Cisco IPICS Overview

Cisco IP Interoperability and Collaboration System (IPICS) uses multiple features and APIs on several Cisco products to enable interoperability between legacy edge devices and IP-enabled, standards-based protocols and smart devices. Cisco IPICS also provides a seamless migration path between legacy and next-generation technologies. Its modular software architecture provides enables disparate systems to interoperate.

In Phase 1.0 Cisco IPICS provides:

• Voice interoperability to enable PTT (Push to Talk)
• Cisco IP Phones
• Cisco IPICS Push to talk management client (PMC)
• Land Mobile Radio (LMR)
• Time division multiplexing (TDM) Hoot bridges
• A web-enabled interface to manage the interoperability, audit trail, and policy-based management of the PTT resources (represented as channels).
• Design and deployments that make use of network-centric features to enable connectivity, reliability, security, resilience, and mobility

Communications interoperability, data integration, and true event, incident based contextual collaboration between agencies and organizations are serious problems in many market segments, including:

• Enterprise safety/security/loss prevention
• Transportation
• Retail
• Financials
• Public safety
• First responders
• Defense

Customers in these market segments typically deploy a multitude of wireless and wired networks to achieve their business and service goals. In the enterprise safety/security, transportation, and retail segments, lack of interoperability and collaboration have hampered streamlining of the operations to achieve dramatic efficiencies and customer satisfaction.

The Cisco IPICS delivers a systems approach to solving the interoperability and collaboration problems while providing a framework applicable to many verticals in the areas of operations, command, and control. Broadly, Cisco IPICS will focus on providing communications interoperability with contextual integration of voice, video, data, and messaging for operations and command and control for the following or similar environments:

• Enterprise operations (retail, transportation, healthcare, financial, etc.)
• Enterprise safety/security/loss prevention
• Public safety and first responders
• DOD, federal, and state agencies (Coast Guard, Forest Service, FBI, etc.)

The Cisco IPICS solution provides a cost-effective, customizable, and highly efficient IP standards-based solution to for voice interoperability. Its secure and integrated Web-based system management software, PMC PC client application, and use of XML services on IP phones extend the reach of PTT voice technology from the LMR environment to the IP network. By using this Web-based systems approach, Cisco IPICS enables easy, rapid deployment and management of disparate audio communications systems.

The following examples portray typical disparate networks:

• Legacy PTT radio networks (analog or digital at different frequencies) that are used for voice communications within groups. Communication is usually restricted within a specified group or network due to the RF limitations and proprietary protocols.
• Traditional Hoot bridges are connected over the TDM circuits and cannot provide an audit trail. They do not seamlessly integrate with other PTT or VoIP networks. Unlike IP, these deployments are not flexible in terms of mobility and serviceability.
• Voice over IP (VoIP) networks that are used to carry packetized voice on wired or wireless IP phones or other IP clients, such as personal data assistants and laptop PCs do not interact with the PTT services.

For these types of customers, the Cisco IPICS solution provides many advantages, including the following:

• Its incident management framework GUI facilitates operations and command and control tasks.
• It is a cost-effective solution that allows you to streamline operations and command and control areas while protecting your investment in deployed radio networks or legacy Hoot bridges and applications.
• Easy-to-use installation, management, and operational features support a migration path to more robust IP applications, devices, and solutions that help you cost effectively achieve greater operational efficiencies.
• Current IP infrastructure requires minimal upgrades.

Cisco IPICS Solution Components

The major components of the Cisco IPICS solution build upon a robust network infrastructure that includes, IP Multicast, quality of service (QoS), IP telephony, and network-based security (IPsec). The solution uses voice and data features on Cisco IOS platforms and also the Cisco call control platforms such as CallManager and CallManager Express. Figure 1 shows the Cisco IPICS server appliance, the client components managed and served by the Cisco IPICS server, and the features and integration of the client components.

Figure 1 Cisco IPICS Solution Components

Cisco IPICS Server

The server component provides the core functionality of the Cisco IPICS system. The server has modular software components that run on the Linux Red Hat operating system. It manages policies, resources, configuration, authentication, privileges, roles, and security services.

The server software includes a customizable incident management framework GUI that enables resource management for users, channels, and virtual talk groups (VTGs). This GUI also supports the setup and use of configurations for policies and privileges according to standard operating procedures for interoperability needs. It also hosts configuration controls to manage the media resources router media services (RMS) that are digital signaling processor (DSP) engines on the router enabled by Cisco IOS Software. The RMS are used for patching the media from disparate resources such as LMR, Hootie, Cisco IPICS PMC, and Cisco IP Phones. For detailed information on installing, configuring, and customizing the IPICS Server, refer to Cisco IPICS Server Installation and User Guide. See Figure 2 for a snapshot of the IPICS server GUI.

Note: The Cisco IPICS server software runs on selected Cisco Media Convergence Server (MCS) platforms. Refer to the Cisco 7800 Series Media Convergence Servers data sheets, or contact your Cisco representative, for information about the servers that Cisco IPICS supports.

Figure 2 IPICS Server GUI.

Push-to-Talk Management Center

The PMC is a desktop-based software application that:

• Enables users, dispatch personnel, and administrators to participate simultaneously through an IP network, in one or more channels or VTGs
• Can represent multiple IP-enabled LMR channels on the user’s desktop or an IP-enabled Hoot bridge
• Enables the extension of the legacy radio network or hoot network to the desktop thereby eliminating the need for multiple audio devices at the user’s end
• Enables mobility, because the user can login from anywhere and gain access to the authorized channels based on the authentication and privileges
• Allows monitoring and participation in one or multiple PTT channels or VTGs simultaneously through an easy-to-use GUI
• Runs on Microsoft Windows 2000 or Windows XP operating systems
• The Cisco IPICS operator enables a user profile for access to the PMC application. The operator also assigns specific PTT channels that you can monitor and use to participate in conferences with other Cisco IPICS users.

Easily install the PMC application by using the PMC download feature on the Cisco IPICS server admin console. After the application is installed, Cisco IPICS automatically upgrades your PMC with new versions as they become available. You have the option to maintain and choose multiple versions of PMC. This also allows for uninterrupted service during upgrades.

The default PMC GUI includes four or eight buttons, depending on your preference. The skin is highly customizable. The buttons activate the PTT channels and VTGs that are assigned to you. When you choose a button, the PMC highlights the button to show that the PTT channel or VTG is active. You use the same button to talk, similar to the PTT button on a handheld radio (see Figure 3 showing an active channel on the GUI). For information on installing, using, and customizing the PMC, refers to Cisco IPICS PMC Installation and User Guide.

Figure 3 PTT Management Center

The Cisco IPICS solution also includes XML applications that enable the display of interactive content with text and graphics on Cisco IP Phones. After the list of services is configured, users can use the Cisco CallManager User Options Menu to subscribe to these services for their Cisco IP Phones, or an administrator can add services to Cisco IP Phones and device profiles. Administrators can assign services to speed-dial buttons, so users have one-button access to the services.

Cisco IP Phone Services

Cisco IP Phones differ from modern private branch exchange (PBX) phones in their ability to deploy services completely independently of CallManager or CallManager Express. Cisco IP Phones are on a network and can communicate with any other compatible device on the network. These devices include Web servers, mail servers, and a wide variety of other IP-based devices.

The Cisco IPICS server serves the XML to the phone by using the published API for Cisco IP Phones. This enables the phones to authenticate with a Cisco IPICS server and download the allocated channels. A Cisco IP Phone now behaves like a PTT client and allows the user to log in to the respective channel to send and get audio from the LMR (land mobile radio) or Hootie client.

Land Mobile Radios

The LMR feature is useful to integrate legacy radio systems, public address (PA) systems, Hoot bridges, and other audio analog or digital input. An LMR gateway has the features and functionality that makes it a TDM-to-IP gateway for the analog and digital audio devices connected to the LMR router port. The audio received on the voice port is encoded with a standard audio codec, such as G.711 or G.729. Those audio samples are packaged in standards-based Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) packets suitable for transport on an IP network. At this point, the communication element is abstracted from the distinctive characteristics of each radio system, thus providing a solution for the interoperability problem. Now these audio packets can be sent across the network to other LMR gateways with different brands of radio systems either individually (unicast) or as a group (multicast).

The analog ear and mouth (E&M) port was traditionally used as a tie line between PBXs, and this interface has not been enhanced to support a variety of features that support integration with legacy radio systems and Hoot bridges, such as:

• Tone generation
• Notch filtering
• Voice transmit delay
• PTT timeout
• Automatic gain control (in/out)
• Voice activation detection¬-enabled (E) lead
• E&M lead configurable options
• LED indicators for audio activity

Router Media Services

Router media services (RMS) use the hardware DSP voice infrastructure of Cisco IOS Software on access routers (C3700, C3800, C2800) to enable media services on the router. RMS provides the following capability at the branch:

• Enables PTT media convergence for multicast, unicast, TDM, and SIP end points
• Has tighter integration with other key router features
• Enables centralized control plane for managing multiple RMS
• Eliminates the need for maintenance and management overheads of branch-server-based media services
• Enables WAN bandwidth optimization

The Cisco IPICS Server manages the smart allocation of RMS DSP resources based on the defined location for the RMS. IPICS also ensures that the media services are appropriately enabled as unicast or multicast based on user location.

IPICS Deployment Across Industries

The Cisco IPICS Solution can be deployed across several industries, such as public safety, finance, enterprise safety and security, and transportation. The deployment of Cisco IPICS mainly differs between verticals due to the underlying network design and configuration. For example, IPICS can be deployed at the branch office or a single site using IPICS solution components described above.

A public safety network could be designed based on the Cisco Metropolitan Mobile Network architecture, including wireless and wired network. The public safety agencies of the city either share the same IP backbone or are different networks. Similarly the network across the jurisdiction boundary is more likely a totally separate network. The section below briefly describes the network architecture for a city government network that spans multiple agencies.

The Cisco Metropolitan Mobile Network architecture consists of the following areas:

• Core network: A government private data network comprising a core infrastructure of intelligent switching and routing with an overlay of productivity-enhancing technologies, including IP communications, mobility, and advanced security
• Aggregation: Terminating points at the edge of the network where edge devices are used to provide intelligent edge and routing capabilities and security technologies such as intrusion detection, firewall, and VPN are used to protect the network
• Distribution: The extension of network capabilities from the wired infrastructure to the field to provide:
• High-speed, secure, and remote access at outdoor locations, including buildings, lampposts, traffic signals, and antenna towers
• Cellular mobile data service
• Access: Access, through WLAN devices, to all integrated network services to:
• Permit secure, encrypted communications across the city
• Allow instant access to all data and communications services from any location that is accessible by wireless signals

Multiservice Campus Networks

Networks at airports are multiservice networks. Service providers that offer managed services have a similar network that also has the WAN overheads and spans a much wider geographic area. A lot of financial companies choose managed customer premises equipment (CPE) at the branch office. The features of a multiservice campus network for an airport enable migration to a high-bandwidth, highly reliable, converged network that:

• Provides connectivity throughout the entire airport facility
• Protects current investments with a standards-based, flexible IP Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) architecture
• Builds new services for airport tenants

Networked devices, such as terminals, phones, displays, printers, and cameras at airport gates, can be easily connected to the overall airport network. The resilient Cisco network architecture helps to ensure QoS and high availability, which are critical to airport operations and security applications.