Server and Administration Configuration

Follow this general procedure to configure the Cisco CallManager server to support the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console:

Step 1.	Add Cisco CallManager Attendant Console users. These individual users will use the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console application. They are not the same as directory users that you configure in the User area of the Cisco CallManager Administration window.
Step 2.	Create the ac user and associate all pilot point devices with the user. You must configure one user named "ac" and associate the attendant IP Phones and the pilot points with the user. If you do not configure this user, the Attendant Console cannot interact with Cisco CTIManager, and the attendant cannot receive calls.
Step 3.	Configure the pilot point for the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console. The pilot point is a DN that provides access to Cisco CallManager Attendant Console users indirectly through hunt groups. The pilot point usually maps to the general company number (switchboard number), but it can use a DN outside of the Direct Inward Dial (DID) range.
Step 4.	Configure hunt groups. Hunt groups consist of Cisco CallManager Attendant Console users or DNs. When adding a Cisco CallManager Attendant Console user with multiple line numbers to the hunt group, you must specify which line to use.
Step 5.	Activate Cisco TCD and CTIManager services. Verify that the Cisco TCD service activates and runs on all servers that are running the Cisco CallManager service. Verify that the Cisco CTIManager service activates and runs on at least one server in the cluster.
Step 6.	Access the Attendant Console Configuration Tool. At a minimum, change the default username and password of the ac user and, optionally, configure queuing and assess other hunting options not available directly from the Pilot Point Configuration window in Cisco CallManager Administration.

Adding Attendant Console Users

You must add users through the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console User Configuration window and assign them a password before they can log in to a Cisco CallManager Attendant Console client. Complete the following procedure to add a user:

Step 1.	Open the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console User Configuration window and choose Service > Cisco CM Attendant Console > Cisco CM Attendant Console User.
Step 2.	In the upper-right corner of the window, click the Add a New Attendant Console User link. The Attendant Console User Configuration window shown in Figure 18-5 appears.   Figure 18-5. Adding an Attendant Console User
Step 3.	Create user accounts for each Cisco CallManager Attendant Console user by entering the appropriate user ID (username) and password for each account.
Step 4.	Click Insert when you are finished.

Adding the "ac" User

You must create one generic user, the ac user, and associate the attendant Cisco IP Phones and the pilot points with the ac user. This user is designed to give the Attendant Console and related Cisco IP Phones CTI permissions with the CallManager cluster. When you configure the ac user, the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console can then interact with the Cisco CTIManager service on the Cisco CallManager server. Perform the following procedure to configure the ac user:

Step 1.	Choose User > Add a New User in the Cisco CallManager Administration window.
Step 2.	Enter ac in the First Name and Last Name fields.
Step 3.	Enter ac in the User ID field.
Step 4.	Enter 12345 in the User Password field.
Step 5.	Enter 12345 in the Confirm Password field.
Step 6.	"ac" and "12345" are mandatory default settings when first configuring the Attendant Console user.
Step 7.	Enter a personal identification number (PIN) and telephone number.
Step 8.	Check the Enable CTI Application Use check box. You must check this box for the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console to interact with Cisco CTIManager.
Step 9.	Check the Call Park Retrieval Allowed check box. The user configuration should now resemble the settings shown in Figure 18-6.   Figure 18-6. Adding the Attendant Console "ac" User
Step 10.	Click Insert.
Step 11.	Associate all attendant Cisco IP Phones and pilot points with the ac user.

Tip

To enhance the security of your deployment, you should change the username and password of the "ac" user to something beyond the default. To make this change, run the acconfig.bat file located in the C:Program FilesCiscoCallManagerAttendantin directory on the CallManager server. Specific instructions for accomplishing this are in the "Using the Attendant Console Configuration Tool" section later in this chapter.

 

Pilot Point Configuration

You must configure pilot points and hunt groups through the Cisco CallManager Administration window before Cisco TCD can route calls. In Cisco CallManager Administration, choose Service > Cisco CM Attendant Console > Pilot Point and in the upper-right corner, click the Add a New Pilot Point link to open the Pilot Point Configuration window.

Table 18-2 defines the settings in the Pilot Point Configuration window shown in Figure 18-7.

Figure 18-7. Pilot Point Configuration

Table 18-2. Pilot Point Configuration Fields

Field	Description
Pilot Name	Enter up to 50 alphanumeric characters, including spaces, to specify a descriptive name for the pilot point.
Device Pool	Assign the pilot point to a device pool. The device pool has the Cisco CallManager whose Cisco TCD service will service this pilot point.
Partition	Choose the partition to which the pilot point belongs. Make sure that the pilot point that you enter in the Pilot Number field is unique within the partition that you choose. If you do not want to restrict access to the pilot number, choose None for the partition.
Calling Search Space	To designate the partitions that the pilot point searches when it attempts to route a call, choose a calling search space from the drop-down list.
Pilot Number	Enter a DN into this field to designate a DN for this pilot point. Verify that this number is unique throughout the system; it cannot be a shared line appearance.
Route Calls To	Choose the mechanism to distribute calls to hunt group members: Choose the First Available Hunt Group Member option to route incoming calls to the first available member of a hunt group. This is the default setting. Choose the Longest Idle Hunt Group Member option to order members based on the length of time that each DN or line has remained idle. If the voice-mail number is the longest-idle member of the group, Cisco TCD will route the call to voice mail without first checking the other members of the group. If you want to use the Circular Hunting or Broadcast Hunting routing options, use the Attendant Console Configuration Tool.
Location	Designates a Call Admission Control (CAC) location for the pilot point to be used with bandwidth control.

Tip

If the pilot point is not the main or general telephone number, the main number can go to a translation pattern, allowing CallManager to transform the call to the attendant pilot number.

 

Hunt Group Configuration

After you configure the pilot point, you must configure the hunt group. A hunt group consists of a list of destinations (either DNs, or Cisco CallManager Attendant Console user or line numbers) that determine the call-redirection order.

In Cisco CallManager Administration, choose Service > Cisco CM Attendant Console > Hunt Group. The Hunt Group Configuration window appears. In the shaded column on the left, click the pilot point for which you want to add hunt group members. You can then add member directory numbers by clicking the Add Member button, entering the directory number you want to add, and selecting Update. You can also add the Attendant Console users to the hunt group. Adding by user has the added benefit of allowing whatever phone is associated with the Attendant Console user to be included in the hunt group rather than just the specific extension. Figure 18-8 shows an example of this configuration.

Figure 18-8. Hunt Group Configuration

Table 18-3 defines the settings in the Hunt Group Configuration window.

Table 18-3. Hunt Group Configuration Fields

Field	Description
Partition	If a hunt group member is a DN, you can click the drop-down arrow to view the values for the Partition field and then choose the appropriate option. Enter the DN in the Directory Number field in the Device Member Information section. The partition designates the route partition to which the DN belongs. If the DN for this hunt group member is in a partition, you must choose a partition. If the DN is not in a partition, choose None.
Directory Number	Enter the DN of the hunt group member device in this field. When the DN is not in the specified partition, an error message appears.
Always Route Member	Always Route Member is an optional check box that applies to DNs only. If this check box is checked, Cisco TCD always routes the call to this hunt group member, regardless of whether it is busy. Cisco TCD does not check whether the line is available before routing the call. To manage overflow conditions, check this check box for voice-messaging or Auto Attendant numbers that handle multiple simultaneous calls.
User Name	If the hunt group member is a user and line number, fill in only the User Name and Line Number fields in the User Member Information section. From the drop-down list, choose Attendant Console users who will serve as hunt group members. Only Attendant Console users who are added in the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console User Configuration window appear in this list.
Line Number	From the drop-down list, choose the appropriate line numbers for the hunt group. You can add the same user to the same line only once within a single hunt group. For example, you cannot add Mary Brown, Line 1, more than once in the hunt group.

If you have configured queuing, and the queue is full, Cisco TCD routes calls to the always-route hunt group member that is specified in the Hunt Group Configuration window. If you do not specify an always-route member, Cisco TCD drops the call when the queue size limit is reached. If the call is in the queue for longer than the hold time, the call is redirected to the always-route member.

Activating Cisco TCD and CTIManager Services

Before the Cisco CallManager is able to support the Attendant Console clients, you must activate the Cisco Telephony Call Dispatcher and CTIManager services. To activate these services, follow this procedure:

Step 1.	In the Cisco CallManager Administration window, choose Application > Cisco CallManager Serviceability. The Cisco CallManager Serviceability window appears.
Step 2.	Choose Tools > Service Activation. The Service Activation window displays the list of servers.
Step 3.	From the Servers list, choose the server where Cisco CallManager is running. The Service Activation window shown in Figure 18-9 appears. The window displays the service names for the server that you chose and the activation status of the services. Verify the active status of the Cisco Telephony Call Dispatcher and CTIManager services, or follow the remaining steps to activate them.   Figure 18-9. TCD and CTIManager Service Activation
Step 4.	Check the check boxes next to the Cisco Telephony Call Dispatcher and CTIManager services.
Step 5.	Click Update.

Using the Attendant Console Configuration Tool

The Attendant Console Configuration Tool is a simple utility found on the Cisco CallManager server that you can use to perform these tasks:

• Set the JTAPI username and password beyond the default values of ac and 12345.
• Set directory values.
• Enable call queuing for a pilot point and set the maximum hold time.
• Configure circular hunt groups and broadcast hunt groups.

The Attendant Console Configuration Tool is somewhat hidden on the Cisco CallManager hard drive. To access the tool, open the acconfig.bat file, which is located in the C:Program FilesCiscoCallManagerAttendantin directory on the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console server. The Edit Server Properties dialog box shown in Figure 18-10 opens.

Figure 18-10. Attendant Console Configuration Tool - Basic Tab

From the Basic tab, you can change the default ac username and password to something else.

The Advanced tab (shown in Figure 18-11) enables you to access additional hunting options not available in the CallManager Administration Hunt Group Configuration window: enable queuing, change the queue size (the default is 32 calls), and change the hold time (the default is 0, which keeps calls in the queue until an attendant becomes available).

Figure 18-11. Attendant Console Configuration Tool - Advanced Tab

Tip

Making changes in the Attendant Console Configuration Tool might require a restart of the CTIManager and Cisco TCD services for the changes to take effect. On rare occasions, a complete restart of the CallManager server might be required.

 

Installing and Configuring the Attendant Console Client

After you activate Cisco TCD and CTIManager services and configure the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console in Cisco CallManager Administration, you are ready to install and configure the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console plug-in on each attendant PC.

The following steps provide the PC requirements for the Attendant Console:

Step 1.	Verify that the PC is running Microsoft Windows 2000 or Windows XP and has network connectivity to the Cisco CallManager.
Step 2.	Install the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console plug-in on each attendant PC.   Download the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console plug-in by choosing Application > Install Plugins in the Cisco CallManager Administration window. Save the CiscoAttendantConsoleClient.exe file to the local machine. Launch the CiscoAttendantConsoleClient.exe file.
Step 3.	As soon as the Attendant Console application launches, the settings window appears. Configure the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console settings on the attendant PC, as shown in Figure 18-12.   Specify the IP address of the Cisco CallManager TCD server and the DN of the associated IP phone, and click Save. Provide the username and password. Figure 18-12. Configuring the Attendant Console Client

After you install the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console, the user is ready to start the application. After opening the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console application, the user will have to log in and then go online. The user is then ready to answer calls.

To launch the application on the PC where the Attendant Console is installed, choose Start > Programs > Cisco CallManager > Cisco CallManager Attendant Console or click the Cisco CallManager Attendant Console icon on the desktop.

Tip

Receiving the message "Initialization of Call Control Failed. Retrying..." upon opening the Attendant Console indicates a problem with the ac user account.