Setting up the CUCM backup

What it is for

The CUCM backup keeps a restorable copy of the objects of a CUCM connection in the EasyUC database. By default these are phones, translation patterns and route patterns; phones are captured completely, with lines, speed dials, BLFs, expansion modules, services, owner and user associations. Phone numbers, end users and application users with their controlled devices, SIP trunks and gateways with their ports can be added.

EasyUC reads the objects one after the other via AXL. A full pass runs in the configured time window; whatever is not finished continues in the next time window. If the change feed of the CUCM change log is running for the connection, changes are additionally backed up within a few minutes. If an object is deleted directly in the CUCM, its last backup is kept for the configured retention period.

The backup serves restoration only. All EasyUC pages continue to show the live data of the CUCM. Deleted objects are viewed and restored on the Config Backup and Restore Config pages in the EasyUC Cisco area.

Prerequisites

Sign-in as an administrator (ROLE_APP_ADMIN). The backup settings, Back up now and accepting held deletions are not assigned to any other role.
License with the cucm module. The CUCM backup entry does not depend on the provisioning license.
The CUCM connection is enabled.
For prompt backup of changes: on the connection, the option Fetch CUCM changes (change feed) is switched on under Actions → CUCM change log. Without the change feed, changes and deletions are captured only in the time window.
The background job of the CUCM backup exists under Administration → System & Operations → Background Jobs and is switched on.
Enough space in the EasyUC database. When you enable the backup, the dialog gives an estimate per 1,000 phones.

Step by step: enabling the backup

In the header, select the EasyUC Cisco workspace.
Open Administration → CUCM & Provisioning → CUCM Connections.
In the row of the connection, click Actions and then CUCM backup. The CUCM backup dialog with the alias of the connection opens.
Switch on Enable CUCM backup. The dialog displays Effects of enabling: AXL read load, estimated duration of the first pass, storage required.
Under Backed-up objects, select the object types in the groups Devices, Dial plan, Users and Infrastructure.
Under Time window for the full pass, set Start, End and Time zone.
Select the Pace and check Re-read at the latest after (days) and Retention of deleted objects (days).
Tick I have read the effects and want to enable the CUCM backup.
Click Save. The message CUCM backup saved appears, and the dialog notes that the first full pass starts in the next time window.
If the backup is to start immediately, click Back up now in the Status section. Backup requested – it starts within 5 minutes. appears.
Close the dialog with Close.

Step by step: including end users and application users in the backup

On the connection, open Actions → CUCM backup.
In the Users group, tick End users with controlled devices and Application users with controlled devices. On connections with a selection already saved, newly added types carry the new badge; they are not switched on automatically there.
Read the load notes under Newly selected object types. With many LDAP users, the first pass takes correspondingly longer.
Tick I have read the effects and want to back up the new object types.
Click Save. The next full pass reads every user once, after that only new and changed ones.
Later, check the rows End users and Application users in the table under Status.

Fields and options

Fields and options
Field / action	Meaning and use
Enable CUCM backup	Main switch per connection. Default: off. Switching it off only stops the collection; existing backups remain restorable until the end of the retention period.
Backed-up objects – Devices	Phones (default: on) and Phone numbers (lines/DNs).
Backed-up objects – Dial plan	Translation patterns and Route patterns (default: on).
Backed-up objects – Users	End users with controlled devices and Application users with controlled devices. Default users of the CUCM are not backed up. Password, PIN and digest credentials are neither backed up nor restored.
Backed-up objects – Infrastructure	SIP trunks and Gateways with ports (MGCP, SCCP, H.323). Digital ports (PRI/BRI/T1) are backed up but not yet restored.
Start / End	Time window of the full pass in the format HH:MM. Default: 01:00 to 05:00. The window may span midnight; start and end must differ.
Time zone	Time zone of the time window. Default: `Europe/Berlin`.
Pace	Pause between two AXL requests: Slow (400 ms), Normal (120 ms, default) or Fast (30 ms). Slower spares the publisher; the pass takes longer.
Re-read at the latest after (days)	Unchanged objects, too, are read again after this time. Allowed: 1 to 30. Default: 7.
Retention of deleted objects (days)	Deleted objects that have not been restored remain restorable for this long. Allowed: 7 to 365. Default: 90.
Status	Shows Pass running, Interrupted, Requested, Ready or Disabled, plus Last complete pass, Next time window, Held deletions and Storage.
Table per object type	Columns Backed up (objects with a backup / all known objects), Deleted, Held, Pending (changes that the next run reads) and Storage.
Back up now	Starts a full pass with the next run (5 minutes at most) or continues it, also outside the time window. Active only when the backup is enabled and saved.
Accept	Appears when there are held deletions. If an unusually large number of objects went missing from the CUCM at once, they count as deleted only after Accept and are then restorable.
Open Config Backup	Switches to the Config Backup page of this connection.

Checking the result and narrowing down errors

Success: after the first pass, Status shows a point in time next to Last complete pass, and in the table Backed up matches the inventory for each object type.
Deleted objects appear on the Restore Config page in the EasyUC Cisco area and can be restored there. Which types a user sees there depends on their restore permissions.
“Please confirm the effects before saving.”: the confirmation tick is missing.
“Please select at least one object type.”: no object type is ticked.
“Start and end of the time window must differ.”: correct the time window.
“Change feed off – changes are only backed up in the time window”: switch on the change feed on the connection under Actions → CUCM change log.
“The background job of the CUCM backup is missing or disabled. Please check under background jobs.”: switch on the job under Background Jobs.
“The CUCM backup could not be saved.” or “You do not have permission for this.”: the account is not an administrator, or the connection cannot be reached.
Status Interrupted: the pass waits for the next time window. Back up now resumes it immediately.