CCNA / CCNP Voice Labs Setup

The voice track always used to be a pretty expensive track in the Cisco realm and, unfortunately, this is not different for the new track at all. The recommended version to run CUCME 8.0 is the IOS 15.1T train which immediately rules out all the older and popular platforms like 2600xm, 1760 or even 3700 series routers. In order to use IOS version 15.1T you need 2800 or 3800 series ISR routers which are still pretty expensive, even though prices are slowly coming down as they reached EOL recently. The 1861 router is the only one out of the 1800 series that supports voice but changes are that you can grab a 2801 at a better price. Furthermore, you also need a pretty beefy server to run the various virtual machines at the same time.

So the list of hardware may look like this:

• 3 x 2800 series routers with sufficient memory to support the 15.1T voice images and CUCME on the branch and PSTN router
• 3 x PVDM2-16 DSP v2 Modules
• 1 x AIM-CUE2 AIM Module Version 2 to support CUE 8.0, the older AIM-CUE Module does NOT support it
• 1 x WIC-2T plus 2 x WIC-1T or other appropriate serial cards for frame-relay connectivity
• 2 x serial cross-over cables
• 1 x VIC2-2FXO or similar card for FXO connectivity
• 2 x VIC2-2FXS or similar card for FXS connectivity, preferably with DID support
• 2 x VWIC-1MFT-T1 or E1 trunk card
• 1 x T1/E1 cross-over cable
• 2 x VIC2-2BRI-NT/TE cards for ISDN connectivity or additional T1/E1 trunk cards if you prefer
• 1 x ISDN cross-over cable or a second T1/E1 cross-over cable if you prefer to use trunk cards
• 5 x 794x and or 796x IP phones (you probably don't need a second PSTN phone if you use a 796x series phone)
• 2 x analog phones of any type
• 1 x 3550 or 3560 24-port Catalyst Switch, preferably with POE support
• 1 x pc with CiscoCP and UPC installed on that machine
• 1 x server for the VM's with 12GB RAM and sufficient harddrive space

For the bunch of virtual machines you either need a pretty beefy server (Quad-core with at least 12 GB RAM recommended) or you could split the load if you have multiple pc's that just run one or two VM's each. 

I used the following setup for my lab:

• VM for the Domain Controller: Windows Server 2003 or later, 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 80 GB SCSI Hard Disk
• VM for the Publisher: CUCM 8.0(3), 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 80 GB SCSI Hard Disk
• VM for the Subscriber: CUCM 8.0(3), 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 80 GB SCSI Hard Disk
• VM for Unity Connection: CUC 8.0(3), 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 160 GB SCSI Hard Disk
• VM for Unified Presence: CUP 8.0(3), 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 80 GB SCSI Hard Disk

For CUCM and CUP you can use any 8.0 version DVD or ISO image and can reduce the memory to just 1 GB if you need. Performance will be slightly reduced but you are still able to install and operate the servers.

However, in case of CUC you definitely want to use version 8.0(3) or later and you have assign that VM at least 2 GB RAM and 160 GB harddrive space in order to install it. If you do not meet these requirements, Unitiy Connection will not show up as an installation option (it's on the same DVD together with CUCM and CUCMBE).

CUC Version 8.0(2) does require at least 2 vCPU's and 4 GB RAM for installation! Older versions of CUC cannot be installed into a virtual machine at all so you definitely want to go for version 8.0(3) and that's why I use it for all servers.

In addition the following software will be used on the pcs:

• Cisco IP Communicator version 7.0(5) (softphone)
• Cisco Unified Personal Communicator version 7.1(1)
• Cisco Configuration Professional version 2.4

Cisco Configuration Professional is the replacement for SDM that probably most of you are aware of. CiscoCP is a free download but only supports the newer ISR routers, like the 880, 890, 1800, 2800 and 3800 series routers (plus the new ISR Generation 2 routers). So you cannot use it for the older 2600xm, 1760 or 3700 series routers. CiscoCP is covered in the CCNA Voice exam.

Licenses are another point you need to be aware of. All the servers you need for the VMs do include some kind of evaluation licenses so we do not need to worry about that point. On the 2800 and 3800 series routers none of the features we need for a voice lab are enforced as of yet. So installing any 15.1T image with the IP Voice feature set plus the CUCME 8.0 package is enough to get you up and running.

However, CUE 8.0 will probably create headaches for most of you because you need to purchase at least some mailbox licenses to make it tick. Since version 7.1 all licenses on CUE are node-locked and enforced and there is no way around it. So, yes, I purchased those licenses for my router. The last version that you can use without having to purchase any license is CUE 7.0 but that one lacks the newer features, of course.


Finally some answers to expected common questions:

1) Do I really need all that stuff for the CCNA Voice exam?

Yes and no. You need all those VMs outlined above (except the subscriber) but you could still use some older platform for the HQ and PSTN voice routers. The branch router, however, must be running CUCME and CUE 8.0 so that one requires a 2801 or higher. The FXO and FXS ports are also not used for the CCNA Voice. So you can upgrade the HQ and PSTN routers and add those modules later on when you prepare for the CVOICE exam.

2) Can I continue to use my 2600xm and/or 1760 voice routers?

As previously mentioned those platforms are limited to older IOS images and CUCME versions. For the CCNA Voice exam this is not that much of a deal as "only" the branch router has to support the latest and greatest software versions.

If you are on a budget you can try to do as much as possible with the older routers but you'll notice that they lack a bunch of the new features that were added recently. So while the basics are still the same, you won't have much fun in the later sections of the lab. Unfortunately, GNS3 and Packet Tracer don't help you much either but there is always hope that newer versions might be released in the future.

3) How can I get the necessary IOS and server images?

The sharing of the software, IOS versions, etc. is not allowed in this forum! So please don't ask as we will only be able to point you to Mr. Google, anyway...

4) Why do you use ISDN lines in your lab setup? Is the ISDN setup tested in the exams?

No, I'm pretty sure that Cisco does not ask you any questions related to ISDN specifically in the exams. However, there are of course a few reasons for adding it to my lab.

First of all, ISDN lines are still heavily used in Europe. It's an ubiquous technology over here and every major enterprise project has to deal with the integration of ISDN devices and/or lines into the VoIP world. So I simply trust that there many people will still benefit from using it in the lab setup.

However, if you live in the US or some other part of the world where ISDN is considered a dead legacy technology, please feel free to replace the ISDN with another bundle of T1/E1 trunk cards.

5) I notice that the HQ is labelled Berlin while the branch is labelled NY. What does this mean?

Cisco is an American company and always preferred the North American dial plan for all documentation, examples, exams, etc. However, this is an international forum so that I want to cover the European dial plan as an example for the rest of the world. So things like international calling, emergency numbers, etc. will be different between the HQ and Branch office and the PSTN router also has to deal with these differences.

This definitely adds a level of complexity to the lab but I'm sure that the result is worth this effort!



I'll update this Q&A list and add further questions as needed.

The next task is to set up the dial plan for this lab. Special attention is required for the PSTN router that needs to deal with the North American and European dial plans and has to translate between the two. Ironically, setting up a CCNA Voice lab requires you to know a lot of the CCNP Voice stuff already.  Not sure how soon I'll be able to finish that part but this is work in progress...