Frequently Asked Questions 2014 VoIP Infrastructure Upgrade

Transcription

1 Frequently Asked Questions 2014 VoIP Infrastructure Upgrade Table of Contents General Questions... 1 Timing... 2 Communications... 2 Firmware Installations... 3 Operating Systems... 4 Firewall/IOS... 4 MACD s... 4 Features and Functionality... 5 Timelines and Process... 6 Equipment... 6 General Questions: What is MN.IT s general plan? The general plan is that all new hardware and software will be pre-staged and tested. MN.IT will take a snapshot of the phones, contact centers (agents/supervisors), scripts, and other parameters and applications. The snapshot data will be installed in the new environment, called the NPE (New Production Environment). Conversion means that the NPE becomes the production system; in other words, the upgraded infrastructure is put into live production. Prior to the conversion to the upgraded infrastructure, MN.IT will schedule customers to test their scripts that have been installed in NPE as part of the snapshot. Conversion will occur over a weekend and is anticipated as a flash cut. Telephones, including contact centers, could go up and down over the weekend, depending on technical factors. What is the NPE? New production environment (NPE) New hardware Updated software This is the infrastructure that will be tested prior to the upgrade What is MN.IT s back out plan? The existing infrastructure will be in place and will be used if there is a need to back out. MN.IT is finalizing test plans and will determine a threshold that must be reached in order to move forward with the upgrade. We will communicate the details of the back out plan closer to the time of the upgrade. What is a blackout? Customers provided dates when they prefer the upgrade not occur, based on business needs. FAQ-VoIP Infrastructure Upgrade Page 1 of 6

2 Timing: When is the upgrade? The dates for the upgrade, and associated dates for customer to-do s, have not yet been determined. The plan is spring/summer When will there be testing of the scripts in the NPE? We will set the testing dates for your scripts that are installed in the NPE based on the overall scheduling for the upgrade project. At this point, the buildout of the NPE to prepare it for customer testing is a major activity. How will NPE testing be done? Testing can only be performed at MN.IT Central offices in the Centennial Office Building. Remote testing will not be available. More details about what and how to test will be published as we get closer to the target date. Communications: How is MN.IT communicating about the upgrade project? The user group meetings will cover current activities. MN.IT has a project list. As the project develops, MN.IT will distribute a What s Needed from You document that will give the tasks and activities for customers. The project address for any questions on the upgrade is voip.upgrade@state.mn.us Please use this for upgrade-related questions, as it helps MN.IT capture information that we can put into the FAQ future editions. The MNET website in the Voice tab across the top has a link to the upgrade project User group meeting information will be posted, along with the FAQ as we update it, and anything else you will need to know about the upgrade. The last upgrade in 2010 gives us a blueprint for processes, documents and communications we are reusing, adapting and improving this time around. At the time of the upgrade weekend, how will people know when they can test their services in the NPE? MN.IT will have a conference bridge set up for conversion weekend, with plenty of publicity to our customers on how to join the bridge and when. More information will also be provided as part of the timeline. More information will be provided before the service upgrade weekend. When will people know the upgrade status, including when the upgrade has been completed, during the conversion weekend? MN.IT will provide a special phone number for the Update Line. This line will have a recording periodically updated over the course of the weekend. More details and guidelines for communications within your organization and with MN.IT will be part of developing the overall timeline and target dates for project milestones. FAQ-VoIP Infrastructure Upgrade Page 2 of 6

3 Firmware and Software Installations: Are there any issues when phone firmware is pushed? MN.IT is testing to uncover any issues before pushing out to the agencies. The firmware upgrade will be coordinated with the agencies. MN.IT wants to have all telephones upgraded to new firmware before the upgrade (both configured and non-configured (sitting on the shelf) phones.) More information will be provided on how this will take place. Is there a package that will update Cisco Agent Desktop (CAD) agents remotely? No, MN.IT is not able to push CAD to each agent s desktop. Agencies must complete the CAD upgrade. This will include un-installing the old versions, rebooting, and installing the new version. Will MN.IT provide an.msi installer package for CAD? We intend to put together an.msi and will publish more details later, following the buildout of the NPE and the project timeline. Alternatively, an agency may choose to create an install (.msi) package, and MN.IT will provide access to the necessary software well in advance. When will the CAD software be available? MN.IT will publish more details later, following the buildout of the NPE and the project timeline. Will the CAD upgrade at my agency consist of two installs? Yes, one for the agents and one for the supervisors. Can CAD be uninstalled and installed prior to the upgrade weekend? Yes, if agents are on vacation or will not need to use CAD, the new version can be installed but will not work until after upgrade weekend. Can both versions of CAD be loaded on the PC at the same time? No, only one version at a time. Should a call center leave any CAD (Cisco Agent Desktop) workstation(s) on old CAD software in case of failure? Yes, it would be wise if possible to leave one desktop with the old version of CAD as a fallback. Are there any changes that CAD users will notice? Not tested yet; however, there do not appear to be major changes to CAD, based on the documentation the project team has read. FAQ-VoIP Infrastructure Upgrade Page 3 of 6

4 Operating Systems: What PC operating system versions work with CAD/CSD 9.x? Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit) o Business SP1 o Enterprise SP1 o Ultimate Edition SP1 Windows XP Professional SP3 Windows Vista o Business SP1 o Enterprise SP1 o Ultimate Edition SP1 Red Hat Linux Enterprise V5 Firewall/IOS: Is there any impact to switches or firewalls that will need to be addressed by the agency? At this time we do not know if there will be any firewall changes. Customers with VG devices are any upgrades or changes required? More information to come. Is the Emergency Responder being upgraded? Yes; however, this task is taking place prior to the overall infrastructure upgrade. MACD s: What is a change freeze? That means NO CHANGES -- additions, deletions of phones, IVRs, call center scripts, agents and re-skilling. Customer administration (access to 2 nd Nature and other interfaces) will be removed. What is the date for the change freeze? Customer administration (access to 2 nd Nature and other interfaces) will be removed the Monday one week prior to the upgrade weekend. During the freeze, will phone updates be permitted? Customer administrators will not be able to do any programming during the freeze period. End users will be able to use their phones as usual. If an emergency occurs, MN.IT will attempt to assist and provide the requested service. When will MN.IT orders need to be received prior to the change freeze? There will be a freeze on new service implementations, which is TBD at this time. The freeze date for new service implementations will apply to all customers. Established sites/locations will have varying freeze dates, and these dates are TBD at this time. More information is to come, based on the project timeline. o All orders will need to be received by MN.IT Central 11 days prior to upgrade weekend. Will the CM User Website still work during the freeze? MN.IT believes the site will work during the change freeze; however this is to be determined during testing. After the upgrade, all changes made during the freeze period will be lost. FAQ-VoIP Infrastructure Upgrade Page 4 of 6

5 Will the CM User Website change due to the upgrade? The URL(s) may change; the appearance may be slightly changed. MN.IT will provide communication for these changes. Will customers have access during the freeze to the contact center programming or settings? No. Skill group changes during the freeze will be completed by MN.IT. Reskilling during the freeze will be completed by MN.IT Central. Customers will not be able to complete these changes. Features and Functionality Pre/During/Post Upgrade: Will we be able to perform additional changes for call center agents? No, MN.IT Central is still responsible for all adds, move and changes associated with call centers. The only thing customers are able to do is re-skill their agents and this will continue to take place. How will the service upgrade weekend impact users? Users will experience intermittent telephone and IVR/Contact Center outages during the upgrade weekend conversion. Will the phone load drop all speed dials and fast dials? Testing has not been completed at this time, but more information is to come. Will it the phone load or upgrade affect an intercom system at a customer location? No. Will 4-digit dialing be translated? Dialing and translation patterns should not be affected. MN.IT will be testing this on the upgrade weekend. Is there a list of features/functionality that will not exist in the upgraded environment? MN.IT is working on creating a list this will be a result from working in the NPE. MN.IT s goal is that what you are able to do today you will be able to do after the upgrade. Does the upgrade impact voic messages? Any existing recorded messages in the voic box will remain in place, and are not affected by the upgrade. However, during the upgrade weekend: o New calls may not reach the box. o Users may intermittently experience problems accessing voic . During MN.IT s change freeze, will users be able to use call forwarding features? Yes, call forwarding will work as long as it was activated and set up prior to the freeze. However, as for any feature changes, any phone feature changes put in place after the freeze will be lost on the upgrade weekend. Users will need to reset after the upgrade weekend. Timelines and Process: When will MN.IT perform the IP telephony upgrade? We are in the planning phase and have not set a date for the upgrade at this time. FAQ-VoIP Infrastructure Upgrade Page 5 of 6

6 See the Timing section in this FAQ. Will the upgrade be done in phases? No. It will be performed in a flash cut. What is a flash cut? A flash cut (or flash-cutover) is in which multiple components of computer infrastructure are upgraded in multiple ways, all at once, with no phase-in period. Will there be any down time to phone service? Intermittent interruptions will occur over the upgrade weekend. Equipment: Will customers need new hardware at their location(s) for anything related to VoIP? Not that we are aware of at this time. Will phones continue to work after the upgrade? Yes. Phones will continue to work. However, Cisco has stated that a small percentage might have a problem reconfiguring after the upgrade. Follow MN.IT Services best practices for spare phone inventory. The best practices will be communicated (see FAQ Firmware and Software Installations.) MN.IT will test phones and new firmware prior to the upgrade. Will unplugging phones during the upgrade prevent phone failures? No. What is the possible percentage of phone failure? The vendor has suggested a less than 1% failure rate. During which phase of the upgrade will the phones most likely fail? The phones could fail when the new phone load is applied to them (most likely). The phones will reboot on the upgrade weekend (least likely). If additional phones are purchased in anticipation of failures, can they be returned? Yes, the vendors allow returns. Consult your preferred Cisco vendor regarding restock charges that will apply. What is the expected turnaround time for phone delivery, post upgrade? Standard shipping times for standard or expedited delivery. FAQ-VoIP Infrastructure Upgrade Page 6 of 6