Preparation for Unified Intelligence Center

You can perform a fresh installation or upgrade of Unified Intelligence Center on supported virtual machines. Also, you can perform an upgrade from previous versions to 12.6(1), by first upgrading Unified Intelligence Center to 12.5(1) and then to 12.6(1). For more information, see About Upgrades.

Install VMware ESXi

Before you begin your Unified Intelligence Center installation, you must install VMware ESXi and configure the virtual server.

Procedure

Step 1

Refer to Unified Communication Virtualization at https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/td/docs/voice_ip_comm/uc_system/virtualization/virtualization-cisco-unified-intelligence-center.html to install, setup, and configure the UCS Hardware.

Step 2

Configure the UCS Network. See UCS Network Configuration at https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/td/docs/voice_ip_comm/uc_system/virtualization/virtualization-unified-contact-center-enterprise.html for more information.

Step 3

Use the instructions mentioned in the https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/td/docs/voice_ip_comm/uc_system/virtualization/virtualization-cisco-unified-intelligence-center.html to install VMWare ESXi 6.5 and 6.7 (with VMFSv6) on your UCS B-series and C-series server.

Step 4

After ESXi is installed successfully, reboot the server.

Deploy Unified Intelligence Center Open Virtualization Format/Open Virtual Appliance (OVF/OVA) Template

Open Virtualization Format/Open Virtual Appliance (OVF/OVA) is an open standard for packaging and distributing virtual appliances. Files in this format have an extension of .ova. The naming convention for the OVF/OVA template is PRODUCT_COMPONENT_USER COUNT_VERSION_VMVER.ova.

The OVF/OVA template defines the configuration of the virtual machine hardware. The configuration of a Cisco Unified Communications application virtual machine must match a supported virtual machine template. This section describes the steps to deploy a Unified Intelligence Center OVF/OVA template on the virtual machine.

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to ESXi using VMWare Vsphere or any other compatible client.

Step 2

Highlight the host or cluster to which you want to deploy the Virtual Machine.

Step 3

Select File > Deploy OVF/OVA Template.

Step 4

Click Deploy from File/Template and specify the name and location of the OVF/OVA file (with a .ova extension)

Alternatively, you can click Deploy from URL and specify the URL of the OVF/OVA file.

Step 5

Click Next.

Step 6

Verify the details of the template, and click Next.

Step 7

Specify a name for the Virtual Machine that you are about to create and choose an inventory location on your host.

Step 8

Click Next.

Step 9

Choose the Deployment Configuration Type from the drop-down.

  1. Co-Resident: To deploy options with CUIC, LD and IdS.

  2. Stand-Alone: To deploy option with CUIC only.

Step 10

Click Next.

Step 11

In Disk Format, click Next .

Step 12

Verify the deployment settings, and click Finish.

The virtual machine that you added is listed under the UCS server tree in the vSphere Client home page.

Specify Location of Unified Intelligence Center Installable

Procedure

Step 1

Select the newly added Virtual Machine.

Step 2

From the Inventory menu, select Virtual Machine > Edit Settings.

Step 3

In the Hardware tab, select CD/DVD Drive 1.

Step 4

Select one of the following options to specify the location where you have the bootable Unified Intelligence Center installer file:

  1. Client Device – If you want to use the CD/DVD drive on the client machine from where you are accessing the virtual machine remotely.

  2. Host Device – If you want to use the CD/DVD drive on the ESXi host machine.

  3. Datastore ISO file – If you want to use the datastore on the virtual machine. Before using this option, ensure that the Bootable iso image of Unified Intelligence Center is copied to the datastore of the ESXi host.

Note

 
Ensure that you set the boot order by making CD ROM the first device upon power up. For details, refer to Set Boot Order.

Step 5

Click OK to save and close the Virtual Machine Properties window.

Important: Make sure that you have copied or inserted the CD/DVD with the Unified Intelligence Center installable in the appropriate location before you proceed with the next step.

Set Boot Order

To set the boot order:

Procedure

Step 1

From the Inventory menu, select Virtual Machine > Edit Settings.

The Virtual Machine Properties window appears.

Step 2

In the Options tab, select Boot Options.

Step 3

Select Force BIOS Setup.

Note

 
When you restart the Virtual Machine, you will see the BIOS screen in the VM console tab.

Step 4

In the BIOS screen, select Boot Options > make the CD/DVD ROM as the first device for bootup.

Step 5

Click Save.

Install Cisco Unified Intelligence Center on Virtual Machine

Procedure

Step 1

Select the virtual machine and click Power > Power On from the shortcut menu. Alternatively, from the Inventory menu, select Power > Power On.

Step 2

The virtual machine powers on and Unified Intelligence Center installation starts up automatically. Follow the steps mentioned in Installation — All Nodes to complete the Unified Intelligence Center installation.

When using Unified Intelligence Center on the UCS Servers, note the following:

  • The answer file generated by the Answer File Generator (platformConfig.xml) is not readable from a USB key. The Answer File Generator generates a floppy image [FLP - virtual floppy] for performing an unattended installation.

  • USB tape backup is not supported. Use SFTP instead.

  • Install logs are written only to the virtual serial port.

  • Unattended installs use virtual floppy instead of USB.

  • Boot order is controlled by the BIOS of the VMware VM.

  • Hardware BIOS, firmware, and drivers must be the required level and configured for compatibility with Unified Intelligence Center-supported VMware product and version.

Note

 
vSphere provides you with a console that you can use to provide inputs during the installation. To open the console, select the virtual machine from the vSphere home page and click Open Console from the shortcut menu. Alternatively, select the virtual machine and click the Console tab in the right pane of the vSphere home page. Pointing and clicking anywhere in the console window will allow you to enter data in the console. Once you start working on the console, the mouse is locked and you can no longer use it. Use Tab key to navigate and use the Enter button to commit the values you entered. To release the mouse from the console window, press Ctrl + Alt.