Managing Cisco IPC Express Systems by Managed Services and Enterprises

As described in earlier chapters, Cisco IPC Express is ideal if you have data connectivity requirements and also need IP telephony in the office. SPs normally deploy Cisco IPC Express systems as one of the following:

• Standalone, single-site managed services
• Large-scale, multisite managed services

A managed-services solution with Cisco CME offers two opportunities for value-added services:

• The customer premises equipment (CPE) router
• Network management support

SPs offer their customers the Cisco IPC Express systems at the end customer's site. They also install, set up, maintain, and manage the systems.

Most of the NMSs used by SPs to deploy Cisco IPC Express in a managed-services model also apply to enterprise networks. The difference between a managed-services model and an enterprise model is who offers, owns, and manages the core network.

Note that this chapter covers only management capabilities for Cisco IPC Express systems, not for the larger IP telephony solutions and products offered by Cisco in general. The next sections describe how you can manage standalone or multisite Cisco IPC Express systems. They also cover some general information on the typical Cisco Voice Network Management Solutions that are applicable to Cisco IPC Express.

Managing a Standalone Cisco IPC Express System

Figure 14-43 shows a deployment in which a single Cisco IPC Express system in a branch office connects to a SP's VoIP network. All voice and data traffic can be routed over the SP's network, or calls can be routed via the PSTN if the destination (called party) cannot be reached via the SP's IP network.

Figure 14-43. Managing a Standalone Cisco IPC Express System

To manage a standalone Cisco IPC Express system, you might provision or configure the system by using the CLI, the Cisco CME setup utility, or the Cisco IPC Express GUI. This is sufficient for simple moves, adds, changes to the phones, and basic configuration changes for a standalone or single-site deployment. However, you might also use the Zero Touch deployment, monitoring, accounting, and billing management capabilities for multisite Cisco IPC Express deployments.

Managing Multisite Cisco IPC Express Networks

You can also deploy Cisco IPC Express in large-scale enterprise networks or in managed-services networks, as described in Chapter 2, "Building a Cisco IPC Express Network." Figure 14-44 shows multiple small and medium business or enterprise branch office Cisco IPC Express sites connected to the SP's VoIP network.

Figure 14-44. Managing a Multisite Cisco IPC Express Network

When deploying Cisco IPC Express systems in a multisite environment, provisioning, configuring, and managing only one Cisco IPC Express system at a time is insufficient. The Cisco Zero Touch deployment method described in Chapter 13 can be used to deploy large-scale Cisco IPC Express networks.

Cisco Voice Network Management Solutions