Preparing Users for Cisco Emergency Responder

These topics describe the various roles for Cisco Emergency Responder (Cisco ER) users. The topics describe not only the use of the software, but help you understand the larger policy and procedure decisions your organization must make to determine how Cisco ER fits into your organization's emergency response needs.

• Preparing Onsite Alert (Security) Personnel for Cisco Emergency Responder

• Understanding the ERL Administrator's Role

• Understanding the Network Administrator's Role

• Understanding the Cisco Emergency Responder System Administrator's Role

Preparing Onsite Alert (Security) Personnel for Cisco Emergency Responder

You probably already have emergency response policies and procedures in place. Consider how Cisco Emergency Responder (Cisco ER) fits into these policies and procedures, and work with your emergency response teams (onsite alert or security personnel) to update these procedures if necessary.

Consider training these personnel on these aspects of Cisco ER:

•How to use the Cisco ER web interface. See the Cisco ER user web interface's online help for information on these topics. The online help includes a user's guide in PDF format that you can print out and distribute to your users. The information in the user's guide is the same as the information in the online help. Train users on these areas:

–How to log into the user web interface. If you did not use their standard Windows user IDs, supply them with their IDs and passwords.

–How alerts show up on the screen.

–How to obtain more information about the location of the call. Summary information includes the actual extension of the caller; the ELIN, which is the phone number the PSAP gets as the number of the emergency caller; the phone location associated with the switch port; and the location field of the ALI. User's can also view the entire ALI.

–How to acknowledge the call and add comments to it. Consider developing rules for these procedures to ensure consistent behavior from your emergency response teams.

–How to look up emergency calls in the emergency call history.

•Explain how they will receive notification of an emergency call.

–A web alert appears for everyone logged into the Cisco ER user web interface.

–All personnel assigned to an ERL receive a telephone call when an emergency call is made from the ERL. The telephone call includes information about the extension of the caller.

–If you configure email addresses for the personnel, they also receive an email, which includes more information than the phone call, including ERL name and phone location. If the email address is for an email-based pager, they are paged. Paging is the most efficient way of getting information to users who are not at their desks.

If the standby Cisco ER server handles an emergency call, all onsite alert personnel get notified of the call, and of the fact that the standby server handled the call. Decide how you want people to respond to these notifications.

•Explain the ERL naming and phone location you are using. This is the primary information the personnel will have for identifying the location of the emergency caller.

•Explain the organization's policy for responding to emergency calls. Work with the emergency response teams to develop an acceptable policy if you do not already have one.

Understanding the ERL Administrator's Role

Table 5-1 lists the recurring tasks for which an ERL administrator is responsible. A system administrator can also perform these tasks.

Table 5-1 Cisco Emergency Responder ERL Administration Recurring Tasks
Recurring Task	Description	More Information
Assign ERLs to new or changed switch ports	If switches are added to the network, or if modules with additional ports are added to existing switches, assign the new ports ERLs.	• Configuring Switch Ports, page 4-50
Create ERLs as required	As your business expands, create new ERLs as required. Work with the telephony administrators to obtain ELINs for the ERLs, and with the network administrator to get the new switches defined in Cisco ER.	• Creating ERLs, page 4-23 • Configuring Switch Ports, page 4-50
Export ALI data and submit to your service provider	If you make changes to ALI data, add or remove ERLs, or change the ELINs assigned to an ERL (for example, by adding or removing them), export the ALI and resubmit it to your service provider.	• Exporting ERL Information, page 4-33 • Exporting ALI Information for Submission to Your Service Provider, page 4-34 • Creating ERLs, page 4-23 • Negotiate ALI Submission Requirements With Your Service Provider
Audit the manually defined phones	Regularly check your manual phone definitions to ensure each phone is still assigned to the correct ERL. Work with the telephony administrator to get notification of any adds, moves, or changes that involve these phones. Add phones as required.	• Manually Defining a Phone, page 4-57
Audit the unlocated phones list	Regularly audit the unlocated phones list, and work with the network administrator to determine why Cisco ER cannot locate the phones and to resolve the problems.	• Identifying Unlocated Phones, page 4-55 • Too Many Unlocated Phones, page 6-3
Add new onsite personnel or remove old ones; update phone numbers	As onsite alert personnel are added, define them in Cisco ER and assign them to the appropriate ERLs. Likewise, as personnel are removed, remove them from their ERLs and then from Cisco ER. Update phone numbers, email address, and other contact information as they change.	• Identifying Security Personnel (Onsite Alert Personnel), page 4-21 • Creating ERLs, page 4-23
Add IP subnet for the IP subnets to be tracked	If there is a new IP subnet that needs to be discovered by Cisco ER, then perform the following tasks: •Configure an ERL spanning the new IP subnet's geographical location. •Configure this new IP subnet and the appropriate mask and assign this IP subnet to the created ERL,	• Configuring IP Subnet-based ERLs, page 4-29

• Managing Phones, page 4-49

• Troubleshooting Cisco Emergency Responder, page 6-1

Understanding the Network Administrator's Role

Table 5-2 lists the recurring tasks for which a network administrator is responsible. A system administrator can also perform these tasks.

Table 5-2 Cisco Emergency Responder Network Administration Recurring Tasks
Recurring Task	Description	More Information
Add new switches	Add any switches you add to the network to the Cisco Emergency Responder (Cisco ER) configuration. A switch is considered new if it has an IP address not defined in Cisco ER.	• Identifying the LAN Switches, page 4-42 • Manually Running the Switch-Port and Phone Update Process, page 4-48
Remove old switches	Remove switches from the Cisco ER configuration if you remove them from the network. Non-existent switches in the Cisco ER configuration do not create problems, but they do increase the time required to do phone tracking, because Cisco ER's attempts to connect to the switch must time out before moving on to the next switch.	• Identifying the LAN Switches, page 4-42
Update the SNMP read community if it changes	If you change the read community string on any defined switch, you must update the SNMP settings in Cisco ER. Until the setting is updated, Cisco ER will be unable to track phones attached to the switch.	• Configuring the SNMP Connection, page 4-38
Update or remove Cisco CallManager servers	If a Cisco CallManager cluster is added to the network, or one is removed, update the configuration for the Cisco ER group that supports the cluster. Although you have the authority to make these updates, your organization might assign the primary responsibility to the Cisco ER system administrator.	• Identifying the Cisco CallManager Clusters, page 4-15
Check ERL assignments	Use the ERL Debug Tool to check that the correct and expected ERL is used for a selected phone.	• Using the CER Admin Utility, page 6-28

• Troubleshooting Cisco Emergency Responder, page 6-1

Understanding the Cisco Emergency Responder System Administrator's Role

Table 5-2 lists the recurring tasks for which a system administrator is responsible. A system administrator might also be responsible for some or all of the ERL and network administrators' tasks, as explained in the "Understanding the ERL Administrator's Role" section and the "Understanding the Network Administrator's Role" section.

Table 5-3 Cisco Emergency Responder System Administration Recurring Tasks
Recurring Task	Description	More Information
Add additional Cisco Emergency Responder (Cisco ER) groups	As telephones are added to the network, you might need additional Cisco ER groups. Install and define them and their telephony settings. Work with the telephony administrator to complete the required Cisco CallManager configuration.	• Installing Cisco Emergency Responder 1.2 on a New System • Configuring a Cisco Emergency Responder Server Group, page 4-9 • Configuring Group Telephony Settings For the Cisco Emergency Responder Server, page 4-10 • Configuring Cisco Emergency Responder Servers, page 4-13 • Entering the Cisco Emergency Responder License Key, page 4-14 • Identifying the Cisco CallManager Clusters, page 4-15
Monitor the system and troubleshoot any problems	Help resolve any problems that arise. Work with the network and ERL administrators, and the telephony administrator, as appropriate.	• Troubleshooting Cisco Emergency Responder, page 6-1
Create new Cisco ER users; remove old users	As onsite alert personnel change, or as Cisco ER system, network, and ERL administrators change, add or remove them as required.	• Creating Cisco Emergency Responder Users, page 4-4
Add or remove Cisco CallManager servers	If a Cisco CallManager cluster is added to the network, or one is removed, update the configuration for the Cisco ER group that supports the cluster. Although you have the authority to make these updates, your organization might assign the primary responsibility to the Cisco ER network administrator.	• Identifying the Cisco CallManager Clusters, page 4-15
Monitor the email alerts that Cisco ER generates	If your email ID is configured in the server group settings, Cisco ER sends email alerts about critical errors to you. You are expected to understand the error and take action to correct the problem. Refer to the "Troubleshooting Email Alerts" section on page 6-17 for information to help you understand the email alerts and resolve problems.	• Configuring a Cisco Emergency Responder Server Group, page 4-9

• Configuring Servers and Server Groups, page 4-8

• "Troubleshooting Email Alerts" section on page 6-17

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