Endpoint Agent Installation on Cisco Phone Devices (PhoneOS)

Cisco PhoneOS devices are critical to customers' hybrid and multinational working strategies, offering high-quality solutions for seamless communication. However, these devices require equally high-quality network connections to function optimally, and when these devices experience call problems, there are limited tools available for identifying the root cause.

The Endpoint Agent provides an ideal solution for monitoring and troubleshooting network problems on Cisco PhoneOS devices. By integrating PhoneOS device data with the endpoint agent capabilities, we can offer a comprehensive view of call quality issues when these devices are involved.

This document teaches you how to set up the Endpoint agents on Cisco phone devices.

Pre-requisites

• You have a ThousandEyes account with the required permissions

• You have a Cisco Desk 9800 series phone (versions 9861 (C) or 9871 (D)), registered with WCMT, WCDI, or UCM on firmware version v3.2 and above.

Getting Started

Establishing the ThousandEyes and Webex ControlHub Connection

1. Create a token in ThousandEyes by going to the User API Tokens section in Account Settings > Users and Roles > Profile.

1. Activate the ControlHub integration by following all the steps mentioned here.

Configuring the Phone Device to Enable ThousandEyes

The following instructions explain how to enable ThousandEyes on Cisco Unified Communication Manager (Unified CM) and Webex Calling Dedicated Instance (WCDI):

Prerequisites:

1. You must have access to CUCM ( Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM)).

2. For any phones registered in the on-premise UCM platform, customers need to login to the Cisco Unified CM Administration page and go to https://<Node-IP>/ccmadmin. Use the Navigation box to switch between applications, such as Cisco Unified Serviceability, Cisco Unified OS Administration, Disaster Recovery System, and Cisco Unified Reporting. Enter your username and password.

1. For phones registered in Webex Calling Dedicated Instance, you can cross-launch CUCM from Webex Control Hub > Calling > Dedicated Instance > Select UC Application > Open “Manage” link will open CUCM hosted in the dedicated space in Webex DC.

1. Register your Cisco Phone (9800 series) by following the standard instructions.

Activating ThousandEyes on Cisco 9800 Phone Series

1. Locate your registered phone by Directory Number or Device Name

2. At the bottom of the Phone Configuration view, you will find ThousandEyes configurations:

   • For the ThousandEyes Enable field - Select True from the drop-down and check the adjoining checkbox.

   • For the Connection String - Enter the connection string corresponding to your account group and check the adjoining checkbox

1. Click the Save button and the Apply Config on the top menu of the Phone Configuration view. The Endpoint Agent will be registered with the ThousandEyes platform in about 5 minutes.

Creating Tests in ThousandEyes

1. Copy the meeting site ID from Webex ControlHub. When creating tests, you can use this as a Webex Site ID name.

1. In ThousandEyes, navigate to the Endpoint Agent>Test Settings section.

1. Create a new synthetic test using the Webex template. You can find the detailed instructions on creating the test here.

Running Tests and Analyzing the Results

Once the agents are activated and devices have participated in a few meetings you can go to the ControlHub troubleshooting page. On the Troubleshooting page:

1. Search for the desired device under the Meetings & Calls tab.

1. Search for the relevant calls that you wish to monitor.

1. View the Network Path for the selected call.

1. Hover over the dots in Network Path to view ThousandEyes network data.

1. Click the ThousandEyes icon to cross-launch into ThousandEyes and view more in-depth network data.

Limitations

• At present, only a limited number of devices are supported. Model 8875 and 9800 low-end models (9851 and 9841) are not currently supported but may be considered for future releases.

• There is no support for ICE-Optimized Calls, Proxy Configuration, VPN Support, WebRTC, Broadworks, and Third-Party Call Control.

• Phone Wifi statistics are not available on ThousandEyes.

• Phones deployed with WCMT do not support third-party meetings, for example, Microsoft Teams and Zoom.

Next Steps

After completing this integration, the following links will help you in getting the most out of the ThousandEyes Endpoint Agents:

• Viewing data for tests run by the Endpoint Agents

• Manage Endpoint Agent Settings

• Data collected by an Endpoint Agent