Dependency Records

In Cisco CallManager Administration, numerous configuration elements are referenced by other elements (for example, a route pattern refers to a route list, which refers to a route group, which refers to a gateway). In many cases, you cannot delete such elements if they are currently referenced elsewhere in the system. It can be difficult and time consuming to find out which configuration element is referencing the element that you are trying to delete. The mechanism that allows you to determine, delete, change, or modify a record in Cisco CallManager is called dependency records. Dependency records help you to determine which records in the Cisco CallManager database use other records. For example, which devices (such as computer telephony integration [CTI] route points or IP phones) use a particular calling search space?

To delete a record from Cisco CallManager, you can use dependency records to show which records are associated with the record that you want to delete. You can then reconfigure those records so that they are associated with a different record.

For example, the administrator tries to delete a device pool. A message is displayed that some devices still use this pool. The administrator clicks the dependency records link to find out which devices use this device pool.

Enabling Dependency Records

Because dependency records are disabled by default, they must be activated in the Cisco CallManager Administration Enterprise Parameters window if you want to use the feature. Set the Enable Dependency Records parameter to True to activate dependency records and display them as an option in Cisco CallManager Administration. To access this record, use the Cisco CallManager Administration page and navigate to System > Enterprise Parameters. An illustration of this is shown in Figure 34-4.

Figure 34-4. Enabling CallManager Dependency Records

Caution

Displaying dependency records leads to high CPU usage and takes some time because it executes in a low-priority thread. If you are monitoring CPU usage, you might see high CPU usage alarms. To avoid possible performance issues, display dependency records only during off-peak hours or during the next maintenance window. Close and reopen the web browser for the parameter change to take effect.

Accessing Dependency Records

To access dependency records from a Cisco CallManager configuration window, click the Dependency Records link, as shown in Figure 34-5. The Dependency Records Summary window opens. This window displays the number and type of records that use the record that is shown in the Cisco CallManager configuration window.

Figure 34-5. Accessing Dependency Records

Note

If the dependency records are not enabled, the Dependency Records Summary window displays a message stating that the Dependency Record feature is disabled (and also tells the administrator how to enable this feature).

After you click the dependency records link in an administration window, you will see a list of all records that refer to the item that you selected, as shown in Figure 34-6. This list is in summary style and shows the depending records only by type and number. You can click an entry of the summary list to view the detailed list of dependent records. You can click a single device in the dependency records detail window to go to the configuration window of the device. To return to the original configuration window, click the Back to link.

Figure 34-6. Dependency Records Summary

Three buttons are available in the Dependency Records Summary window:

• Refresh Updates the window with the most up-to-date information.
• Close Closes the window but does not return to the Cisco CallManager configuration window in which the user clicked the Dependency Records link.
• Close and Go Back Closes the window and returns to the Cisco CallManager configuration window in which the user clicked the Dependency Records link.