Is integrated with the Packet Telephony Center (PTC), click the Voice Routing Center button on the PTC Launch Pad window.
Is running as a standalone application, that is, not integrated with PTC, launch the client using an installation-specific URL.

Using the Client as a Standalone Application

This section describes how to use the VRC client.

Before you begin, read the following tips for troublshooting client operations:

Use the online help to help you execute specific tasks using the client.
If the disk space for the client reaches 80 MB, you are prompted to refresh the memory. You must close all instances of Internet Explorer to refresh the memory.
Certain operations take a long time to complete. Note that the operation progress bar is nonlinear.

Logging In to the Client

To log in to VRC through the client, follow these steps:

Step 1 Open the Internet Explorer browser and enter the following URL:

http://<server name or IP address>:8080/VRC

The server name is the host name where the VRC server software is running.

Step 2 Minimize the browser window.

The VRC login window appears (Figure 3-1).

Figure 3-1: Cisco VRC Login Window

Step 3 Enter your Username and Password and click OK.

Step 4 Check the box if you want your login to preempt any previous logins by this same user.

Step 5 Click OK. The Cisco Voice Routing Center window appears (Figure 3-2).

Figure 3-2: Cisco Voice Routing Center Window

Step 6 Choose your operation from the VRC menus.

Baseline View —Represents the current dial plan. Ideally the baseline is consistent with the physical network but can differ if the dial plan changes are made outside of VRC.
Design View—You make changes to an existing dial plan or start a new dial plan design session.
Topology View—Identifies the set of elements that can participate in a dial plan. The VRC Topology View identifies the partitioning of those elements into regions which can be independently managed.

Logging Out of the Client

To log out of the VRC client, follow these steps:

Step 1 To exit from the VRC client, choose Exit from the Action menu and click OK.

Step 2 To exit from the browser window, restore your browser window, and choose Close from the File menu.

This window displays the type of privilege and scope for each user.

Displaying a User Log

You can display a user log from any view when you choose Display User Log from the Action menu. The user log is displayed in a separate browser window.

Changing a Password from the VRC Client

Use this procedure if you are in the VRC client and you want to change a user password. This menu action from the VRC client takes you directly to the CNS security service user interface. User administration for VRC is managed by the CNS security service. See "Changing a User Password from CNS."

You can change a password from any VRC view when you choose Change Password from the Action menu.

Using PTC to Launch VRC When Integrated with PTC

The PTC launch pad, located at the top of the PTC Topology Manager window, displays buttons, shown in Figure 3-3.

Figure 3-3: PTC Launch Pad

To obtain access to VRC from the PTC user interface, click the Voice Routing Center button on the PTC Launch Pad window and begin using VRC. For detailed information, see "Cisco VRC Integrated with PTC."

Cisco VRC Menu Bar

This section describes the VRC menus (see Figure 3-2).

The following menu items are described:

Action—From the Action menu, the following operations are available:

Change Password
Show Privileges
Display User Log
Exit

Baseline—Baseline View provides the currently distributed dial plan and topology for the entire managed network. From the Baseline menu, the following operations are available:

Open Baseline
Export Baseline
Find Terminating Gateways

Design—Design View allows you to make administrative changes to the baseline dial plan using a design dial plan and applying those changes to the elements. From the Design menu, the following operations are available:

Design From Baseline
Open Saved Design
Delete Saved Design
Export This Design
Close This Design
Commit This Design
Find Gateways
Preview (Normal or Forced)
Validate

Topology—Topology View provides an overview of the regions and the elements within each region. This view shows the state of each region, and allows you to add, delete, and rename regions and elements. From the Topology menu, the following operations are available:

Open Topology
Import Topology

Window—The following operations are available:

Display Baseline View
Display Design View
Display Topology View
Refresh Display

Help—The following operations are available:

User's Guide
About VRC

VRC Quick Start

This section provides you with a quick overview of the Voice Routing Center and lists the first steps to take when you use the VRC to open an existing dial plan or to create a new dial plan.

The VRC is designed so that a user can make dial plan changes for the whole network (Administrative Domain (AD)), or only within a partition of the network (region). There can only be one design session open per region. The advantage of regional administration is that multiple users can concurrently be doing regional designs.

Only one user at a time can do AD level designs and that design session blocks all regional design sessions.

Administrative Domain (AD)—The whole network. The highest level of administration which encompasses the entire dial plan. The AD includes all elements that participate in the VoIP call routing.
Regions—A specific partition of the network. It may contain one or more zones, gatekeeper groups, and directory gatekeepers.

This section describes a quick start for:

Creating a New Dial Plan from Scratch
Creating a New Dial Plan by Discovery
Starting a New Dial Plan Design
Opening an Existing Dial Plan Design

Note For detailed information about each task, refer to the appropriate sections in this user guide.

Creating a New Dial Plan from Scratch

The following tasks provide a quick start for creating a new dial plan:

1. Add your elements to the topology by using batch import or by manually adding each element to the topology in the Topology View. If you are using VRC integrated with PTC, add the elements using the PTC Topology Manager. In either case, if an element is not present in the topology then it cannot participate in the dial plan.

2. Start a new design session.

3. Add your elements to the design session dial plan.

4. Configure zones, routes, gatekeeper groups, and directory gatekeeper groups as desired.

5. Use the Validate operation to identify any inconsistencies and errors in the dial plan. See "Troubleshooting Cisco VRC" to help you correct any errors. Refer back to Step 4 to make corrections to your configurations.

6. Commit your design session to establish a baseline dial plan. After you commit a dial plan design, you are advised of the elements that receive a new configuration CLI. You can also preview the configuration CLI for those elements.

Creating a New Dial Plan by Discovery

The following tasks provide a quick start for creating a new dial plan by discovery:

1. Add your elements to the topology by using batch import or by manually adding each element to the topology in the Topology View. If you are using VRC integrated with PTC, add the elements using the PTC Topology Manager. An element must exist in the topology to participate in the dial plan.

2. Execute a discovery of the network at the Administrative Domain (AD) level. VRC uses this information to establish a baseline dial plan. If there are any problems with the dial plan from VRC's perspective, you receive error, warning, or informational messages. See "Troubleshooting Cisco VRC" to help you correct any errors.

3. Make the necessary corrections to your configurations. View the generated CLI for any element to determine if your corrections achieve the expected result.

4. Use the Validate operation to identify any inconsistencies and errors in the dial plan. See "Troubleshooting Cisco VRC" to help you correct any errors. Refer back to Step 3 to make corrections to your configurations.

5. Commit your design session to establish a baseline dial plan. After you commit a dial plan design, you are advised of the elements that receive a new configuration CLI. You can also preview the configuration CLI for those elements.

Starting a New Dial Plan Design

The following tasks provide a quick start for starting a new dial plan design:

1. Add your elements to the topology using batch import or by manually adding each element to the topology in the Topology View. If you are using VRC integrated with PTC, add the elements using the PTC Topology Manager. An element must exist in the topology to participate in the dial plan.

2. Start a new design. The baseline dial plan, which is the last committed dial plan design, is displayed.

3. Configure zones, routes, gatekeeper groups, and directory gatekeeper groups as desired.

4. Use the Validate operation to identify any inconsistencies and errors in the dial plan. See "Troubleshooting Cisco VRC," to help you correct any errors. Refer back to Step 3 to make corrections to your configurations. View the generated CLI for any element to determine if you achieved the expected result.

Opening an Existing Dial Plan Design

The following tasks provide a quick start for opening an existing dial plan design:

1. Open an existing design. Choose a previously saved design file.

2. Configure zones, routes, gatekeeper groups, and directory gatekeeper groups as desired. Any new element must be added in the topology before you can add it to the dial plan.

3. Use the Validate operation to identify any inconsistencies and errors in the dial plan. See "Troubleshooting Cisco VRC," to help you correct any errors. View the generated CLI for any element to determine if you achieved the expected result.

4. Commit your design session to establish a baseline dial plan. After you commit a dial plan design, you are advised of the elements that receive a new configuration CLI. You can also preview the configuration CLI for those elements.

Table of Contents