Geoff--<div><br></div><div>I agree with Ed. we have purchased non MCS servers direct from HP (now IBM) and saved a bundle. Not only the HW cost but also the maintenance contracts.</div><div><br></div><div>And it's a whole lot easier to upgrade to a new hardware set then have to blow away your current set and reinstall.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Personally I would still go with 7.1 as 8.0 just has not baked long enough for me.</div><div><br></div><div>YMMV.</div><div><br></div><div>Scott<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 7:29 AM, Ed Leatherman <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ealeatherman@gmail.com">ealeatherman@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">Geoff,<br>
some thoughts..<br>
<br>
what hardware are you running now? You might be able to run CM 7.1.5<br>
on your existing hardware.. i just upgraded a cluster of about the<br>
same size from 4.2 to 7.1 without changing hardware. That would buy<br>
you some time to replace the hardware later for version 8. We also<br>
upgraded purely for support reasons, as 4.2 was doing everything it<br>
needed to.<br>
<br>
I don't think the requirements for virtualizing Unity are as strict so<br>
thats still an option for you separate from CM.<br>
<br>
Cisco isn't going to support you virtualizing 4.3... in which case why<br>
not just stay on 4.2?<br>
<br>
You could look at buying IBM or HP hardware directly to possibly save<br>
some $$ on the new server option.. just be very careful that you order<br>
exactly the right parts. We've done this with HP servers in the past<br>
and haven't had any problems once we got the reseller to understand<br>
the requirements.<br>
<div><div></div><div class="h5"><br>
<br>
On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 10:16 AM, Rhodes, Geoff <<a href="mailto:GRhodes@rbh.com">GRhodes@rbh.com</a>> wrote:<br>
> Hello. We are currently running Call Manager 4.2(3) and Unity 4.2, with an<br>
> installed base of around 300 phones. One large site with 95% of phones,<br>
> with 2 smaller sites connected via MPLS circuits, which both run SRST for<br>
> backup.<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> Our lease is running out and we have to make some tough decisions. The<br>
> majority of our phones are 7970s, which we have decided to buy out and keep<br>
> (at least another year). The problem is the back end. EOL/EOS for CM 4.2<br>
> is next spring, so we feel pressured to do something. Here is what I see<br>
> our options to be.<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> 1 – upgrade the backend to v8.x on MCS boxes. Not cheap, but doable. I<br>
> hate doing this since what we have right now just WORKS..<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> 2 – upgrade the backend to v8.x and run on B-series blades on our new UCS<br>
> chassis. At first, this seemed really a great solution (having all the UC,<br>
> Unity and Presence server virtualized) until we started hearing about<br>
> Cisco’s requirements. We have a 10-gig iSCSI framework built with our UCS<br>
> and SAN, using Nexus 5000 switching and everything works perfectly. Cisco<br>
> says we have to use fiber optic connections back to the SAN, and require us<br>
> to boot from SAN for the virtual servers. So that mean we either buy fiber<br>
> modules for the Nexus 5000s (expensive due to license) or use a couple of<br>
> MDS fiber switches, plus buying converged net. Adapters throughout. This<br>
> solution is actually LESS EXPENSIVE than going the MCS route above, but it<br>
> involves adding a lot more complexity to our core, just for UC running 300<br>
> phones…<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> 3 – upgrade to 4.3 and maybe virtualize it? Is anyone running 4.3 in a VM?<br>
> What is the EOL for 4.3? I know we’d be missing Presence, but that’s not a<br>
> huge problem. We would plan on upgrading to v8.x sometime next year or when<br>
> Cisco decides to support UC on UCS with iSCSI.<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> Any help, suggestions or comments are most welcome.<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> Thanks in advance.<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> Geoff Rhodes<br>
><br>
> Director of Information Technology<br>
><br>
> ROBINSON, BRADSHAW & HINSON<br>
><br>
> 101 North Tryon Street, Suite 1900<br>
><br>
> Charlotte, NC 28246<br>
><br>
> P: 704.377-8188<br>
><br>
> F: 704-339-3488<br>
><br>
> <a href="mailto:grhodes@rbh.com">grhodes@rbh.com</a><br>
><br>
> <a href="http://www.rbh.com" target="_blank">www.rbh.com</a><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
</div></div><div class="im">> _______________________________________________<br>
> cisco-voip mailing list<br>
> <a href="mailto:cisco-voip@puck.nether.net">cisco-voip@puck.nether.net</a><br>
> <a href="https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/cisco-voip" target="_blank">https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/cisco-voip</a><br>
><br>
><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
</div>--<br>
<font color="#888888">Ed Leatherman<br>
</font><div><div></div><div class="h5"><br>
_______________________________________________<br>
cisco-voip mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:cisco-voip@puck.nether.net">cisco-voip@puck.nether.net</a><br>
<a href="https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/cisco-voip" target="_blank">https://puck.nether.net/mailman/listinfo/cisco-voip</a><br>
</div></div></blockquote></div><br></div>