Basic CME question(s).

[memnon11]

Hi to everyone, new guy on the block (forum) here.

I am trying to explain to a very non technical customer some of the ins and outs of IP telephony but I'm not too sure about cisco licensing on CME.

I know I need a server(router) license for cme but what about the client phones?
So here are my basic questions:
1. Do the Cisco IP phones 'register' their licenses with the server (router)?
i.e do you go into some menu and enter a s/w key for each phone?

2. Can you use 3rd party phones with CME?
i.e can I use the cheap Budgetone phones on cme and what functionality do I loose compared to basic cisco phones (just basic stuff, not very complex functions)

3. (If the answer to 2 is yes)
How much is the 3rd party license for the client phone on cme? (I got a quoted price for 'Third party dual line phone' for $120)

Thanks for bearing with me.
rgds,
Memnon.

 

[jpm121]

The answer to question #1 is NO, the phone licenses are just purchased from Cisco and that's it. Just like Microsoft's volume licensing; businesses are on the honor system.

Can't help with the other questions; other than using an ATA with a "regular" telephone which works just fine. I've never seen anything in Cisco's docs about setting up other phones, but I'd imagine it wouldn't be fun. Remember, with CME each phone loads its firmware from the router and that's how it knows how to work.

 

[memnon11]

Thanks jpm121 (f1 fan?).

But I'm curious, doesn't anyone use non cisco phones on CM or CME?

memnon.

 

[pndscm]

I've not done it, but I believe any IP Phone that is SIP compliant should work. Maybe someone else knows the complete answer.

 

[ipfreelyallthetime]

My understanding is that Cisco does not support basic SIP

 

[jpm121]

The latest release of CME (3.4) adds SIP support. Not sure how closely it follows standards - Cisco can be funny with that.