Hi Joe. Can't wait for new Cisco Collaboration content and studying for CCNA Collaboration myself. I believe the current test is based on 10.5 but might be wrong. Very wide scope of questions and even the types of questions from theoretical voice encoding questions and codecs choice and QOS stuff right the way through to practical deployment and day to day admin and troubleshooting via CUCM and CUCME using tools like Configuration Professional and RTMT. It's a little overwhelming but I guess you do what you can and do your best to prepare. Thanks man
Thanks Al! Nice! Last I studied for the "CCNP Voice" was on version 8. So I'm starting from scratch on the CCNA Collaboration. There doesn't seem to be a clear CUCM version to use that I could find so far for CCNA and CCNP. CCIE is moving to version 12 so it's only a matter of time before the NA and NP go that route too. I'm keeping 11.5 available in the "Freelab Sandbox" for now. I was thinking of making a playlist of all the blueprints as sections as I go through the material and lab everything up. Then after taking the test if I find things that need higher focus, I'll add those to the playlist. RTMT is a good tool but Configuration Professional I'm not a fan. I guess most things I prefer CLI over GUI but even CLI is going away. All the new nexus and ACI stuff is GUI based. :/ Programming is big too so I'm sure soon Python will be a required skill in all networking roles. :)
No worries man. Yeah can't wait for the new vids and I have a feeling I need to get CCNA Collab part 1 done by end of July so I need to get motoring. Yeah CCP is a piece of crap for sure but it's on the exam (I believe). With regards GUI's yeah they have a place but network automation and yeah maybe Python but I think more abstraction tools like Ansible is the future. Could be wrong but I think this is the right tool for the job and learn some solid basic Python and Linux scripting skills and Linux in general. Looking forward to more and feel free to hit me up via mail if you want to discuss further.
THIS is exactly what I was looking for regarding my home lab licensing setup. I've been looking for this for a several days and finally!! Thank you. Thank you! Question, do the NFR licenses expire? Is this the only SKU # I need to get CUCM 12 out of eval mode: CM12.0-K9-NFR? How about Cisco CUBE if I want to set up external calling via a SIP trunk provider? What SKU(s) do I need to purchase for that? You're a huge help and keep up the great work!
Hey Vic! Thanks! The NFR licenses don't expire but if your Smart Contract is through a company you work for and you leave, you lose the licenses. The old method was nice because it didn't matter if you lost your CCO account in the future or not. As far as Cisco cube, there aren't any licenses I'm aware of. I still use the 1st gen ISR's since the features are in the software release itself. If I find a way to get them free or cheap on Gen2's or higher, I'll let you know. Or likewise if you find a way let me know. :) I have some 2911's I could add to the lab for CME, just don't have all the licensing for it so I'm using 2800 and 3800 series for now.
@@wmx99 Thanks! So, I just found out if you give Cisco a legitimate reason regarding licensing they will create a personal Smart account for you so you're not associated with any partner, etc. I'm using the CSR1000v for my CUBE router and it's in eval mode so I do need some sort of license but am not sure what SKU to purchase to get it out of eval mode. I've got calls out to several places but not having any luck with anyone responding. Maybe because I'm not a big corporation or enterprise with thousands of $$$ to spend. :-) I'll see if I hear anything. Thanks again for getting back to me.
@@vicdhillon7723 I'd be curious as to what Cisco considers "legitimate". Seems like over the last few years they're making it harder for home labbers to get hands-on experience. VIRL is great for the routing and switching side of things but for Collaboration they have D-Cloud to practice with but it's not the same as running your own home-lab setup from scratch IMO.
@@wmx99 Totally agree with you. The licensing alone is a cluster$%@&. It's quite frustrating and I'm still waiting for a smart account going on a week and counting. What a mess!
We have to upgrade our call manager cluster from 9.1.2 to 12.5 using PCD.. We have PCD version 10.6 is in Place. Can anybody help me to understand if we also need to upgrade the PCD itself before starting the Call manager upgrade process ? What's the difference between PCD and prime collaboration assurance ?
There is a new bug where clusters that upgraded 10.5 > 11.5 and are now going to 12.5 have folders locked due to read/write permission issues. Causes the cluster view daemon to fail to start and requires TAC support. Sharing cuz it's a pain.
The main thing is hard drive space if you want thick provisioning and memory. If you're doing CCNP then you'll want multi-site setups. Some of the CME stuff can be done in GNS3. In general, I use Xeon processors and have some HPDL3XX series and some older Dell 1750's. I only have one ISR G2 router but several G1's.. only limitation on the latter is the CME version that can be run. I can give you the specific specs of the when I get home later tonight.
Here's the lowest to highest I use. Just keep in mind of the hardware requirements for each appliance and how many you want to run simultaneously. If memory is an issue, you can always modify the .ISO file to change the requirements. Until I could get decent servers, for a few yearsI ran CUCM 7 and 8 with CUC on a Pentium 4 :) Dell PowerEdge 1950 2x Xeon E5450, 32GB RAM, 4TB Storage HP DL370 G6 2x Xeon W5580, 72GB RAM, 1.5TB Storage HP DL380 G7 2x Xeon X5660, 144GB RAM, 13.81TB HP DL380 G9 2x Xeon E5-2620v3, 255 GB RAM, 2.1TB Storage
On average the servers I got from ebay ranged from $300 to $500 USD minus incremental upgrades over time (Memory, Disk Space, Etc). If you're not virtualizing in GNS3, I'd get an ISR G1 or G2 with an image with CME and an FXO and FXS port (1MFT if you want to dabble with CAS and PRI). An analog phone and ideally an 88xx series or 99xx series as an alternate IP phone. Then a 3750G switch should be sufficient.
@JauntyMellifluous I guess I could start charging for shipping. :) Though $30 after 5% discount for UPS ground for a 4lb box really is a bit excessive IMO.
Hi Joe.
Can't wait for new Cisco Collaboration content and studying for CCNA Collaboration myself.
I believe the current test is based on 10.5 but might be wrong.
Very wide scope of questions and even the types of questions from theoretical voice encoding questions and codecs choice and QOS stuff right the way through to practical deployment and day to day admin and troubleshooting via CUCM and CUCME using tools like Configuration Professional and RTMT.
It's a little overwhelming but I guess you do what you can and do your best to prepare.
Thanks man
Thanks Al! Nice! Last I studied for the "CCNP Voice" was on version 8. So I'm starting from scratch on the CCNA Collaboration. There doesn't seem to be a clear CUCM version to use that I could find so far for CCNA and CCNP. CCIE is moving to version 12 so it's only a matter of time before the NA and NP go that route too. I'm keeping 11.5 available in the "Freelab Sandbox" for now. I was thinking of making a playlist of all the blueprints as sections as I go through the material and lab everything up. Then after taking the test if I find things that need higher focus, I'll add those to the playlist. RTMT is a good tool but Configuration Professional I'm not a fan. I guess most things I prefer CLI over GUI but even CLI is going away. All the new nexus and ACI stuff is GUI based. :/ Programming is big too so I'm sure soon Python will be a required skill in all networking roles. :)
No worries man.
Yeah can't wait for the new vids and I have a feeling I need to get CCNA Collab part 1 done by end of July so I need to get motoring.
Yeah CCP is a piece of crap for sure but it's on the exam (I believe).
With regards GUI's yeah they have a place but network automation and yeah maybe Python but I think more abstraction tools like Ansible is the future. Could be wrong but I think this is the right tool for the job and learn some solid basic Python and Linux scripting skills and Linux in general.
Looking forward to more and feel free to hit me up via mail if you want to discuss further.
agreed, nework programming and automation a big focus so python and ansible :-)
Really love all your videos specially for collaboration! Do you have a new slack channel?
no suggestions, just hear to say that I love your Cisco Collaboration videos! :)
Thanks Jeffery!
THIS is exactly what I was looking for regarding my home lab licensing setup. I've been looking for this for a several days and finally!! Thank you. Thank you! Question, do the NFR licenses expire? Is this the only SKU # I need to get CUCM 12 out of eval mode: CM12.0-K9-NFR? How about Cisco CUBE if I want to set up external calling via a SIP trunk provider? What SKU(s) do I need to purchase for that? You're a huge help and keep up the great work!
Hey Vic! Thanks! The NFR licenses don't expire but if your Smart Contract is through a company you work for and you leave, you lose the licenses. The old method was nice because it didn't matter if you lost your CCO account in the future or not. As far as Cisco cube, there aren't any licenses I'm aware of. I still use the 1st gen ISR's since the features are in the software release itself. If I find a way to get them free or cheap on Gen2's or higher, I'll let you know. Or likewise if you find a way let me know. :) I have some 2911's I could add to the lab for CME, just don't have all the licensing for it so I'm using 2800 and 3800 series for now.
@@wmx99 Thanks! So, I just found out if you give Cisco a legitimate reason regarding licensing they will create a personal Smart account for you so you're not associated with any partner, etc.
I'm using the CSR1000v for my CUBE router and it's in eval mode so I do need some sort of license but am not sure what SKU to purchase to get it out of eval mode. I've got calls out to several places but not having any luck with anyone responding. Maybe because I'm not a big corporation or enterprise with thousands of $$$ to spend. :-) I'll see if I hear anything.
Thanks again for getting back to me.
@@vicdhillon7723 I'd be curious as to what Cisco considers "legitimate". Seems like over the last few years they're making it harder for home labbers to get hands-on experience. VIRL is great for the routing and switching side of things but for Collaboration they have D-Cloud to practice with but it's not the same as running your own home-lab setup from scratch IMO.
@@wmx99 Totally agree with you. The licensing alone is a cluster$%@&. It's quite frustrating and I'm still waiting for a smart account going on a week and counting. What a mess!
We have to upgrade our call manager cluster from 9.1.2 to 12.5 using PCD.. We have PCD version 10.6 is in Place. Can anybody help me to understand if we also need to upgrade the PCD itself before starting the Call manager upgrade process ?
What's the difference between PCD and prime collaboration assurance ?
There is a new bug where clusters that upgraded 10.5 > 11.5 and are now going to 12.5 have folders locked due to read/write permission issues. Causes the cluster view daemon to fail to start and requires TAC support. Sharing cuz it's a pain.
Planning to go from 11.5 to 12.0. Do I have to have the smart licensing? If so can you walk me through to obtain the smart licenses
What about a session on the newly released Jabber 12 with the new features? and Cube TLS v1.2?
Thanks for the suggestion! I've added that to my "to-do" list :)
Great Video.Thanks for your sharing Sir.
Hi how a u. Ist g2 should I get 2900 or 3900. I would like have 3 site with the server that u show on the video. So that I can study on ccnp. Thx
Can you do a video on emergency responder configuration and integration?
Yes, I will add that to the CUCM 11.5 series
Hello I have a few 2800 series routers, and 3550 / 3560 switches. Sounds like I need a 2900 series at least but are my switches good?
Yeah the switches are fine. The 2800's support up to CME 8.6 so unless you need specific features from above CME 8.6, the 2800s are fine as well
greetings from brandoncoin, subbed. what-sup yall!!!!
Hey J G, welcome! :)
u r my master >> thx
to wmx99 can u tell me what kind of hardware did i need to have a 12v. and for ccnp lab to study. thx
The main thing is hard drive space if you want thick provisioning and memory. If you're doing CCNP then you'll want multi-site setups. Some of the CME stuff can be done in GNS3. In general, I use Xeon processors and have some HPDL3XX series and some older Dell 1750's. I only have one ISR G2 router but several G1's.. only limitation on the latter is the CME version that can be run. I can give you the specific specs of the when I get home later tonight.
Here's the lowest to highest I use. Just keep in mind of the hardware requirements for each appliance and how many you want to run simultaneously. If memory is an issue, you can always modify the .ISO file to change the requirements. Until I could get decent servers, for a few yearsI ran CUCM 7 and 8 with CUC on a Pentium 4 :)
Dell PowerEdge 1950 2x Xeon E5450, 32GB RAM, 4TB Storage
HP DL370 G6 2x Xeon W5580, 72GB RAM, 1.5TB Storage
HP DL380 G7 2x Xeon X5660, 144GB RAM, 13.81TB
HP DL380 G9 2x Xeon E5-2620v3, 255 GB RAM, 2.1TB Storage
So i should get a good servers. How about Cisco hardware items. Thx
On average the servers I got from ebay ranged from $300 to $500 USD minus incremental upgrades over time (Memory, Disk Space, Etc). If you're not virtualizing in GNS3, I'd get an ISR G1 or G2 with an image with CME and an FXO and FXS port (1MFT if you want to dabble with CAS and PRI). An analog phone and ideally an 88xx series or 99xx series as an alternate IP phone. Then a 3750G switch should be sufficient.
can u setup a lap for me for my study for ccnp voice. thx
The 11.5 collaboration lab "sandbox" is single site so I'll have to add additional topology to support multisite. I will work on that soon!
hey don't give out cards for free :p
@JauntyMellifluous
I guess I could start charging for shipping. :) Though $30 after 5% discount for UPS ground for a 4lb box really is a bit excessive IMO.