500-444 Cisco Contact Center Enterprise Implementation and Troubleshooting Questions and Answers

 The deployment team is responsible for ensuring that servers designated for use by CCE VMs meet the requirements, including but not limited to Storage System Performance and IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second) Requirements. The deployment team is the group of engineers who install, configure, and test the CCE solution at the customer site. They must follow the design specifications and guidelines provided by the design team, and verify that the hardware and software components are compatible and meet the performance and capacity requirements. The deployment team must also ensure that the CCE VMs are deployed on the appropriate servers and have the correct network and storage configurations1. References: Troubleshooting Cisco Contact Center Enterprise (CCET) course outline2, Virtualization for Cisco Packaged CCE Release 11.6(x)1.

To execute a particular script that is configured using script explorer for a specific time, you need to have a dialed number mapped to a call type and in turn mapped to a scheduled script. This is because the dialed number identifies the call and associates it with a call type, which determines the routing script to be executed. The routing script can be scheduled for different versions or times using the script explorer tool. The script explorer allows you to view, modify, and schedule scripts for different call types and dialed numbers12. References: Scripting and Media Routing Guide for Cisco Unified ICM/Contact Center Enterprise, Release 12.5 (1) and 12.5 (2)1, Cisco Packaged Contact Center Enterprise Features Guide, Release 12.0 (1)2.

The CiscoCertUtil tool is a utility that helps you manage certificates on any Contact Center Enterprise machine for machine-to-machine secure communication across components. Some of the functions of the CiscoCertUtil tool are:

• It generates certificate signing requests (CSR) that can be submitted to a certificate authority (CA) for obtaining CA-signed certificates. A CSR is a message sent from an applicant to a CA in order to apply for a digital identity certificate. It usually contains the public key for which the certificate should be issued, identifying information (such as a domain name) and integrity protection (such as a digital signature).
• It generates self-signed certificates in the PFX format, which is a binary format for storing the server certificate, any intermediate certificates, and the private key in one encryptable file. PFX is an acronym for Personal Information Exchange. PFX files are typically used on Windows machines to import and export certificates and private keys.
• It creates a log file pertaining to the operations that it performs for troubleshooting. The log file is located in the \icm\bin\CiscoCertUtil.log folder. The log file contains information such as the date and time of the operation, the command executed, the parameters used, the status of the operation, and any error messages.
• It validates any certificate that is installed on the machine. It checks the validity period, the signature, the trust chain, and the revocation status of the certificate. It also displays the certificate details such as the subject, the issuer, the serial number, the thumbprint, and the public key.

References:

• Security Guide for Cisco Unified ICM/Contact Center Enterprise, Release 12.6(1) - Certificate Management for Secured Connections
• Security Guide for Cisco Unified ICM/Contact Center Enterprise, Release 12.5 (1) and 12.5 (2) - Certificate Management for Secured Connections
• Security Guide for Cisco Unified ICM/Contact Center Enterprise, Release 12.0(1) - Certificate Management for Secured Connections

Cisco VOS is a Linux-based operating system that runs on Cisco Unified Communications servers. It provides a common platform for various Cisco applications, such as Finesse, CUIC, CVP, and ECE. Finesse is a web-based agent and supervisor desktop solution that integrates with Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise (CCE) and Customer Voice Portal (CVP). CUIC is a web-based reporting and analytics solution that provides real-time and historical data for Cisco Unified CCE and CVP. CVP is a software-based solution that provides call control, voice self-service, and outbound dialing capabilities. ECE is an email and chat solution that integrates with Cisco Unified CCE and Finesse.

References:

• Cisco VOS System Administration - Certificate Management1
• Cisco Packaged Contact Center Enterprise Installation and Upgrade Guide, Release 12.6 (2) - Prepare Customer Site Servers2
• Troubleshooting Cisco Contact Center Enterprise (CCET) Course Outline

 Active Directory (AD) is a directory service that provides centralized authentication, authorization, and management of users, computers, and resources in a network. AD is based on a hierarchical structure of domains, trees, and forests, where each domain represents a logical administrative unit with its own security policies and replication scope. AD also supports site topology, which defines the physical structure of the network based on locations and network links. Some of the considerations for AD are:

• Read-Only Domain Controllers (RODC) are supported. An RODC is a domain controller that hosts a read-only copy of the AD database and does not accept any changes from clients. RODCs are useful for improving security and performance in remote or branch offices that have unreliable or slow network connections to the main office. RODCs can also cache credentials for specific users and groups, and provide local authentication services without exposing the entire AD database12.
• Supports multi-domain, single AD Forest topology. A forest is a collection of one or more AD domains that share a common schema, configuration, and global catalog. A forest can have multiple domains that are organized in a tree structure, where each domain has a trust relationship with its parent domain. A multi-domain, single forest topology allows for administrative autonomy, scalability, and flexibility in managing different domains within the same organization. For example, a company can have separate domains for different regions, departments, or business units, and still share common resources and services across the forest34.

References:

• What is a Read-Only Domain Controller?
• Read-Only Domain Controller (RODC) Best Practices
• Designing the Site Topology
• Active Directory Domain Services Overview

The Active and Configured CUIC Users for the 2K deployment model are 200 and 800 respectively. This means that the CUIC server can support up to 200 concurrent users and up to 800 configured users. A concurrent user is a user who is logged in to CUIC and actively using the application. A configured user is a user who has an account in CUIC, regardless of whether they are logged in or not. The 2K deployment model is one of the UCCE deployment types that defines the maximum number of agents, supervisors, and reporting users that can be supported by the system. The 2K deployment model can support up to 2000 agents, 200 supervisors, and 200 CUIC concurrent users12. References:

• Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise Installation and Upgrade Guide, Release 12.5 (1) and 12.5 (2) - CLI Commands during Installation and Upgrade 2
• Cisco 500-444 Quiz 1 Topic 8 Questions 1-5 1

SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language) is a service that is used to provide authorization between the Identity Provider (IdP) and the application. SAML is an XML-based open standard for transferring identity data between two parties: an IdP and a service provider (SP). The IdP performs authentication and passes the user’s identity and authorization level to the SP. The SP then grants or denies access to the application based on the user’s credentials and permissions. SAML enables single sign-on (SSO) and federated identity management across different domains and platforms.

OAuthv2 is not a service, but a protocol for authorization that allows a user to grant a third-party application access to their resources without sharing their credentials. OAuthv2 relies on tokens that are issued by an authorization server and used by the client application to access the protected resources. OAuthv2 does not provide authentication or identity information, but it can work with other services, such as OpenID Connect, to achieve that.

Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) is a Microsoft service that provides SSO and identity federation capabilities for Windows-based environments. ADFS uses SAML as the default protocol to communicate with other IdPs and SPs. ADFS can also support other protocols, such as WS-Federation and OAuthv2.

Identity Service (IdS) is a generic term for a service that manages and verifies user identities. An IdS can use different protocols and standards, such as SAML, OAuthv2, OpenID Connect, or LDAP, to provide authentication and authorization services. An IdS can be an IdP, an SP, or both, depending on the context and the role it plays in the identity federation process.

References: What is SAML and how does SAML Authentication Work, Identity Providers and Service Providers, What is an identity provider (IdP)?

The service that must be restarted after modifying the Java Keystore on the CVP servers is the Cisco CVP WebServicesManager. The Cisco CVP WebServicesManager is a service that provides web services for the CVP components, such as the Operations Console, the Reporting Server, and the Call Server. The Java Keystore is a file that stores the certificates and keys for secure communication between the CVP components and other systems. If the Java Keystore is modified, the Cisco CVP WebServicesManager service must be restarted to apply the changes and ensure the proper functioning of the web services12.

References:

• Configure Secure Java Management Extensions (JMX) Communication on CVP3
• User Guide for Cisco Unified CVP VXML Server and Cisco Unified Call Studio Release 11.5 (1) - Rest_Client Integration2

 The URL for the VOS O/S admin page is https:// :8443/osadmin. VOS O/S admin is a web-based tool that allows you to perform various administrative tasks on the Unified CCE servers, such as managing users, certificates, services, network settings, backups, and upgrades. VOS O/S admin requires the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the server and the port number 8443 to access the login page. The other options are not valid URLs for the VOS O/S admin page12. References: Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise Installation and Upgrade Guide, Release 12.5(1)1, Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise Administration Guide, Release 12.5(1)2.

External voice DNs are sourced from CUCM in a CCE Dial Plan. External voice DNs are the DNs that are not associated with any CCE device, such as agent phones, VRU peripherals, or gateways. They are used to route calls to destinations outside the CCE network, such as PSTN numbers, voicemail, or other PBXs. CUCM is responsible for provisioning and managing these DNs and assigning them to the appropriate devices or trunks. CVP can also use external voice DNs to send calls to CUCM for further routing or treatment.

References:

• Troubleshooting Cisco Contact Center Enterprise (CCET) course, Module 3: Troubleshooting Call Flow Issues, Lesson 3.1: Troubleshooting CCE Call Flows, Topic: CCE Dial Plan1
• Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal, Release 12.6 (1) - System Configuration [Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal] - Cisco, Chapter: Dialed Number Pattern Configuration2

Answer: B

The sync job that runs every 10 minutes to bring back the OUT_OF_SYNC machine to the IN_SYNC state is the Automated differential sync job. This sync job compares the configuration of the Packaged CCE components on the primary and secondary nodes and applies the changes to the secondary node if there is any difference. The Automated differential sync job is enabled by default and runs every 10 minutes. It can also be triggered manually from the SPOG UI12.

References:

• Cisco Packaged Contact Center Enterprise Administration and Configuration Guide, Release 12.0 (1) - Synchronize the Configuration1
• Troubleshoot CVP on SPOG that Shows Out of Sync - Cisco3

A PCCE initialization under Unified CCE PG performs the following two tasks among others:

• Creates the CUCM Peripheral Gateway (PG) with the CUCM PIM. A CUCM PG is a component that communicates with the Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) to control and monitor agent phones and route calls. A CUCM PIM is a process that runs on the CUCM PG and acts as an interface between the CUCM and the CTI Server. The PCCE initialization creates the CUCM PG with the CUCM PIM and configures the required settings, such as the JTAPI username and password, the CUCM cluster ID, and the PG ID12.
• Downloads JTAPI from the Unified Communications Manager and installs it on the Unified CCE PG. JTAPI is a Java API that enables computer telephony integration (CTI) applications to interact with the CUCM. The PCCE initialization downloads the JTAPI client from the CUCM publisher and installs it on the Unified CCE PG. This allows the CUCM PIM to use JTAPI to control and monitor agent phones and route calls13.

References:

• Cisco Packaged Contact Center Enterprise Administration and Configuration Guide, Release 12.0 (1) - Initialize the Packaged CCE 2000 Agents Deployment Type1
• Cisco Packaged Contact Center Enterprise Installation and Upgrade Guide, Release 12.0 (1) - Configure PCCE Local Authorization2

Cisco Packaged Contact Center Enterprise Installation and Upgrade Guide, Release 12.0 (1) - Configure Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise PG

• Option A is correct because if one side of the ICM Logger fails, the other side can still receive historical data from both sides of the ICM Router. However, the failed side will not be able to receive any data until it is restored1.
• Option B is correct because the Peripheral Gateways (PGs) are connected to both sides of the ICM Router through the private LAN and the visible network. If the private LAN fails, the PGs can use the visible network to communicate with the active ICM Router and determine which side is the master2.
• Option D is correct because the ICM Router uses heartbeats to monitor the status of its duplex pair. If one side does not receive a heartbeat from the other side within a specified time interval, it assumes that the other side has failed and initiates a failover process3.
• Option C is incorrect because if one side of the ICM Logger fails, the impact of call processing is not limited to the corresponding side of the ICM Router. The ICM Router can still process calls using the data from the surviving ICM Logger side1.
• Option E is incorrect because there is some impact on call processing during an ICM Logger failure. For example, some historical reports may not be available, some configuration changes may not be replicated, and some call data may be lost4.
• Option F is incorrect because during an ICM Router failover, calls in progress in Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal (CVP) are not disconnected. The CVP uses the Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST) feature to maintain the calls until the failover is completed5.

References:

• 1: Troubleshooting Cisco Contact Center Enterprise (CCET), page 2-4
• 2: Troubleshooting Cisco Contact Center Enterprise (CCET), page 2-6
• 3: Troubleshooting Cisco Contact Center Enterprise (CCET), page 2-8
• 4: Troubleshooting Cisco Contact Center Enterprise (CCET), page 2-10
• 5: Troubleshooting Cisco Contact Center Enterprise (CCET), page 2-12