5 Things You Need to Know about Cisco Collaboration Edge

Workspaces used to be defined by a couple of cube walls, a desk, a computer and a landline phone. More and more though, the definition is changing to wherever you happen to be, with essentially whatever device you have in front of you. The pros and cons of this evolution have been well-documented. Delivering the freedom that end-users crave with the necessary security requirements can bear more than a passing resemblance to a high-stakes juggling act.

That transition is also one of the many issues that will be spotlighted at the 2015 Arraya Tech Summit. This free event will feature courses presented specifically for a tech-savvy audience, presented by Arraya’s renowned team of engineers. In particular, one of the networking, voice and mobility solutions and topics to be covered at the all-day event, will be Collaboration Edge from Cisco.

Here are five things you should know about Collaboration Edge before you walk into one of our Tech Summit classrooms:  

1. What exactly is Collaboration Edge?
Collaboration Edge is the architecture umbrella term for the VCS/Expressway-Edge proxy for Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM)-registered clients. Think: Jabber and TC7.0 Tele Presence units. The term is commonly used to refer to the Jabber piece of it, but other endpoints are supported as well. 

2. What is MRA and how does it apply to Collaboration Edge?
Mobile and Remote Access (MRA) is the term used in VCS/Expressway context for the VPN-less Jabber (and CUCM-registered TC7.0 endpoint) proxy feature. 

3. What is Expressway-Core?
Expressway-Core is VCS-Control software deployed as an MRA proxy only with the Expressway-Core license loaded. It’s known as VCS-Control when it’s licensed for:

  • Device registration
  • Non-traversal calls
  • FindMe, etc.

4. What kind of IT building blocks do I need to be Collaboration Edge-ready?

  • CUCM 9.1(2)+
  • IM&P (CUP) 9.1+
  • VCS or “Expressway” X8.1.1+
  • A Collaboration Edge enabled Jabber client: Cisco Jabber for Windows 9.7+, Cisco Jabber for iOS 9.6, Jabber for Android 9.6+ or Cisco Jabber for MAC 9.6+
  • Updated jabber-config.xml on CUCM with Remote Access turned on
  • Two certificates (one for VCSe another for VCSc) – either signed by your own CA (OpenSSL or similar) or publically signed certs like those from GoDaddy, Verisign, etc.   

5. What’s the story with licensing? 

  • Customers with a valid UCSS contract for UCL-Enhanced, CUWL-STD, or CUWL-PRO are entitled to Expressway-Edge and Expressway-Core at no additional cost (for MRA) and their license will reflect the Expressway names. 
  • Licenses are charged for the other VCS features like device registration, non-traversal calls, FindMe, etc.
  • Licenses are required and have a cost for B2B/B2C (Jabber Guest) calls through Expressway-Core/Edge.
  • Expressway licenses should be orderable via Product Upgrade Tool (PUT), or you can use your existing VCS severs by upgrading to X8.1.

The 2015 Arraya Tech Summit will be held on June 4th, 2015 at the Sheraton Valley Forge in King of Prussia. It will feature no-fluff, deep-dive technical discussions of topics that today’s IT pros care about the most, including storage, enterprise, ESM and Managed Services. Learn more and register today at https://arrayasolutions-techsummit2015.eventbrite.com.

To learn more about the 2015 Arraya Tech Summit or a particular solution or service Arraya offers, visit www.ArrayaSolutions.com. Follow Arraya on Twitter @ArrayaSolutions to receive the latest company and Tech Summit news and offerings.

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