CUCM Call Routing Components

What's the difference between Local Route Groups LRG and Standard Local Route Groups SLRG ?

They both are part of the same construct. LRG are set at the device pool level, SLRG are set at the route list level.

Define Urgent Priority

When a pattern configured with Urgent Priority is the best match, the digits are forwarded without waiting for further digit input, and the call is routed/blocked. This feature is useful for: - implementing emergency calls and - implementing overlapping route patterns in variable-length national dial plans

How do we produce route patterns with the @ wildcard?

When you create a route pattern with the @ wildcard, CUCM creates generic route patterns that correspond to the chosen numbering plan. If there are no route filters on CUCM server, then all the generated route patterns are inserted in the call routing table.

what's the pattern for a US local call?

[2-9]XX XXXX or [2-9]XX [2-9]XX XXXX depending on the region. Explanation: usually local calls are 7-digit long. But some metropolitan areas have both 7-digit and 10-digit long dialing, and are local calls. In some other areas, local calls are only 10-digits long.

What is the Cisco definition of a PSTN call?

a call that ultimately matches a RP to reach a number on the PSTN

What is an abbreviated call?

a call where the called-party number is expanded to a longer number

What's a uniform on-net dial plan?

a dial plan for on-net calls, that uses fixed-length-digits extension

Give some benefits of SIP dial rules?

a dial rule contains a list of patterns. If a dialed string matches a SIP dial rule pattern, then the call is immediately sent to CUCM, without waiting for the user to press # or "dial" softkey. And SIP dial rules off-load digit processing to the phone

What's a reorder tone?

a fast busy signal.

Why in large cities do we need to dial 10-digit numbers?

a north American city may have many area codes within it. That's why in large cities, we need to dial 10-digit numbers

What is a globalized pattern?

a pattern that contains the International escape character (+)

What does it mean to have a phone that supports + dialing?

a phone that contains the + key and can dial E164 numbers

Define the CUCM addressing method.

a.k.a digit signaling, it's how CUCM receives digits.

For type-A SIP phones without SIP dial rules, when and how are digits sent to CUCM?

after the user presses # or the "dial" softkey. All digits are sent in one bloc (one INVITE message).

What is an international access code?

aka "exit code": a prefix that must be added to "exit" the country and dial an international number. e.g: 011 in US, 00 in TN and EU. NB: not to be confused with "country code", which is 1-3 digits long, that must be typed to enter a country. eg: 216 for TN, 1 for US, 33 for FR

What is a call routing request source?

an entity that generates a lookup in the call routing table.

What's a route list?

an ordered list of route groups

Give examples of criteria on which path selection is based?

bandwidth, cost, availability, exhaustion

Why do we need to modify the default call classification scheme?

because sometimes a RG points to devices where one points to WAN and another points to PSTN. So we can not consider both calls to be of the same type.

How is a call classified on-net or off-net, on CUCM?

by default, the call is classified according to the Call Classification value in the route pattern configuration menu. But, if the "Allow Device Override" box is checked, then it's the Call Classification value on the associated gateway/trunk that defines whether it is OnNet or OffNet.

in CUCM, if you choose to allow users to press # to prevent interdigit timeout, what consideration must be true?

configure each route pattern twice: one with #, and one without. --> because there will be users who press the # button, and others do not.

What's the difference between blocking a route pattern on the route pattern configuration menu vs in a CSS?

configuring a blocked pattern on a route pattern blocks that pattern for all entities, while using CSS to block it is a restriction for only the entities that are using that CSS

What happens when there's no match in SIP dial rules?

digits are silently dropped

Which digit signaling method do Type A SIP phones use?

enbloc signaling

true/false: Digit Manipulation at route list level does not override Digit Manipulation at route pattern level.

false

true/false: when Time of Day is off, the corresponding partition is deleted from the CSS

false, it's deactivated, but is not deleted.

true/false: in route group terminology, a device is a gateway.

false. A device can be either a gateway or a trunk.

true/false: each US state is assigned a one and unique Area code

false. Each area with more than 20,000 people is assigned an area code. A state may have more than one area code.

If the SIP phone uses SIP dial rules, then digits are sent digit by digit

false. If the dialed pattern matches a SIP rule, digits are sent enbloc

true/false: CUCM always receives the dialed string digit by digit.

false. It depends on the digit signaling protocol (SCCP,SIP), the gateway protocol (MGCP, H.323, SIP), the device (gateway, trunk), the phone type (type-A, type-B), the method by which digits are entered, the CUCM version and the firmware load.

True/false: SIP dial rules are configured on the IP phone.

false. They're configured on CUCM and downloaded by ip phone at boot time.

true/false: type-A SCCP phones support en bloc digit signaling.

false. Type-A SCCP phones support digit by digit signaling only.

true/false: to manipulate call classification, go to call routing menu.

false. it's on the RP config page, or on the gateway page, if the "allow device override" checkbox is selected at the RP page

How to configure abbreviated dialing for a specific user?

go to the CCMuser page, go to Speed Dials page. The extensions that you configure and that do not show on the phone are abbreviated dialing numbers. The user then dials his number and presses on "AbbrDial"

How do we say that a route list should point to a local route group?

in the route list config menu, select "standard route group". That'll mean "use the local route group configured under the device pool".

what are the call legs of an outgoing PSTN call, from a CUCM standpoint?

inbound call leg: from phone to CUCM; outbound call leg: from CUCM to GW

what are the call legs of an incoming PSTN call?

inbound call leg:from GW to CUCM; outbound call leg: from CUCM to internal phone

What are the call routing request sources in CUCM?

ip phone, gateway, trunk, translation pattern and voicemail port.

E.164 evolved from which standard?

it evolved from the ITU-T E.163 recommandations, written in 1997.

What is an on-net call?

it's a call that is generated and terminated on the same company UCM network, whether it's on the same CUCM cluster or in different clusters, or seperated by PSTN. Technically, it's a call that : - does not cross any gateways or trunks, or - traverses gateways/trunks that are set as OnNet.

What is a local route group?

it's a concept that allows a calling device to use a RG that's on the same physical location as it. So RG and gw/trunk selection becomes dynamic. The way to do it is: - to pre-provision all the RGs that are required by each location, - to set the RG value to "standard local route group", under RL menu - to configure the device pool with the appropriate RG name, under "local route group" settings.

What is the Cisco definition of an off-net call?

it's an inter-site call that ultimately matches a RP to reach another DN on another site/cluster through PSTN

on an ip phone, what are the methods by which digits can be entered?

manual (hook-off then dial), dial button (hooked-on), call list (directory, call history...), speed dial

design question: if we have 300 sites and we have 4 classes of service, how many CSSes would we need?

n_CSS=N+C = 300+4= 304 CSSes total; where N is the number of sites and C is the number of classes of service

Where is Urgent Priority configured?

on RP and TP configuration pages (checkbox).

when and where is a ringdown tone played?

on the called party phone, when the phone is ringing

When and where is a ringback tone played?

on the calling party phone, when the call is extended to the called party

Where is the dialtone file stored?

on the flash memory of the phone

On which type of phones we should press the "dial" soft key, to make the call?

on type-A SIP phones without SIP dial rules

What's the action of trying to match a dial string against configured patterns (RP, TP,...)?

pattern mapping

In a telephony system, which entities can have an extension?

phones, fax machines, applications (voice-mail, auto-attendant)

Define CFUr

"Call Forward if Unregistered", is a feature that allows a DN to be reached on another number, if it's unregistered.

in a route pattern, what's the difference between *,# and X?

* and # are matchable digits; X is a matchable wildcard.

What is the default Cisco classification of calls?

- intra-site - inter-site: on-net and off-net - PSTN

What's the purpose of Calling party normalization?

- to allow calling party to be globalized and localized - to avoid modifying the calling party number when calling it back

When is it recommended to uncheck Urgent Priority in a TP or a RP?

- when there are overlapping patterns or - in the case of patterns for international calls or - when we have variable-length dial plan. So we don't want to route the call immediately as it may be routed to the wrong destination.

what's the pattern for a US national call (aka long distance call)?

1[2-9]XX[2-9]XXXXXX

When user hooks off the SCCP phone and dials 101, how many signaling messages are sent to CUCM?

4: one for the "off-hook", and three for the dialed digits.

Which of these phones does not support the + character in call log directories and speed dials: 7911, 7965, 7937, 7965, 7975?

7937

True/false: given the pattern of 9011.! with predot DDI, International escape character and Urgent Priority option is checked, what happens when a user dials 9011488723566?

As soon as the first digit after 9011 is dialed, CUCM stops mapping and forwards the digits. In this case, the result is "+4" and the call is not routed properly.

Best match vs closest match vs longest match?

Best match is the selected pattern from the CurrentMatch list. Closest match is used in CUCM. It is the pattern that has the fewest number of combinations for a number of digits that equals the lenght of the dialed digit string. Longest match is used in IOS and is used to match dial peers. It is the route pattern that has the longest explicit digits that match a dialed string.

Define CMC

Client Matter code. When a user wants to reach a certain number, he dials the number, hears a dial tone, then has to dial a sequence called "account number". It's used to track calls to specific destinations, on the call billing software.

What are the call routing targets?

DN,meet-me conference numbers,route patterns, translation patterns, voice-mail ports, hunt pilot

Explain call routing as an analogy for ip routing

For explicit patterns(DNs), CUCM knows how to reach endpoints "locally", like connected routes. Route patterns are equivalent to static routes.

define FAC

Forced Authorization Code. When a user wants to dial a number (usually toll charged) he should enter a FAC that has an authorization level >= the configured authorization level for that RP

How does CUCM support E.164 "+" dialing?

It can be configured in patterns: RP, TP, Hunt Pilot, Transformation patterns...

true/false: a CUCM call that crosses the PSTN to reach an IP phone, controlled by the same CUCM, in a branch office is an on-net call.

It depends on what is configured under the route pattern level. If the "provide outside dial tone" checkbox under the RP is selected, then the Call Classification value will automatically change to "OffNet". Otherwise, it is an OnNet call.

What is a variable length extension dial plan?

It means that the dial plan has extensions with different digit lengths.

Which digit signaling method do Type B SIP phones use by default?

KPML signaling

"normalization" vs "localization" vs "globalization"?

Normalization: putting a number in a stardardized format (from the PSTN standpoint or the company standpoint). Eg1: the called Pty number of an incoming PSTN call is normalized to a 4 or 5 digits-length number that corresponds to the internal company's dial plan Eg2: in an outgoing PSTN call, a called Pty number is transformed into a globalized formatted number, in this case a E.164-format number Globalization: putting a number in an E.164 format Localization: putting a number in a format with neither area code nor country code. This is useful for devices that do not support globalized call routing

What's the difference between speed dials and abbreviated dials?

Speed dials show on the phone. Abbreviated dials do not show.

What's EPNM?

External Phone Number Mask

When FAC and CMC are both configured, which is triggered first?

FAC

Define Gateway Overlap sending

Gateway overlap sending: it's sending enough digits, one by one, from the CUCM to the PSTN, until the PSTN node can make a routing decision and route the call.

For which type of ISDN is gateway overlap sending and receiving made?

ISDN PRI only.

when a dialed string matches a route pattern that has the ! wildcard, how does CUCM know that there are no more digits to dial?

In general, one of two conditions must be true: either PotentialMatches list is empty, or T302 timer expires. In this scenario, PotentialMatches list is never empty. So if there are no more dialed digits after the expiration of T302 timer, digits are processed.

What's the equivalent of a route pattern with wildcard digits, in IP routing?

route aggregation, in the routing table.

What does E.164 bring new to the PSTN telephony world?

the addition of the escape caracter "+"

regarding route patterns: when there are many matches, what is the best match?

the closest match (the pattern with least possible strings and with the fewest number of digits, other than the matched digits)

when doing CallForwardAll, what consideration should we take regarding the destination pattern?

the destination pattern should exist in a PT in the call forwarding CSS

Define Area code

the geographic map is divided in Numbering Plan areas (NPAs). Each NPA has a NPA code, aka Area Code

What's the purpose of setting a CSS under a TP?

this CSS' partitions will be checked while mapping the resulting translated pattern against any possible match.

When a number to be reached is prefixed with +, what does it mean?

this is a normalized number. And more precisely, it's a globalized number

what's one benefit of local route groups?

to make gateway selection dynamic and dependent on the calling party (phone) rather than dependent on the RP --> decouples the gateway selection from the RP

true/false: CSS dictate the calling privileges

true

true/false: Digit Manipulation (DM) at device level overrides DM at route list level.

true

true/false: it's possible to assign a timezone to a partition, when ToDR is used.

true

true/false: a route pattern can be an "allowed pattern" or a "blocked pattern".

true, depending on the route pattern configuration.

true/false: Abbreviated dialing is enabled by default on CUCM.

true, since CCM v4.

true/false: for shared lines, it is possible either to propagate the Line Text Label and ASCII Label to all associated devices, or to set them individually.

true.

true/false: type-A SIP phones use en bloc dialing only.

true.

true/false: type-B SCCP phones support both digit by digit and en bloc signaling.

true.

true/false: Cisco recommends using explicit route patterns over using the @ wildcard.

true. It facilitates troubleshooting.

true/false: Route filters can be used when the @ wildcard is used.

true. Route filters are usable only with @-based route patterns.

True/false: when CUCM is upgraded, Urgent Priority option is by default checked in TP

true. We need to update our patterns.

how many call legs does a PSTN call contain, from a gateway standpoint?

two:inbound (incoming) call leg and outbound (outgoing) call leg

what's the egress device of an outgoing PSTN call?

voice gateway

what's the ingress device of an incoming PSTN call?

voice gateway

which entities can be call routing request sources and targets at the same time?

voice-mail ports and translation patterns

when is the @ wildcard used?

when we want a quick small/medium call routing design. With the current CUCM versions, only the North American numbering plan (NANP) is supported by the @ wildcard. NANP covers USA, Canada and Costa Rica.