Cisco CMM for Catalyst 6500
By · CommentsI had the chance earlier today to look at the Cisco Communication Media Module for a Cisco Catalyst 6500. The module is used as a gateway in a Call Manager 4 cluster. The module takes up one module slot in the Catalyst 6500 and, depending on the particular module you need, it can come with either 6 E1 or T1 ports.
It’s the first time I’ve used this particular module but setting it up as an MGCP gateway is no different from setting up any other MGCP gateway. First of all to access the CMM module you use the session command from enable mode.
6509#session slot 8 processor 0 The default escape character is Ctrl-^, then x. You can also type 'exit' at the remote prompt to end the session Trying 127.0.0.80 ... Open
6509-VGW-CMM>en 6509-VGW-CMM#
The voice module is configured through IOS commands just the same as any other Cisco voice modules or cards. However, in this particular setup the endpoint configuration is controlled via Call Manager via MGCP.
To set up the CMM as an MGCP gateway to be controlled by Call Manager you need to issue the two following commands:
ccm-manager config server call_manager_ip_address ccm-manager config
You can now add this gateway into Call Manager and start configuring the endpoints (or E1 ports) on the device from there. It’s a fairly straightfoward excercise. Just make sure you use the same name in the Call Manager configuration as you have given your gateway. Read More→
Popularity: 37% [?]
IPExpert CCIE Voice 3.0 Materials
By · Comments
ipexpert today put out a press release announcing it will be the first training company to offer materials for version 3.0 of the Voice track of the CCIE.
Many of my CCIE chums have used their training materials when studying towards their CCIE certification and they come highly recommended. I will certainly be looking at their Routing and Switching resources when I embark on the lab part of the CCIE.
Popularity: 68% [?]
TechRepublic File System Video
By · CommentsThe TechRepublic site is one of the very best on the web for IT resources and an excellent source of learning materials. I came across a nice video presented by Bill Detwiler the other day called 10 Cisco IOS Router file management commands every Cisco admin should know. Most CCNA students I’ve taught in the last few years have experience of managing files and file systems through GUIs. Very few have used DOS or a Unix/Linux command line to do file management tasks and so they can struggle at first with managing files using IOS. The video includes commands such as:
- dir
- cd
- copy
- verify
- fsck
The video post also contains a link to a corresponding article by David Davis that covers each of the commands in a little more detail.
Popularity: 30% [?]
OSPF Passive Interface Command
By · CommentsI was recently asked by a client to help troubleshoot an issue they were having after upgrading the IOS on two of their core Cisco Catalyst 6509s. The two switches are connected together by three 1Gb fibre links that run about 500m between two buildings (Building A and B). Two of the links are bundled together in an 802.1q Etherchannel. Only one vlan, 100, is allowed to cross the link and this vlan is used purely for traffic to and from a cluster of Call Manager 4 servers. The other link is a 1Gb layer 3 fibre link that is used for any other user traffic across the core switches.
Here is a high-level layout of the switches and their connections. All IP addresses and vlans have been changed from their original values.
Network Layout
The 6509s also have links to other core switches within the network, so if the layer 3 link goes down traffic should be routed through these other switches. Read More→
Popularity: 62% [?]
Cisco Learning Network Store Opens
By · CommentsHaving run a Cisco Academy and been a Cisco Instructor in previous roles, I’ve an interest in all things to do with Cisco learning. The Cisco Networking Academy Program is a brilliant way for students to learn networking skills. Cisco Academies are not accessible by everyone however, and with commercial Cisco courses being so expensive, Cisco Press books are sometime the only viable option for learning materials developed by Cisco.
Cisco have just announced the opening of new a online store focussed on providing learning materials for it’s certifications. The Cisco Learning Network Store is still in it’s early days and courses are still thin on the ground at present, but it already contains a few e-learning packages and some software tools for learning.
Let’s hope that as time goes on the cataolgue increases. More official Cisco e-learning courses would be a welcome addition to the currently available learning resources.
For interest to CCIE candidates is the Cisco 360 Learning Program for CCIE R&S students. Cisco describe the course as follows. Read More→
Popularity: 39% [?]