Topics covered: The suite of clients, infrastructure devices, call-control systems, and, to a limited extent, applications that make up Cisco Systems' voice over IP offerings. Emphasis falls on CallManager 3.1, particularly on configuring it to talk to telephony devices and to recognize users. The Bulk Administration Tool (BAT), CallManager numbering and route plans, redundancy strategies (including those that use Survivable Remote Site Telephony-SRST), and design best practices all get attention. From the Back Cover: Configure an end-to-end Cisco AVVID IP Telephony solution with an authorized self-study guideCisco IP Telephony is based on the successful CIPT training class taught by the author and other Cisco-certified training partners. This book provides networking professionals with the fundamentals to implement a Cisco AVVID IP Telephony solution that can be run over a data network, therefore reducing costs associated with running separate data and telephone networks. Cisco IP Telephony focuses on using Cisco CallManager and other IP telephony components connected in LANs and WANs. This book provides you with a foundation for working with Cisco IP Telephony products, specifically Cisco CallManager. If your task is to install, configure, support, and maintain a CIPT network, this is the book for you.Part I of Cisco IP Telephony introduces IP telephony components in the Cisco AVVID environment. Part II covers basic CIPT installation, configuration, and administration tasks, including building CallManager clusters; configuring route plans, route groups, route lists, route patterns, partitions, and calling search spaces; configuring and managing shared media resources such as transcoders, conference bridges, and music on hold; configuring and managing Cisco IP Phone features and users; configuring IP telephony component hardware and software; automating database moves, adds, and changes using the Bulk Administration Tool (BAT); and installing, upgrading, and creating backups for Cisco CallManager components. Part III deals with advanced CIPT configuration tasks for call preservation and shared media resources; covers distributed and centralized call processing model design in WAN environments; explains how to deploy Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST) to provide local call processing redundancy at remote branch sites; and provides tips, guidelines, and rules for deploying a Cisco IP Telephony solution, culled from seasoned practitioners in the field. Part IV focuses on three of the primary Cisco applications designed for integration in a Cisco CallManager environment-Cisco WebAttendant, Cisco IP SoftPhone, and Cisco Unity. All this detailed information makes Cisco IP Telephony an ideal resource for the configuration and management of a Cisco IP Telephony solution.Cisco IP Telephony offers indispensable information on how to Configure and implement an end-to-end IP telephony solution using Cisco CallManager and CIPT devices to converge your voice and data networksCreate, configure, and manage Cisco CallManager clusters to support small user environments as well as larger user environments with up to 10,000 usersOptimize routing flexibility into your CIPT network design using route plansEnsure telephony class of service with partitions and calling search spacesEffect moves, adds, and changes on a large number of users and devices quickly and efficientlyPerform proper installation, upgrade, and backup of Cisco CallManager clustersMonitor and perform troubleshooting tasks for a CIPT solutionDavid Lovell is an educational specialist at Cisco Systems(r), Inc., where he designs, develops, and delivers training on CIPT networks. David is experienced in design and implementation of IP telephony systems and has been instructing students for six years, two of which have been focused solely on IP telephony.