This is an easy tutorial for configuring a Cisco CallManager Express (CME) system to use Exchange 2007/2010 Unified Messaging for voice mail and other Exchange messaging needs. For what it’s worth, I highly recommend using 2010 instead of 2007 due to the MWI (Message Waiting Indicators) functionality, but there are add-ons for 2007 to enable it as well.

First of all, to configure the CME you need to add the following commands to your configuration:

dial-peer voice 550 voip
description ** Exchange Unified Messaging **
destination-pattern 550
session protocol sipv2
session target ipv4:192.168.10.4
session transport tcp
dtmf-relay rtp-nte
codec g711ulaw
fax rate disable
fax protocol pass-through g711ulaw
no vad
!
telephony-service
voicemail 550

Notes:

• You need to change 550 to an extension number appropriate for your environment, so if you’re using a 4+ digit dial pattern, change this accordingly.
• You need to change the 192.168.10.4 IP address to be the appropriate IP for your Exchange server.
• The voicemail 550 command in the telephony-service section instructs your phones to call the Exchange box instead Unity or other VM system.

Next, you need to configure all the call forwarding options for your extensions…

ephone-dn 1
call-forward busy 550
call-forward noan 550 timeout 18

Note: Again, change the 550 to your appropriate extension. Obviously, changing ephone-dn 1 to each extension as appropriate. You can also do this from the web interface or Cisco Configuration Professional if you prefer.

Next, you need to configure the system to accept MWI’s from the Exchange server…

sip-ua
mwi-server ipv4:192.168.10.4 expires 3600 port 5060 transport tcp unsolicited

Now it’s time to configure the Exchange Server.

1. Start by opening the Exchange Management Console.
2. Go to Organization, Unified Messaging.
3. Create a New Dial Plan with the parameters:
   • Telephone Extension
   • Unsecured
   • Your extension dialing digit pattern (usually 3-7)
   • Country Region Code is 1 for US, etc.
4. Create a UM Gateway with the parameters:
   • IP address of your CME device, in my case 192.168.10.1 since it also acts as my primary gateway router (using a 2821 Integrated Service Router).
   • Pick your Dial Plan from earlier.
   • Create a UM Hunt Group with the Pilot Number of the extension you’ve been using to replace 550.
5. Create a UM Policy with the parameters:
   • Pick your Dial Plan from earlier.
   • Double-click and configure the options according to your security policies.
6. Create a UM Auto-Attendant with the parameters:
   • Pick your Dial Plan from earlier.
   • Set the Pilot Number as extension + 1 (551).
   • Enable with Voice Commands.
7. Go to Server Configuration, Unified Messaging.
8. Right click on the server, and click Properties.
9. Click the UM Settings tab.
10. Assign the Dial Plan to the server.
11. Select any appropriate languages, set startup mode to Dual, and set the maximum connections.
12. Click OK.

Finally, enable Unified Messaging for your users…

1. Go to Recipient Configuration, Mailbox.
2. Right click on the user, and click Enable Unified Messaging.
   • Pick your Dial Plan from earlier.
   • Set a pin manually, and require it to be changed upon setup.
   • Manually assign the extension of their existing phone (ie. 400, 401, etc.)

That’s all there is to it for the basics. To confirm it’s working, dial your 550 extension and you should hear the EUM prompt for your login info. Of course, you’ll want to play around and become more familiar with the options available.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 at 11:15 AM and is filed under Tech News.