The Implementation phase of your network deployment is an excellent time to develop a methodology for troubleshooting the network as a whole. Troubleshooting networking equipment at a system level requires solid detective skills. When a problem occurs, the list of potential suspects is long. You must collect detailed information and systematically narrow the list of potential causes to determine the root problem. This topic does not provide step-by-instructions for resolving problems that occur during network installation. Instead, this topic describes sound methods for troubleshooting your network using the following general steps:
1. Gather Information on the Problem.
2. Isolate Point(s) of Failure.
3. Apply Tools to Determine the Problem's Root Cause.
Gather Information on the Problem
In a contact center network, problems are typically discovered and reported by one of the following types of users:
•External customers dialing into a call center to order products, obtain customer service, and so forth.
•Internal agents receiving incoming calls from a call queue or initiating outbound collection calls to customers.
•Internal users using administrative phones to call employees in other company locations or PSTN destinations, and perform basic actions such as call transfers and dialing into conferences.
As the network administrator, you must collect sufficient information from these users to allow you to isolate the problem. Detailed, accurate information will make this task easier. Table 2 lists recommended questions to ask users when they report a problem. As you turn up your network, you may consider putting these questions in an on-line form. A form will encourage users to provide more details about the problem and also put them into the habit of looking for particular error messages and indicators. Capturing the information electronically will also permit you to retrieve and re-examine this information in the future, should the problem repeat itself.
Isolate Point(s) of Failure
After collecting information on the symptoms and behavior of the problem, to narrow the focus of your efforts you should:
•Identify the specific devices involved in the problem.
•Check the version of software running on each device.
•Determine if something has changed in the network.
•Verify the integrity of the IP network.
Identify Devices Involved in the Problem
In large- to medium-sized networks, it is crucial to identify the specific phones, routers, switches, servers and other devices that were involved in a reported problem. Isolating these devices allows you to rule out the vast majority of equipment within the network and focus your time and energy on suspect devices. To help you isolate which devices were involved in a problem, two types of information can prove invaluable:
•Network topology diagrams: It is strongly recommended that you have one or more diagrams that show the arrangement of all Cisco Unified Communications products in your network. These diagrams illustrate how these devices are connected and also capture each device's IP address and name (you may want to also have a spreadsheet or database of the latter information). This information can help you visualize the situation and focus on the devices that may be contributing to the reported problem. See Network Topology Diagrams for recommendations on how to prepare these diagrams.
•Call flow diagrams: Cisco equipment, including Unified Communications Manager servers, typically provide detailed debug and call trace log files. To interpret these log files, however, it is useful to understand the signaling that occurs between devices as calls are set up and disconnected. Using the network topology and call flow diagrams in conjunction with the log files, you can trace how far a call progressed before it failed and identify which device reported the problem. Examples of using call flow diagrams for problem isolation are shown in Troubleshooting Daily Operations.
Check Software Release Versions for Compatibility
After you have identified which devices may be involved in the problem, verify that the version of software running on each device is compatible with the software running on every other device. As part of Cisco Unified Communications verification, Cisco Systems has performed interoperability and load testing on simulated network environments running specific software versions. The Release Matrix lists the combination of software releases that were tested.
However, if the combination of releases installed in your network does not match the values in the Release Matrix, it does not necessarily mean the combination is invalid. To check interoperability for a specific device and software release, locate and review its Release Notes. Release Notes contain up-to-date information on compatibility between the product and various releases of other products. This document also describes open caveats, known issues that may cause unexpected behavior. Before beginning extensive troubleshooting work, examine the Release Notes to determine if you are experiencing a known problem that has an available workaround.
Tip The Bug Toolkit requires that you are a Cisco partner or a registered Cisco.com user with a Cisco service contract. Using the Bug Toolkit, you can find caveats for any release. To access the Bug Toolkit, go to http://tools.cisco.com/Support/BugToolKit/ .
Determine if Network Changes Have Occurred
Before focusing on the particular device or site where the problem occurred, it may be useful to determine if a change was made to surrounding devices. If something has been added, reconfigured or removed from elsewhere in the network, that change may be the source of the problem. It is recommended that you track changes to the contact center network such as:
•New agent phones added
•Modifications to Cisco Unified Communications Manager call routing settings, such as new directory numbers, route patterns and dial rules to support new sites or devices
•Changes to port configurations on switches, routers or gateways (new equipment, wiring changes or new port activation)
•Changes to IP addressing schemes (such as adding new subnets) that may have affected route tables
Verify the IP Network Integrity
Always remember that Cisco Unified Communications equipment relies on a backbone IP network. Many connectivity problems are not caused by configuration errors or operational failures on Cisco devices, but rather by the IP network that interconnects them. Problems such as poor voice quality are typically due to IP network congestion, while call failures between locations may be the result of network outages due to disconnected cables or improperly configured IP route tables.
Before assuming that call processing problems result from Cisco Unified Communications devices themselves, check the integrity of the backbone IP network. Keep the OSI model in mind as you perform these checks. Start from the bottom, at the physical layer, by checking that end-to-end cabling. Then verify the status of Layer 2 switches, looking for any port errors. Move from there to confirm that the Layer 3 routers are running and contain correct routing tables. Continue up the OSI stack to Layer 7, the application layer. To resolve problems occurring at the top levels of the stack, a protocol analyzer (or "sniffer") may be useful. You can use sniffer to examine the IP traffic passing between devices and also decode the packets. Sniffers are particularly useful for troubleshooting errors between devices that communicate using Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) or Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).
Apply Tools to Determine the Problem's Root Cause
After you have eliminated the IP network as the source of the problem and you have isolated the specific Cisco Unified Communications components involved, you can start applying the many diagnostic tools provided by Cisco components.
Table 3 lists the diagnostic tools and supporting troubleshooting documentation available for most components in a contact center network. Note that this summary table is provided for reference only. The procedures in Troubleshooting Daily Operations specify when to use each tool and provide links to the troubleshooting instructions where appropriate.
Category
|
Component
|
Diagnostic Tools Available
|
Information Available In...
|
---|---|---|---|
Call Control |
Cisco Unified Communications Manager |
Serviceability System tools: •Alarms •Real-Time Monitoring Tool window Trace log files •Communications Manager trace log •SDL trace log (under TAC direction) |
Troubleshooting Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager Cisco Unified Communications Manager Real-Time Monitoring Tool Administration Guide Cisco Unified Serviceability Administration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager Cisco Unified Communications Manager CDR Analysis and Reporting Administration Guide Disaster Recovery System Administration Guide |
Contact Center |
Cisco Unified Intelligent Contact Management Enterprise |
Distributed Diagnostics and Services Network (DDSN) Support Tools Dashboard (requires additional software) |
ICM Administration Guide for Cisco ICM/IPCC Enterprise & Hosted Editions Cisco Support Tools User Guide for Cisco Unified Software |
Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise |
Log files: •Error/event logs •Agent desktop activity logs •Debugging logs Test programs: •Chat Service test program •Enterprise Service test program •IP Phone Agent Service test program •Packet Capture Driver test program •Recording and Statistics Service test program •Sniffing Adapter Update Utility •Voice Over IP Monitor service test program |
Troubleshooting Guide for Cisco Unified Contact Center Management Portal |
|
Cisco Customer Response Solutions (Unified IP IVR) |
Log files Alarms |
Cisco Customer Response Solutions Servicing and Troubleshooting Guide, "Part II Troubleshooting" |
|
Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal |
Error messages Alarms Support Tools Dashboard (requires additional software) |
Troubleshooting Guide for Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal Cisco Support Tools User Guide for Cisco Unified Software |
|
Contact Center (continued) |
CTI Object Server (CTIOS) |
Log files: •CTI OS Server logs •CTI Toolkit logs Error messages in the CTI OS Server console window Support Tools Dashboard (requires additional software) |
CTI OS Troubleshooting Guide for Cisco ICM/IPCC Enterprise and Hosted Editions Cisco Support Tools User Guide for Cisco Unified Software |
Cisco Agent Desktop (CAD) |
Log files: •Error/event logs •Agent desktop activity logs •Debugging logs Test programs: •IP Phone Agent Service test program •Voice Over IP Monitor service test program Support Tools Dashboard (requires additional software) |
Cisco Support Tools User Guide for Cisco Unified Software |
|
Applications |
Cisco Unified Presence |
Configuration Troubleshooter Trace log files Alarms |
Cisco Unified Presence Administration Guide, "Configuration Troubleshooter" section System Error Messages for Cisco Unified Presence Cisco IP Phone Messenger User Guide for Cisco Unified Presence, "Troubleshooting" section Disaster Recovery System Administration Guide for Cisco Unified Presence |
Voice Mail and Unified Messaging |
Cisco Unity Connection |
Serviceability System tools: •Alarms •Real-Time Monitoring Tool window Cisco Unity Diagnostic Tool (UDT): •Macro trace logs •Micro trace logs CuVrt service verbose logging |
Real-Time Monitoring Tool Administration Guide for Cisco Unity Connection Administration Guide for Cisco Unity Connection Serviceability Cisco Unified Serviceability Administration Guide for Cisco Unity Connection Disaster Recovery System Administration Guide for Cisco Unity Connection |
Endpoints and Clients |
Cisco Unified IP phones |
Network configuration, status and phone model information on Settings menu |
|
Cisco IP Communicator |
Quality Report Tool (QRT) Error Reporting Tool |
Cisco IP Communicator Administration Guide, "Troubleshooting Cisco IP Communicator" chapter User Guide for Cisco IP Communicator, "Troubleshooting Cisco IP Communicator" chapter |
|
Network Management |
Cisco Unified Operations Manager |
Alarms and events appearing in Dashboard displays Phone status tests Synthetic test Node-to-node tests |
User Guide for Cisco Unified Operations Manager, "Adminstering Operations Manager" chapter |
Communications Infrastructure |
Cisco Catalyst 3550 Access Switch |
IOS command line tools (such as Show commands and Debug trace utilities) |
Catalyst 3550 Multilayer Switch Software Configuration Guide, "Troubleshooting" chapter |
Cisco Catalyst 6506, 6509 including Firewall Services Module (FWSM) and Communications Media Module (CMM) |
IOS command line tools (such as Show commands and Debug trace utilities) |
Catalyst 6500 Series Switch Installation Guide, "Troubleshooting" chapter Catalyst 6500 Series Error and System Message Guides Catalyst 6500 Series Switch and Cisco 7600 Series Router Firewall Services Module Command Reference for FWSM logging configuration and system log messages |