[cisco-voip] Options for upgrading 4.2(3) ?

[Ed Leatherman]

Geoff,
some thoughts..

what hardware are you running now? You might be able to run CM 7.1.5
on your existing hardware.. i just upgraded a cluster of about the
same size from 4.2 to 7.1 without changing hardware. That would buy
you some time to replace the hardware later for version 8. We also
upgraded purely for support reasons, as 4.2 was doing everything it
needed to.

I don't think the requirements for virtualizing Unity are as strict so
thats still an option for you separate from CM.

Cisco isn't going to support you virtualizing 4.3... in which case why
not just stay on 4.2?

You could look at buying IBM or HP hardware directly to possibly save
some $$ on the new server option.. just be very careful that you order
exactly the right parts. We've done this with HP servers in the past
and haven't had any problems once we got the reseller to understand
the requirements.


On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 10:16 AM, Rhodes, Geoff <GRhodes at rbh.com> wrote:
> Hello.  We are currently running Call Manager 4.2(3) and Unity 4.2, with an
> installed base of around 300 phones.  One large site with 95% of phones,
> with 2 smaller sites connected via MPLS circuits, which both run SRST for
> backup.
>
>
>
> Our lease is running out and we have to make some tough decisions.  The
> majority of our phones are 7970s, which we have decided to buy out and keep
> (at least another year).  The problem is the back end.  EOL/EOS for CM 4.2
> is next spring, so we feel pressured to do something.  Here is what I see
> our options to be.
>
>
>
> 1 – upgrade the backend to v8.x on MCS boxes.  Not cheap, but doable.  I
> hate doing this since what we have right now just WORKS..
>
>
>
> 2 – upgrade the backend to v8.x and run on B-series blades on our new UCS
> chassis.  At first, this seemed really a great solution (having all the UC,
> Unity and Presence server virtualized) until we started hearing about
> Cisco’s requirements.  We have a 10-gig iSCSI framework built with our UCS
> and SAN, using Nexus 5000 switching and everything works perfectly.  Cisco
> says we have to use fiber optic connections back to the SAN, and require us
> to boot from SAN for the virtual servers.  So that mean we either buy fiber
> modules for the Nexus 5000s (expensive due to license) or use a couple of
> MDS fiber switches, plus buying converged net. Adapters throughout.  This
> solution is actually LESS EXPENSIVE than going the MCS route above, but it
> involves adding a lot more complexity to our core, just for UC running 300
> phones…
>
>
>
> 3 – upgrade to 4.3 and maybe virtualize it?  Is anyone running 4.3 in a VM?
> What is the EOL for 4.3?  I know we’d be missing Presence, but that’s not a
> huge problem.  We would plan on upgrading to v8.x sometime next year or when
> Cisco decides to support UC on UCS with iSCSI.
>
>
>
> Any help, suggestions or comments are most welcome.
>
>
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
>
>
>
>
> Geoff Rhodes
>
> Director of Information Technology
>
> ROBINSON, BRADSHAW & HINSON
>
> 101 North Tryon Street, Suite 1900
>
> Charlotte, NC 28246
>
> P: 704.377-8188
>
> F: 704-339-3488
>
> grhodes at rbh.com
>
> www.rbh.com
>
>
>
>
>
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>



-- 
Ed Leatherman