Complete Guide for configuring various Cisco 79XX IP Phones with Asterisk
A guide for configuring a variety of Cisco IP Phone models (79XX series) to work with Asterisk PBX systems. All configuration file examples are available as well. Available online and in PDF format:
Online version: http://minded.ca/default/2009-12-16/configure-cisco-ip-phones-with-asterisk/
PDF version: http://www.minded.ca/default/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Asterisk-With-Cisco-IP-Phones.pdf
Configuring Cisco 79xx phones with Asterisk
This page documents how you configure a Cisco IP phone with Asterisk.By default most Cisco VoIP phones come configured for Call Manager, which uses the 'Skinny' protocol - SCCP.
Asterisk has 2 implementations for this channel (required for the 7910/20):
- Skinny implements a very basic set of telephone functions and ships with asterisk.
- SCCP has implemented more of the SCCP protocol, so some class 5 features (hold, transfer, forward, etc) should work.
However, the 7905/7912 and 7940/60 can be reconfigured to use SIP (recommended for use with Asterisk): http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/phones/ps379/products_tech_note09186a0080094584.shtml
The 7905 doesn't have Speakerphone (only a speaker for call monitoring or on-hook dialing), its SIP image has by far the best user interface of all cisco SIP phones, plus it's nicely compact, and the display even has a higher resolution than that of the 7960. The 7912 is the same as the 7905, but with a built-in ethernet switch.
The 7912/05 phones use a different configuration file format and syntax; for more information about configuring these phones please refer to Cisco 7905/7912 IP Phones.
With the right Cable, 79xx series phones can use standard POE injectors. They also work out of the box with Aironet power injectors. (N.B., the wrong cable may damage your phone!)
TFTP Manager for FreePBX
Cisco IP Phones use a TFTP server for its configuration files and firmware. A FreePBX module for managing TFTP server files has been created and available on the developers website, http://minded.ca/default/2010-06-06/freepbx-module-tftp-manager/ or from the FreePBX Trac ticket #1032
LATEST FIRMWARE VERSION
Version 8.12 is now released (29 May 2009)
There are a few minor bugs fixed. (For Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP), the VoIP capabilities bit is missing during initial boot)
There is a guide to installing and updating to this firmware here: http://wiki.siftah.com/Cisco_7960G_IP_Phone_on_Asterisk.
V8.12 Release Notes: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cuipph/7960g_7940g/firmware/sip_cucm/8_12/english/release/notes/796040sip_812. ...