Cisco IP Manager Assistant Overview

Cisco IPMA enables managers and their assistants to work together more effectively. When configuring Cisco IPMA, you can configure Cisco CallManager users as managers or assistants. An assistant user handles calls on behalf of a manager or group of managers.

Cisco IPMA provides specific features for both managers and assistants. The features consist of enhancements to IP phone capabilities for the manager and desktop interfaces that are primarily used by the assistant. These enhancements give the assistant a type of "joint control" over the manager's lines in a similar style as shared-line extensions.

Cisco IPMA supports two modes of operation: proxy-line support (Cisco CallManager Release 3.3 or later) and shared-line support (Cisco CallManager Release 4.0 or later). The Cisco IPMA service supports both proxy-line and shared-line support in a given cluster. The difference between these operation types is covered in the following sections.

CallManager supports Cisco IPMA on Cisco IP Phone 7970, 7960, and 7940 models.

Cisco IPMA with Proxy-Line Support

Cisco IPMA with proxy-line support intercepts calls that are made to managers and routes them to the assistant or to preconfigured targets that are based on preconfigured call filters. Because the Cisco IPMA service intercepts calls that are made to managers who are using proxy-line mode, it requires configuration of partitions, calling search spaces, route points, and translation patterns.

The Cisco IPMA Configuration Wizard enables you to automatically create the partitions, calling search spaces, route points, and translation patterns that are required for proxy-line mode. The wizard also creates Bulk Administration Tool (BAT) templates for the Cisco IPMA manager telephone, the Cisco IPMA assistant telephone, and all other user telephones. The Cisco IPMA Configuration Wizard can be run only one time; however, you can make corrections and additions manually in Cisco CallManager Administration.

Cisco CallManager Release 4.x supports the existing proxy-line configuration in earlier versions of Cisco CallManager, but Release 4.x features such as Barge, Privacy, Call Join, Direct Transfer, and multiple calls per line require the shared-line mode.

In the proxy-line mode, a manager can be assisted by only one assistant at a time. The proxy-line IPMA configuration is now considered a "legacy" IPMA support method.

Cisco IPMA with Shared-Line Support

Cisco IPMA with shared-line support enables the assistant to share the primary line of the manager (the assistant and the manager have the same DN configured on one line). In this support mode, there is no call routing; calls for the manager ring on both the manager line and the assistant line.

The Cisco IPMA Configuration Wizard is not used in Cisco IPMA with shared-line mode because there is no need to configure route points, partitions, calling search spaces, or translation patterns. The Cisco IPMA in shared-line mode also supports Cisco CallManager features such as multiple calls per line, Call Join, Direct Transfer, Privacy, and Barge.

The manager telephone uses the softkey template called Standard IPMA Shared Mode Manager. This template has the following softkeys:

• DND Do not disturb; turns the ringer off. The manager telephone and the assistant's IPMA console display the DND state.
• ImmDiv Immediate Divert; diverts the selected call to a preconfigured target (typically the assistant).
• TransferToVM Transfer to voice mail; redirects the selected call to the voice mail of the manager.

One manager can be configured to have up to ten assistants. The manager IP phone will have speed dials for all the configured assistants, allowing the manager to reach the assistants quickly. Optionally, you can configure a dedicated incoming intercom line on the manager telephone to the assistant(s). Cisco IP Phone Services are not supported in shared-line mode for managers.

Table 19-1 summarizes the key differences between the Cisco IPMA shared-line and proxy-line modes.