blindhog.net

When Cisco first announced the Unified Communication Server (CallManager) would be based on Linux, my first question was “How much of the system would be available to users?”

I think it is great that Cisco does not require Engineers to understand the underlying system CallManager is built on, but some of us are curious. This tutorial will show you how to create a user on a CUCM 5/6 server with shell access and root privileges.

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As engineers, we don’t always document things as well as we should OR someone you work with is always “too busy” to document their work. This little trick will show you how to recover pre-shared keys on a Cisco Pix or ASA firewall.

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Since I discovered Dynamips and Pemu, I have been trying to figure out a way to test Pix configurations with a single PC running Windows XP. The real trick has always been communicating with the virtual Pix. With Linux, it was not a problem but Windows has always been another story until I recently figured out how to communicate with pemu using GNS3.

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One of the major hurdles many people face with GNS3/Dynagen/Dynamips is that the emulators do not come with the Cisco Images to actually build a lab. It seems like once a week, I get an email with a request for an IOS Image, Pix Image, Pix Serial Numbers or Pix Activation codes. Just so I make myself clear, I will not give this information to you. Period. However…

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One of my customer’s recently started having problems receiving inbound calls although outbound calls worked just fine. Long story short, one of the dsp’s needed to be reset. When I issued the ’show voice dsp detailed’ command, the dspware version displayed all zero’s. After reseting the dsp, calls started working again.

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One of the biggest problems I face after installing a new Call Manager or Call Manager Express System is end user training.

I always provide end user training while on site and I do a good job too. Unfortunately, phones are boring and users have work to do. The majority of questions come the day I am leaving or 3 days later. Instead of trying to create my own video tutorials for end user training, I have compiled a list of Cisco’s Video Tutorials. Enjoy!

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In this tutorial, you will learn how to connect an MS Loopback interface on your PC to the PEMU Pix emulator using GNS3. The trick is to use a switch between the cloud and the virtual PIX.

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Have you ever wanted to keep notes inside a router instead of an external location? For a few years now, I have thought it would be great is Cisco would include a minimal text editor within the IOS code. It would be nice to have a notes inside the router regarding the last change that was made or other various notes.

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In this tutorial, you will learn how to build a small frame-relay lab. I will walk you through adding the routers, the frame switch, configuring the PVCs on the switch, and configuring the routers for basic point-to-point connectivity.

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The guys at GNS3.net have done it again! They just released version .04 of their incredible network emulation software. There are lots of new features including Pemu integration, c1700 and WICs Support and Project feature (you can keep router configs, nvram …).

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