Cisco CallManager 4.x

From Kathmann Labs

[edit] Cisco CallManager 4.x

I have done a lot of CallManager implementations in the past. They have ranged from 10 phones (with CME) to over 2000 phones. While CallManager is a very easy to configure and scalable product, and Cisco's support is world class, I feel the product is weak just in the fact that it is based on Windows and SQL Server. The memory leaks in SQL server are horrendous, and lead to you having to restart the services or restart the server on almost a monthly basis to maintain good usability. The thing that I really despise about this product, and I'm hoping Cisco resolves in their 5.x versions based on linux, is that you have to manually download and run each MS patch on the servers!!!! Now anyone who keeps up with MS patches knows that they are ridiculous, sometimes reaching 20+ in a single month. Now multiply that by the number of CallManager servers you have, and that is your increased workload. No methods of automating this process are supported, and will cause them to blame it essentially all on you if they break (.NET 2.0 breaks CallManager for instance). They also do not support AD integration, only allowing you to leave the machines to log into themselves!