Chris , Great layout and exactly what I was looking for. Thanks
On Tue, Mar 3, 2009 at 10:27 PM, Chris Parker <cpar...@cparker.us> wrote: > I think everyone has their own way of doing it, but here's how I go about > it: > > STEP ZERO - read the whole lab carefully. It's hard to do when you are > nervous. Try and pay attention the the details and look for tricks. Then > work things out like what partitions and css you'll need, how the gatekeeper > will work. Do you need multicast. Try and get you head around the lab as > much as possible. > > 1. Gather info > > This is where I log into everything and look at CDP to get the MAC > addresses of the phones and of the 6608 devices. I put all of this info into > notepad for easy cut and paste. I hardly use any paper in the lab everything > goes into notepad for easy access and no retyping. > > 2. 6500 > > Next I set up the 6500. I do all the vlans, aux vlans, voice ports, > muulticast, and any QoS > > 3. HQ > > Here I set up interfaces, NTP, timezone, DHCP if need be, multicast if > needed, QoS and the basic Gatekeeper config. I like doing all the QoS at the > beginning of the lab, and by doing it on HQ first it helps with time because > you can just cut and paste what you do on HQ to BR1 and BR2. I set up the GK > enough so that I know the CME and UCM will register in the correct zones. > Also if I see I need VIA-GK I go ahead and set up IPIPGW, dial peers and > transcoder (as needed) on HQ. I go back and tweak the GK config later after > I have set up UCM and CME. > > 4. BR1 > > I paste in QoS config copied from HQ, create the vlans, create interfaces, > set helper address and multicast if needed, set up switch ports, set up dhcp > if needed, set up ntp and timezone, set isdn switchtype, configure PRI for > MGCP or H323, tweak isdn settings on serial, set up mgcp if needed, set up > translation rules, set up CoR if needed, configure dial peers if needed for > H323 and/or SRST, config transcoder and conf bridge if needed, set up SRST. > > 5. BR2 > > I paste in QoS config copied from HQ, create interfaces, set helper address > and multicast if needed, set up dhcp if needed, set up ntp and timezone, set > isdn switchtype, configure PRI, tweak isdn settings on serial, set voice > service to allow h323 to sip, set up translation rules, set up CoR if > needed, configure dial peers (these can often be copied with minor tweaks > from BR1), config transcoder and conf bridge if needed (another section > copied fro BR1), run telephony service setup, paste mac address from step 1 > to appropriate ephone, set up H323 gateway and confirm registered to HQ, set > voip dial peers for HQ GK and CUE, add ephone-dns for MWI, set up BACD, add > any hunt groups as needed. > > 6. CUE > > I normally do this step while doing something else at the same time like > setting up the 3550. There's alot of waiting in this step while CUE just > "does its thing". Once CUE is up and ready to be configured, I normally do > the basic setup with the GUI (this will set up mwi, and your sip triggers > and applications) and then do user creation from the CUE CLI. > > 7. 3550 > > Here I do vlans and set up ports, and do any QoS. > > 8. CME Testing > > So at this point 90% of the CLI work is done and all the CME/CUE stuff is > complete. So here I do some quick testing on CME dialing in / out to PSTN, > CUE MWI, and BACD. > > 9. Callmanager Basic > > So here Im doing all the CM stuff I can think of except call routing and > phones. I go into serviceability first and turn on whatever services I need. > Then I go back to admin. I use the Top Left to Right method. So System menu > first and usually touch everything except Device Defaults. Then in Route > Plan I do AAR, Partitions, CSS, and I try to do any translation patterns > that I think I'll need. Then I jump over to the Device menu. I do any custom > soft keys or button templates. I set up EM profiles if I need them. I set up > all my gateways and make sure they register, I set up the GK and trunk I set > up any CTI route points I need. I DO NOT set up the phones yet however. Then > I move to the Feature Menu. I setup my phone services, voice mail, and park > or pickup if need be. Then I go to the services menu. I setup all the media > resources, lists and groups and make sure everything is registered and in > the right device pool. After the media stuff is done I go back to the device > pools and assign the MRGL. I always do IPMA or AC later after the phones are > set up. > > 10. Eat Lunch > > Yep all the stuff listed above needs to be done before lunch. > > 11. Callmanager routing and Phones > > So this part is all about the Route Groups, Route Lists, and Route > Patterns. I plan most of this out in step zero or at lunch. Once thats all > done I start setting up the phones and users. If I did everything right in > step 9 and I can do everything I need to on every phones without going back > and add partitions or what not. When this is done I do some quick basic > testing with the PSTN. > > 12. Gatekeeper > > Now that everything is built on CCM and CME and everything is registered to > the GK, I finish the GK config. This could mean adding zone prefixes, > aliases, bandwidth commands etc. Then I test calling through the GK. > > 13. Callmanager features > > This is where I do my AC, IPMA, Huntlists or any other funky things they > want. IPMA requires that alot of things were done in step 9 and 11 like > patitions, users, softkeys, and button templates. So if you have IPMA try > and get all these things done as you work through the menus and not go back > later. Same applies to AC and other tasks in this category. > > 14. Unity > > So here I do the unity side of integration, and add users with bulk import. > Then I test the basic integration. I don't do any special things like call > handlers or loop prevention yet. > > 15. Testing > > So if all the stuff above is done, all you are probably left with are some > tricks in Unity, IPCC set up, and custom scripting. Usually the sum of these > tasks left is less than 20 points. So here I make the strategic decision to > thoroughly test everything I have done so far. The logic being anything I do > in IPCC or Unity isn't going to mess up my call routing or infrastructure > and if I get the parts right that I've done so far, the tricky things in > Unity and IPCC will be gravy. > > Testing takes a long time. You have to test everything then test it again > with circuits down, and again with the sub down, and again when in SRST, and > again with the GK shut down. I even recommend reloading the routers and > switches and make sure everything still works when they come back up. > > 16. Unity features and IPCC > > So if testing went well and I have kept up pace I have about an hour or so > left in the lab. I spend this time adding up the points of items I couldn't > or didn't complete earlier in the lab. I prioritize the ones I think I can > do in the time left and add up the points for the maximum benefit. IPCC > setup is good for a few points and is pretty easy. Many of the Unity extras > they have you do are simple too. For me scripting is a hassle so unless its > a really easy one I sacrifice the points. > > HTH > > Chris > > > > > > > > ccielab...@gmail.com wrote: > >> I'm curious how people have approached the order of completing a lab. >> What order do you use to ensure gathering the most points and build the >> lab correctly without doubling back to adjust things as you get further into >> the lab. >> I know Vik and Mark have their own opinions on this, but I wanted to >> throw it out to the more general audience for feedback. >> >> > >
