Monday, August 8, 2011
Cisco IOS
Cisco IOS (originally Internetwork Operating System) is the software used on the vast majority of Cisco Systems routers and current Cisco network switches. (Earlier switches ran CatOS.) IOS is a package of routing, switching, internetworking and telecommunications functions tightly integrated with a multitasking operating system.
The IOS CLI provides a fixed set of multiple-word commands — the set available is determined by the "mode" and the privilege level of the current user. "Global configuration mode" provides commands to change the system's configuration, and "interface configuration mode" provides commands to change the configuration of a specific interface. All commands are assigned a privilege level, from 0 to 15, and can only be accessed by users with the necessary privilege. Through the CLI, the commands available to each privilege level can be defined.
Versioning
Cisco IOS is versioned using three numbers and some letters, in the general form a.b(c.d)e, where:
a is the major version number.
b is the minor version number.
c is the release number, which begins at one and increments as new releases in the same a.b train are released.
d (omitted from general releases) is the interim build number.
e (zero, one or two letters) is the release train identifier, such as none (which designates the mainline, see below), T (for Technology), E (for Enterprise), S (for Service provider), XA as a special functionality train, XB as a different special functionality train, etc.
Rebuilds - Often a rebuild is compiled to fix a single specific problem or vulnerability for a given IOS version. For example, 12.1(8)E14 is a Rebuild, the 14 denoting the 14th rebuild of 12.1(8)E. Rebuilds are produced to either quickly repair a defect, or to satisfy customers who do not want to upgrade to a later major revision because they may be running critical infrastructure on their devices, and hence prefer to minimise change and risk.
Interim releases - Are usually produced on a weekly basis, and form a roll-up of current development effort. The Cisco advisory web site may list more than one possible interim to fix an associated issue (the reason for this is unknown to the general public).
Maintenance releases - Rigorously tested releases that are made available and include enhancements and bug fixes. Cisco recommend upgrading to Maintenance releases where possible, over Interim and Rebuild releases.
Trains
Cisco IOS releases are split into several "trains", each containing a different set of features. Trains more or less map onto distinct markets or groups of customers that Cisco is targeting.
The mainline train is designed to be the most stable release the company can offer, and its feature set never expands during its lifetime. Updates are released only to address bugs in the product. The previous technology train becomes the source for the current mainline train — for example, the 12.1T train becomes the basis for the 12.2 mainline. Therefore, to determine the features available in a particular mainline release, look at the previous T train release.
The T - Technology train, gets new features and bug fixes throughout its life, and is therefore potentially less stable than the mainline. (In releases prior to Cisco IOS Release 12.0, the P train served as the Technology train.) Cisco doesn't recommend usage of T train in production environments unless there is urgency to implement a certain T train's new IOS feature.
The S - Service Provider train, runs only on the company's core router products and is heavily customized for Service Provider customers.
The E - Enterprise train, is customized for implementation in enterprise environments.
The B - broadband train, support internet based broadband features.
The X* - The XA, XB ... special functionality train, needs to be documented
There are other trains from time to time, designed for specific needs — for example, the 12.0AA train contained new code required for Cisco's AS5800 product.
Cisco StackWise
Cisco StackWise is a technology offered by Cisco Systems that allows for up to nine Catalyst switch 3750 series switches to operate as though they were one 32-Gbit/s switch. This allows for greater resiliency, and performance.
One switch from the stack will act as the master switch. The master switch will maintain the stack and allow you to configure and monitor the whole stack as though one via a single console.
If one switch fails the remaining switches will continue to operate by looping back any information that would normally traverse the failed switch, effectively bypassing it. If the master switch fails, the next switch in the stack will automatically take over as master. This feature means greater redundancy, as one switch's failure will not bring about a failure of the entire stack.
As each switch contains the entire configuration for the stack one of the benefits of this technology is the ability to replace a down switch (any including master) with a new un-programmed switch. The stack will configure the new switch on the fly and allow for minimal downtime
StackWise effectively replaced the GigaStack found on lower-price models such as Catalyst 35xx and 29xx series.
Recently, there is a new variation of the technology, known as Cisco Stackwise Plus, offering 64Gbit/s nonblocking switching fabric speed.
Master Selection
The master switch of a stack is determined in the following order.
User specified.
The switch with the most advanced IOS, i.e. Advanced IP Services IPv6 (AIPv6), then Enhanced Multilayer Software Image (EMI) and then Standard Multilayer Software Image (SMI).
Programmed switch. A configured switch will preside over a switch with just the defaults.
Uptime. The switch that has been running the longest.
MAC address. The switch with the lowest MAC address.
Models
Like most Cisco product lines, the Catalyst Switch series evolves fairly rapidly. There are two general types of Catalyst switches: fixed configuration models that are usually one or two rack units in size, with 12 to 80 ports; and modular switches in which virtually every component, from the CPU card to power supplies to switch cards, are individually installed in a chassis.
As of 2011, the most popular fixed configuration switches are the WS-C2960, the WS-C3560 and WS-C3750 series at the high end, an entry level managed "express" series - with models beginning WS-CE (configurable by web interface only, no command line interface), the "ME" metroline series of switches, and a new "Small Business" series coming from Cisco's acquisition of Linksys. In addition, there are many excellent legacy switches suitable for most business and service provider needs no longer offered directly through Cisco (WS-C2950, WS-C3550 for example). Cisco fixed configuration switches come with a bewildering assortment of features (10/100 ports versus 10/100/1000 ports, some with power over Ethernet, some with varying types of gigabit and 10gig uplink ports, some with standard or enhanced software, varying power supplies) and it is difficult to tell what features a switch has (aside from the number of ports) from a visual inspection, and similar-appearing switches can have dramatically different features.
[edit]Cisco model names and switch features
In general, switch names start with WS-C, followed by the model line (2960). A letter at the end of this number signifies a special feature, followed by the number of ports (usually 24 or 48) and additional nomenclature indicating other features.
Cisco modular switches are much larger and are entirely configurable, beginning with a chassis, power supplies, the choice of supervisory engines (CPU mainboards), and switch modules. Among Cisco's modular series are:
The Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series is a chassis-based switch family. This series can support interfaces up to 10 Gigabit Ethernet in speed and redundant Supervisor modules.
The Cisco Catalyst 5500 Series and Cisco Catalyst 5000 Series is a chassis-based switch family. The Cisco Catalyst 5000 Series is acquired from another company. This entire series has now reached end-of-sale.
The Cisco Catalyst 4900 series is a fixed-configuration switch. Uplink interfaces are either SFP ports or 10 gigabit Ethernet, with 48 copper ports of 10/100/1000 Ethernet.
The Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series is a mid-range modular chassis based Switch manufactured by Cisco System.
The Cisco Catalyst 3000 and 3100 series switches are switches for use in blade-enclosures: the Catalyst 3032 is a Layer2 switch and the Catalyst 3130x and 3130G are blade-switches for the Dell M1000e enclosure.
The 1000 switch family is considered an edge device, having many functionalities that can be built as the device is very modular.
The inside of a Cisco 1900-series switch
1700: 24 10BaseT ports, 1 switchable MDI/MDIX uplink 10baseT/AUI/BNC port, and 2 Fast Ethernet ports. Runs neither CatOS nor IOS. Is a first-generation carryover from Cisco's acquisition of Grand Junction Networks.
19xx: 12 or 24 10BaseT ports and 2 Fast Ethernet ports. ISL trunking on the 100 Mbit/s ports. Runs neither CatOS nor IOS. It is in End-of-Life today.
Cisco Operating systems
Operating systems
In most cases, the technology for the Catalyst Switch was developed separately from Cisco's router technology. The Catalyst switches traditionally ran software called CatOS rather than the more widely known Cisco IOS software used by routers. However, this has changed as the product lines have merged closer together. In some cases, particularly in the modular chassis switches, a configuration called 'Hybrid' has emerged - this is where the layer 2 functions are configured using CatOS, and the layer 3 elements are configured using IOS. 'Native IOS' can also be found with newer software versions that have eliminated CatOS entirely in favor of IOS, even on hardware that originally required CatOS.
The latest version of IOS for the Catalyst 6500 series is 12.2(33)SXI which enables In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU) via IOS Software Modularity.
Some newer Catalyst switch models (with recent versions of the Cisco IOS) also allow configuration via web-based graphical interface module which is hosted on a HTTP server located on the switch. The IOS config-mode command 'ip http-server' will enable this style of configuration. In series 12.x IOS, 'ip http-server' is always on as a factory default. The Catalyst 3750-series of switches is an example of a Cisco Catalyst switch that allows this style of GUI configuration via HTTP.
Some newer models of Catalyst switches (called Catalyst Express) no longer allow access to IOS or CatOS at all - these switches can only be configured by using a Graphical User Interface (GUI).
Interfaces
As Catalyst devices are primarily Ethernet switches, all modern Catalyst models have Ethernet interfaces, ranging from 10 Mbit/s to 10 Gbit/s depending on the model. Some models can accommodate Asynchronous Transfer Mode interfaces which can be used to bridge Ethernet traffic across wide area networks. Other models can support T1, E1, and ISDN PRI interfaces to provide connections to the PSTN. Legacy models supported a variety of interfaces, such as token ring, FDDI, and 100BaseVG, but are no longer sold by Cisco Systems.
Most models have basic layer 2 functions and are capable of switching Ethernet frames between ports. Commonly found additional features are VLANs, trunking (Cisco proprietary ISL or IEEE 802.1Q) and QoS or CoS. The switches, whether IOS or CatOS, are fully manageable.
Many Catalysts that run IOS are also capable of functioning as a router, making them layer 3 devices; when coupled with TCP and UDP filtering, these switches are capable of layer 2-4 operation. Depending on the exact software image, a Catalyst that runs IOS may be able to tackle large-scale enterprise routing tasks, using router technologies like OSPF or BGP.
Most chassis-based Catalyst models have the concept of field-replaceable "supervisor" cards. These work by separating the line cards, chassis, and processing engine (mirroring most Cisco router designs). The chassis provides power and a high-speed backplane, the line cards provide interfaces to the network, and the processing engine moves packets, participates in routing protocols, etc. This gives several advantages:
If a failure occurs, only the failed component needs to be replaced (typically a line card or supervisor). This means faster turnaround than having to uncable, unbolt, pull out, replace, re-bolt, and re-cable an entire switch, which may be as large as a quarter-rack, weigh over 150 pounds, and service over 500 cables.
A redundant supervisor engine may be installed to rapidly recover from supervisor failures. This is subject to restrictions (as some switches don't support redundant supervisors), but typically results in restoration times under 90 seconds.
A supervisor engine may be upgraded after purchase, increasing performance and adding features without losing any investment in the rest of the switch.
Additionally, most high-end switches off-load processing away from the supervisors, allowing line cards to switch traffic directly between ports on the same card without using any processing power or even touching the backplane. Naturally, this can't be done for all traffic, but basic layer-2 switching can usually be handled exclusively by the line card, and in many cases also more complex operations can be handled as well.
Management
Cisco switches are very popular for a number of reasons, including advanced customization and manageability. The switches can be configured using a serial console or a telnet session (or ssh if the correct OS is loaded along with the ssh keys generated). SNMP allows monitoring of many states, and measurement of traffic flows. Many devices can also run an HTTP server, but this is often disabled because of the security problems it creates - either because it's not encrypted, or because of the relatively frequent security vulnerabilities in the Cisco http daemon itself. Some Cisco switches focused on smaller organizations forego a command line interface and offer ONLY a web/html interface for configuration and management.
Configuration of the switch is done in plain text and is thus easy to audit - no special tools are required to generate a useful configuration. For sites with more than a few devices it is useful to set up a TFTP server for storing the configuration files and any IOS images for updating. Complex configurations are best created using a text editor (using a site standard template), putting the file on the TFTP server and copying it to the Cisco device. However, it can be noted that a TFTP server can present security problems.
Cisco Switch
Catalyst is the brand name for a variety of network switches sold by Cisco Systems. While commonly associated with Ethernet switches, a number of different interfaces have been available throughout the history of the brand. Cisco acquired several different companies and rebranded their products as different versions of the Catalyst product line. The original Catalyst 5000 and 6000 series were based on products originally developed by Crescendo Communications. The 1700, 1900, and 2800 -series Catalysts came from Grand Junction Networks, and the Catalyst 3000 came from Kalpana in 1994.[1]
In addition, Cisco increasingly offers routers with switching capabilities, and indeed Cisco's 7600 router line and 6500 switch line have interchangeable parts. Even Cisco's smaller routers, including their newest "ISR" series, can have switch modules installed in them - basically making Cisco's smaller switches fully integrated devices.
Cisco Supervisor Engine
The Cisco Supervisor Engine is the heart of many of Cisco's switches. The Supervisor Engine has evolved several times. While it is the management segment of many routers the power of the switch is often much greater than that of the Supervisor Engine because one of features of many switches is that dozens of the functions are accelerated by ASIC.
Abridged list of features:
802.11q VLAN
Spanning Tree Protocol
Ether Channel
Jumbo Frames
(E)IGRP, OSPF, RIP (2), Static Routing
BGP, IS-IS
QOS
Some have Layer 3 & 4 Switching
Details
Supervisor Engine I
68EC040
Chassis: 2900, 2948G, 2980G, 4000, 4500, 5000, 5500, 6000, 6500, 7600
Supervisor Engine II
MIPS R4700
Chassis: 2926, 4000, 4500, 5000, 5500, 6000, 6500, 7600
Supervisor Engine II+
MIPS R4700
Cisco Express Forwarding
Chassis: 2926, 4000, 4500, 5000, 5500, 6000, 6500, 7600
Supervisor Engine III
Cisco Express Forwarding
Max DRAM: 256MB SD
Redundant Capable
Netflow accelerator card
Supervisor Engine IV
Cisco Express Forwarding
Max Flash: 64MB (supplemental Compact Flash optional)
Supervisor Engine V
Cisco Express Forwarding
Chassis: 4500
Supervisor Engine 6
Cisco Express Forwarding
Chassis: 4500 "E" Series
Supervisor Engine 32
Cisco Express Forwarding
Chassis: 6000, 6500
A low cost, reduced version of the 720
Policy Feature Card 3b
MSFC 2A?
Supervisor Engine 720
Cisco Express Forwarding
Policy Feature Card 3A, 3B, 3BXL
Chassis: 6500, 7600
MSFC1-3
Multi-Layer Switch Feature Card
Cisco products
Most Cisco products that run IOS also have one or more "feature sets" or "packages", typically eight packages for Cisco routers and five packages for Cisco network switches. For example, Cisco IOS releases meant for use on Catalyst switches are available as "standard" versions (providing only basic IP routing), "enhanced" versions, which provide full IPv4 routing support, and "advanced IP services" versions, which provide the enhanced features as well as IPv6 support.
Each individual package corresponds to one service category, such as
IP data
Converged voice and data
Security and VPN
For additional information about Cisco IOS Packaging see White Paper: Cisco IOS Reference Guide
The exact feature set required for a particular function can be determined using the Cisco Feature Set Browser.
Beginning with the 1900, 2900 and 3900 series of ISR Routers, Cisco has revised the licensing model of IOS. Routers come with IP Base installed, and additional feature pack licenses can be installed as bolt-on additions to expand the feature set of the device. The available feature packs are:
Data adds features like BFD, IP SLAs, IPX, L2TPv3, Mobile IP, MPLS.
Security adds features like VPN, Firewall, IP SLAs, NAC.
Unified Comms adds features like CallManager Express, Gatekeeper, H.323, IP SLAs, MGCP, SIP, VoIP.
Architecture
In all versions of Cisco IOS, packet routing and forwarding (switching) are distinct functions. Routing and other protocols run as Cisco IOS processes and contribute to the Routing Information Base (RIB). This is processed to generate the final IP forwarding table (FIB, Forwarding Information Base), which is used by the forwarding function of the router. On router platforms with software-only forwarding (e.g., Cisco 7200) most traffic handling, including access control list filtering and forwarding, is done at interrupt level using Cisco Express Forwarding (CEF) or dCEF (Distributed CEF). This means IOS does not have to do a process context switch to forward a packet. Routing functions such as OSPF or BGP run at the process level. In routers with hardware-based forwarding, such as the Cisco 12000 series, IOS computes the FIB in software and loads it into the forwarding hardware (such as an ASIC or network processor), which performs the actual packet forwarding function.
Cisco IOS has a "monolithic" architecture, which means that it runs as a single image and all processes share the same memory space. There is no memory protection between processes, which means that bugs in IOS code can potentially corrupt data used by other processes. It also has a run to completion scheduler, which means that the kernel does not pre-empt a running process — the process must make a kernel call before other processes get a chance to run. For Cisco products that required very high availability, such as the Cisco CRS-1, these limitations were not acceptable. In addition, competitive router operating systems that emerged 10–20 years after IOS, such as Juniper's JUNOS, were designed not to have these limitations.[2] Cisco's response was to develop a new version of Cisco IOS called IOS XR that offered modularity and memory protection between processes, lightweight threads, pre-emptive scheduling and the ability to independently re-start failed processes. IOS XR uses a 3rd party real-time operating system microkernel (QNX), and a large part of the current IOS code was re-written to take advantage of the features offered by the new kernel — a massive undertaking. But the microkernel architecture removes from the kernel all processes that are not absolutely required to run in the kernel, and executes them as processes similar to the application processes. Through this method, IOS XR is able to achieve the high availability desired for the new router platform. Thus IOS and IOS XR are very different codebases, though related in functionality and design. In 2005, Cisco introduced IOS XR on the Cisco 12000 series platform, extending the microkernel architecture from the CRS-1 to Cisco's widely deployed core router.
In 2006, Cisco has made available IOS Software Modularity which extends the QNX microkernel into a more traditional IOS environment, but still providing the software upgrade capabilities that customers are demanding. It is currently available on the Catalyst 6500 enterprise switch.
Security and vulnerabilities
Cisco IOS has proven vulnerable to buffer overflows and other problems that have afflicted other operating systems and applications.
Because the IOS needs to know the cleartext password for certain uses, (e.g., CHAP authentication) passwords entered into the CLI by default are weakly hashed as 'Type 7' hash values, such as "Router(config)#username jdoe password 7 0832585B1910010713181F". This is designed to prevent "shoulder-surfing" attacks when viewing router configurations and is not secure - they are easily decrypted using software called "getpass" available since 1995, although the passwords can be decoded by the router using the "key chain" command and entering the type 7 password as the key, and then issuing a "show key" command; the above example decrypts to "stupidpass".[3] However, the program will not decrypt 'Type 5' passwords or passwords set with the enable secret command, which uses salted MD5 hashes.
Note: Cisco recommends that all Cisco IOS devices implement the authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) security model. AAA can use local, RADIUS, and TACACS+ databases. However, a local account is usually still required for emergency situations.
Cisco IOS
Cisco IOS (originally Internetwork Operating System) is the software used on the vast majority of Cisco Systems routers and current Cisco network switches. (Earlier switches ran CatOS.) IOS is a package of routing, switching, internetworking and telecommunications functions tightly integrated with a multitasking operating system.
The IOS CLI provides a fixed set of multiple-word commands — the set available is determined by the "mode" and the privilege level of the current user. "Global configuration mode" provides commands to change the system's configuration, and "interface configuration mode" provides commands to change the configuration of a specific interface. All commands are assigned a privilege level, from 0 to 15, and can only be accessed by users with the necessary privilege. Through the CLI, the commands available to each privilege level can be defined.
Versioning
Cisco IOS is versioned using three numbers and some letters, in the general form a.b(c.d)e, where:
a is the major version number.
b is the minor version number.
c is the release number, which begins at one and increments as new releases in the same a.b train are released.
d (omitted from general releases) is the interim build number.
e (zero, one or two letters) is the release train identifier, such as none (which designates the mainline, see below), T (for Technology), E (for Enterprise), S (for Service provider), XA as a special functionality train, XB as a different special functionality train, etc.
Rebuilds - Often a rebuild is compiled to fix a single specific problem or vulnerability for a given IOS version. For example, 12.1(8)E14 is a Rebuild, the 14 denoting the 14th rebuild of 12.1(8)E. Rebuilds are produced to either quickly repair a defect, or to satisfy customers who do not want to upgrade to a later major revision because they may be running critical infrastructure on their devices, and hence prefer to minimise change and risk.
Interim releases - Are usually produced on a weekly basis, and form a roll-up of current development effort. The Cisco advisory web site may list more than one possible interim to fix an associated issue (the reason for this is unknown to the general public).
Maintenance releases - Rigorously tested releases that are made available and include enhancements and bug fixes. Cisco recommend upgrading to Maintenance releases where possible, over Interim and Rebuild releases.
Cisco VoIP services
VoIP services
Cisco became a major provider of Voice over IP to enterprises, and is now moving into the home user market through its acquisitions of Scientific Atlanta and Linksys. Scientific Atlanta provides VoIP equipment to cable service providers such as Time Warner, Cablevision, Rogers Communications, UPC, and others; Linksys has partnered with companies such as Skype and Yahoo to integrate consumer VoIP services with wireless and cordless phones.
[edit]Hosted Collaboration Solution
Cisco partners can now offer cloud-based services based on Cisco's virtualized Unified Computing System (UCS). A part of the Cisco Unified Services Delivery Solution, it will include hosted versions of Cisco Unified Communications Manager (UCM), Cisco Unified Contact Center, Cisco Unified Mobility, Cisco Unified Presence, Cisco Unity Connection (unified messaging), and Cisco Webex Meeting Center.
[edit]Network Emergency Response
The company maintains several Network Emergency Response Vehicles (NERV)s which are staffed by Cisco employees during natural disasters and other public crisises. The vehicles are self contained and provide wired and wireless services including voice and radio interoperability, voice over IP, network based video surveillance and secured high definition video conferencing for leaders and first responders in crisis areas with 5 Mbps of bandwidth via an 18-meter satellite antenna. NERVs are normally stored at Cisco facilities in San Jose, California and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina for strategic deployment in North America and are capable of being fully operational within 15 minutes of arrival, running for 72 hours continuously. The NERV has been deployed to incidents such as the October 2007 California wildfires, 2011 Missouri River floods, and hurricanes Gustav, Ike, and Katrina,In 2011, Cisco received the Innovation Preparedness award from the American Red Cross, Silicon Valley Chapter for it's development and use of these vehicles in disasters.
Cisco Software
Internetwork Operating System
NX-OS
Cisco Active Network Abstraction
Cisco Fabric Manager
Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
Cisco Systems VPN Client
CiscoView
CiscoWorks Network Management software
Clean Access Agent, Cisco NAC Appliance
Cisco Eos
Packet Tracer, didactic network simulator
Cisco Network Magic Pro
Cisco Unified Communications Manager
Cisco IP Communicator
Cisco Quad
Cisco Security Manager
WebEx Collaboration Tools
Cisco Hardware
Hardware
A Cisco ASM/2-32EM router deployed at CERN in 1987.
Datacenter products: Nexus Switches (1000v, 2000, 4000, 5000, 7000), MDS, Unified Computing System (UCS)
Flip pocket camera.
Cisco SPA500 Series IP Phones
Linksys SPA900 Series IP Phones
Cisco Unified IP Phones (7945, 7965, 7942, 8900 series, 9900 series, 6900 series)
Cisco Application Control Engine (ACE): Application Delivery Controller
Routers, including: 837, 1000 Series, 2500 Series, 7600, 12000, 3600 Series, ASR Series and CRS-1 and CRS-3
Cisco Security Manager
Security appliances: ASA 5500, PIX 500 series
Unified Computing: Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) virtual server platform: with VMWare virtualization system run servers on Cisco hardware [35]
Catalyst switches: Cisco Catalyst 2900 Series, Cisco Catalyst 3000 Series, Catalyst 4500, Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series
Collaboration systems such as Cisco TelePresence, Cisco Manufacturing Mobile Video Collaboration with Librestream, Cisco acquired Tandberg, the world leader in Telepresence systems[36]
VOIP: Wireless IP Phone 7920
CLEO: Low Earth Orbit router
Cisco Wireless LAN
Cisco Cius: a new Android-based collaboration tablet
Cisco Wide Area Application Services (WAAS)
Set Top Boxes (High Definition PVRs)- Cable/IP
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO, SEHK: 4333) is an American-based multinational corporation that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Headquartered in San Jose, California, Cisco has more than 70,714 employees and annual revenue of US$ 40.0 billion as of 2010. The stock was added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average on June 8, 2009, and is also included in the S&P 500 Index, the Russell 1000 Index, NASDAQ 100 Index and the Russell 1000 Growth Stock Index. By most measures (e.g., revenue, market capitalization, number of employees) Cisco is one of the world's biggest technology corporations.
Cisco Systems Versus Juniper Systems:
Cisco had ruled the router roost in both the enterprise and service provider markets since its founding in 1984.
But with the growing importance of the Internet, venture capitalists and unhappy Cisco customers sunk money into the idea of forming a start-up to build a better mousetrap, specifically for service providers. Juniper's first year was nurtured with early investments from the Anschutz family (Qwest's majority stakeholder), AT&T, Ericsson, Lucent, Nortel, Siemens/Newbridge Networks, 3Com and UUNET. IBM agreed to develop custom ASICs for Juniper's Internet routers, the first of which was the M40.
With all the heavyweight backing, Juniper became and is still Cisco's most formidable challenger in service provider routing. The company gradually attained a roughly 30% share of the $8 billion market, virtually all at Cisco's expense, and has been the technological darling of some bitheads over the past decade for the purity – or purpose-built specialty – of its silicon and software.
This remains Juniper's chief differentiator from Cisco. Cisco was viewed as a packager of enterprise-class products that were being deployed in more demanding service provider requirements. Cisco's dominance and ubiquity in routing made many of its customers hungry for an alternative.
Cisco isn't standing still. It's been re-energized by the emergence of Juniper and the recent gains of Alcatel-Lucent in service provider edge routing. In 2009, Alcatel-Lucent leapfrogged Juniper's nine-year hold on the No. 2 market share position in the service provider edge, according to Dell'Oro Group.
And Cisco still holds the lion's share of the enterprise and service provider router market, with a customer base that's mostly loyal to its incumbency. But it is Cisco and Juniper that try to leapfrog each other technologically in the service provider core and edge. Right now, the multi-chassis core race pits Cisco's Carrier Routing System against Juniper's T Series for tens – even hundreds -- of terabits supremacy.
Juniper is taking the battle to enterprise data centers and cloud computing environments. Emboldened by its success in carrier routing, Juniper unveiled enterprise Ethernet switches two years ago in an attempt to become a credible alternative to Cisco's dominance in that market, too. The company believes it can carve a niche in the elite networking arenas of financial trading, high-performance computing and other demanding enterprise environments just like it did in service provider routing.
In the data center, both companies are surrounding themselves with high-profile partners to help push their competing visions: Cisco with EMC and VMware, and Juniper with IBM. At stake, just as in service provider routing, is a multibillion dollar opportunity – $85 billion in private clouds by 2015, according to Cisco – to become the primary supplier of next-generation data centers, further entrench new and existing customers, and lock its rival out of lucrative, big ticket accounts.
Corporate history of Cisco Systems Inc.
Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner, a married couple who worked as computer operations staff members at Stanford University, later joined by Richard Troiano, founded Cisco Systems in 1984. Lerner moved on to direct computer services at Schlumberger, moving full time to Cisco in 1987. The name "Cisco" was derived from the city name, San Francisco, which is why the company's engineers insisted on using the lower case "cisco" in the early days. For Cisco's first product, Bosack adapted multiple-protocol router software originally written some years before by William Yeager, another Stanford employee who later joined Sun Microsystems. The company's first CEO was Bill Graves, who held the position from 1987 to 1988.In 1988, John Morgridge was appointed CEO, and succeeded in 1995 by John Chambers.
While Cisco was not the first company to develop and sell a router,it was one of the first to sell commercially successful routers supporting multiple network protocols. As the Internet Protocol (IP) became widely adopted, the importance of multi-protocol routing declined. Today, Cisco's largest routers are primarily used to deliver IP packets.
On February 16 1990, the company went public (with a market capitalization of $224 million) and was listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. On August 28, 1990, Lerner was fired; upon hearing the news, her husband Bosack resigned in protest. The couple walked away from Cisco with $170 million, 70% of which was committed to charities.
Cisco acquired a variety of companies to bring in products and talent into the company. In 1995-1996 the company completed 11 acquisitions. Several acquisitions, such as Stratacom, were the biggest deals in the industry when they occurred. During the Internet boom in 1999, the company acquired Cerent Corporation, a start-up company located in Petaluma, California, for about US$7 billion. It was the most expensive acquisition made by Cisco to date, and only the acquisition of Scientific Atlanta has been larger. Several acquired companies have grown into $1Bn+ business units for Cisco, including LAN switching, Enterprise Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP), and home networking. Cisco acquired Linksys in 2003.
In late March 2000, at the height of the dot-com boom, Cisco was the most valuable company in the world, with a market capitalization of more than US$500 billion. In July 2009, with a market cap of about US$108.03 billion, it is still one of the most valuable companies.
The company was a 2002-03 recipient of the Ron Brown Award,a U.S. presidential honor to recognize companies "for the exemplary quality of their relationships with employees and communities".
A class action lawsuit filed on April 20, 2001 accused Cisco of making misleading statements that "were relied on by purchasers of Cisco stock" and of insider trading.While Cisco denied all allegations in the suit, on August 18, 2006, Cisco's liability insurers, its directors, and officers paid the plaintiffs US$91.75 million to settle the suit. On December 11, 2008, the Free Software Foundation filed suit against Cisco regarding Cisco's failure to comply with the GPL and LGPL license models and make the applicable source code publicly available.On May 20, 2009, Cisco settled this lawsuit by complying with FSF licensing terms and making a monetary contribution to the FSF.
In 2010, Cisco bought Starent Networks, a mobile technology company and Moto Development Group, a product design consulting firm that helped develop Cisco's Flip video camera. Also in 2010, Cisco was a key stakeholder in e-Skills Week.
The company has built its Globalization Centre East in Bangalore for $1 billion and 20% of Cisco's leaders will be based there.
In March 2011, Cisco completed the acquisition of privately held network configuration and change management solutions company Pari Networks.
On April 12, 2011, Cisco announced they were discontinuing all Flip camera production. It will no longer carry the making of Flip cameras.
Cisco and its history was featured in the documentary film Something Ventured which premiered in 2011.
May 2011: Due to lower than expected profit, Cisco System Inc. will cut annual expenses by $1 billion. It will cut 4,000 to 5,000 of the company's 73,400 employees, mainly by an early retirement programCisco Career Certifications and Products & Services
Cisco Systems also sponsors a line of IT Professional certifications for Cisco products. There are five levels of certification: Entry, Associate, Professional, Expert, and recently Architect, as well as eight different paths, Routing & Switching, Design, Network Security, Service Provider, the newly introduced Service Provider Operations, Storage Networking, Voice, and Wireless.
Products and Services
Cisco’s current portfolio of products and services are focussed around three market segments – Enterprise and Service Provider, Small Business and the Home. The solutions for each market are segmented into Architectures, which form the basis for how Cisco approaches each market.
- Corporate market: Enterprise networking and Service Providers
-
- Borderless networks: for their range of routers, switches, wireless systems, security systems, WAN acceleration, energy and building management systems and media aware networks.
- Collaboration: IP video and phones, Telepresence, Unified Communications, Call Center systems, Enterprise social networks and Mobile applications
- Datacenter and Virtualization: Unified Computing, Unified Fabric, Data Centre Switching, Storage Networking and Cloud services.
- IP NGN (Next Generation Networks): High-end routing and switching for fixed and mobile service provider networks, broadcast video contribution/distribution, entitlement and content delivery systems.
-
- Routers and switches
- Security and surveilance: IP cameras, data and network security solutions etc.
- Voice and conferencing solutions: VOIP phones and gateway-systems, WebEx, video conferencing
- Wireless: WiFi Access points
- Network storage systems
Architectures
In an effort to allow their sales team to have more business-focussed conversations with customers, as opposed to focussing on discussions around products, Cisco announced a new focus around six ‘Architectures’ in 2009. These are:
-
- Borderless Networks
- Collaboration
- Data Center and Virtualization
- IP NGN (Next Generation Networks)
- Small Business
- Consumer
Under these architectures, Cisco intends to gradually knit together its various products, and introduce new products and features in order to provide a complete set of capabilities in each area.
Hardware
- Datacenter products: Nexus Switches (1000v, 2000, 4000, 5000, 7000), MDS, Unified Computing System (UCS)
- Flip pocket camera.
- Cisco SPA500 Series IP Phones
- Linksys SPA900 Series IP Phones
- Cisco Unified IP Phones (7945, 7965, 7942, 8900 series, 9900 series, 6900 series)
- Cisco LocalDirector: load-balancing appliance
- Routers, including: 837, 1000 Series, 2500 Series, 7600, 12000, 3600 Series, ASR Series and CRS-1 and CRS-3
- Cisco Security Manager
- Security appliances: ASA 5500, PIX 500 series
- Unified Computing: Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) virtual server platform: with VMWare virtualization system run servers on Cisco hardware
- Catalyst switches: Cisco Catalyst 2900 Series, Cisco Catalyst 3000 Series, Catalyst 4500, Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series
- Collaboration systems such as Cisco TelePresence, Cisco Manufacturing Mobile Video Collaboration with Librestream, Cisco acquired Tandberg, the world leader in Telepresence systems
- VOIP: Wireless IP Phone 7920
- CLEO: Low Earth Orbit router
- Cisco Wireless LAN
- Cisco Cius: a new Android-based collaboration tablet
- Cisco Wide Area Application Services (WAAS)
- Set Top Boxes (High Definition PVRs)- Cable/IP
Software
- Internetwork Operating System
- NX-OS
- Cisco Active Network Abstraction
- Cisco Fabric Manager
- Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
- Cisco Systems VPN Client
- CiscoView
- CiscoWorks Network Management software
- Clean Access Agent, Cisco NAC Appliance
- Cisco Eos
- Packet Tracer, didactic network simulator
- Cisco Network Magic Pro
- Cisco Unified Communications Manager
- Cisco IP Communicator
- Cisco Quad
- Cisco Security Manager
- WebEx Collaboration Tools
VoIP services
Cisco became a major provider of Voice over IP to enterprises, and is now moving into the home user market through its acquisitions of Scientific Atlanta and Linksys. Scientific Atlanta provides VoIP equipment to cable service providers such as Time Warner, Cablevision, Rogers Communications, UPC, and others; Linksys has partnered with companies such as Skype and Yahoo to integrate consumer VoIP services with wireless and cordless phones.
Hosted Collaboration Solution
Cisco partners can now offer cloud-based services based on Cisco’s virtualized Unified Computing System (UCS). A part of the Cisco Unified Services Delivery Solution, it will include hosted versions of Cisco Unified Communications Manager (UCM), Cisco Unified Contact Center, Cisco Unified Mobility, Cisco Unified Presence, Cisco Unity Connection (unified messaging), and Cisco Webex Meeting Center.
Criticisms and controversy in Cisco
Censorship in China
Cisco has been criticized for its involvement in censorship in the People's Republic of China. According to author Ethan Gutmann, Cisco and other telecommunications equipment providers supplied the Chinese government with surveillance and Internet infrastructure equipment that is used to block Internet websites and track Chinese on-line activities. Cisco says that it does not customize or develop specialized or unique filtering capabilities to enable governments to block access to information and that it sells the same equipment in China as it sells worldwide.
Wired News had uncovered a leaked, confidential Cisco powerpoint presentation that details the commercial opportunities of the Golden Shield Project of Internet control.In her article, journalist Sarah Stirland accuses Cisco of marketing its technology "specifically as a tool of repression."
Tax fraud investigation
On October 16, 2007, the Brazilian Federal Police and Brazilian Receita Federal (equivalent to the American IRS) under the "Persona Operation" uncovered an alleged tax fraud scheme employed by Cisco Systems since 2002 that exempted the company from paying over R$1.5 billion (US$824 million) in taxes.
Antitrust lawsuit
On December 1, 2008, Multiven filed an antitrust lawsuit against Cisco Systems, Inc. in an effort to open up the network maintenance services marketplace for Cisco equipment, promote competition and ensure consumer choice and value. Multiven’s complaint alleges that Cisco harmed Multiven and consumers by bundling and tying bug fixes/patches and updates for its operating system software to its maintenance services (SMARTnet) and through a series of other illegal exclusionary and anticompetitive acts designed to maintain Cisco’s alleged monopoly in the network maintenance services market for Cisco networking equipment. Cisco responded by accusing the person who filed the anti-trust suit, British born Peter Alfred-Adekeye, with hacking and pressured the US government to extradite him from Canada where he was giving evidence against Cisco in an anti-trust hearing. Canadian Judge Ronald McKinnon, who oversaw the extradition hearing, stated the real reason for the extradition proceedings was because Alfred-Adekeye "dared to take on a multinational giant." He also condemned the US prosecutor for hiding the fact that Alfred-Adekeye was in legal proceedings against Cisco Systems, for stating that Alfred-Adekeye had left the USA in a time period when he had not and a formal request for extradition was not filed against Alfred-Adekeye when he was taken into custody. Judge McKinnon described the information provided by Cisco and the US prosecutor as "full of innuendo, half-truths and falsehoods" adding "This speaks volumes for Cisco's duplicity" and accused them of "unmitigated gall" in using such a heavy-handed move as an unsupportable arrest and jailing to pressure Alfred-Adekeye to drop or settle his civil antitrust complaint.
Intimidation
Cisco has been reported as using intimidation tactics in several news reports.
Upgrading and Migration Requirements in Cisco
upgrade or migrate to Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Release 8.0, you must get new licenses for your system. For details about licenses, see the Planning Guide for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Release 8.0.
- Upgrading from Release 7.0
- Migrating from Release 6.0
- Migrating from Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express
Upgrading from Release 7.0
You can upgrade to Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Release 8.0 from Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Release 7.0.1.4 (the FCS version) or from Release 7.0.2.14 (the Maintenance Release 1 version).
There are no specific requirements for upgrading from Release 7.0 to Release 8.0.
For complete information about upgrading to Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Release 8.0, see the Installation and Upgrade Guide for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Release 8.0.
Migrating from Release 6.0
Due to differences in architecture, you can only migrate a Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Release 6.0 system to Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Release 8.0.
- If you are at an earlier release, first upgrade to Release 6.0 Maintenance Release 5.
- Migrate from Release 6.0 Maintenance Release 5 to Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Release 7.0.
- Upgrade from Release 7.0 to Release 8.0.
Migrating from Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express
We currently only support migrations from Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express Release 2.1.1 to Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Release 8.0; therefore, if you are using an earlier version of Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express, you must first upgrade to Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express Release 2.1.1.
You can migrate from either Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express or Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express VT, which provides ad hoc voice, web, and video conferencing.
There are no specific requirements for migrating from Release 7.0 to Release 8.0.
For complete information about migrating to Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Release 8.0, see the Installation and Upgrade Guide for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Release 8.0.
Integration Requirements in Cisco
Cisco WebEx Integration with Cisco Unified MeetingPlace
The Cisco WebEx integration requires the following:
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
- (Optional) Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Server
- (Optional) Cisco WebEx Node for MCS
- MeetingPlace Application Server Webex TSP only support SOCKS Web Proxy servers (Not HTTP Proxy) so please allow direct firewall access to Webex Site IPs directly. Often there are delay issues when proxy servers are used and the integration to Webex must be able to be maintained continuously via internet without delays, otherwise it will affect user response times.
- MeetingPlace Webex Node for MCS does not support any HTTP or SOCKS proxy servers. Please allow direct accesss to Webex Site IPs directly through Firewall settings.
- Webex Client interface supports any HTTP or SOCKS proxy server based on browser settings.
- Cisco Webex Node for MCS is currently not supported with the Webex Global Site Backup system. If you want a fully redundant option with GSB, submit a new Webex Node for MCS request to Webex Provisioning to deploy a redundant Node which is ‘homed’ to the GSB data center instead of the primary. You must deploy an MCS server with the Webex Node for MCS software for this function only in your network.
- A Cisco WebEx integration supports a maximum of 1000 Webex sessions on either multiple Webex Node for MCS's or connected to Webex Collaboration Cloud per system in multiple meetings.
- A single Meeting Center meeting with MeetingPlace Audio supports a maximum of audio and web 125 attendees.
- A Cisco Webex Scheduling model also supports Webex Event Center which supports a maximum of 500 MeetingPlace Audio attendees in a single meeting. However, Event Center can also provide "Audio Broadcast function which only the "Speakers" for a large conference would connect to the MEetingPlace Audio system and all attendees would receive the entire Web sharing, video and MP Audio all bridged into a single web HTTPS stream via end user's PC which reduces the need for everyone to dial into the MeetingPlace Audio system for meetings.
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Server
This is an optional component. A Web Server is only required if your deployment requires users to schedule from Cisco Unified MeetingPlace rather than from Cisco WebEx.
If your deployment requires a Web Server, the Cisco WebEx integration requires the following:
- At least one internal Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Server.
- (Optional) One external Web Server.
See the Web Server Requirements for hardware and software requirements.
Cisco WebEx Node for MCS
This is an optional component. If your deployment requires a Cisco WebEx Node for MCS, see the Cisco WebEx Node for MCS Requirements.
Software
- Cisco WebEx MeetingCenter or Cisco WebEx MeetingCenter Pro
- Cisco Webex Enterprise Edition that supports Meeting Center, Event Center and Training Center (Support Center is also available but does not require MeetingPlace Audio unless Support personnel escalate to a full Meeting Center meeting with multiple attendees.)
- WebEx Business Suite 27 (WBS27 SP14 or later) on the Cisco WebEx site.
Webex Scheduling Option with Mobile Device Integrations
- Cisco WebEx supports iPhone, Blackberry mobile devices ability to easily join a Webex meeting with automatic callback to a mobile device. When integrating to MeetingPlace Audio with Webex, the iPhone or Blackberry Webex client must be programmed without any Plus "+" dialing in the phone number field. Please enter the mobile phone number without a "+".
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace for IBM Lotus Notes Release 8.0
- This integration is only supported when using a Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Scheduling deployment option.
- Multiple clusters are not supported for the IBM Lotus Notes for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace integration.
The IBM Lotus Notes with Cisco Unified MeetingPlace integration requires the following servers:
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Server (which also hosts the integration)
- IBM Lotus Domino Server
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Server
The IBM Lotus Notes for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace integration is installed on the Web Server.
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware | See the Web Server Requirements. |
| License | The Cisco Unified MeetingPlace lotusnotes license. |
| Software | IBM Lotus Notes client Release 6.0.x, 6.5.x, 7.0.x, 8.0.x, 8.5
Microsoft IIS Release 6.0 is installed and configured on the Cisco MCS when the operating system is installed. |
IBM Lotus Domino Server
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware | Microsoft Windows computer |
| Operating system | Windows |
| Software | IBM Lotus Domino Release 6.0.x, 6.5.x, 7.0.x, 8.0.x, 8.5 |
End-User System
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware | Microsoft Windows computer |
| Software | Templates 6.0.5, 6.5.4, 6.5.5, 6.5.6, 7.0.2, 7.0.3, 8.0, 8.5 Users of IBM Lotus Domino Server Release 6 require:
|
| Operating system | One of the following:
|
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Click-to-Conference with IBM Lotus Sametime Instant Messaging Release 8.0
This integration is only supported when using a Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Scheduling deployment option.
The IBM Lotus Sametime Web integration requires the following servers:
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Hardware Media Server or Express Media Server
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Server
- IBM Lotus Sametime Server
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Hardware Media Server
This is an optional component. If your deployment requires a Hardware Media Server, see the Hardware Media Server Requirements.
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Server
IBM Lotus Sametime Server
The IBM Lotus Sametime Server requires the following software:
- IBM Lotus Sametime Release 7.5.1 or later
- IBM Lotus Notes Release 8.0.1 or later
- IBM Lotus Notes Release 8.0.1 embeds Sametime Release 8.0, IBM Lotus Notes 8.0.2 and 8.5 embed Sametime Release 8.0.1, and IBM Lotus Notes 8.5.1 embeds Sametime Release 8.0.2.
- IBM Lotus Sametime Release 8.5 is not supported.
End-User System
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware | Microsoft Windows computer |
| Software and supported browsers | IBM Lotus Sametime Connect Client Release 7.5.1 or later
|
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows
|
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace for IBM Lotus Sametime Web Release 8.0
This integration is only supported when using a Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Scheduling deployment option.
The IBM Lotus Sametime Web integration requires the following servers:
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Hardware Media Server or Express Media Server
- IBM Lotus Sametime Standard Server
- Because the IBM Lotus Sametime Server cannot support multiple Telephony Conferencing Service Provider Interface (TCSPI) server-side integrations, you cannot use both of the following integrations at the same time:
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace for IBM Lotus Sametime Web
- (IBM Lotus Sametime server-side TCSPI integration with Cisco Unified MeetingPlace)
- Cisco Click to Call and Conference with IBM Lotus Sametime
- (IBM Lotus Sametime server-side TCSPI integration with Cisco Unified Communications Manager)
- These two server-side integrations are mutually exclusive and cannot both be deployed at the same time.
- You can, however, deploy Cisco Unified MeetingPlace for IBM Lotus Sametime Web with either or both of the following client-side integrations:
- Cisco Unified Messaging with IBM Lotus Sametime
- Cisco Phone Control and Presence with IBM Lotus Sametime
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Hardware Media Server
This is an optional component. If your deployment requires a Hardware Media Server.
IBM Lotus Sametime Server
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware | Microsoft Windows computer |
| Operating system |
|
| Software | If you also deploy the Cisco Phone Control and Presence with IBM Lotus Sametime integration, then you must use IBM Lotus Sametime Server 8.0.1 and install the following IBM patches to disable the IBM phone icon: 3AAAFEAB, 49D5219C, 643A31, 662A775A, 77D5E39D. |
End-User System
IBM Lotus Sametime Connect Client Release 7.5.1 CF1
IBM Lotus Sametime Connect Client Release 8.0
Jabber with Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Release 8.0
Note: This integration is only supported when using a Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Scheduling deployment option.
The Jabber with Cisco Unified MeetingPlace integration requires the following servers:
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Server
- Jabber XCP server
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Server
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware | See the Web Server Requirements for hardware specifications. |
| Software | Jabber XCP server Release 5.1
|
| License | Cisco Unified MeetingPlace jabber license |
| Other | Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) Release 6.0 Microsoft IIS Release 6.0 is installed and configured on the Cisco MCS when the operating system is installed. |
Jabber XCP Server
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware | See the Web Server Requirements for hardware specifications. |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| Software | Jabber XCP server Release 5.1
|
End-User System
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware | Microsoft Windows computer |
| Software | Jabber Messenger Release 3.2, Windows version |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| Other | End users who initiate Cisco Unified MeetingPlace meetings from Jabber Messenger must be profiled users in Cisco Unified MeetingPlace. |
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace for Microsoft Outlook Release 8.0
This integration is only supported when using a Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Scheduling deployment option.
There are two options for Microsoft Outlook integrations:
- Front-end integration-Enables users to schedule, reschedule, and cancel meetings from the Microsoft Outlook calendar. For information, see the Enabling Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Scheduling from Microsoft Outlook module in the Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace.
- Back-end integration-Enables Cisco Unified MeetingPlace to send Microsoft Outlook calendar notifications for meetings that are scheduled from the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace end-user web interface. For more information, see the Enabling Microsoft Outlook Calendar Notifications for Meetings Scheduled from the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace End-User Web Interface module in the Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace.
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
Microsoft Exchange Server
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware | See the Web Server Requirements for hardware specifications. |
| Software | Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 SP2
|
End-User System
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware | Microsoft Windows computer |
| Software | Microsoft Outlook XP, 2003, or 2007 Release 12.0.6023.x and later.
|
| Operating system | One of the following:
|
Cisco WebEx Mobile Integration with Cisco Unified MeetingPlace
- Cisco Webex offers integrations with iPhone and Blackberry mobile devices.
- Currently this integration does not support any level of SSO or LDAP integration capability.
- The CallBack feature via mobile devices requires the Webex client on the mobile device be configured with the full dialable mobile phone number without the use of the "+" symbol in the front of the number. Please remove "+" when use a MeetingPlace Audio integrated Webex site.
- iPAD is currently not supported with MeetingPlace Audio systems because iPAD is VoIP enabled only via internet.
Cisco WebEx Integration with Cisco Unified MeetingPlace
The Cisco WebEx integration requires the following:
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
- (Optional) Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Server
- (Optional) Cisco WebEx Node for MCS
- MeetingPlace Application Server Webex TSP only support SOCKS Web Proxy servers (Not HTTP Proxy) so please allow direct firewall access to Webex Site IPs directly. Often there are delay issues when proxy servers are used and the integration to Webex must be able to be maintained continuously via internet without delays, otherwise it will affect user response times.
- MeetingPlace Webex Node for MCS does not support any HTTP or SOCKS proxy servers. Please allow direct accesss to Webex Site IPs directly through Firewall settings.
- Webex Client interface supports any HTTP or SOCKS proxy server based on browser settings.
- Cisco Webex Node for MCS is currently not supported with the Webex Global Site Backup system. If you want a fully redundant option with GSB, submit a new Webex Node for MCS request to Webex Provisioning to deploy a redundant Node which is ‘homed’ to the GSB data center instead of the primary. You must deploy an MCS server with the Webex Node for MCS software for this function only in your network.
- A Cisco WebEx integration supports a maximum of 1000 Webex sessions on either multiple Webex Node for MCS's or connected to Webex Collaboration Cloud per system in multiple meetings.
- A single Meeting Center meeting with MeetingPlace Audio supports a maximum of audio and web 125 attendees.
- A Cisco Webex Scheduling model also supports Webex Event Center which supports a maximum of 500 MeetingPlace Audio attendees in a single meeting. However, Event Center can also provide "Audio Broadcast function which only the "Speakers" for a large conference would connect to the MEetingPlace Audio system and all attendees would receive the entire Web sharing, video and MP Audio all bridged into a single web HTTPS stream via end user's PC which reduces the need for everyone to dial into the MeetingPlace Audio system for meetings.
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
See the Application Server Requirements.
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Server
Note: This is an optional component. A Web Server is only required if your deployment requires users to schedule from Cisco Unified MeetingPlace rather than from Cisco WebEx.
If your deployment requires a Web Server, the Cisco WebEx integration requires the following:
- At least one internal Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Server.
- (Optional) One external Web Server.
See the Web Server Requirements for hardware and software requirements.
Cisco WebEx Node for MCS
This is an optional component. If your deployment requires a Cisco WebEx Node for MCS, see the Cisco WebEx Node for MCS Requirements.
Software
- Cisco WebEx MeetingCenter or Cisco WebEx MeetingCenter Pro
- Cisco Webex Enterprise Edition that supports Meeting Center, Event Center and Training Center (Support Center is also available but does not require MeetingPlace Audio unless Support personnel escalate to a full Meeting Center meeting with multiple attendees.)
- WebEx Business Suite 27 (WBS27 SP14 or later) on the Cisco WebEx site.
Webex Scheduling Option with Mobile Device Integrations
- Cisco WebEx supports iPhone, Blackberry mobile devices ability to easily join a Webex meeting with automatic callback to a mobile device. When integrating to MeetingPlace Audio with Webex, the iPhone or Blackberry Webex client must be programmed without any Plus "+" dialing in the phone number field. Please enter the mobile phone number without a "+".
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace for IBM Lotus Notes Release 8.0
- This integration is only supported when using a Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Scheduling deployment option.
- Multiple clusters are not supported for the IBM Lotus Notes for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace integration.
The IBM Lotus Notes with Cisco Unified MeetingPlace integration requires the following servers:
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Server (which also hosts the integration)
- IBM Lotus Domino Server
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
See the Application Server Requirements.
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Server
Note: The IBM Lotus Notes for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace integration is installed on the Web Server.
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware | See the Web Server Requirements. |
| License | The Cisco Unified MeetingPlace lotusnotes license. |
| Software | IBM Lotus Notes client Release 6.0.x, 6.5.x, 7.0.x, 8.0.x, 8.5
Note: Microsoft IIS Release 6.0 is installed and configured on the Cisco MCS when the operating system is installed. |
IBM Lotus Domino Server
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware | Microsoft Windows computer |
| Operating system | Windows |
| Software | IBM Lotus Domino Release 6.0.x, 6.5.x, 7.0.x, 8.0.x, 8.5 |
End-User System
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware | Microsoft Windows computer |
| Software | Templates 6.0.5, 6.5.4, 6.5.5, 6.5.6, 7.0.2, 7.0.3, 8.0, 8.5 Users of IBM Lotus Domino Server Release 6 require:
|
| Operating system | One of the following:
|
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Click-to-Conference with IBM Lotus Sametime Instant Messaging Release 8.0
Note: This integration is only supported when using a Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Scheduling deployment option.
The IBM Lotus Sametime Web integration requires the following servers:
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Hardware Media Server or Express Media Server
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Server
- IBM Lotus Sametime Server
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
See the Application Server Requirements.
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Hardware Media Server
This is an optional component. If your deployment requires a Hardware Media Server, see the Hardware Media Server Requirements.
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Server
See the Web Server Requirements.
IBM Lotus Sametime Server
The IBM Lotus Sametime Server requires the following software:
- IBM Lotus Sametime Release 7.5.1 or later
- IBM Lotus Notes Release 8.0.1 or later
Note:
- IBM Lotus Notes Release 8.0.1 embeds Sametime Release 8.0, IBM Lotus Notes 8.0.2 and 8.5 embed Sametime Release 8.0.1, and IBM Lotus Notes 8.5.1 embeds Sametime Release 8.0.2.
- IBM Lotus Sametime Release 8.5 is not supported.
End-User System
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware | Microsoft Windows computer |
| Software and supported browsers | IBM Lotus Sametime Connect Client Release 7.5.1 or later
|
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows
|
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace for IBM Lotus Sametime Web Release 8.0
Note: This integration is only supported when using a Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Scheduling deployment option.
The IBM Lotus Sametime Web integration requires the following servers:
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Hardware Media Server or Express Media Server
- IBM Lotus Sametime Standard Server
Notes:
- Because the IBM Lotus Sametime Server cannot support multiple Telephony Conferencing Service Provider Interface (TCSPI) server-side integrations, you cannot use both of the following integrations at the same time:
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace for IBM Lotus Sametime Web
- (IBM Lotus Sametime server-side TCSPI integration with Cisco Unified MeetingPlace)
- Cisco Click to Call and Conference with IBM Lotus Sametime
- (IBM Lotus Sametime server-side TCSPI integration with Cisco Unified Communications Manager)
- These two server-side integrations are mutually exclusive and cannot both be deployed at the same time.
- You can, however, deploy Cisco Unified MeetingPlace for IBM Lotus Sametime Web with either or both of the following client-side integrations:
- Cisco Unified Messaging with IBM Lotus Sametime
- Cisco Phone Control and Presence with IBM Lotus Sametime
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
See the Application Server Requirements.
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Hardware Media Server
This is an optional component. If your deployment requires a Hardware Media Server, see the Hardware Media Server Requirements.
IBM Lotus Sametime Server
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware | Microsoft Windows computer |
| Operating system |
|
| Software |
Note: If you also deploy the Cisco Phone Control and Presence with IBM Lotus Sametime integration, then you must use IBM Lotus Sametime Server 8.0.1 and install the following IBM patches to disable the IBM phone icon: 3AAAFEAB, 49D5219C, 643A31, 662A775A, 77D5E39D. |
End-User System
IBM Lotus Sametime Connect Client Release 7.5.1 CF1
- Also see the client requirements at http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/sametime/v7r5m1/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.help.sametime.install.doc/st_inst_inst_softwarerequirements.html.
IBM Lotus Sametime Connect Client Release 8.0
- Also see the client requirements at http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=477&uid=swg27010738.
Jabber with Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Release 8.0
Note: This integration is only supported when using a Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Scheduling deployment option.
The Jabber with Cisco Unified MeetingPlace integration requires the following servers:
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
- Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Server
- Jabber XCP server
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
See the Application Server Requirements.
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Web Server
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware | See the Web Server Requirements for hardware specifications. |
| Software | Jabber XCP server Release 5.1
|
| License | Cisco Unified MeetingPlace jabber license |
| Other | Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) Release 6.0 Note: Microsoft IIS Release 6.0 is installed and configured on the Cisco MCS when the operating system is installed. |
Jabber XCP Server
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware | See the Web Server Requirements for hardware specifications. |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| Software | Jabber XCP server Release 5.1
|
End-User System
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware | Microsoft Windows computer |
| Software | Jabber Messenger Release 3.2, Windows version |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| Other | End users who initiate Cisco Unified MeetingPlace meetings from Jabber Messenger must be profiled users in Cisco Unified MeetingPlace. |
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace for Microsoft Outlook Release 8.0
Note: This integration is only supported when using a Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Scheduling deployment option.
There are two options for Microsoft Outlook integrations:
- Front-end integration-Enables users to schedule, reschedule, and cancel meetings from the Microsoft Outlook calendar. For information, see the Enabling Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Scheduling from Microsoft Outlook module in the Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace.
- Back-end integration-Enables Cisco Unified MeetingPlace to send Microsoft Outlook calendar notifications for meetings that are scheduled from the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace end-user web interface. For more information, see the Enabling Microsoft Outlook Calendar Notifications for Meetings Scheduled from the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace End-User Web Interface module in the Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified MeetingPlace.
Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Application Server
See the Application Server Requirements.
Microsoft Exchange Server
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware | See the Web Server Requirements for hardware specifications. |
| Software | Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 SP2
|
End-User System
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hardware | Microsoft Windows computer |
| Software | Microsoft Outlook XP, 2003, or 2007 Release 12.0.6023.x and later.
|
| Operating system | One of the following:
|
Cisco WebEx Mobile Integration with Cisco Unified MeetingPlace
- Cisco Webex offers integrations with iPhone and Blackberry mobile devices.
- Currently this integration does not support any level of SSO or LDAP integration capability.
- The CallBack feature via mobile devices requires the Webex client on the mobile device be configured with the full dialable mobile phone number without the use of the "+" symbol in the front of the number. Please remove "+" when use a MeetingPlace Audio integrated Webex site.
- iPAD is currently not supported with MeetingPlace Audio systems because iPAD is VoIP enabled only via internet.
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