Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Describe Cisco Unity Connection
Cisco Unity Connection (CUC) is a full-featured voice-messaging and voice-recognition
system, providing universal access to calls and messages as part of a Unified Communica-
tions solution. Up to 20,000 users can be hosted by a single CUCv8.x server (assuming the
most powerful hardware platform). Voice recognition capabilities allow speech-activated
commands to be used by both internal and external callers. A built-in IMAP server allows
e-mail access to voice messages, and a clientless, web-based interface provides the same
capability from any compatible browser with web access to the CUC server. The following
sections discuss CUC.
Overview of Cisco Unity Connection
CUC is one of the five Unified Communication products currently offered as a Linux ap-
pliance. (The others are Cisco Unified Communications Manager [CUCM], Cisco Unified
Presence [CUP], Cisco Emergency Responder, and Unified Contact Center Express.) The
data and message store databases are held locally on the server, both using an instance of
the Informix Database Service application, just as the other Unified Communications ap-
plications do.
CUC supports integration with a variety of traditional PBX systems that support either
native IP functionality or a digital TDM circuit that can be connected via PBX or T1 IP
Media Gateway (PBX IP Media Gateway [PIMG] or T1 IP Media Gateway [TIMG]). CUC
users can be manually configured, bulk imported from a Comma-Separated Values (CSV)
file, imported from a CUCM server database, or synchronized directly from a Lightweight
Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) system. Password authentication can be redirected to
the LDAP system for single sign-on functionality.
CUC can integrate with a Microsoft Exchange server, using Web-Based Distributed Au-
thoring and Versioning (WebDAV) to provide calendar and journal information for integra-
tion with Cisco Unified MeetingPlace and Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Express,
Microsoft Exchange 2003, and personal call routing rules within CUC itself. Calendar in-
tegration services for Microsoft Exchange 2007 are handled using the web service's appli-
cation programming interface (API).
CUC provides a traditional Telephone User Interface (TUI) for interaction over Dual-Tone
Multi-Frequency (DTMF) phones, a Voice User Interface (VUI) for hands-free interaction,
and the IP phone service-based Voice View Express to see voice-message headers on the
IP phone screen or in the Cisco Unified Personal Communicator.
Single-Site and Multisite Deployment Considerations
The simplest deployment of the CUC application is as a single-site model, with one build-
ing or campus accessing a single CUC server (or active-active redundant pair). The advan-
tages of design simplicity, a single codec for all calls, and a greatly reduced
implementation task list make this an attractive option.
