What is bat in case of cucm?
The BAT spreadsheet simplifies the creation of CSV data files. You can add multiple devices and view the records for each device in a spreadsheet format. It allows you to customize the file format within the spreadsheet and provides validation and error checking automatically to help reduce configuration errors. The BAT spreadsheet includes tabs along the bottom of the spreadsheet for access to the required data input fields for the various devices and user combinations in BAT.
The CSV data file works in combination with the BAT template. For example, when you choose the Phone tab in the BAT spreadsheet, you can leave Location, Forward Busy Destination, or Call Pickup Group blank. The values from the BAT phone template get used for these fields; however, if you specify values for Forward Busy Destination or Call Pickup Group, those values override the values for these fields that were set in the BAT phone template.
Download the file BAT.xlt file to a local machine where Microsoft Excel is installed. To use the BAT.xlt spreadsheet to create a CSV data file, locate and double-click the BAT.xlt file. You must choose to "enable macros" when you open the BAT spreadsheet.
The spreadsheet displays a set of columns with attribute headings that specify the BAT field names, whether the field is a required or optional, and the maximum number of characters that are allowed in the field.
Tabs for every device display along the bottom of the spreadsheet. When you click the tab for the type of device with which you want to work, the columns adjust to display all relevant fields for the chosen device. For example, to add phones and users all at once, click the tab that is marked Phones-Users.
Next, define the file format for the CSV data file by clicking the Create File Format button. You can use the Field Selection dialog box to choose items and their order in your CSV data file. When you click Create, the columns in the spreadsheet adjust to your new file format.
In the first row, enter data for a device in all mandatory fields and any relevant optional fields. You enter data in a new row for each device.
After all device records are completed, you export the BAT spreadsheet data to the CSV file format that BAT must use to perform the bulk transaction with the Cisco Unified Communications Manager first node database.
The system saves the CSV formatted file as a text file to the a folder that you choose. The file name format follows:
The Communications Manager has a tool that’s called Bulk Administration Tool (BAT), that allows you to perform adds, updates, deletions and changes to large groups of devices. This can be IP phones, it could be users, could even be gateways. So it’s a really good tool, I don’t want you to just of it as a tool that we use to add phones in the beginning and they we’re done with it. This will let you make massive modifications if necessary to a lot of different devices in your environment. We can export data, we can export the phones, users, gateways, and these files contain the data fields that are needed for configuration, such as if your gateway is going to modified all the parameters that are involved with your gateway. That export file can be modified then you re-import it, that’s how you do the changes and updates and may be even deletions of information from your Communications Manager.
The key pieces that make up BAT, are a BAT template that’s a comma-separated value. Easiest thing is use Excel, it’s an excel spreadsheet opens up really nice and it has all kinds of macros, so you are going to want to make sure you enable macros when you do this. And again this will allow you add, update, and delete devices, records, automatically based on what information you put into this file. We can do things like work with Forced Authorization Codes, Client Matter Codes, call pickup groups, the users, maybe depopulate a region, or insert, delete, or export access lists, export and import configurations. I mean there is just a ton that we can do with our BAT tool. Another thing I thought of is, what if you are migrating from one Communications Manager solution to another and they are not compatible. Example the Microsoft solution moving into the Communications Manager version 8, which is Linux-based, you need to export those users, so that you have, and export your phones and everything, so you have all of that, and then you can import it to the new system that might be an option for why you are using this Bulk Administration Tool.
The BAT spreadsheet (it’s called BAT.XLT), is that Excel spreadsheet with macros embedded into it. Highly recommend you use it, it’s the template that’s been designed for the Bulk Administration Tool. So when you use this, it’ll have the appropriate fields, that are necessary for managing your phones, whether or not you have MAC addresses things of that nature. Your data file can be customized within this BAT XLT file, and it’ll also go through and do some error checking, and it does the file conversion to the CSV format that is necessary. So it’s nice in case you made a mistake on the phones and the phone buttons, we are going to go through a process where it will actually verify and make sure that you are not doing something that’s going to cause a major problem in the system like change the phone button template on a 7940 phone to a 7960 template. So there’s all kinds of safety mechanisms, built in to protect ourselves from ourselves and from making mistakes.
BAT jobs can be scheduled, and it’s through the Bulk Provisioning Service (BPS) that you can set up or submit the jobs that you want to have happen and when. And the BPS is listed under the database service in the Service Activation Page. So BPS needs to be activated on the Communications Manager publisher, because that’s where this is really taking place. And that bulk administration menu is visible only on the first node in your Communications Manager cluster. Again, the first node is the publisher and that’s why.
We have some common phone attributes that are used when we want to add phones. And here is the list of parameters that you can set up:
Everything from the device name, on down to the protocol and security profile. So this is the type of template that we want to apply with these phones. Well the same thing goes with your gateways and your user device profiles. So, before we create the BAT template, we want to make sure that our settings, like our device pool, our locations, our calling search space etc, have been configured in the Communications Manager so that can get pulled in when we add these devices.
When we want to insert a phone we create the CSV data file with the different values for each phone or user, then we associate the file format with our CSV data file. It’s going to validate the phones with the user records, and again that’s kind of double checking to make sure we haven’t done anything crazy like apply the wrong templates in places, and then it’ll insert the phones with the user records. So, this is just an example of one of the ways that we can import and add phones using BAT.
The Communications Manager has a tool that’s called Bulk Administration Tool (BAT), that allows you to perform adds, updates, deletions and changes to large groups of devices. This can be IP phones, it could be users, could even be gateways. So it’s a really good tool, I don’t want you to just of it as a tool that we use to add phones in the beginning and they we’re done with it. This will let you make massive modifications if necessary to a lot of different devices in your environment. We can export data, we can export the phones, users, gateways, and these files contain the data fields that are needed for configuration, such as if your gateway is going to modified all the parameters that are involved with your gateway. That export file can be modified then you re-import it, that’s how you do the changes and updates and may be even deletions of information from your Communications Manager.
The key pieces that make up BAT, are a BAT template that’s a comma-separated value. Easiest thing is use Excel, it’s an excel spreadsheet opens up really nice and it has all kinds of macros, so you are going to want to make sure you enable macros when you do this. And again this will allow you add, update, and delete devices, records, automatically based on what information you put into this file. We can do things like work with Forced Authorization Codes, Client Matter Codes, call pickup groups, the users, maybe depopulate a region, or insert, delete, or export access lists, export and import configurations. I mean there is just a ton that we can do with our BAT tool. Another thing I thought of is, what if you are migrating from one Communications Manager solution to another and they are not compatible. Example the Microsoft solution moving into the Communications Manager version 8, which is Linux-based, you need to export those users, so that you have, and export your phones and everything, so you have all of that, and then you can import it to the new system that might be an option for why you are using this Bulk Administration Tool.
The BAT spreadsheet (it’s called BAT.XLT), is that Excel spreadsheet with macros embedded into it. Highly recommend you use it, it’s the template that’s been designed for the Bulk Administration Tool. So when you use this, it’ll have the appropriate fields, that are necessary for managing your phones, whether or not you have MAC addresses things of that nature. Your data file can be customized within this BAT XLT file, and it’ll also go through and do some error checking, and it does the file conversion to the CSV format that is necessary. So it’s nice in case you made a mistake on the phones and the phone buttons, we are going to go through a process where it will actually verify and make sure that you are not doing something that’s going to cause a major problem in the system like change the phone button template on a 7940 phone to a 7960 template. So there’s all kinds of safety mechanisms, built in to protect ourselves from ourselves and from making mistakes.
BAT jobs can be scheduled, and it’s through the Bulk Provisioning Service (BPS) that you can set up or submit the jobs that you want to have happen and when. And the BPS is listed under the database service in the Service Activation Page. So BPS needs to be activated on the Communications Manager publisher, because that’s where this is really taking place. And that bulk administration menu is visible only on the first node in your Communications Manager cluster. Again, the first node is the publisher and that’s why.
We have some common phone attributes that are used when we want to add phones. And here is the list of parameters that you can set up:
Everything from the device name, on down to the protocol and security profile. So this is the type of template that we want to apply with these phones. Well the same thing goes with your gateways and your user device profiles. So, before we create the BAT template, we want to make sure that our settings, like our device pool, our locations, our calling search space etc, have been configured in the Communications Manager so that can get pulled in when we add these devices.
When we want to insert a phone we create the CSV data file with the different values for each phone or user, then we associate the file format with our CSV data file. It’s going to validate the phones with the user records, and again that’s kind of double checking to make sure we haven’t done anything crazy like apply the wrong templates in places, and then it’ll insert the phones with the user records. So, this is just an example of one of the ways that we can import and add phones using BAT.
The BAT utility is so universally helpful all over the place, because just think about this, you could even export your information, save it in the CSV file and keep this as a backup. I would highly recommend that. Even if you are doing your disaster recovery processes and backing up other ways, this is just another format that allows you to have all this information and then later on be able to import it. Just think if your publisher went down and maybe you weren’t able to access some of the tapes or however you store your backup information, you could quickly grab this file and import it. So exporting that CSV text file, it can be modified too with the text editor, so if you needed to make changes…
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The Bulk Administration Tool (BAT) is a web-based application that is a component of the Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM). It lets you add, update, delete and make changes to a large set of similar devices in your Cisco network, such as phones, users and ports.
To use BAT, do the following:
At the heart of BAT is the Bulk Provision Service (BPS). This service, which you start from Unified Communications Manager Serviceability, manages the jobs that you submit through BAT.
--> Bulk Administration Tool (BAT) is a Web Application tool that allows you to perform adding, updating, deleting and changes to large groups of devices in the network.
