Cisco® Unified Service Monitor 1.1 provides near-real-time evaluation and reporting on the voice quality of calls in a Cisco Unified Communications system. Cisco Unified Service Monitor uses a small sensor to monitor and analyze the Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) streams flowing between Cisco Unified IP phones, a gateway, and/or telephony service such as voice mail. Cisco Unified Service Monitor is part of the Cisco Unified Communications Management Suite, which provides real-time operations management information about the Cisco Unified Communications deployment and its underlying IP network, as well as many diagnostic tools and services.
The Cisco Unified Service Monitor voice quality solution consists of central Service Monitor software and Cisco 1040 hardware. The Cisco 1040 Sensor can be deployed in campus and remote locations (such as branch offices) to analyze voice-specific RTP data streams and calculates a Mean Opinion Score (MOS) value for each stream. The end-user experience is captured, analyzed, and reported every 60 seconds. The Cisco 1040 Sensor is the required hardware for the Cisco Unified Service Monitor application software. Table 1 describes the primary features of Cisco Unified Service Monitor.
Table 1. Cisco Unified Service Monitor 1.1 Features
Feature
Description
Voice quality monitoring
Provides near-real-time information about the end-user experience of active calls in the Cisco Unified Communications system.
Voice quality alerts
Analyzes RTP streams flowing between Cisco Unified IP phones, a gateway, and/or telephony service such as voice mail and generates notifications if user-defined MOS threshold has been violated.
Ease of installation and use
Cisco 1040 sensors are configured and installed in a manner similar to Cisco Unified IP phones. They use Power over Ethernet (PoE) using the IEEE 802.3af standard and obtain configuration information from a Trivial FTP (TFTP) server.
Scalability and redundancy
Up to 50 sensors can be supported by a single instance of Cisco Unified Service Monitor software. Multiple instances can be installed in a monitored network. Each sensor can monitor up to 80 RTP streams, corresponding to active calls. In a typical setup the best practice is to deploy sensors in pairs at Switch Port Analyzer (SPAN) ports associated with switches closest to Cisco Unified IP phones. The SPAN port configuration can be optimized to send incoming traffic to the SPAN destination port to monitor 80 RTP streams. Multiple instances of Cisco Unified Service Monitor can be configured for each sensor (as primary, secondary, and so on) to help ensure high availability and reliability of the voice quality monitoring system itself.
Northbound interfaces
Cisco Unified Service Monitor can generate notifications using SNMP traps when a user-defined MOS threshold is violated. The traps can be directed to Cisco Unified Operations Manager or to Manager of Manager (MoM) applications.
UPGRADE PATH
Current users of CiscoWorks IP Communications Service Monitor 1.0 requiring support of more than 10 sensors per software instance must first upgrade to Cisco Unified Service Monitor and purchase the appropriate license to support the required number of Cisco 1040 sensors. Up to 50 sensors are supported per instance of Cisco Unified Service Monitor central software.
AVAILABILITY
Cisco Unified Service Monitor contains encryption technologies controlled by the U.S. government, which is restricted for some types of U.S. exports. Users who want to download software will be prompted to apply for permission to access the encrypted files.
Table 2 lists ordering information for Cisco Unified Service Monitor.
Table 2. Ordering Information
Part Number
Description
CUSM-1040A-2PK
Two Cisco 1040 sensors
CUSM-1040A-5PK
Five Cisco 1040 sensors
CUSM-SW-1.1-K9
Cisco Unified Service Monitor 1.1 software with usage license supporting up to 10 sensors
CUSM1.1-SWLIC10=
Cisco Unified Service Monitor 1.1 usage license upgrade for up to 10 additional sensors
CUSM-1.1-6PK-BUND
Cisco Unified Service Monitor 1.1 bundle with 6 Cisco 1040 sensors, Cisco Unified Service Monitor software, and usage license supporting up to 10 sensors
CUOM-1.1-MMB-K9
Cisco Unified Management Mid Market bundle (Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 to support up to 1000 phones, Cisco Unified Service Monitor 1.1 licensed to support up to 10 sensors, and 2 Cisco 1040 sensors)
CUOM-1.1-ENT-K9
Cisco Unified Management Enterprise bundle (Cisco Unified Operations Manager 1.1 to support up to 5000 phones, Cisco Unified Service Monitor 1.1 licensed to support up to 10 sensors, and 6 Cisco 1040 sensors)
