Hello!

Great news for owners of Cisco IP phones 7940, 7941, 7960 or 7961 - all of them are now supported by 3CX Phone System v12!

In this article we will talk about the advantages of 3CX before the Cisco Call Manager, about the intricacies of translating Cisco 79xx from SCCP to SIP, as well as going through the entire process of setting up devices for 3CX.

Go!..

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What are the advantages of switching to 3CX?

1. 3CX is cheaper than most vendor solutions

3CX Phone System licenses are in most cases cheaper than competitive solutions. At the same time, there is no need to invite third-party specialists to maintain the system and carry out some work, such as expanding the functionality or adding new subscribers.
In addition, you get additional applications, such as softphones for Android, iPhone, Windows and MAC - completely free.

2. Reducing installation and training costs

Use existing Cisco 7940/7941/7960/7961 devices, and you will not only save on the purchase of IP phones, but also minimize migration time, since 3CX supports auto tuning.
You do not need to retrain users to new phones - they will be able to use the familiar CISCO 79xx as before.

3. Expand the PBX any IP-phones

After switching to 3CX, you can connect any IP phones. And of course, you can buy new or used CISCO 79xx, but you can get third-party cheaper devices like snom or Yealink.

And how to connect 3CX?

The scheme is quite simple:

• 1) Install 3CX Phone System for Windows. Download 3CX here .
• 2) You will need the “SIP” firmware for CISCO 7940 devices. The CISCO Call Manager uses its own SCCP protocol, which is different from regular SIP. Download SIP firmware to CISCO 79xx IP phones. A detailed description of how to do this is below.
• 3) Set up the devices to work with 3CX. About this - also below!

We will understand more in installing SIP firmware for Cisco

NOTE : This manual has been tested with pos3.08.12.00 firmware version . Keep in mind that different firmware versions may have different functionality.
This instruction describes how to translate the Cisco 7940/7941/7960/7961 from the SCCP protocol to SIP to work on the 3CX Phone System.

Step 1: Get the firmware files

Download SIP firmware for Cisco 79xx , compatible with 3CX Phone System. The latest proven firmware P003-8-12-00 . Extract the archive to your computer.

Step 2: Creating a TFTP server and uploading files to the phone

Download any TFTP server to your computer. This article used the Pumpkin TFTP server, but you can use others.
Install TFTP server. Make sure you have the correct IP addresses required for the correct data transfer. Set up the Pumpkin TFTP as shown in Figure 1. Enable the “Give all files” parameter in the Read Request Behavior field.

Step 3: Set up a DHCP server

• Configure a DHCP server and create an IP address reservation for the Cisco phone
• When this is done, edit the address reservation and click "Parameter Settings"
• Find the "Option 66" parameter and enter the IP address where the TFTP server is installed. It is recommended to install a TFTP server on the same machine where 3CX Phone System is installed. (see figure 2)

Step 4: Perform a firmware update

Put all the downloaded files in the directory that you specified in the TFTP server settings and restart the phone. Thanks to “Option 66”, the phone will be assigned an IP address and it will indicate where to download the files and data.
NOTE : Please note that most Cisco phones do not have a web interface. The only way to configure phones is to configure via configuration files using a TFTP server.

Okay, and how to set up 3CX now?

For the Cisco 79XX IP phones, there is a rather unpleasant moment in setting up with third-party equipment - these devices do not have a web interface, all settings are made through an XML template that needs to be handled, which is rather inconvenient. This guide will show you how to configure Cisco IP phones 7940/7941/7960 or 7961 under 3CX Phone System 12.

Step 1: DHCP Server Configuration

The first step is to configure the DHCP server to use “Option 66”. “Option 66” will set an IP address on the phone where it can receive configuration files and firmware. In this example, we will assume that the IP address of the Cisco phone is 10.172.0.120 , and the IP address of the 3CX Phone System (configuration server) is 10.172.0.105 . Guide to setting "Options 66" can be viewed at the link.

Step 2: TFTP Server Configuration

The server where 3CX Phone System is installed (configuration server) must have a TFTP server installed. In this manual we will use the PumpKIN TFTP program, which can be downloaded here .
1. Download and install PumpKIN TFTP. Start the TFTP server and go to the settings page.

2. Click the Browse button and navigate to the C: \ ProgramData \ 3CX \ Data \ Http \ Interface \ provisioning \ %% PROVSUBDIR %% folder. This is the way where 3CX Phone System creates configuration files for Cisco 7940/7941/7960/7961.
3. Configure TFTP, and select all files.
4. Download the firmware files supported by 3CX Phone System, and put them in the folder specified in step 2. These are the latest tested Cisco 79xx firmware versions P003-8-12-00 compatible with 3CX Phone System.
NOTE : In recent versions of 3CX Phone System, you can skip this step because the firmware files are already included in the 3CX Phone System distribution.

Step 3: 3CX Configure 3CX Phone System

1. Log into the 3CX Phone System Management Console.

2. Go to the settings of the internal number and click on the button "Phone Auto Setup". Click on the “Model” field and select Cisco 7940/7941/7960 or 7961 from the drop-down list.

3. Enter the MAC address of the phone in the MAC address field. Click on the “Apply” button, then “OK”. The configuration file will be automatically created.
4. Power on or reboot the Cisco IP Phone.
5. The phone will receive an IP address from the DHCP server using the “Option 66” parameter to connect to the TFTP server to download the firmware and configuration of the phone. The phone will reboot and register with 3CX Phone System.

Done!