I am wrapping up a UC deployment with CUC 8.6(2a). Overall, I’d say the platform is stable and no major issues were encountered.
However, there were a few notable experiences/lessons learned along the way that are worth passing on. Some of these experiences may be unique to the equipment I worked on. You are welcomed to verify these findings against your own environment.
East of Target Field
The past two weeks have been incredibly busy. I’m working on a UCS B-Series based project that includes CUCM, CUC, CER, CUPS, and CUEAC (what I call The Iron Fist). I only had nine working days to get the environment to the point where users could train on test phones.
In a perfect world (i.e. non-reality), nine days would be plenty of time. In a perfect world, the phone system would arrive pre-configured on a pallet. Position it in the data center, plug it in, and you’re done. Hmm…welcome to reality.
Let me just say, deploying a unified communications platform is not simple. It gets easy over time, but that doesn’t simplify the process.
NetworkWorld.com came out with a great article on the Cisco UCS platform. If you’re not familiar with Cisco’s bid on the data center and server virtualization space, this is a must read.
I’m becoming increasingly convinced that Cisco UCS product line is going to change the way we view server virtualization. It’s innovative and brings a tear to this “tech head.”
Integrated server blades, networking and management make UCS a strong contender for fast-growing data centers in this exclusive Network World test.
Today, I’ve been working on a design document for a customer in Minneapolis. For this project, we’re rolling out the full Cisco UC 8.6 “iron fist”: CUCM, CUC, CUPS, CER, and CUEAC.
I wanted to define the phone firmware versions for CUCM 8.6(2a), but forgot where to find it.
After 10 minutes of searching, I uncovered the firmware matrix here: Cisco Unified Communications Manager Software Compatibility Matrix.
Search for “Default Loads” (the page itself is length). Voila.
The matrix shows you the default loads, broken out by CUCM versions. Simple post, but helpful information. Just the way we like it around here! 
My Pier One + IKEA Mashup
This post is an update from a previous post last week, after I had reorganized my office to be based on a stand-while-you-work model. The health benefits to this model are numerous and artistically summarized here.
Last weekend, I did something significant…I reorganized my home office.
This was quite the accomplishment, especially given the fact that the week before I reengineered my border device to run DD-WRT. Cables were strewn about the floor and unrecognizable power supplies lay hidden like land mines beneath the blue, orange, and yellow Cat5 foliage. It was chaos!
I reorganized my office so that I would be forced to stand at my desk. This was done using two IKEA LACK side tables, purchased for $12 apiece last year. Simple, cheap, and temporary. I didn’t want to get too financially invested in an idea I wasn’t convinced of.
