This topic describes the dial plans in Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Cisco TelePresence Video Communication Server (VCS).
Two major dial plan types exist:
- Numeric dial plan
- Alphanumeric URI dial plan
| Address Scheme | Example | Cisco Unified Communications Manager Registration | Cisco VCS Registration |
| E.164 | 14081234567 | Supported as Directory Number (DN) | H.323 E.164 Registration |
| E.164-based URI | 14081234567@cisco.com | Supported from Cisco Unified Communications Manager 9 and higher | Supported H.323 ID and SIP URI |
| Alphanumeric URI | john.doe@cisco.com | Supported from Cisco Unified Communications Manager 9 and higher | Supported H.323 ID and SIP URI |
In Cisco Unified Communications Manager, the E.164 or +E.164 numbers are used for call routing. URI dialing is used in the Cisco VCS. Both dial plans are relevant:
- E.164 addresses allow easy integration with the PSTN and audio-only endpoints.
- URI addresses allow easier back-to-back communications using domain names and are generally more intuitive for end users.
Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Cisco TelePresence VCS do not share a database, so default routes are required between these systems. As an example, you dial jdoe@cisco.com on Cisco Unified Communications Manager but cannot find the user on Cisco Unified Communications Manager. The call is sent to Cisco VCS via the default route. There are two possibilities now. First, you find a match for jdoe@cisco.com and you extend the call to the user phone. The second option is that Cisco VCS does not find a match and routes the call back. These systems will prevent looping after a certain number of hops.
In the past, E.164 was usually used in voice networks and H.323 and URI were used within SIP networks. In the future, collaboration services, instant messaging (IM), voice, video, and social communication will converge more and more. The endpoints and the infrastructure will need to support both address schemes to support scalable and consistent dialing.
CCIEME 