External sources: LDAP and databases

What it is for

An external source is a stored read connection to a directory or a database outside EasyUC. You create the connection once and use it in several places: as a data supplier for phonebooks, for the contact search of a CUCM connection, for linking the number plan to LDAP and for attribute matching in automatic provisioning.

EasyUC reads from the source and does not write to it. Which fields of the source serve as first name, phone number or unique key is not defined here but where the source is used.

Prerequisites

• Role ROLE_APP_ADMIN. The interface shows the Administration menu only with this role.
• The cucm module is enabled. Without this module the interface locks the page.
• The server can be reached from the EasyUC system: LDAP usually on port 389, with TLS on 636, databases on their respective port.
• An account with read permission. For LDAP, the distinguished name of the account, the search base and a filter. For SQL, the database name, table or view, and credentials.

Step by step: creating an LDAP source

1. Select the EasyUC Cisco workspace in the header.
2. Open Administration → Integrations & Communication → External Sources.
3. Click Create.
4. Under Type, select the entry for LDAP.
5. Enter a Name.
6. In the section LDAP Connection, enter Host or Ip and Port.
7. Tick Use TLS? if the directory is accessed with encryption, and adjust the port.
8. Enter Search Base and LDAP Filter.
9. Under Manager, enter the distinguished name of the read account and, under Password, its password.
10. Click Create.

Step by step: creating an SQL source

1. Click Create and select MySQL, PostgreSQL or MS SQL under Type.
2. Enter a Name.
3. Enter Host or Ip and Port.
4. Enter Database name, Database table, Database user and Database password.
5. Click Create.

Step by step: changing or deleting a source

1. In the row, click Actions → Update.
2. Change the values. Leave the password field empty if the stored password is to remain valid.
3. Click Update.
4. With Actions → Delete you remove the source after the prompt This external source will be deleted.

Fields and options

Checking the result and narrowing down errors

• The source is listed with its Source Type. The column Used By fills as soon as you integrate the source.
• Function test: create a link under Phonebooks → Phonebook Sources. If the field list of the source loads, the connection and the sign-in work.
• The field list stays empty: the search base or filter return no entries, or the account lacks read permission.
• After a certificate change on the LDAP server, the connection with TLS fails. The note in the log names the certificate chain remembered on first contact. Clarify the change with the operator of the directory.
• Before deleting or changing: check Used By. Phonebook synchronization, contact search and the number plan link depend on the source.