Release Notes for Cisco Unity Connection Release 15

These release notes contain information on Cisco Unity Connection 15 new and changed functionality, upgrade information, limitations, and restrictions.

Contents

Determining the Software Version

This section contains procedures for determining the version in use for the following software:

Cisco Unity Connection Application

This section contains two procedures. Use the applicable procedure, depending on whether you want to use Unity Connection Administration or a command-line interface (CLI) session to determine the version.

Using Cisco Unity Connection Administration

Procedure

In Cisco Unity Connection Administration, in the upper-right corner below the Navigation list, select About.

Using the Command-Line Interface

Before you begin
Procedure

Step 1

Start a command-line interface (CLI) session. (For more information, see the Cisco Unified Communications Operating System Administration Help.)

Step 2

Run the show cuc version command to view the Unity Connection version.

Cisco Personal Communications Assistant Application

This section contains the procedure to determine the version using Cisco PCA application.

Using Cisco PCA Application

Procedure

Step 1

Sign in to Cisco PCA.

Step 2

On the Cisco PCA Home page, select the About link in the upper-right corner. (The link is available on every Cisco PCA page.)

Step 3

The Unity Connection version is displayed, which is same as the version of Cisco PCA.

Cisco Unified Communications Operating System

This section contains two procedures. Use the applicable procedure, depending on whether you want to use Cisco Unified Operating System Administration or a command-line interface session to determine the version.

Using Cisco Unified Operating System Administration

Procedure

In Cisco Unified Operating System Administration, the System Version is displayed below "Cisco Unified Operating System Administration" in the blue banner on the page that appears after you sign in.

Using the Command-Line Interface

Before you begin
Procedure

Step 1

Start a command-line interface session. (For more information, see Cisco Unified Operating System Administration Help.)

Step 2

Run the show version active command to view the Cisco Unified Operating System Administration version.

Related Documentation

New and Changed Features

This section contains information about features in the 15 release time frame only.

Alma Linux and 64-bit Support

Cisco Unity Connection Release 15 brings an enhanced experience for users and administrators with major platform upgrades to align with the industry standards. Enhancements include Application-layer changes and core Linux transition for long-term support. The enhancements also includestransition to the 64-bit application architecture for removal of memory bottlenecks and mitigating end-of-life for 32-bit dependencies. This release provides enhanced protection, security, innovation, and flexibility.

Some of the important considerations when installing or migrating to Release 15 are:

  • Minimum supported ESXi versions are 7.0 U3 or 8.0 U1 with a minimum VM Hardware version of 17. The other required VM specifications like guest OS type may be found in the Readme of the base OVA at https://software.cisco.com/download/home/283062758/type. For more information, see Virtualization for Cisco Unity Connection (CUC).

  • Virtual Floppy Drive is replaced with virtual CDROM for touchless installation.

  • IPSec policy with 3DES Algorithm is not supported in FIPS mode for Release 15 in case you are planning to upgrade to Release 15. You must delete and recreate the IPSec policy with the Encryption and ESP Algorithms other than 3DES in both the nodes between which the IPSec tunnel is to be established, and then plan an upgrade. For more information, see chapter FIPS Compliance in Cisco Unity Connection of the "Security Guide for Cisco Unity Connection Release 15" available at https://www.cisco.com/content/en/us/td/docs/voice_ip_comm/connection/15/security/b_15cucsecx.html..

  • Direct upgrade from versions 10.5, 11.5 to 15 is not supported. To upgrade from version 10.5 to 15 or from version 11.5 to 15, you must follow an intermediate upgrade path such as going from 10.5 to 12.5 or later and then from 12.5 or later to 15.

    Note

    Direct upgrade paths from release 10.5 or earlier will not be allowed due to swap realignement in release 15. Any setup with /dev/sda5 swap space of 2 GB must be rebuilt for successful upgrade and install pre-upgrade COP file should be checked for system requirement. For more information on upgrade paths, see section "Upgrade Types" of the chapter "Upgrading Cisco Unity Connection"of the Install, Upgrade and Maintenance Guide for Cisco Unity Connection Release 15 available at https://www.cisco.com/content/en/us/td/docs/voice_ip_comm/connection/15/install_upgrade/b_15cuciumg.html

Enhancements for Cisco Unified Real-Time Monitoring Tool

From this release onwards, you can install Cisco Unified Real-Time Monitoring Tool (Unified RTMT) on workstations running on both Windows or Linux operating systems using a single 'CiscoRTMTPlugin.zip' plug-in. This feature enhancement takes away the need for a separate plug-in (.exe installer for 32 and 64 bit) for Windows and Linux platforms.

Unified RTMT installation is now supported on computers running on the Windows 11 operating system.

Unified RTMT certificate-based authentication support

In this release, Unified RTMT supports Certificate-based authentication that provides enhanced security considerations. Using this authentication method, it reducesthe threat of compromised passwords, and provides protection of sensitive or classified components in your network infrastructure.

Log4j Upgrade

Cisco Unity Connection Release 15 supports Log4j version 2.19.0..

Installation and Upgrade Information

Installing Cisco Unity Connection for the First Time on a Virtual Machine

You must download and deploy a VMware OVA template, which automatically configures the virtual machine for Unity Connection. To download the template, see the next section, “Downloading a VMware OVA Template for a Unity Connection 15 Virtual Machine.” The installation and migration documentation tell you when to deploy the template.


Note

For information on upgrading ESXi version, see the ReadMe of applicable OVAs availale at https://software.cisco.com/download/home/283062758/type.

Downloading a VMware OVA Template for a Unity Connection 15 Virtual Machine

It is recommended to use VMware OVA template to configure VMware for Unity Connection, which simplifies the process of configuring the virtual machine. If you want to deploy the VMware OVA template for Unity Connection, do the following procedure to download the OVA file.

Procedure to download a VMware OVA template:

Procedure

Step 1

Sign in to a computer with a high-speed Internet connection, and go to the Voice and Unified Communications Downloads page at http://www.cisco.com/cisco/software/navigator.html?mdfid=280082558.

Note

 
To access the software download page, you must be signed in to Cisco.com as a registered user.

Step 2

In the tree control on the Downloads page, expand Products > Unified Communications >Unified Communications Applications > Messaging > Unity Connection, and select Cisco Unity Connection Virtualization.

Step 3

On the Download Software page, select OVA-15, and the download links appear on the right side of the page.

Step 4

Confirm that the computer you are using has sufficient hard-disk space for the downloaded files. (The download file sizes appear below the download links.)

Step 5

Select the applicable link to download.

Restricted version

UCSInstall_CUC_15.0.1.10000-24.sgn.iso

Unrestricted version

UCSInstall_CUC_UNRST_15.0.1.10000-24.sgn.iso

The following configurations are available with the OVA file, and you can select the required configurations for deploying the OVA template:

  • For up to 1,000 Unity Connection users.

    • Configures two virtual CPU, 10 GB RAM, and one 160-GB virtual disk with the file system aligned at 64KB blocks.

  • For up to 5,000 Unity Connection users.

    • Configures two virtual CPUs, 12 GB RAM, and one 200-GB virtual disk with the file system aligned at 64KB blocks.

  • For up to 10,000 Unity Connection users.

    • Configures four virtual CPUs, 12 GB RAM, and two 146-GB virtual disks with the file system aligned at 64 KB blocks.

    • Comes in 3 variations: 146 GB, 300 GB, and 500 GB. In 300 GB and 500 GB variations, the datastore where the Unity Connection virtual machine will reside must be formatted with a VMware VMFS block size of 2 MB or more. A block size of 1 MB limits the maximum virtual hard disk size to 256 GB. A block size of 2 MB allows 512 GB virtual disks.

  • For up to 20,000 Unity Connection users.

    • Configures seven virtual CPUs, 16 GB RAM, and either two 300-GB virtual disks or two 500-GB virtual disks with the file system aligned at 64KB blocks.

Installation and Upgrade Notes

Installing Additional Unity Connection Languages


Note
All the locales for Unity Connection 15 are released and available on Download Software site at https://software.cisco.com/download/home/286328409/type.

For instructions on installing additional Unity Connection languages on the following server types, see the referenced documentation:

Reverting a Server to the Unity Connection Version on the Inactive Partition

If you revert from Unity Connection 15 to an earlier version of Unity Connection, some of the data for new Unity Connection 15 features is lost and cannot be retrieved when you upgrade again to Unity Connection 15.

Limitations and Restrictions

Secure Messaging Limitations Regarding ViewMail

Adding non-audio attachments to secure messages composed in Cisco ViewMail for Microsoft Outlook version 11.0 and later is not supported with Unity Connection 15.

Using Internet Explorer for Playing Voice Messages May Raise Issues

Due to some security issues in QuickTime player, Unity Connection does not recommend to use QuickTime player with Internet Explorer for playing the voice messages.

Caveats

This section contains the following caveat information:

Open Caveats—Unity Connection Release 15

Click a link in the Caveat Number column to view the latest information on the caveat in Bug Toolkit. (Caveats are listed in order by severity, then by component, then by caveat number.)

Table 1. Unity Connection Release 15 Open Caveats
Caveat Number Component Severity Description
CSCwh93696 setup 3 Auto switch-version can't be enabled on standalone Unity
CSCwj49918 telephony 3 CUC: Failsafe are observed with 160K users in https network in load testing

Related Caveats—Cisco Unified Communications Manager 15 Components Used by Unity Connection 15

Table 2 describes the Cisco Unified CM components used by Unity Connection. Caveat information for the Cisco Unified CM components is available in Release Notes for Cisco Unified Communications Manager Release 15 at http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/unified-communications/unified-communications-manager-callmanager/products-release-notes-list.html.

Table 2. Cisco Unified CM 15 Components Used by Unity Connection 15

Cisco Unified CM Component

Description

backup-restore

Backup and restore utilities

ccm-serviceability

Cisco Unified Serviceability web interface

cdp

Cisco Discovery Protocol Drivers

cli

Command-line interface (CLI)

cmui

Certain elements in the Unity Connection web interfaces (such as search tables and splash screens)

cpi-afg

Cisco Unified Communications Answer File Generator

cpi-appinstall

Installation and upgrades

cpi-cert-mgmt

Certificate management

cpi-diagnose

Automated diagnostics system

cpi-os

Cisco Unified Communications Operating System

cpi-platform-api

Abstraction layer between the Cisco Unified Communications Operating System and the applications hosted on the platform

cpi-security

Security for connections to the server

cpi-service-mgr

Service Manager (ServM)

cpi-vendor

External vendor issues

cuc-tomcat

Apache Tomcat and third-party software

database

Installation and access to the configuration database (IDS)

database-ids

IDS database patches

ims

Identity Management System (IMS)

rtmt

Real-Time Monitoring Tool (RTMT)

Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request

For information on obtaining documentation, submitting a service request, and gathering additional information, see the monthly What’s New in Cisco Product Documentation, which also lists all new and revised Cisco technical documentation, at:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/general/whatsnew/whatsnew.html

Subscribe to the What’s New in Cisco Product Documentation as a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed and set content to be delivered directly to your desktop using a reader application. The RSS feeds is a free service and Cisco currently supports RSS version 2.0.

Cisco Product Security Overview

This product contains cryptographic features and is subject to United States and local country laws governing import, export, transfer and use. Delivery of Cisco cryptographic products does not imply third-party authority to import, export, distribute, or use encryption. Importers, exporters, distributors and users are responsible for compliance with U.S. and local country laws. By using this product you agree to comply with applicable laws and regulations. If you are unable to comply with U.S. and local laws, return this product immediately.

Further information regarding U.S. export regulations may be found at http://www.access.gpo.gov/bis/ear/ear_data.html.