said by jester121:Nothing special about the switches unless you want POE, or some QOS or bandwidth management.
which makes them special, right?
Call Manager is the phone "system", I think in the early days they were referred to as "IP PBX" systems. Unity is the voicemail part of that. They both ran on full blown Intel servers back in the day, and now have changed names a few times and run on Linux I believe.
it still runs on intel servers.
however, since callmanager 5 -- everything has been on a custom linux kernel. they've begun to lock it down for specific memory and disk space checks, though now that cisco has ucs -- uc on ucs is becoming "the next big thing".
There is also a "lite" version (formerly Callmanager Express) that ran on a router in IOS, and a voicemail module that plugged in the router, called Unity Express.
still exists. running on my 2821 gateway now. its referred to as "cisco unified communications manager expres".
to the op -- you'll want to start reading about some of the requirements for your "lab" before you go down that path. if you're looking for a full blown cucm install -- be prepared to pay. if its just an "express" version, grab a poe switch, a few phones, and a voice license for your existing router (assuming that it has voice support) and go.
q.
·
Point is, I wanted OP to understand that you can also run CME with a Linksys $30 5 port "dumb" switch, and it will perform just fine for a lab. Remember to get power bricks.