Entitlement

VOSS-4-UC Entitlement represents the set of rules surrounding the suite of services and devices (and their number) available for particular subscribers. For instance, one customer may specify that end users may only have voice service with a maximum of two devices, one being a flavor of IP set, and the other being an analog set. Another customer may configure their end users to have both voice and voicemail services, with a maximum of ten devices limited to SIP sets. Both of these are valid rule sets intended to govern their respective users’ service or device set.

There are four principal VOSS-4-UC models from which the entitlement rule sets are built.

Device Types

Device types represent the suite of physical devices which may be grouped into device groups for subsequent entitlement purposes. These device types should mirror the supported product types available on the Cisco Unified Communications Manager.

The device type data model is prepopulated with a snapshot of current product types; however, the provider administrator can add, as well as update or remove, additional device types, if needed.

Device Groups

A device group is a subset of device types. Device groups are not necessarily discrete; that is, different device groups may share specific device types.

Provider administrators can add, delete, and update device groups. Reseller and customer administrators can only view device groups.

Entitlement Catalogs

An entitlement catalog specifies supported device groups and available services (broad categories of functionality) for a particular hierarchy. The services which are available to be selected in an entitlement catalog are as follows: Voice, Voicemail, Presence, Extension Mobility, Single Number Reach, WebEx, CMR, and Webex Teams. Entitlement catalogs also set the maximum allowed number of total devices and the maximum allowed number of devices in each device group within the catalog.

If entitlement is to be used, an entitlement catalog must exist at the Provider hierarchy node. No more than one entitlement catalog may exist at any given hierarchy node. The entitlement catalog at a particular hierarchy node restricts the device groups, device counts, and services which are available to entitlement profiles at or below that node in the hierarchy. No entitlement profile may exceed the restrictions imposed by its associated entitlement catalog. Similarly, an entitlement catalog at a particular hierarchy imposes limitations on any subsequent entitlement catalogs beneath it in the hierarchy structure. No entitlement catalog created deeper in the hierarchy structure may exceed the restrictions specified in a higher entitlement catalog.

Provider administrators can add, update, and delete entitlement catalogs at their hierarchy level and below. Reseller and customer administrators can only view entitlement catalogs.

Entitlement Profiles

Entitlement profiles establish the set of services, device groups, and device limits to which an end user may subscribe. No entitlement profile may exceed the specifications dictated by the hierarchy-associated entitlement catalog. An entitlement profile may not exist at a particular hierarchy node unless an entitlement catalog exists at or above the entitlement profile’s hierarchy node.

Unlike entitlement catalogs, there may be multiple entitlement profiles at a given hierarchy node. Each of these entitlement profiles must have a unique name within the hierarchy. Additionally, no device type may appear in more than one device group within a given entitlement profile.

Entitlement profiles can be assigned to users when users are synced from Cisco Unified Communications Manager or from LDAP, or when users are added or modified in VOSS-4-UC via Subscriber Management and User Management.

Provider administrators can add, update, and delete entitlement profiles at their hierarchy level and below. Reseller and customer administrators can only view entitlement profiles.

Entitlement Defaults

Entitlement defaults work differently depending on how a user is added to VOSS-4-UC:

  • Bottom-up (UCM user sync)

    This is based on the entitlement profile setting on the UCM server (publisher) the user is being synced from. The default entitlement profile is not used in this path.

  • Quick Add Subscriber

    This assigns the entitlement profile selected on the portal/loader by the administrator who adds the subscriber. When using QAS via the portal, it pre-populates the entitlement drop-down with the entitlement profile tagged as default.

  • LDAP Top-down

    Entitlement is determined by the entitlement profile setting on the LDAP User sync that is syncing the user in. The default entitlement profile is not used in this path.

  • User Management/Subscriber Management Add (Admin Portal or loader)

    This uses the value provided via the Admin Portal or loader. The default entitlement profile is not used in this path.

Important

When a user has an empty value for their Entitlement:

  • If the user’s Entitlement value is blank, and none of the Entitlement Profiles in the User’s hierarchy tree have the Default Profile check box selected (set to true), then no Entitlement Profile is applied and no Entitlement checking is done. This means all services and all phones are available to the User.
  • If the user’s Entitlement value is blank, and one of the Entitlement Profiles does have the Default Profile check box selected (set to true), in the User’s hierarchy tree, then the User will inherit this Entitlement Profile.
  • If the Default Profile check box is cleared (set to false) from one Entitlement Profile and added to another Entitlement Profile, then this new Entitlement Profile will become the default Profile applied to all Users in the hierarchy below whose Entitlement Profile is blank.