Cisco Mobile and Remote Access Troubleshooting Basic Connectivity

The Cisco Mobile and Remote Access (MRA) feature is a "client edge" solution that allows external software and hardware clients to register to enterprise Cisco Unified Communication (UC) solutions without requiring a VPN. Like most things, there are a lot of moving parts working together to create a relatively seamless user experience. And, like most things, the first time you deploy MRA there are a few "gotchas" that can eat up a significant amount of troubleshooting time. 

This blog entry captures procedures I use when troubleshooting or validating a MRA deployment. These procedures can be used to validate the initial deployment or they can be used to troubleshoot connectivity problems for an individual user.

Dealing with Apple Gatekeeper Unidentified Developer Error when Launching WebEx from Jabber

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that I was receiving the Apple untrusted developer error message (left) whenever I attempted to use the Meet Now functionality directly from Jabber. 




Clicking OK brings another error message and WebEx never loads. I finally got around to trying to fix the issue. This article provides the procedures I used to resolve this issue on my Mac.

Using SQL to Query SIP Trunks

This post is in response to a query I received on Twitter:

@ucguerrilla - Would you have a SQL query in your toolbox to list SIP trunks with ip address, or point me in the right direction?

This is an interesting question because the tables you need to look at may not be as obvious as seen with other queries where we need to join tables. So, let's take a look at what is involved with this query and possibly touch on some related queries.

Installing Cisco RTMT 10.5 on Apple OS X

"Could you re-post the ciscomonkey.net article covering installation of RTMT on OS X?" is a request I receive at least once a month. Well, the short answer to the question is: no, I can't repost the original content. I wasn't the original author and I am not willing to post someone else's content without their explicit consent. I doubt @ciscomonkey would mind but it still isn't cool.

That said, I have an obligation to my readers and there have been enough changes to the RTMT installer to warrant revisiting the whole process. This article provides an updated step-by-step procedure for installing RTMT on Mac OS X. The procedures cover the most recent Cisco UC applications.

Centrally Refreshing Jabber Contact Photos in MRA Deployments

I have assisted several customers with Jabber deployments lately. Almost all of them driven by the desire to implement Mobile and Remote Access (MRA). Provisioning MRA is not the topic of this article. Instead, I wanted to touch on an operational task that has annoyed me for some time. 

The issue is with caching of Jabber contact photos. Windows and Mac Jabber clients are coded to cache various things. I assume this is an effort to minimize network transactions and optimize client performance. One of the elements cached are contact photos. I have no problem with caching but, in my experience, the issue is that old contact photos tend to be permanently cached and I can't easily (i.e. centrally) force a refresh. 

I played around with some options and found a method that worked in some test environments and my own production environment. Maybe this will work for others. I would be interested in hearing about other options. Please use the comments to enlighten me and others!

Heads Up, Issues with UCM SIP Processing on 10.5(2)SU2 and 11.0

Users that recently downloaded Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) 10.5(2)SU2 [10.5(2.12900-14] or CUCM 11.0 [11.0(1.10000-10)] may have received an email from Cisco alerting them that these versions have been deferred due to some serious defects. If so, then good for you. If you ignored the e-mail then you receive the wag of the finger.

Maybe, you are managing a system affected by the defects we are going to discuss but you weren't the one to download the files. Well, in that case, you wouldn't have been alerted. In all cases, if you have installed 10.5(2)SU2 or 11.0 and are running SIP then you want to heed the warnings and look at applying the appropriate fixes. 

Using SQL To Survey Phone Station Line Appearances

A reader comment on one of the entries in the SQL Query series asks the question:

I have multiple lines associated to the same phone and i'm trying to write a query to get only Line [1] "main line" ,any help please ??

We talked about querying line appearances associated phones in one of the early installments. Now we want to turn some extra knobs to focus on specific data views. I want to provide an example query to address the readers question and also touch on another, related query to show an example of how we can find anomalous data in our UCM solution. 

There are lots of ways to look at Device/Line associations. Especially if you get into the business of identifying user/line and Directory URI associations. We won't get into all of that in this installment but I think it is a good thread to follow. So, let's consider this a "Part 1" for the time being.

CentOS Recovery Use Case 5: Downloading the Tomcat Certificate Private Key

I recently published a blog entry on how one could use the CentOS distribution and Recovery process to access the Cisco UCOS root file system. As noted in the initial blog, this isn't a new revelation. I originally was going to provide a group of use cases in the "primer" but decided that it was a little too long. 

So, I am breaking the use cases out into individual entries. Who knows, over time this may become another series. For now, let's focus on one of the CentOS recovery use cases: Downloading the Tomcat Certificate Private Key.

CentOS Recovery Use Case 4: Fixing Errors with Custom Announcements

I recently published a blog entry on how one could use the CentOS distribution and Recovery process to access the Cisco UCOS root file system. As noted in the initial blog, this isn't a new revelation. I originally was going to provide a group of use cases in the "primer" but decided that it was a little too long. 

So, I am breaking the use cases out into individual entries. Who knows, over time this may become another series. For now, let's focus on one of the CentOS recovery use cases: Fixing Errors with Custom Announcement Uploads.

CentOS Recovery Use Case 3: Fixing TFTP Custom Ring Tone Issues

I recently published a blog entry on how one could use the CentOS distribution and Recovery process to access the Cisco UCOS root file system. As noted in the initial blog, this isn't a new revelation. I originally was going to provide a group of use cases in the "primer" but decided that it was a little too long. 

So, I am breaking the use cases out into individual entries. Who knows, over time this may become another series. For now, let's focus on one of the CentOS recovery use cases: Fixing the TFTP Custom Ring Tone Issues.

CentOS Recovery Use Case 2: License Expiry Issue

I recently published a blog entry on how one could use the CentOS distribution and Recovery process to access the Cisco UCOS root file system. As noted in the initial blog, this isn't a new revelation. I originally was going to provide a group of use cases in the "primer" but decided that it was a little too long. 

So, I am breaking the use cases out into individual entries. Who knows, over time this may become another series. For now, let's focus on one of the CentOS recovery use cases: Fixing the License Expiry Issue.

CentOS Recovery Use Case 1: Modifying License MAC Addresses

I recently published a blog entry on how one could use the CentOS distribution and Recovery process to access the Cisco UCOS root file system. As noted in the initial blog, this isn't a new revelation. I originally was going to provide a group of use cases in the "primer" but decided that it was a little too long. So, I am breaking the use cases out into individual entries. Who knows, over time this may become another series. For now, let's focus on one of the CentOS recovery use cases: preserving a license MAC in your lab or staging area.

Sometimes You Have to Use the Backdoor: Using CentOS to Access Cisco UCOS

It is the middle of the night and you are in the midst of a change control when you run into a brick wall. The kinda wall that can ruin your entire weekend. At a minimum, you have added at least a few hours to the process and boy you are not happy about that. 

Sometimes you just need more access than "the man" wants to give you and you don't want to wait for some tech support engineer to get on the phone to do something you can damn well handle on your own. Yes, sometimes you have to reach into the unconventional pocket of your tool belt and break off a little somethin'-somethin'. This series provides the necessary tools to get access to the Cisco UCOS root file system so that you can get the job done. 

Software Defect Could Affect Custom IP Phone Service URLs

This is just a quick note on a software defect on Cisco 8800 series IP phones that could break normal operations for custom Cisco IP Phone Service URLs. The issue is documented in Cisco software defect CSCur13256 and may break IP Phone Services running co-resident on a web server (such as Microsoft IIS).

CollabCert's CCIE Collaboration Bootcamp

Around a year ago I completed a 9 month journey to attain the CCIE Voice. There were a lot of ingredients that contributed to achieving this goal. One of the most valuable ingredients was the CCIE bootcamp program I attended. I am of the opinion that incorporating a bootcamp program into your IE training plan goes a long way to ensuring success. Moreover, my belief is that the effectiveness of an IE bootcamp program is primarily rooted in the abilities and effectiveness of the instructor not the company selling the program.

The instructor of my IE Voice bootcamp was Vik Malhi. Vik recently launched his new venture, CollabCert, which is a training company specializing in the Cisco CCIE Collaboration track. I was invited to participate in the inaugural bootcamp of this IE training program. The following provides my thoughts on the bootcamp experience.

Using SQL to Reconfigure a Dial Plan - Updating Directory Numbers

I have had this blog entry in the draft folder for quite some time. I decided to dust it off and bring it to the front of the queue after receiving the following query on Twitter:

@ucguerrilla got one for you.  Trying to update 1xxxx and 3xxxx in pt-Internal to 401xxxxx and 403xxxxx... any idea of sql query? :)

Can you accomplish this via SQL? Why, yes you can. About a year ago I completely rebuilt a customer's dial plan using 100% SQL. While I won't be discussing the ins and outs of all of that in this entry. I do plan on getting into the mechanics of doing broad changes to digit patterns using SQL.

Cisco Live 2014 Experience

I can't tell if time moves faster before, during, or after Cisco Live. It has been two weeks since Cisco Live 2014 in San Francisco, yet it feels like I was at Lefty O'Doul's just yesterday. 

Before it got too far away from me, I wanted to recap my experience. For no reason other than I feel "wrong" if I don't. This year, I think the best way to sum up my Cisco Live 2014 experience is to focus on how, over time, my connection with the Live! event has evolved from being a member of the audience to becoming part of the event.

My Latest Project - Guerrilla Tools Sneak Peak

I came into 2014 with a goal to blog more frequently than I did in 2013. While I didn't have as lofty a goal as Tom over at networkingnerd.net, I was, shall we say, inspired. I planned on trolling through my "blog ideas" list to churn out some content.  Well, clearly the universe (or fate or whatever) had different plans and I had to adjust priorities. Free time was at a premium and I opted to work on a side project more often than adding content to the blog. Both would have been nice but coding has a calming affect. 

Yeah, I am that breed of nerd that finds solace tinkering with things like coding to center myself. We all need hobbies. Anyway, the side project I have been working on is starting to evolve into the real boy I hope it to be some day. I think it is far enough along to share with readers.

Right now, I am just calling the project "Guerrilla Tools". I'll probably rename it but that is a decision for later. The initial version is focused on functionality that complements one of the prominent series in this blog: the SQL Query Series.

Cisco Live 2014, Is That Really You?

 I am amazed at how fast May has arrived. I am definitely not what I would consider prepared for the annual pilgrimage to the convention that is Live! May is a tough month to be doing the convention thing. Graduations, kids in school, etc. etc..

Fortunately, I don't need to waste energy thinking about it. This thing is going off whether I am ready or not, and I am looking forward to the ride. I think this will be my 6th or 7th Cisco Live event (formerly Networkers). I guess I could pull out hats and do an official count but I am sure no one cares. 

This year will be my 2nd Live! event in San Francisco. I am sure this time will be far more rewarding than the first go around. I am really looking forward to seeing some of my colleagues that I haven't seen since Orlando 2013. I am also going to get to spend time with some NetCraft folks that I don't get to see often. We work together but, well, we work and that falls under the category " 'Nuff said".

The absolute best thing about Live is the first day. The nerd herd, in all of its triumphant glory descending upon the Moscone Center like we own the place. That is what I am looking forward to because it is the sign that Live! has started. A signal that sets the train in motion, gets the gears going -- mind alignment complete. A trumpet sounding an off-key tune that blasts a warning: "THIS house is OUR house.... for about a week, and then we'll leave you be. We promise...."

Before I get back to the grind I'd like to send a special thanks to Dan Bruhn and the team that runs the Cisco Support Community and the Cisco Designated VIP program. I appreciate the invite to participate in the program and the support in getting to Live! this year. You are all tops in my book.

If anyone wants to hookup at Live! send me a tweet (@ucguerrilla). I will be there starting Saturday.

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Thanks for reading. If you have time, post a comment!

Using the Cisco UCM Route Next Hop functionality for Inter-Office Site Code Dialing

Most administrators of the Cisco Unified Communications Manager are probably familiar with the Hotline Feature that was introduced with CUCM 8.0. At least, that is my assumption. I also think that a fair number of people "discovered" the Hotline Feature on their quest for a solution to "black list" callers based on calling party number. Until recently, that was the #1 use case in my designs. 

A month or so ago, I was working on a design for a customer where the phones were deployed with an E.164 dial plan solution but dialing between office locations required a 3-digit site code prefix. The customer wanted to preserve the 3-digit site codes for calling and called party information elements. There are somewhere around 50 sites. So, we needed a way to gracefully handle any-to-any calling with a requirement to transform called and calling party information based on call origination and call destination. The following gives a summary of the technique applied to this problem.