[cisco-voip] 79xx vs. 99xx

[Wes Sisk]

Everyone has an opinion so I'll share mine as well.  This is my personal opinion based on my experience. Note: personal.

The 99xx phones are a completely different user experience.  That comes with a learning curve for both users and administrators.  Different is not inherently bad. It is an attempt to evolve and usually that is good.

Otherwise there is one Cisco practice that is notoriously problematic.  When new phones are released support is "backported" to older CUCM versions.  Technically this gets phones working with older CUCM versions. However, the integration is more "rudimentary functionality" than "smooth integration".  If you are using the newest endpoints then you really need to be on the newest version of call control for smooth integration.  This is not unique to Cisco or even IT; it exists everywhere. 

Example: A new mobile phone may support bluetooth, A2DP, and high quality audio. A new car may not support this or may only offer an analog connection for a headset jack.  Analog through the headset jack provides basic functionality but it falls short of a smooth integration. A car or car stereo upgrade is required to get full functionality.

>From a customer, serviceability, and supportability perspective we have challenged the practice of backporting. It causes a degraded user experience, degraded admin experience, and complicates upgrades.  In the end the value of basic functionality on older versions outweighs the loss of features.

Circumstances alter cases.  Your case is unique and you get to make the decision about what is appropriate for your organization given environmental limitations.  

In the larger environment support for the newest endpoints works best with the latest call control.  Attempting anything else is really swimming upstream.

/wes


On Mar 5, 2012, at 8:09 PM, Frank Arrasmith wrote:

Hey all,
  just want to poll the room regarding IP Phones they are using.   We recently deployed a large # of 9951/9971 phones, and encountered some pretty serious bugs(that dont have a fix/workaround yet).  Anybody else deploying these?  Are you having bugs in the Call Manager version you are running?  Other than the integrated video, what benefits do you see in them?. I have to say, after working on the 7900 series(sccp) for some time, with fairly rock solid performance, I am certainly not impressed with the 99xx phones.  I think they are particularly hard to use(compared to the 7900 phones) for someone with Cisco experience, and practically impossible for the average Joe. Maybe I am missing the big picture.  Has anyone seen exceptional benefits from using them? The decision to deploy these was above my head , and supposedly in part to the 7965's going end of life.  Is that true, or did we get suckered by our VAR(i couldnt find an EOL notice).
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