IP PHONE DEPLOYMENT PART 1 OF 6
Understanding IP Phone Deployment Registration Process (Overview & Guide)
Table Of Contents
1 – Introduction & Overview Avaya IP Phone Registration Process
2- Essential Information: Registration Method, Node ID, and TN & Phone Type of IP Phone
3- Key Elements Of DHCP Configuration & Overview of DHCP Provisioning
4 – Link Layer Discovery Protocol, LLDP-Med Discovery Methods & Provisioning
5 – IP Phone Deployment Techniques Using TFTP Provisioning VS Configuration
6 – Avaya Phone Remote Worker VPN Client Firewalling
Intorduction & Overview avaya ip phone registration process
Understanding the CS1000 IP Phone registration process has helped me tremendously in IP Phone deployment, whether I’m engineering the deployment strategy, deploying a phone, making system changes that affect multiple endpoints or troubleshooting a problem phone. This overview is the first in a six part series. This part is intended to outline the registration process and provide a framework for future articles. The registration process begins for one of three major reasons (with several variations on these three):
- IP Phone startup/reboot
- DHCP lease expiration/renewal
- Loss/restoration of network connectivity
The registration process is documented in Figure 77, Provisioning Life Cycle, of the IP Deskphones Fundamentals guide (NN43001-368, May 2011), a replica of that diagram can be found here: When the IP Phone boots, it passes through 3 phases prior to registration and one final phase for registration. The first three phases are
- Bootup phase,
- DHCP phase,
- Provisioning phase,
After during the Connecting phase, registration is completed.
Before you begin
Prior to the Bootup phase, the IP endpoint must be powered via (a) 802.3af Power over Ethernet or (b) an external power brick connected to an AC power supply. Additionally, if not using PoE, the network port must be plugged into the network. Additionally, administrators should collect the Terminal Number (TN) and Node ID as well as any applicable network information that might be needed, such as VLAN membership, etc. Refurbished/replacement phones may need to be reset to factory defaults.
Bootup phase
During the Bootup phase the data switch identifies the IP endpoint using 802.1ab, the registration process efficiency is then boosted by either Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) or Auto-Discovery Auto-Configuration (ADAC). How LLDP/ADAC work to increase registration efficiency will be covered in part four of this six part series. How to decrease boot time for environments where LLDP/ADAC is not enabled will also be covered.
DHCP phase
During the DHCP phase the IP phone sends a broadcast DHCPDISCOVER request, if the DHCPOFFER includes a VLAN-A option string, the phone will tag with the VLAN IDconfigured and will restart the DHCP discovery process. If the initial DHCPOFFER does not include a VLAN-A string, the phone will respond with DHCPREQUEST. Essential DHCP options used in Full DHCP IP Phone deployments will be covered in part two of this six part series. More advanced DHCP options will be covered in part three and advanced TFTP provisioning options will be covered in part five.
Provisioning phase
Advanced provisioning allows administrators and installers to:
- Increase security by forcing device specific configurations based on MAC address of the phone,
- Improve recovery speeds and performance by distributing the IP phone firmware delivery load to multiple devices besides the Signaling Server,
- Simplify device configuration through the use of layered configuration inheritance.
Provisioning will be covered in more detail in part five of this six part series.
Connecting phase
During the Connecting phase, the IP phone contacts the CS1000 Connect Server (i.e., Node IP). The Connect Server instructs the IP Phone to display Node & TN prompt (if not supplied via the Provisioning phase). Once the IP phone has a Node & TN configured, it forwards that information to the Connect Server, which redirects the IP Phone to the Node Leader. The Node Leader redirects the phone to the Line Terminal Proxy Server (LTPS, i.e., the signaling interface for IP Phones) which registers a valid Node & TN and delivers configuration information to the IP Phone. Additionally, the Connecting phase can also include registration with a XAS/GXAS (Text or Graphical Application Server). Current generation phones utilizing UNIStim (Unified Networks IP Stimulus) protocol for communication between the IP endpoint and the connection server for registration and signaling as well as between the IP end point and XAS/GXAS servers (Application Servers/Graphical Application Servers)