IP Phone Configuration

The bulk of your initial Cisco CallManager configuration comes in adding Cisco IP Phones to the SQL database. After you add the phones to the database, you can manage and configure them through the Cisco CallManager interface. You can add the phones to the database using one of three methods:

• Manual entry
• Automatic registration
• The Bulk Administration Tool (BAT)

This chapter discusses the manual and automatic methods of adding IP Phones to the database. BAT is covered in Chapter 7, "Cisco Bulk Administration Tool."

Manual IP Phone and Directory Number Configuration

Manually adding new IP Phones to the network is often tedious, but it can constitute a large part of day-to-day voice network management. The Bulk Administration Tool (BAT) allows you to add a large number of IP Phones to the Cisco CallManager database at once, but BAT is not appropriate for adding or modifying a single IP Phone for a new employee.

Cisco CallManager uses the IP Phone MAC address to track the phone in the voice network. Cisco CallManager ties all IP Phone configuration settings to the IP Phone MAC address. Before you can perform any configuration on a Cisco IP Phone through Cisco CallManager, you must find the MAC address of that IP Phone. Use the following guidelines to locate a MAC address:

• You can find the MAC address in the text and Universal Product Code (UPC) form, which is imprinted on the shipping box for the IP Phone. Some administrators use bar code scanners to simplify the process of adding multiple IP Phones.
• You can also find the MAC address in the text and UPC form on the back of the IP Phone, on the middle sticker near the bottom.
• If you boot the IP Phone, you can press the Settings button on the face of the phone. Use the arrow keys to navigate, and choose Network Configuration. The MAC address will be displayed on line 3 of the network configuration.

You can continue the Cisco IP Phone configuration on the Cisco CallManager configuration after you have the MAC address of the IP Phone, as follows:

Figures 5-9 and 5-10 illustrate the IP Phone and directory number configuration screens, respectively.

Figure 5-9. Cisco CallManager IP Phone Configuration

Figure 5-10. Cisco CallManager Directory Number Configuration

Automatic IP Phone Registration

Auto-registration allows Cisco CallManager to issue extension numbers to new IP Phones, which is similar to the way in which the Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP) server issues IP addresses. When a new IP Phone boots and attempts to register with Cisco CallManager for the first time, Cisco CallManager issues an extension number from a configured range. After Cisco CallManager issues the extension, it records the extension number to the MAC address mapping in the SQL database.

Although auto-registration simplifies the process of deploying a new IP telephony network, it is an option that is available only in some new IP telephony deployments. Because administrators deploy most IP telephony networks as a migration from a PBX environment, users have existing telephone extensions. These existing telephone extensions typically map to Direct Inward Dial (DID) numbers from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and cannot change. Therefore, these IP telephony deployments usually use manual configuration rather than auto-registration.

You should carefully evaluate auto-registration before implementing it because its use can pose a security risk to the network. Auto-registration allows anyone with physical access to the voice network to connect an IP Phone and use it, regardless of whether they are authorized. For this reason, many organizations, as part of their security policy, disable the use of auto-registration or use auto-registration in a secure staging environment for initial Cisco CallManager configuration.

Complete these steps to configure the Cisco CallManager server to support auto-registration:

Figure 5-11 shows the auto-registration configuration window.

Figure 5-11. Cisco CallManager Auto-Registration Configuration

Installing Cisco CallManager automatically sets device defaults. You cannot create new device defaults or delete existing ones, but you can change the default settings. Use device defaults to set the default characteristics of each type of device that registers with a Cisco CallManager. The device defaults for a device type apply to all auto-registered devices of that type within a Cisco CallManager cluster. You can set the following device defaults for each device type to which they apply:

• Device load Lists the firmware load that is used with a particular type of hardware device
• Device pool Allows you to select the device pool that is associated with each type of device
• Phone button template Indicates the phone button template that is used by each type of device

When a device auto-registers with a Cisco CallManager, it acquires the device default settings for its device type. After a device registers, you can update its configuration individually to change the device settings.

Complete these steps to update the device defaults:

Caution

Updating device load files and performing a phone reset can affect a large number of devices and cause significant WAN utilization as firmware files are sent to remote phones. Cisco recommends saving these large device resets for network off-hours.