Troubleshooting Cisco IP Telephony

Reveals the methodology you need to resolve complex problems in an IP telephony network - Master troubleshooting techniques and methodologies for all parts of a Cisco IP Telephony solution-Cisco CallManager, IP phones, gateways, applications, and more - Learn how to investigate and resolve voice quality problems, including delayed audio, choppy or garbled audio, static and noise, one-way or no-way audio, and echo - Read about the variety of trouble-shooting tools at your disposal and how and when to use them based on the problem type - Discover the potential causes of common problems and how to efficiently troubleshoot them to resolution - Learn how to identify and resolve gateway problems by breaking the components into logical groups and following a methodical troubleshooting approach - Use best practices recommendations to build a stronger IP telephony deployment and avoid common mistakes IP telephony represents the future of telecommunications: a converged data and voice infrastructure boasting greater flexibility and more cost-effective scalability than traditional telephony. The ability to troubleshoot an IP telephony environment and the underlying network infrastructure is vitally important, just as it is in any complex system. Troubleshooting Cisco IP Telephony teaches the troubleshooting skills necessary to identify and resolve problems in an IP telephony solution. This book provides comprehensive coverage of all parts of a Cisco IP Telephony (CIPT) solution, including CallManager, IP phones, gateways, analog devices, database and directory replication, call routing, voice mail, applications, network infrastructure, and more. You'll learn how to read trace files, determine when to turn on tracing and Cisco IOS(r) Software voice debugging, and how to troubleshoot voice quality issues. Troubleshooting Cisco IP Telephony shows you how to break down problems to find the root cause. Descriptions of each part of the CIPT solution help you understand the functionality of each part of the solution and how each part interacts with other parts of the solution. You'll then learn what steps to take and tools to use to identify and resolve the cause of the problem.

Paul Giralt, CCIE(r) No. 4793, an escalation engineer at the Cisco Systems Technical Assistance Center in North Carolina, has been troubleshooting complex IP telephony networks since CallManager release 3.0. Paul has troubleshot problems for some of the largest Cisco IP Telephony deployments and trains TAC teams around the globe. Paul holds a bachelor's degree in computer engineering from the University of Miami. Addis Hallmark, CCNA(r), CIPT, a senior technical marketing engineer with Cisco Systems, has been installing, configuring, and troubleshooting the Cisco IP Telephony solution since CallManager release 2.3. Addis contributes to numerous design guides, application notes, and white papers on a variety of IP telephony subjects, including CallManager, IP phones, and IP gateways. Anne Smith is a technical writer in the CallManager Engineering group at Cisco Systems. She has written technical documentation for the Cisco IP Telephony solution since CallManager release 2.0. Anne writes internal and external documents for CallManager, IP phones, and other Cisco IP Telephony products and is a co-author of the Cisco Press books Cisco CallManager Fundamentals and Developing Cisco IP Phone Services.

Foreword. Introduction. 1. Troubleshooting Methodology and Approach. Developing a Troubleshooting Methodology or Approach. Production Versus Nonproduction Outages. Step 1: Gathering Data About the Problem. Step 2: Analyzing the Data Collected About the Problem. Case Study: Resolving a Problem Using Proper Troubleshooting Methodology. Summary. 2. IP Telephony Architecture Overview. Network Infrastructure. IP Telephony Infrastructure. Cisco AVVID IP Telephony Applications. Summary. 3. Understanding the Troubleshooting Tools. Time Synchronization. Reading CCM Traces. Reading SDL Traces. Microsoft Performance (PerfMon). CCEmail. CallManager Serviceability. Call Detail Records (CDR) and the CDR Analysis and Reporting (CAR) Tool. CDR Time Converter. Event Viewer. Q.931 Translator and Enhanced Q.931 Translator. Dick Tracy. Sniffer Traces. Voice Codec Bandwidth Calculator. Bug Toolkit (Formerly Bug Navigator). Remote Access Tools. Websites and Further Reading. Best Practices. Summary. 4. Skinny Client Registration. Troubleshooting Inline Power. Troubleshooting Network Connectivity and Skinny Registration. Additional Tools for Troubleshooting Skinny Client Registration Problems. Best Practices. Summary. 5. IP Phones. Understanding IP Phone Behavior. Troubleshooting IP Phone Problems. 79xx Series IP Phone 3-port Switch Operation. Best Practices. Summary. 6. Voice Gateways. Cisco IOS Voice Gateways. Understanding Dial Peer Matching in Cisco IOS Software. Troubleshooting TDM Interfaces on Cisco IOS Gateways. Understanding the FXO Disconnect Problem. Troubleshooting Digital Interfaces. Understanding MGCP. Cisco IOS MGCP Gateways. Cisco IOS Gateways Using the H.323 Protocol. Troubleshooting Problems with Ringback and Other Progress Tones. Intercluster Trunks. Troubleshooting the WS-X6608 and WS-X6624 Voice Gateways. Best Practices. Summary. 7. Voice Quality. Fixed and Variable Delays. Analyzing and Troubleshooting Choppy and Garbled Audio. Troubleshooting Problems with One-way or No-way Audio. Troubleshooting Echo Problems. Best Practices. Summary. 8. Fax Machines and Modems. Understanding Fax Machine Operation. Understanding Fax/Modem Passthrough Versus Fax Relay. The Effect of Packet Loss and Jitter on Fax Machines and Modems. First Steps in Troubleshooting Fax and Modem Problems. Isolating and Troubleshooting Fax Problems. Best Practices. Summary. 9. Call Routing. Understanding Closest-match Routing. Understanding Calling Search Spaces and Partitions. Understanding and Troubleshooting Transformations and Masks. Understanding and Troubleshooting Translation Patterns. Understanding Route Filters. Digit Transformation Troubleshooting. Call Routing Troubleshooting. Troubleshooting Hold, Transfer, Park, and Call Pickup. Getting the Dialing Forest Traces. Best Practices. Summary. 10. Call Preservation. Understanding Call Preservation. Troubleshooting Call Preservation Issues. Best Practices. Summary. 11. Conference Bridges, Transcoders, and Media Termination Points. Media Resource Groups (MRGs) and Media Resource Group Lists (MRGLs). Understanding Codec Selection. Transcoder Resources. Conference Bridge Devices. Best Practices. Summary. 12. Music on Hold. Understanding MOH. Troubleshooting Data Points. Troubleshooting MOH. Best Practices. Summary. 13. Call Admission Control. Locations-based CAC. Gatekeeper Call Admission Control. Best Practices. Summary. 14. Voice Mail. Cisco Unity. SMDI Integration. Octel Voice Mail Digital Integration Via a DPA Voice Mail Gateway. Best Practices. Summary. 15. Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST). SRST Operation. Best Practices. Summary. 16. Applications. Customer Response Applications (CRA). Cisco CallManager Attendant Console. Cisco Personal Assistant. Cisco IP SoftPhone. Cisco IP Phone Services. Cisco IP Videoconferencing (IP/VC). Cisco Conference Connection. Cisco Emergency Responder (ER). Summary. 17. SQL Database Replication. Understanding the Publisher-Subscriber Model. The Role of Name Resolution and Passwords in Replication. Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise Manager. Correcting Replication Errors. CDR Replication Issues. Best Practices. Summary. 18. LDAP Integration and Replication. Directory Integration Versus Directory Access. Using the CallManager Embedded Directory. Understanding and Troubleshooting Active Directory Integration. Understanding and Troubleshooting Netscape iPlanet Integration. Best Practices. Summary. Appendix A. Cisco IP Telephony Protocol and Codec Information and References. Appendix B. NANP Call Routing Information. Appendix C. Decimal to Hexadecimal and Binary Conversion Table. Appendix D. Performance Objects and Counters. Glossary. Index.