Unified Communications Management Application Descriptions

Introduction

This document describes the differences between various Cisco voice and video-related management applications in order to prevent confusion, to educate about the various tools, and to provide useful information about where to receive support. Due to overlaps in functionality, naming, and versions, there are several scenarios where confusion might arise.

Prerequisites

Requirements

There are no specific requirements for this document.

Components Used

The information in this document is based on:

• Cisco Prime Collaboration Assurance
• Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning
• Cisco Prime Collaboration Manager
• Cisco Prime Unified Operations Manager
• Cisco Prime Unified Service Monitor
• Cisco Prime Unified Service Statistics Manager
• Cisco Prime Unified Provisioning Manager

The information in this document was created from the devices in a specific lab environment. All of the devices used in this document started with a cleared (default) configuration. If your network is live, make sure that you understand the potential impact of any command.

Background Information 

Possible Areas of Confusion

• Use of Prime - Note that all seven applications include Prime as part of their name. Additionally, it is also used as part of the names of many other Cisco management-related products. Therefore, it is important to be clear and specific about which application is referenced and to not refer to a product simply as Prime. See the Product Details section for further details on naming and common aliases.
• Prime Collaboration versus Prime Collaboration Manager - Be aware that Prime Collaboration refers to the current product suite of voice and video management applications that includes Assurance and Provisioning servers. It is separate and distinct from the similarly named Prime Collaboration Manager (PCM), which is an older video-related product. A useful characteristic used in order to distinguish between these products is the product version: PCM only has Releases 1.x, whereas Prime Collaboration has Versions 9.0 and later.
• Versions - Both the Unified Communications Management Suite (UCMS) and Prime Collaboration products have Releases 9.0, and share similar functions/interfaces. If confusion arises, make note of the Operating System (OS): All UCMS applications are Microsoft Windows-based, while all Prime Collaboration applications are Linux-based.
• Prime Collaboration is not a rename/rebrand of UCMS - Note that, while it is possible to migrate data from the older applications to Prime Collaboration, it is not simply the next version, and you cannot use the product names interchangeably; they are different applications that run on different OSs. It is not possible to directly upgrade from one to the other. 

History

This section provides details about how the current generation of products evolved from the previous one. It might be helpful to understand the place from where certain product functionalities originated, as well as where they currently exist.

The previous generation of management applications consists of the four UCMS applications and Prime Collaboration Manager. The UCMS applications, CUOM, CUSM, CUSSM, and CUPM, are all Microsoft Windows-based utilities for the management of voice environments. Earlier versions did not include Prime as part of the names; this was introduced with Release 8.6. Although formally renamed, in practice, the inclusion of Prime did not become common. As such, most still refer to each product by the original names. Version 9.0 was the final release of each product in the UCMS suite.

PCM, which is not a part of the UCMS suite, is Linux-based and is used in order to manage video/telepresence environments. As of July 3, 2013, all versions of PCM and UCMS applications are end-of-sale. All customers that use these applications are advised to migrate to Prime Collaboration.

The current generation of management applications is the Prime Collaboration product suite, which consists of two applications: Prime Collaboration Assurance and Prime Collaboration Provisioning. The functionalities of CUOM, CUSM, and PCM are combined into the Assurance server for the Version 9.0 initial release. CUPM was rebranded and ported to Linux as the Provisioning server. CUSSM/Analytics functionality was added to Assurance in the Version 9.5 release. Customers can migrate from UCMS and/or PCM via an import script on the new servers. Note that both the Prime Collaboration suite and UCMS have a Version 9.0 release. This is one more area for potential confusion, particularly for the provisioning servers, as they share similar names and functionality. 

Product Details

This section provides detailed information for the various Cisco voice and video-related management applications. 

Cisco Prime Collaboration Product Suite

• Common Name: Prime Collaboration/PC
• Also Known As: CPC
• Description: Current generation of voice and video management applications, replaces UCMS
• End-of-Life (EOL): No current EOL notices

Note: The Cisco Prime Collaboration Product Suite consists of the Cisco Prime Collaboration Assurance and Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning products, both of which are detailed in this section.

Cisco Prime Collaboration Assurance

• Common Name: Prime Collaboration Assurance/PCA
• Also Known As: CPCA, Assurance
• Description: Monitors and reports voice and video. Version 9.0 combines the functionality of PCM, CUOM, and CUSM. CUSSM/analytics is also included with Versions 9.5 and later.
• Versions: 9.0, 9.5
• OS: Linux/CARS
• When you open a TAC Service Request:
  
  
  • Technology: Telepresence
    Sub-Technology: Prime Collaboration (Assurance) 9.x and Later (TelePresence Only) - This is for product issues that are related to telepresence/video infrastructure and endpoints.
  • Technology: Voice - Communications Manager Additional Apps and Plugins
    Sub-Technology: Prime Collaboration (Assurance) 9.x and Later (other than TelePresence) - This is used for all other product issues.

Cisco Prime Collaboration Provisioning

• Common Name: Prime Collaboration Provisioning/PCP
• Also Known As: CPCP, Provisioning
• Description: Provides voice and video provisioning. Version 9.0 is essentially CUPM rebranded and ported to Linux. Versions 9.5 and later incorporate more video-related functionality as well as take on more of the UI for CUCM and Unity Connection.
• Versions: 9.0, 9.5
• OS: Linux/CARS
• When you open a TAC Service Request:
  
  
  • Technology: Voice - Communications Manager Additional Apps and Plugins
  • Sub-Technology: Prime Collaboration (Provisioning) 9.x and Later - This is used for all product issues.

Cisco Prime Collaboration Manager

• Common Name: Collab Manager/PCM
• Also Known As: Prime Collaboration Manager, Collaboration Manager, CM, CPCM
• Description: Monitors and troubleshoots telepresence, video, and associated infrastructure (no voice infrastructure or endpoints). Despite the name, this is not part of the Prime Collaboration Product Suite.
• Versions: 1.0, 1.1, 1.2
• OS: CARS/Linux
• End-of-Sale: July 3, 2013
• End-of-Software Maintenance: July 3, 2014
• End-of-Support: July 31, 2018
• When you open a TAC Service Request:
  
  
  • Technology: Telepresence
  • Sub-Technology: Prime Collaboration Manager - This is used for all product issues.

Cisco Unified Communications Management Suite

• Common Name: Unified Communications Management Suite/UCMS
• Also Known As: CUCMS
• Description: This is a part of the previous generation of voice management applications, which monitors, reports, and provisions for voice environments. It consists of the Operations Manager (CUOM), Service Monitor (CUSM), Service Statistics Manager (CUSSM), and Provisioning Manager (CUPM). For smaller installs, it is possible to install these applications together on the same sever. The most common co-resident variant is CUOM with CUSM. All applications are currently end-of-sale, and customers are encouraged to migrate to Prime Collaboration.
• End-of-Sale: July 3, 2013
• End-of-Software Maintenance: July 3, 2014
• End-of-Support: July 31, 2016

Note: The Cisco Unified Communications Suite consists of the Cisco Prime Unified Operations Manager, Service Monitor, Service Statistics Manager, and Provisioning Manager products, all of which are detailed in this section.

Cisco Prime Unified Operations Manager

• Common Name: Ops Manager/CUOM
• Also Known As: Cisco Unified Operations Manager, CPUOM, UOM, OM
• Description: Monitors voice-related devices, which includes: applications, routers, switches, and phones.
• Versions: 8.0, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 9.0 (also 1.x and 2.x from pre-UCMS)
• OS: Windows Server 2003 and 2008
• End-of-Sale: July 3, 2013
• End-of-Software Maintenance: July 3, 2014
• End-of-Support: July 31, 2016
• When you open a TAC Service Request:
  
  
  • Technology: Network Management CiscoWorks
  • Sub-Technology: Cisco Unified Management Applications (CUOM, CUSM, CUSSM, ITEM) - This is used for all product issues.

Cisco Prime Unified Service Monitor

• Common Name: Service Monitor/CUSM
• Also Known As: Cisco Unified Service Monitor, CPUSM, USM, SM
• Description: Provides comprehensive voice-quality measurements, reports, and alerts.
• Versions: 8.0, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 9.0 (also 1.x and 2.x from pre-UCMS)
• OS: Windows Server 2003 and 2008
• End-of-Sale: July 3, 2013
• End-of-Software Maintenance: July 3, 2014
• End-of-Support: July 31, 2016
• When you open a TAC Service Request:
  
  
  • Technology: Network Management CiscoWorks
  • Sub-Technology: Cisco Unified Management Applications (CUOM, CUSM, CUSSM, ITEM) - This is used for all product issues.

Cisco Prime Unified Service Statistics Manager

• Common Name: CUSSM
• Also Known As: Cisco Unified Service Statistics Manager, CPUSSM, USSM, SSM, Stats Manager
• Description: Provides reports based on data from CUOM and CUSM.
• Versions: 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 9.0 (also 1.x from pre-UCMS)
• OS: Windows Server 2003 and 2008
• End-of-Sale: July 3, 2013
• End-of-Software Maintenance: July 3, 2014
• End-of-Support: July 31, 2016
• When you open a TAC Service Request:
  
  
  • Technology: Network Management CiscoWorks
  • Sub-technology: Cisco Unified Management Applications (CUOM, CUSM, CUSSM, ITEM) - This is used for all product issues.

Cisco Unified Provisioning Manager

• Common Name: CUPM/Provisioning Manager
• Also Known As: Cisco Unified Provisioning Manager, CPUPM, PM
• Description: CUPM is intended to simplify the user/phone provisioning process. It provides a single interface that is used in order to manage users, phones, and voicemail accounts.
• Versions: 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 9.0 (also 1.x and 2.x from pre-UCMS)
• OS: Windows Server 2003 and 2008
• End-of-Sale: July 3, 2013
• End-of-Software Maintenance: July 3, 2014
• End-of-Support: July 31, 2016
• When you open a TAC Service Request:
  
  
  • Technology: Voice - Communications Manager Additional Apps and Plugins
  • Sub-Technology: Cisco Unified Provisioning Manager (CUPM) - This is used for all product issues.