Release Notes for Cisco BLISS for Cable Release 2.2

These release notes for the Cisco Broadband Local Integrated Services Solution (BLISS) for Cable describe the new features provided in Release 2.2.

For an overview of Cisco BLISS for Cable Release 2.2, as well as the components supported in Cisco BLISS for Cable, search for the BLISS for Cable Information Access Manager on www.cisco.com.

The call management server (CMS) and media gateway controller (MGC) functions are provided by the Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch. For an overview of the components, functions, and signaling protocols supported by the Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch, see the Cisco BTS 10200 System Description (Release 4.5). For information on the latest release, see the Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch Release Notes for Release 4.5.

Note These release notes are updated periodically on an as-needed basis. Please read the applicable sections in their entirety, because they contain important operational information that can impact your network.

Major, Minor, and Maintenance Releases

This section describes the differences between major, minor, and maintenance releases. Each Cisco BLISS for Cable major release can include a series of minor (2.n) and/or maintenance releases (2.n.n) following the major release. Release notes are issued only if new information is available.

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Major Release—Major software releases contain significant new features, enhancements, changes, and/or defect fixes. The major release number increments with each new version (1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and so on), and numbers cannot be skipped. Subsequent major releases are based on previous major releases and contain defect fixes from each previous release throughout the life cycle of the release.

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Minor Release—Minor (or "point") software releases usually have a few new features of limited scope, enhancements, and/or defect fixes. The minor release number increments as content is added, and minor release numbers can be nonsequential (2.1, 2.2, 2.4, and so on). Subsequent minor releases are based on previous major or minor releases and contain defect fixes from each previous major or minor release throughout the life cycle of the release.

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Maintenance Release—Maintenance software releases have no new features or enhancements. Maintenance releases include only defect fixes to address specific problems. Maintenance release numbers increment as content is added, and numbers can be nonsequential (2.2.1, 2.2.3, and so on). Subsequent maintenance releases are based on previous major, minor, or maintenance releases and contain defect fixes from previous releases throughout the life cycle of the release.

System Requirements

Table 1 details the Cisco BLISS for Cable Release 2.2 components, their role in the solution, and supported hardware platforms and software releases.

Note The Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch user documentation is password protected. See your Cisco representative for access information.

Table 1 Cisco BLISS for Cable Components
Component	Role in the Solution	Hardware	Software and Release Level
Call Management Server (CMS)	The CMS: •Provides the call-control intelligence for establishing, maintaining, routing, and terminating voice calls. •Provides call-feature intelligence for telephony services. •Serves as an interface to enhanced application platforms, such as voice mail and unified messaging.	The Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch requires four application servers (two for the Call Agent/Feature Server and two for the Element Management System/Bulk Data Management System). •Small Platform Option—Requires four Sun Microsystems 240 hosts (Netra or Sunfire). •Medium Platform Option—Requires four Sun Microsystems 440 hosts (Netra or Sunfire). •Large Platform Option—Requires four Sun Microsystems 1280 hosts (Netra or Sunfire). The Cisco BTS 10200 also requires two AC or two DC system switches (the Cisco Catalyst 2950, for example), two power distribution units (PDUs), and a terminal server (Cisco BTS 10200 Alarm Panel). See the Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch Release Notes for Release 4.5 for more information about hardware requirements.	Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch, Release 4.5. See the Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch Release Notes for Release 4.5 for more information about software and release level requirements. Tip The Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch user documentation is password protected. See your Cisco representative for access information.
Media Gateway Controller (MGC)	The MGC provides direct control over the media gateways that provide bearer interconnection to the PSTN.	—	Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch, Release 4.5. See the Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch Release Notes for Release 4.5 for more information about software and release level requirements. Tip The Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch user documentation is password protected. See your Cisco representative for access information.
Cisco IP Transfer Point (ITP) Signaling Gateway (SG)	The Cisco IITP is required in order to provide SS7 interconnectivity for the Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch in Release 4.5. For more information, see Cisco ITP as the Signaling Gateway for the Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch.	Cisco ITP 7301 Cisco ITP 7507 For more information, see the Cisco IP Transfer Point Data Sheet.	Cisco IOS Release 12.2(25)SW3. For more information, see the Release Notes for Cisco 7000 Series Routers for Cisco IOS Release 12.2 SW and Cisco IP Transfer Point (ITP) in IOS Software Release 12.2(25)SW3.
Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS)	The CMTS is a Cisco Universal Broadband Router (uBR) with features that enable it to communicate with a Hybrid Fiber Coaxial (HFC) Cable network via a Cisco MCxx cable modem card. Cisco MCxx cable modem cards allow you to connect cable modems on the HFC network to a Cisco uBR in a Community Antenna Television (CATV) headend facility. The modem card provides the interface between the Cisco uBR protocol control information (PCI) bus and the radio frequency (RF) signal on the DOCSIS HFC network. For more information, see the CMTS Introduction and the Cisco CMTS Feature Guide.	Cisco uBR7246VXR •Network Processing Engine: NPE-G1 •Broadband Processing Engine: –Cisco MC28U –Cisco MC28X –Cisco MC16U –Cisco MC16X Cisco uBR10012 •Performance Routing Engine: –PRE-1 –PRE-2 •Broadband Processing Engine: –Cisco 5x20U –Cisco 5x20S For more information, see • Cisco uBR7200 Universal Broadband Router documentation • Cisco 7200 Series Network Processing Engine NPE-G1 Data Sheet • Cisco uBR 10012 Universal Broadband Router documentation • Cisco 10000 Series Performance Routing Engine (PRE-1) Data Sheet • Cisco 10000 Series Performance Routing Engine (PRE-2) Data Sheet • Cisco Broadband Processing Engines Introduction.	Cisco IOS 12.3(9a)BC3. For more information, see the Release Notes for Cisco uBR7200 Series for Cisco IOS Release 12.3 BC and the Release Notes for Cisco uBR10012 Universal Broadband Router for Cisco IOS Release 12.3 BC.
Media Gateway (MG)	The MG provides interconnection between IP networks and the PSTN to transmit bearer traffic.	MGX8880, 8850: •PXM-45 –VXSM –RPM-XF •PXM-1 –VISM For more information, see the Guide to MGX 8880 Media Gateway User Documentation and the following data sheets: • Cisco MGX 8850 Multiservice Switch • Cisco MGX8850 PXM-45/C Processor Switch Module • Cisco Voice Switch Service Module (VXSM) • Cisco Route Processor Module XF • Cisco MGX 8800 PXM1 Processor Switch Module • Cisco Voice Interworking Service Module.	5.2(0.200) 5.2(0.200) 12.3(11)T7 1.3.11 3.3 For more information, see the Cisco MGX 8800 Series Switches Release Notes.
Embedded Multimedia Terminal Adapter (eMTA)	Residential gateways in the form of MTAs embedded in a cable modem (embedded MTA [eMTA]) provide access at the customer premises. By plugging a standard analog telephone into the MTA device, a user can make phone calls to another MSO's customer directly across the IP network or to anyone outside the network through a media gateway.	Arris Touchstone eMTA For more information, see the Arris Touchstone data sheet.	4.1.34
Aggregation	Cisco Catalyst 6509 Ethernet switches are used in Cisco BLISS for Cable to provide Layer 2 connectivity among the IP core, Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch, and ancillary servers and element management components necessary to provision and maintain certain features in Cisco BLISS for Cable. The Cisco Catalyst 6509 also provides Layer 3 functionality for routing signaling packets to edge and trunking gateways, and to interconnect all servers within the SuperPOP. The Cisco Catalyst 6509 can also be used to aggregate the traffic from multiple CMTSs into a single interface on a Cisco 12000 series Internet router.	Cisco Catalyst 6509 For more information, see the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches Data Sheets.	Cisco IOS Release 12.1(13)E12 or later For more information, see the Release Notes for Cisco IOS Release 12.1E on the Catalyst 6500 and Cisco 7600 Supervisor Engine and MSFC.
Core	Core routing functions.	Cisco 12000 Series Internet Router For more information, see the Cisco XR 12000 Series Router Introduction.	Cisco IOS Release 12.0(13.3)S or later For more information, see the Cisco IOS Release 12.0S documentation.
Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA)-Compliant Server	Lawful Intercept (LI) compliance in the United States is specified by CALEA.	SS8 Networks Xcipio	For more information, see the SS8 Networks site.
Media Server	The IP Unity Media Server can be used as an announcement server, voice-mail server, media server and/or application server in Cisco BLISS for Cable.	IP Unity Media Server	2.7 For more information, see the IP Unity site.
Record Keeping Server (RKS)	The RKS monitors and collects PacketCable™ event message data over LAN/WAN networks for Cable VoIP and content-based services, utilizing the PacketCable™ protocol standards. The application extracts all the relevant parts of a call and creates a Call Detail Record (CDR) in the appropriate format for the billing and operations support systems.	See manufacturer's recommendations.	Primal Solutions, Inc. RKS Software Access IM, 8.2.3 Rater 5.4.3 WPM 2.4.0 For more information, see the Primal Solutions, Inc. site. Note Primal Solutions RKS Software has been tested only for integration.
Network Management	Cisco Broadband Access Center for Cable (BACC) is a distributed, scalable, subscriber-device management application that enables automated flow-through provisioning of subscriber services. For more information, see the Cisco Broadband Access Center Introduction and the Cisco BACC Administrator's Guide for Release 2.6.	Sun 240 or 440 (large environment)	Release 2.6 For more information, see the Cisco Broadband Access Center for Cable Release Notes for Release 2.6.
	JacobsRimell's APS Softswitch Manager for Cisco BLISS Customers can be used to provide subscriber provisioning and infrastructure configuration for call management servers, signaling gateways, media gateways, softswitches, and BACC.	See manufacturer's recommendations.	JacobsRimell APS Softswitch Manager, Version 3.2 For more information, see the JacobsRimell site. Note JacobsRimell software has been tested only for integration.
	Auspice's Cisco Cactus Correlation Solution product can be used to provide service assurance.	See manufacturer's recommendations.	Auspice Cisco Cactus Correlation Solution: •TLX 4.2 •CCC 1.0 For more information, see the Auspice site. Note The Auspice products have been tested only for integration.

Note For additional information about component interoperability with the Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch, see the Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch Release Notes for Release 4.5. The Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch user documentation is password protected. See your Cisco representative for access information.

New Features for Release 2.2

Note The Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch user documentation is password protected. See your Cisco representative for access information.

New Components and Protocols

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Enhanced network management system (NMS) tools (JacobsRimell and Auspice; see Table 1 for more information)

Telephony Features

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Single vertical service code (VSC) to activate or deactivate call forwarding no answer (CFNA) and call forwarding on busy (CFB)

Operations, Architecture, and Security Features

New operations, architecture, and security features for Cisco BLISS for Cable Release 2.2 include:

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.DONE indicator after successful transmission of call DB records to billing mediation server

New Documentation

The Cisco BLISS for Cable Release 2.2 Information Access Manager is available from www.cisco.com.

Upgrade Procedures

Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch upgrade procedures are available at the following location:

Caveats

Open and resolved caveats are not listed in the release notes. Instead, the latest information on caveats is available through an online tool, Bug Toolkit, available for customers to query defects according to their own needs.

Note

If you have already logged into www.cisco.com with the BTS guest username and password, you may receive an error message when attempting to access the Bug Toolkit. If you receive an error message, close all open instances of your browser, restart your browser program, and log into www.cisco.com with your own registered username and password.

Bug Toolkit

To access Bug Toolkit, you must have an Internet connection and a web browser, as well as a Cisco.com username and password. See your Cisco representative if you need assistance obtaining a username and password.

Step 1

Click here to log in to Bug Toolkit. You must have a Cisco.com username and password.

Note

Step 3

If you are looking for information about a specific caveat, enter the ID number in the "Enter known bug ID:" field.

To view all caveats for Cisco BTS 10200, for example, go to the "Search for bugs in other Cisco software and hardware products" section, and start typing BTS in the Product Name field. The Cisco BTS 10200 Softswitch listing should appear after typing the first two letters, B and T.

Step 5

Select the filters to query for caveats. You can choose any or all of the available options:

Note

To make less specific queries, you can simply leave the default "All" option for the Major/Minor release, Features/Components, and keyword options; however, you should be aware that general queries may take longer and may return a large number of caveats. Be as specific as necessary in setting options.

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Select Minor Release for more specific information—for example, selecting Major version 3.5 and Minor version 3 queries specifically for Release 3.5.3 caveats.

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Select the Advanced Options, including the Bug Severity level, Bug Status Group, and Release Note Enclosure options.

Hardware and Software Component Release Notes

For platform-specific documents and release notes for the components in this solution, refer to the release notes for each component. The following links display the release notes for the corresponding component.

For release information on Cisco BLISS for Cable components not manufactured by Cisco Systems Inc., please refer to the user documentation that came with the component.

Obtaining Documentation

Cisco documentation and additional literature are available on Cisco.com. Cisco also provides several ways to obtain technical assistance and other technical resources. These sections explain how to obtain technical information from Cisco Systems.

Cisco.com

Product Documentation DVD

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Ordering Documentation

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Cisco Product Security Overview

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If you prefer to see advisories and notices as they are updated in real time, you can access a Product Security Incident Response Team Really Simple Syndication (PSIRT RSS) feed from this URL:

Reporting Security Problems in Cisco Products

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An emergency is either a condition in which a system is under active attack or a condition for which a severe and urgent security vulnerability should be reported. All other conditions are considered nonemergencies.

Tip

We encourage you to use Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) or a compatible product to encrypt any sensitive information that you send to Cisco. PSIRT can work from encrypted information that is compatible with PGP versions 2.x through 8.x.

Never use a revoked or an expired encryption key. The correct public key to use in your correspondence with PSIRT is the one linked in the Contact Summary section of the Security Vulnerability Policy page at this URL:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/products_security_vulnerability_policy.html

The link on this page has the current PGP key ID in use.

Obtaining Technical Assistance

Cisco Technical Support provides 24-hour-a-day award-winning technical assistance. The Cisco Technical Support & Documentation website on Cisco.com features extensive online support resources. In addition, if you have a valid Cisco service contract, Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) engineers provide telephone support. If you do not have a valid Cisco service contract, contact your reseller.

Cisco Technical Support & Documentation Website

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Note Use the Cisco Product Identification (CPI) tool to locate your product serial number before submitting a web or phone request for service. You can access the CPI tool from the Cisco Technical Support & Documentation website by clicking the Tools & Resources link under Documentation & Tools. Choose Cisco Product Identification Tool from the Alphabetical Index drop-down list, or click the Cisco Product Identification Tool link under Alerts & RMAs. The CPI tool offers three search options: by product ID or model name; by tree view; or for certain products, by copying and pasting show command output. Search results show an illustration of your product with the serial number label location highlighted. Locate the serial number label on your product and record the information before placing a service call.

Submitting a Service Request

Using the online TAC Service Request Tool is the fastest way to open S3 and S4 service requests. (S3 and S4 service requests are those in which your network is minimally impaired or for which you require product information.) After you describe your situation, the TAC Service Request Tool provides recommended solutions. If your issue is not resolved using the recommended resources, your service request is assigned to a Cisco engineer. The TAC Service Request Tool is located at this URL:

For S1 or S2 service requests or if you do not have Internet access, contact the Cisco TAC by telephone. (S1 or S2 service requests are those in which your production network is down or severely degraded.) Cisco engineers are assigned immediately to S1 and S2 service requests to help keep your business operations running smoothly.

Asia-Pacific: +61 2 8446 7411 (Australia: 1 800 805 227)
EMEA: +32 2 704 55 55
USA: 1 800 553-2447

Definitions of Service Request Severity

To ensure that all service requests are reported in a standard format, Cisco has established severity definitions.

Severity 1 (S1)—Your network is "down," or there is a critical impact to your business operations. You and Cisco will commit all necessary resources around the clock to resolve the situation.

Severity 2 (S2)—Operation of an existing network is severely degraded, or significant aspects of your business operation are negatively affected by inadequate performance of Cisco products. You and Cisco will commit full-time resources during normal business hours to resolve the situation.

Severity 3 (S3)—Operational performance of your network is impaired, but most business operations remain functional. You and Cisco will commit resources during normal business hours to restore service to satisfactory levels.

Severity 4 (S4)—You require information or assistance with Cisco product capabilities, installation, or configuration. There is little or no effect on your business operations.

Obtaining Additional Publications and Information

Information about Cisco products, technologies, and network solutions is available from various online and printed sources.

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Cisco Marketplace provides a variety of Cisco books, reference guides, documentation, and logo merchandise. Visit Cisco Marketplace, the company store, at this URL:

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Cisco Press publishes a wide range of general networking, training and certification titles. Both new and experienced users will benefit from these publications. For current Cisco Press titles and other information, go to Cisco Press at this URL:

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Packet magazine is the Cisco Systems technical user magazine for maximizing Internet and networking investments. Each quarter, Packet delivers coverage of the latest industry trends, technology breakthroughs, and Cisco products and solutions, as well as network deployment and troubleshooting tips, configuration examples, customer case studies, certification and training information, and links to scores of in-depth online resources. You can access Packet magazine at this URL:

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iQ Magazine is the quarterly publication from Cisco Systems designed to help growing companies learn how they can use technology to increase revenue, streamline their business, and expand services. The publication identifies the challenges facing these companies and the technologies to help solve them, using real-world case studies and business strategies to help readers make sound technology investment decisions. You can access iQ Magazine at this URL:

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Internet Protocol Journal is a quarterly journal published by Cisco Systems for engineering professionals involved in designing, developing, and operating public and private internets and intranets. You can access the Internet Protocol Journal at this URL:

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Networking Professionals Connection is an interactive website for networking professionals to share questions, suggestions, and information about networking products and technologies with Cisco experts and other networking professionals. Join a discussion at this URL:

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World-class networking training is available from Cisco. You can view current offerings at this URL:

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