C H A P T E R
2
Preparing to Install the Cisco Unified IP Phone on
Your Network
Cisco Unified IP Phones enable you to communicate by using voice over a data network. To provide this
capability, the IP Phones depend upon and interact with several other key Cisco Unified IP Telephony
components, including Cisco Unified Communications Manager.
This chapter focuses on the interactions between the Cisco Unified IP Phone 6901 and 6911 and
Cisco Unified Communications Manager, DNS and DHCP servers, TFTP servers, and switches. It also
describes options for powering phones.
For related information about voice and IP communications, refer to this URL:
This chapter provides an overview of the interaction between the Cisco Unified IP Phone and other key
components of the Voice over IP (VoIP) network. It includes the following topics:
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Understanding Interactions with Other Cisco Unified IP
Telephony Products
To function in the IP telephony network, the Cisco Unified IP Phone must be connected to a networking
device, such as a Cisco Catalyst switch. You must also register the Cisco Unified IP Phone with a Cisco
Unified Communications Manager system before sending and receiving calls.
This section includes the following topics:
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Providing Power to the Cisco Unified IP Phone
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Data traffic present on the VLAN supporting phones might reduce the quality of Voice-over-IP
traffic.
Network security may indicate a need to isolate the VLAN voice traffic from the VLAN data traffic.
You can resolve these issues by isolating the voice traffic onto a separate VLAN. The switch port that
the phone is connected to would be configured to have separate VLANs for carrying:
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Voice traffic to and from the IP phone (auxiliary VLAN on the Cisco Catalyst 6000 series, for
example)
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Data traffic to and from the PC connected to the switch through the access port of the IP phone
(native VLAN)
Isolating the phones on a separate, auxiliary VLAN increases the quality of the voice traffic and allows
a large number of phones to be added to an existing network where there are not enough IP addresses
for each phone.
For more information, refer to the documentation included with a Cisco switch. You can also access
switch information at this URL:
Related Topics
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Configuring Settings on the Cisco Unified IP Phone, page 4-1
Providing Power to the Cisco Unified IP Phone
The Cisco Unified IP Phone 6901 and 6911 can be powered with external power or with Power over
Ethernet (PoE). External power is provided through a separate power supply. PoE is provided by a switch
through the Ethernet cable attached to a phone.
Note
When you install a phone that is powered with external power, connect the power supply to the phone
and to a power outlet before you connect the Ethernet cable to the phone. When you remove a phone that
is powered with external power, disconnect the Ethernet cable from the phone before you disconnect the
power supply.
The following sections provide more information about powering a phone:
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Providing Power to the Cisco Unified IP Phone
Power Guidelines
Table 2-1 provides guidelines for powering the Cisco Unified IP Phone 6901 and 6911.
Guidelines for Powering the Cisco Unified IP Phone 6901 and 6911
Guidelines
Table 2-1
Power Type
External power—Provided
through the CP-PWR-CUBE-3
external power supply.
The Cisco Unified IP Phone 6901 and 6911 use the CP-PWR-CUBE-3 power supply.
External power—Provided
through the Cisco Unified IP
Phone Power Injector.
The Cisco Unified IP Phone Power Injector may be used with any Cisco Unified IP Phone.
Functioning as a midspan device, the injector delivers inline power to the attached phone.
The Cisco Unified IP Phone Power Injector is connected between a switch port and the IP
Phone, and supports a maximum cable length of 100m between the unpowered switch and
the IP Phone.
PoE power—Provided by a
switch through the Ethernet
cable attached to the phone.
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The Cisco Unified IP Phone 6901 and 6911 support Cisco inline PoE.
The Cisco Unified IP Phone 6901 and 6911 support IEEE 802.3af Class 1 power on
signal pairs and spare pairs.
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To ensure uninterruptible operation of the phone, make sure that the switch has a
backup power supply.
Make sure that the CatOS or IOS version running on your switch supports your
intended phone deployment. Refer to the documentation for your switch for operating
system version information.
External power—Provided
through inline power patch
panel WS-PWR-PANEL
The inline power patch panel WS-PWR-PANEL is compatible with the Cisco Unified
IP Phone 6901 and 6911.
Power Outage
Your accessibility to emergency service through the phone is dependent on the phone being powered. If
there is an interruption in the power supply, Service and Emergency Calling Service dialing will not
function until power is restored. In the case of a power failure or disruption, you may need to reset or
reconfigure equipment before using the Service or Emergency Calling Service dialing.
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Understanding Phone Configuration Files
Obtaining Additional Information About Power
provide information about the following topics:
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Cisco switches that work with the Cisco Unified IP Phone 6901 and 6911
The Cisco IOS releases that support bidirectional power negotiation
Other requirements and restrictions regarding power
Table 2-2
Related Documentation for Power
Document Topics
URL
Injector
PoE Solutions
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Integrated Service Routers
Cisco IOS Software
Understanding Phone Configuration Files
Configuration files for a phone are stored on the TFTP server and define parameters for connecting to
Cisco Unified Communications Manager. In general, any time you make a change in Cisco Unified
Communications Manager that requires the phone to be reset, a change is automatically made to the
phone’s configuration file.
Configuration files also contain information about which image load the phone should be running. If this
image load differs from the one currently loaded on a phone, the phone contacts the TFTP server to
request the required load files.
In addition, if the device security mode in the configuration file is set to Authenticated and the CTL file
on the phone has a valid certificate for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, the phone establishes
a TLS connection to Cisco Unified Communications Manager. Otherwise, the phone establishes a TCP
connection.
Note
If the device security mode in the configuration file is set to Authenticated or Encrypted, but the phone
has not received a CTL file, the phone tries four times to obtain a CTL file and an ITL file so it can
register securely.
If you configure security-related settings in Cisco Unified Communications Manager Administration,
the phone configuration file will contain sensitive information. To ensure the privacy of a configuration
file, you must configure it for encryption. For detailed information, refer to the “Configuring Encrypted
Phone Configuration Files” chapter in Cisco Unified Communications Manager Security Guide. A phone
requests a configuration file whenever it resets and registers with Cisco Unified Communications
Manager.
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Understanding the Phone Startup Process
A phone accesses a default configuration file named XmlDefault.cnf.xml from the TFTP server when
the following conditions exist:
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You have enabled auto-registration in Cisco Unified Communications Manager
The phone has not been added to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager database
The phone is registering for the first time
If auto registration is not enabled and the phone has not been added to the Cisco Unified
Communications Manager database, the phone registration request will be rejected.
If the phone is registered and working in encrypted mode, the phone accesses the configuration file
named SEPmac_address.cnf.xml.enc.sgn. If the SEPmac_address.cnf.xml.enc.sgn does not exist on the
TFTP server, the phone requests for the file SEPmac_address.cnf.xml.sgn.
The filenames are derived from the MAC address and description fields in the Phone Configuration
window of Cisco Unified Communications Manager Administration. The MAC address uniquely
identifies the phone.
For more information on phone configuration settings, go to the Cisco Unified IP Phone Configuration
chapter in the Cisco Communications Manager Administration Guide.
Understanding the Phone Startup Process
When connecting to the VoIP network, the Cisco Unified IP Phone 6901 and 6911 go through a standard
startup process that is described in Table 2-3. Depending on your specific network configuration, not all
of these steps may occur on your Cisco Unified IP Phone.
Table 2-3
Cisco Unified IP Phone Startup Process
Task
1.
Purpose
Related Topics
Obtaining Power from the Switch
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If a phone is not using external power, the switch provides in-line power
through the Ethernet cable attached to the phone.
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Resolving Startup Problems,
page 7-1.
2.
3.
4.
Loading the Stored Phone Image
Resolving Startup Problems,
page 7-1.
The Cisco Unified IP Phone has non-volatile Flash memory in which it
stores firmware images and user-defined preferences. At startup, the phone
runs a bootstrap loader that loads a phone image stored in Flash memory.
Using this image, the phone initializes its software and hardware.
Configuring VLAN
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Configuring Settings on the
Cisco Unified IP Phone,
page 4-1.
If the Cisco Unified IP Phone is connected to a Cisco Catalyst switch, the
switch next informs the phone of the voice VLAN defined on the switch. The
phone needs to know its VLAN membership before it can proceed with the
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) request for an IP address.
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Resolving Startup Problems,
page 7-1.
Obtaining an IP Address
Configuring Settings on the
Cisco Unified IP Phone,
page 4-1.
If the Cisco Unified IP Phone is using DHCP to obtain an IP address, the
phone queries the DHCP server to obtain one. If you are not using DHCP in
your network, you must assign static IP addresses to each phone locally.
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Resolving Startup Problems,
page 7-1.
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Adding Phones to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager Database
Table 2-3
Cisco Unified IP Phone Startup Process (continued)
Task
5.
Purpose
Related Topics
Accessing a TFTP Server
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Configuring Settings on the
Cisco Unified IP Phone,
page 4-1.
In addition to assigning an IP address, the DHCP server directs the
Cisco Unified IP Phone to a TFTP Server. If the phone has a statically
defined IP address, you must configure the TFTP server locally on the
phone; the phone then contacts the TFTP server directly.
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Resolving Startup Problems,
page 7-1.
Note
You can also assign an alternative TFTP server to use instead of the
one assigned by DHCP.
6.
7.
Requesting the Configuration File
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The TFTP server has configuration files, which define parameters for
connecting to Cisco Unified Communications Manager and other
information for the phone.
Resolving Startup Problems,
page 7-1.
Contacting Cisco Unified Communications Manager
Resolving Startup Problems,
page 7-1.
The configuration file defines how the Cisco Unified IP Phone
communicates with Cisco Unified Communications Manager and provides
a phone with its load ID. After obtaining the file from the TFTP server, the
phone attempts to make a connection to the highest priority Cisco
Unified Communications Manager on the list.
If the phone was manually added to the database, Cisco
Unified Communications Manager identifies the phone. If the phone was not
manually added to the database and auto-registration is enabled in Cisco
Unified Communications Manager, the phone attempts to auto-register itself
in the Cisco Unified Communications Manager database.
Adding Phones to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager
Database
Before installing the Cisco Unified IP phone, you must choose a method for adding phones to the
Cisco Unified Communications Manager database. Be aware that each phone type requires a fixed
number of device license units and the number of unit licenses that are available on the server may
impact phone registration. For more information on licensing go to the Licenses for Phones section in
the Cisco Unified Communications Manager System Guide
These sections describe the methods:
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Adding Phones to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager Database
Table 2-4 provides an overview of these methods for adding phones to the Cisco Unified
Communications Manager database.
Table 2-4
Methods for Adding Phones to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager
Database
Requires MAC
Address?
Method
Notes
Auto-registration
No
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Results in automatic assignment of directory
numbers
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Not available when security or encryption is enabled.
Auto-registration with
TAPS
No
Requires auto-registration and the Bulk Administration
Tool (BAT); updates information in the Cisco Unified IP
Phone and in Cisco Unified Communications Manager
Administration
Using the Cisco Unified Yes
Communications
Requires phones to be added individually
Manager Administration
Using BAT
Yes
Allows for simultaneous registration of multiple phones
Adding Phones with Auto-Registration
By enabling auto-registration before you begin installing phones, you can:
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Add phones without first gathering MAC addresses from the phones.
Automatically add a Cisco Unified IP Phone to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager
database when you physically connect the phone to your IP telephony network. During
auto-registration, Cisco Unified Communications Manager assigns the next available sequential
directory number to the phone.
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Quickly enter phones into the Cisco Unified Communications Manager database and modify any
settings, such as the directory numbers, from Cisco Unified Communications Manager.
Move auto-registered phones to new locations and assign them to different device pools without
affecting their directory numbers.
Note
Cisco recommends you use auto-registration to add less than 100 phones to your network. To add more
Auto-registration is disabled by default. In some cases, you might not want to use auto-registration; for
example, if you want to assign a specific directory number to the phone. For information about enabling
auto-registration, go to the “Enabling Auto-Registration” section in the Cisco Unified Communications
Manager Administration Guide.
Note
When you configure the cluster for mixed mode through the Cisco CTL client, auto-registration is
automatically disabled. When you configure the cluster for non-secure mode through the Cisco CTL
client, auto-registration is automatically enabled.
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Adding Phones to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager Database
Related Topics
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Adding Phones with Auto-Registration and TAPS
You can add phones with auto-registration and TAPS, the Tool for Auto-Registered Phones Support,
without first gathering MAC addresses from phones.
TAPS works with the Bulk Administration Tool (BAT) to update a batch of phones that were already
added to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager database with dummy MAC addresses. Use TAPS
to update MAC addresses and download pre-defined configurations for phones.
Note
Cisco recommends you use auto-registration and TAPS to add less than 100 phones to your network. To
To implement TAPS, you or the end-user dial a TAPS directory number and follow voice prompts. When
the process is complete, the phone will have downloaded its directory number and other settings, and the
phone will be updated in Cisco Unified Communications Manager Administration with the correct MAC
address.
Auto-registration must be enabled in Cisco Unified Communications Manager Administration
(System > Cisco Unified CM) for TAPS to function.
Note
When you configure the cluster for mixed mode through the Cisco CTL client, auto-registration is
automatically disabled. When you configure the cluster for non-secure mode through the Cisco CTL
client, auto-registration is automatically enabled.
Manager Administration Guide.
Related Topics
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Adding Phones with Cisco Unified Communications Manager Administration
You can add phones individually to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager database by using
Cisco Unified Communications Manager Administration. To do so, you first need to obtain the MAC
address for each phone.
For information about determining a MAC address, see the “Determining the MAC Address for a Cisco
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Adding Phones to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager Database
After you have collected MAC addresses, in Cisco Unified Communications Manager Administration,
choose Device > Phone and click Add New to begin.
For complete instructions and conceptual information about Cisco Unified Communications Manager,
Communications Manager System Guide.
Related Topics
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Adding Phones Using the BAT Phone Template
The Cisco Unified Communications Manager Bulk Administration Tool (BAT) enables you to perform
batch operations, including registration, on multiple phones. To access BAT, choose Bulk
Administration in Cisco Unified Communications Manager Administration,
To add phones by using BAT only (not in conjunction with TAPS), you must obtain the appropriate MAC
address for each phone.
For information about determining a MAC address, see the “Determining the MAC Address for a Cisco
For detailed instructions about adding phones using the Bulk Administration menu, refer to the Cisco
To add a phone to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager using the BAT phone template, follow
these steps:
Procedure
Step 1
From Cisco Unified Communications Manager, choose Bulk Administration > Phones > Phone
Template.
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Click Add New.
Choose a Phone Type and click Next.
Enter the details of phone specific parameters like Device Pool, Phone Button Template, Device Security
Profile and so on.
Step 5
Step 6
Click Save.
From Cisco Unified Communications Manager, choose Device > Phone > Add New to add a phone
using an existing BAT phone template.
Related Topics
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Determining the MAC Address for a Cisco Unified IP Phone
Determining the MAC Address for a Cisco Unified IP Phone
Several procedures described in this manual require you to determine the MAC address of a
Cisco Unified IP Phone. You can determine a phone’s MAC address in these ways:
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Look at the MAC label on the back of the phone.
Display the web page for the phone and click the Device Information hyperlink.
For information about accessing the web page, see the “Accessing the Web Page for a Phone” section
on page 6-2.
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Determining the MAC Address for a Cisco Unified IP Phone
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