpoint, etc so expect to see some posts about "gotcha's" and leanings from these other areas also.
This blog has primarily been setup to detail my personal notes, links, labs, questions, "gotcha's", videos, and all things related to my CCIE Voice studies. Its as much a tool and reference for me as I hope it is for you.
Stay tuned for my next post as I will detail the foundations of my home lab, including all the equipment I have setup, and how I have it configured.
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