A prominent organisation in the water treatment industry encountered issues with its Cisco Unified Communications (UC) solution, which caters to more than 100 end users. The current IP address setup posed efficiency, scalability, and network reliability challenges, necessitating a comprehensive overhaul. The project aimed to revamp essential UC components' outdated IP address configuration while minimising operational disruptions. The intricate environment comprised a UCS server, multiple Cisco UC virtual machines, an extensive phone network, and several Cisco Voice Gateways.

The solution involved addressing the challenges with the existing UC infrastructure, including Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM), Cisco Unity Connection (CUC), and Cisco Emergency Responder (CER), which utilised cumbersome static IP addresses. These static addresses posed management and update difficulties, compounded by their placement in the same subnet as the data network, heightening security vulnerabilities and reducing network availability. The project demanded meticulous planning and coordination to seamlessly execute the IP address reconfiguration without causing service interruptions or downtime for UC users and critical applications. The reconfiguration encompassed updating the IP addresses of numerous UC devices, servers, gateways, and endpoints distributed across various sites and regions, ensuring a smooth transition to a more secure and efficient network setup.