We are about to bring in a Cisco Unity CallManager system to our company. We need to test the cabling to make sure it is up to par. What would be a good tool to use to test for VOIP capability.....at least in the actuall cabling itself?

Jon, you'll need to test a lot more than the cabling. In most cases, the wiring and jacks themselves work fine; it's the network switches that cause the problems. If you want to do it right, check with an independent LAN certification group, such as ALANysis. They can look into your entire infrastructure and identify any bottlenecks ahead of the game. Their service obviously involves a significant fee, but it might be the best way to take a look from the outside-in.

I wish you luck on this endeavor. You have a lot of work ahead of you for sure.

A Penta Scanner, Fluke, Wirescope or any other cable tester that will test the cabling to EIA/TIA Structured Wiring Standards.

You should look for a professional in your area who can evaluate your installation as well as testing the cable.

What is the system supplier recommending or requiring? Cat 5, Cat 5E, Cat 6?

And just an idle question - Why is the supplier/vendor not doing this themselves?


Sam

Sam

I am not involved in speaking with the vendor, which seems really strange to me, as I am the Telecom Manager.....but what the heck.....Why would I need any idea of what we are getting if I am to administer it? LOL :bang: :confused:

We are testing everything, just wasn't sure what kind of tester would best to evaluate lines for VOIP. I am currently getting my training up to par for cisco voip. just now working on CCNA....

....long way to go in so little time. Makes me a little nervous, not being able to get any experience under my belt. I will express the need for outsourcing. They are starting to get tight with the implementation, which is always a bad sign, for obvious reasons.

If the lines work for data service, they work for VoIP (generally). VoIP doesn't really require much bandwidth for endpoints, so I'd make sure cabling certifies as Cat5 or better.

As far as other bottlenecks, I'd make sure you have decent switches (PoE capable) that have decent uplinks to the rest of your network.

I would also get a tester that can run a Bit Error Rate Test (BERT) on the cable. This will identify questionable cables that would otherwise pass TIA/EIA tests.

Speaking about network setup, another thing to consider is VLANS

Depending on your newtork/size, VLANS are a very usefull thing to implement. Keeps VoIP and General network traffic isolated.

Not to add more to the complexity, but most high end phones will allow you to use 802.1q vlan trunks - This is very usfull if you dont have a free data jack at the location for the phone.

good luck

crees

As was mentioned above, there are no voip-specific requirements for cabling. If the wiring has been done right, it would work.
The sensitive areas in VOIP involve the fact that you're introducing a real-time element (live conversation) in an area (ip-type network) that was not designed to handle such traffic.
Therefore, as was said, traffic-shaping (ie Quality Of Service) and having available bandwidth on demand are things that need attention.
The VOIP protocol you use is important too - SIP is relatively lightweight, but does not guarantee delivery. Others, such as H.323, do, but at increased overhead cost, and complexity.
If the install involves more than a few users, VLANS are a necessity. Also, VOIP traffic should be segmented from less time-sensitive traffic.
No protocol is safe either. A VOIP-specific firewall is a good idea as there ARE VOIP-specific attacks happening daily, which could disrupt your service.
If you're using IP phones with PoE, you have to make sure that the wiring/panels/switches/power provisioning happens the right way.
Finally: keep in mind that people expect phones to JUST WORK. They don't care about the complexity of your setup. Their experience from using the telephone since they were little kids is just that. They take it for granted, and with good reason. So be careful. At least provide them with a few VOIP "goodies" to take some of the inevitable sting off.

Why have you decided on the complex Cisco solution? Did you look at any other providers? Sounds crazy to have to get CCNE and other certifications.

he said he's getting a CCNA, not a CCNE - much, much easier.

but i would have to echo your question, particularly if they're starting to "get tight" about the job. Cisco is far from the least expensive option.

I don't have a CCNA and I manage a network of about 400 users for Cisco Voip of about 10 different buildings or more.
Just upgraded to 5.1 Linux boxes also which is okay I guess, at least now I don't have to worry about all the window updates.

Getting CCNA Certified so that I can go on to my CCVP. I do not have the cisco experience to jump into this without some kind of training. Might as well get certified.....

DW, do you have a better solution to get up to speed on the CallManager? I am all ears......eyes....whatever.....

These are words to live by. With your permission I am going to frame this and put it above my desk!

Same here. Thanks for the eloquent post. SPH, you obviously speak with knowledge and in a seemingly unbiased manner, so that there isn't any question as to what you are saying. Facts without a lot of crisco. You did a good job here for sure.

People sometimes ask me if I tested the cable and I just ask them, does your internet and email work? If it does than don't need to test the cable.
I have ran voip on cat 3 believe it or not, I don't recomend it, that was just a test to see if it would work and was a very short run. We put it on a cat 6 in the end.
We have alot of cat 5 and 5e and have never had issues with cable problems and some of this cable is over 10 years old now.
Again, most degradation problems will be in your routers, switches and make sure you have fiber in place where needed.
A good backbone is the foundation of a successful voip operation.

BRW, telrad maniac, just noticed your question. I started out at Inter-tel and worked on a lot of various systems, including some Telrads! not much though.

Call manager stuff is pretty simple in reality and 6.1.2 I like even much better than pre 5.0 stuff. You don't need a CCNA to install and maintain a CCM and Unity. I'm not saying you shouldn't get it, by all means get that sucker!

GOD I hope it is better than this CURSED CME bullcrap!!!

I loathe call manager express. PLEASE Tell me Call Manager/Unity is NOTHING like it.

I can't even figure out the most simple applications, like routing calls to a new auto attendant!!!! this is ridiculous. When I look at the gui, it is all programmed, but just won't work. I had a ccvp set it up!!!!!

Was a little frustrated that day. Can anyone tell?

I'll try to tone it down.

Unity, from what I've seen, shares a design philosophy with Repartee. I think it's because they were initially designed by the same folks...