How to Install Cisco Unified Communications Manager 10

Here is an update regarding the newest CUCM release which is available now. We will use again a single server installation on a local virtual environment. The requirements are almost the same regarding the hardware but some extra RAM will shorten the time for installation. The image that we are going to use is with build number 10.0.1.10000 which is probably the first official CUCM 10 release. So lets see what are the differences.

Prepare the Virtual Machine

We are using again our favourite VMware Playwer where we are importing directly the available “ova” template. The first major difference which is immediately noticeable is that the CUCM 10 is based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 64-bit version. Kind of expected change as the old 32 bit architecture was suffering from some memory management issues.

However, here are the properties of the predefined virtual machine which was created by importing the official “ova” template:

  • Operating system – Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 (64-bit).
  • Processors – dedicated 2 cores. Again, after the installation you can reduce them to 1.
  • Memory – dedicated 6 GB. After the installation you can reduce them to 2, but again at least 4 are needed in order to pass the hardware check.
  • HDD – one partition of 110 GB.
  • Network adapter – bridge it directly to the physical one.
  • CD/DVD – we are mapping the ISO that we have.
  • Display – Auto.

And here is the final VM profile for the CUCM:

CUCM 10 Hardware Requirements

CUCM 10 VMware Options

CUCM 10 step-by-step installation

After preparing your virtual machine there is nothing more left but to power it on. If you followed the instructions above, the hardware checks should pass flawlessly:

CUCM 10 Media Test

CUCM 10 Hardware Check Complete

Shortly after that the pseudo GUI will start, expecting the answers of something like 20 questions, depending on your requirements.

As there are some other products on the installation media the first step is to choose what you are going to install. It is easy in our case as we are going only for the CUCM. Confirm the installation.

Installing CUCM 10 - Product Deployment Selection

Installing CUCM 10 - Proceed with Install

This step will trigger the installation Wizard which is going to ask you for some details regarding this particular installation:

Installing CUCM 10 - Platform Installation Wizard

The first question in the pseudo GUI is regarding the type of the installation – is it an upgrade or it is a new installation, followed by confirmation that this is a new “Basic” installation:

Installing CUCM 10 - Apply Patch

Installing CUCM 10 - Basic Install

After that there is a standard question in the installation process of almost each Linux distro, regarding the timezone:

Installing CUCM 10 - Timezone Configuration

The following five screens are regarding the Network configuration. In few steps you will be asked to configure your connectivity in the matter of IP address, default gateway, DNS configuration, hostname configuration, MTU size, speed, duplex and so on.

Installing CUCM 10 - Auto Negotiation Configuration

Installing CUCM 10 - MTU Configuration

Installing CUCM 10 - DHCP Configuration

Installing CUCM 10 - Static Network Configuration

Installing CUCM 10 - DNS Client Configuration

The following two questions are regarding one of the most important security questions. During the following step you will have to configure your administrative login configuration, while in the next one you will have to give the details for the local Ceftifficate Authority:

Installing CUCM 10 - Administrator Login Configuration

Installing CUCM 10 - Certificate Information

The next question is important if you are installing a multiserver configuration:

Installing CUCM 10 - First Node Configuration

And the next one is regarding the NTP configuration. Always be using NTPs! If your clocks are not set correctly then you cannot rely on your logs!

Installing CUCM 10 - NTP Configuration

After that you will have to give a password which is important (of course) and you will need it in case of intercluster configuration. The same password will be used to encrypt your archives as well.

Installing CUCM 10 - Security Configuration

There are some options for SMTP notifications which we are skipping:

Installing CUCM 10 - SMTP Configuration

Here Cisco added one additional step for the Smart Call Home feature. It provides proactive diagnostics and real-time alerts on a range of Cisco devices for higher network availability and increased operational efficiency. It accomplishes the same by receiving and analyzing the diagnostic alerts, inventory, and other messages from Smart Call Home enabled CUCM.

Installing CUCM 10 - Smart Call Home

And here are the credentials for the Web interface:

Installing CUCM 10 - Application User Cinfiguration

By selecting OK on the following screen the installation process will begin and it is unreversable:

Installing CUCM 10 - Platform Configuration Confirmation

During the installation process the system may restart few times and it is usual to see some messages informing you that the installation will continue.

The whole installation process can take up to one hour or even more if you are installing it on some slow hardware. However, if everything was fine during the installation process in the end you should get the following screen which is confirming the successful installation:

Installing CUCM 10 - CLI login screen

Our Recommended Premium CCNA Training Resources

These are the best CCNA training resources online:

Click Here to get the Cisco CCNA Gold Bootcamp, the most comprehensive and highest rated CCNA course online with a 4.8 star rating from over 30,000 public reviews. I recommend this as your primary study source to learn all the topics on the exam. Cisco CCNA Gold Bootcamp
Want to take your practice tests to the next level? AlphaPreps purpose-built Cisco test engine has the largest question bank, adaptive questions, and advanced reporting which tells you exactly when you are ready to pass the real exam. Click here for your free trial. Cisco CCNA Gold Bootcamp