Phone control (Control Me)

Purpose

With phone control you operate a Cisco phone from within EasyUC: EasyUC shows the screen of the phone and sends key presses. This helps in support when a user cannot find a setting or an error is visible only on the device. Remote control is started on the phone through Actions → Control Me or, for several phones, through EasyUC Cisco → Phones → Remote Control.

For screen retrieval and key presses, the phone requires the login of a CUCM user to whom the device is assigned. This dialog sets up a dedicated application user for this purpose. On saving, EasyUC creates it in the CUCM over AXL as euc_ plus your user ID, or resets its password. EasyUC also sets its credentials to never expire and resets the lockout counter.

When a remote control session starts, EasyUC switches on web access on the phone if required and assigns the phone to the application user. When the last session ends, EasyUC removes the assignment again. If Request consent on the phone is switched on, the phone first shows a Yes/No prompt. Screen and keys are released only after “Yes”.

Prerequisites

• License with the cucm module and the provisioning feature. Without provisioning, the entry is missing from the Actions menu.
• EasyUC account with the ROLE_APP_ADMIN role. Only administrators see the Administration menu.
• The CUCM connection has been created and enabled. For a disabled connection, Actions shows only Enable Connection.
• The phone is registered and is one of the supported models: Cisco phones of the 7800, 8800 and 9800 series and softphones of the type Cisco Unified Client Services Framework.
• EasyUC reaches the phone over HTTP at its registered IP address. The phone reaches the authentication URL of the CUCM.
• For consent on the phone: The phone reaches the Admin API of EasyUC over HTTP.
• For Control Me and the Remote Control page, the operator needs the ROLE_APP_UPDATE_DEVICE role.

Step by step

1. In the header, select the EasyUC Cisco workspace.
2. In the menu, open Administration → CUCM & Provisioning → CUCM Connections. The Manage CUCM Connections page lists all connections.
3. In the row of the connection you want, click Actions. The Menu popover opens.
4. Click Phone Control. The Phone control dialog opens.
5. Switch on Enable. The other fields appear.
6. Under User ID, enter the name of the application user. The prefix euc_ is fixed in front of the field.
7. Enter Password and Retype Password. If a password is already stored, both fields can stay empty.
8. Switch on Request consent on the phone if the user is to confirm every remote control session on the phone.
9. With consent only: Under Time to wait for consent, enter the number of seconds the phone waits for an answer.
10. With consent only: Under Admin API address for the phone (optional), enter an HTTP address if the phone cannot reach EasyUC at the address you used to open the interface. Example: http://easyuc.intern/admin-api.
11. Click Save (top right or at the bottom of the dialog). The dialog closes and EasyUC shows a success message (“Success”). Cancel closes the dialog without changes.
12. Open EasyUC Cisco → Phones → Phones, click Actions → Control Me for a registered test phone and check whether the screen appears.

Fields and options

Check the result and narrow down errors

• Success: In the Manage CUCM Connections list, the Ph. Control column shows the status. The application user euc_<user ID> exists in the CUCM. Control Me shows the screen of the phone.
• Message “Please enter a value from 10 to 120 seconds.”: The waiting time is outside the range.
• Message “Please enter an http(s) address with at most 150 characters.”: The Admin API address is not a valid HTTP address.
• Message “Phone control is not enabled for this CUCM connection.”: Enable has not been saved for the active connection.
• Message “CUCM does not accept the password of … – please enter a new password under Phone Control.”: Open this dialog and assign a new password.
• Message “The phone rejects the login (CiscoIPPhoneError 4).”: Check web access on the phone, whether the phone reaches the authentication URL of the CUCM and whether the application user is locked.
• Message “The phone did not load the request (check the Admin API address for the phone).”: The phone cannot reach EasyUC over HTTP. Enter the appropriate address.
• Message “The phone cannot be reached (check IP address, network, web access).”: There is no HTTP connectivity between EasyUC and the phone.
• Control Me is missing on the phone: The device is not registered, the model is not supported or the account lacks ROLE_APP_UPDATE_DEVICE.