Unified CM device pools and device configuration model
Verified 2026-09-24 · 52 sources · tier 2
Also known as device pool.
In Unified CM 15, a device pool provides a common set of configurations for a group of devices, so devices inherit the pool's settings instead of each device being configured individually 15. Cisco states that administrators can create as many device pools as they need, typically 1 per location, though pools can also be organised by function 37.
How it works
Unified CM 15 documentation states that a device pool can be assigned to phones, gateways, trunks, and CTI route points 3. Device pools are configured in Cisco Unified CM Administration under System > Device Pool 10. A device pool name can be up to 50 characters, containing alphanumerics, periods, hyphens, underscores, and blank spaces 34.
The Release 15 device pool chapter lists the following device pool settings: Date/Time Group, Region, Phone NTP Reference, Cisco Unified CM Group, Media Resource Group List, and SRST Reference 12. Cisco groups the core device pool settings into 3 areas: Network Time Protocol for SIP devices, Regions for bandwidth and audio codecs, and Cisco Unified CM Groups for call-processing redundancy 13. Cisco's Release 15 core-settings task flow runs in this order: configure Network Time Protocol, configure region relationships, configure Cisco Unified CM Groups, then configure device pools 45.
Network Time Protocol and Date/Time Groups
Within Cisco's Release 15 NTP task flow, the administrator adds an NTP server, chooses Symmetric Key or Autokey authentication, configures Phone NTP References, and then adds a Date/Time Group 35. In Unified CM, Date/Time Groups define time zones, and the administrator assigns configured Phone NTP References to the appropriate Date/Time Group 14.
For SIP phones on Unified CM, Phone NTP References must be configured and assigned through the device pool so that each SIP phone is pointed at an appropriate NTP server 42. In contrast, SCCP phones do not need Phone NTP References because they obtain network time directly from Unified CM through SCCP signalling 41.
Regions
Unified CM supports up to 2000 regions 31. Cisco's Release 15 regions task flow runs in this order: customise audio codec preferences, configure clusterwide defaults for regions, then configure region relationships 40. For scalability and lower resource use, Cisco recommends using the region default values from the Service Parameters Configuration window wherever possible 39. When selecting a codec, Unified CM takes the codecs that match on both sides of a call leg and filters out any that exceed the maximum audio bit rate configured between the regions 38.
Cisco Unified CM Groups
A Cisco Unified CM Group is a prioritised list of up to 3 redundant servers: a primary node and up to 2 backup nodes, with list order setting priority 9. Each device pool has exactly 1 Unified CM group assigned, and that is how a device gets its Unified CM group 36. Cisco advises against using the default Unified CM server group because the name is not descriptive and can cause confusion 8.
Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST)
An SRST reference is assigned to devices through the device pool's SRST Reference field 43. The device pool's Connection Monitor Duration sets how long a phone monitors its connection to Unified CM before it unregisters from SRST and reregisters with Unified CM 11.
Local Route Groups
Local route groups let 1 set of route patterns serve multiple locations: Unified CM picks the gateway from the calling device's location instead of from the route pattern 30. Cisco says the local route group approach, with a single set of route patterns and gateway selection by device pool, works only for centralised call-processing deployments 29. Unified CM provides a default local route group named Standard Local Route Group, and administrators can configure more 44. A device learns its local route group through the device pool, where the local route group is associated in the Local Route Group Settings section of System > Device Pool 28.
Autoregistration
New endpoints autoregister with the first Unified CM node in the group that has the Auto-registration Cisco Unified Communications Manager Group setting enabled; in most cases that group is named Default 4. For autoregistration, administrators can use the Default device pool or configure separate device pools for SIP and SCCP devices 6. The autoregistration calling search space is assigned on the device pool (Calling Search Space for Auto-registration), and Cisco advises limiting autoregistered phones to internal calls only 5. Cisco warns that enabling autoregistration carries a security risk, and says to disable it on the node once new devices have been registered 7.
Device Mobility
With Device Mobility, Unified CM matches a device's IP address against configured IP subnets to find its physical location and assign the device pool tied to that subnet 26. Device Mobility uses the longest-match rule for subnets: an address such as 9.9.8.2 matches 9.9.8.0/24 rather than 9.9.0.0/16 21.
Cisco's Device Mobility task flow runs in this order: enable Device Mobility, configure physical locations, configure device mobility groups, configure device pools for Device Mobility, then configure Device Mobility Information (subnet-to-device-pool mappings) 27. The clusterwide Device Mobility Mode service parameter sets the default, and each phone can be set to On, Off, or Default, where Default follows the service parameter 22.
If the device pool of the matching subnet is the device's home device pool, the device stays in its home location; otherwise it is treated as roaming and gets the matching subnet's device pool settings 20. When a device roams to a different device mobility group, Unified CM uses the Calling Search Space, AAR Group, and AAR CSS from the phone record, not from the roaming location 18. Even while a device is roaming, Unified CM always uses the Communications Manager Group setting from the phone record, never from the roaming device pool 17.
Device Mobility requires the phone to have a dynamic IP address; phones with static IP addresses keep their home location settings when they roam 19. NAT or PAT between the phone and Unified CM can prevent Device Mobility from matching the phone's IP address to the correct subnet 23.
Platform differences and migrations
In CallManager 3.1(2), the device pool held the CallManager group, Date/Time Group, Region, Media Resource Group List, User Hold and Network Hold MOH Audio Sources, Calling Search Space for Auto-registration, and Auto-Answer Feature Control 2. In CallManager 3.1(2), a device pool could not be deleted while it had devices assigned, while Device Defaults used it, or while it was the only device pool in the database 1.
In migrations from Unified CM to Webex Calling, the Control Hub migration tool features a "Map device pool to locations" step, where each Unified CM device pool is assigned a Webex Calling location or left undefined 50. The migration tool can migrate only those Unified CM directory numbers that are mapped to a single device pool 51. The migration tool's CSV import template includes a CUSTOM DEVICE POOL field, described as a tag for a set of devices or users (example value Location-NY) 48. In the device and feature migration workflow, the DeviceBulk.csv, DeviceBulkError.csv, and ImportedDataBulk.csv files each carry a column for the Unified CM device pool the device belongs to 49.
See also
See also Unified CM dial plan partitions and calling search spaces. See also Remote site survivability patterns.
Applicability
Applies to: Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Cisco CallManager, and Cisco Webex Calling. Deployments: on-premises, multi-tenant, and dedicated instance. Sources checked 2026-09-24.
What remains uncertain
Whether additional device pool settings exist beyond those documented in the Release 15 core settings and CallManager 3.1(2) field sets is not covered by the sources below.
See also
Related to
- Expressway and Mobile and Remote Access — Device Mobility subnet matching is affected by NAT; MRA behaviour is unresolved (frontier)
- Remote site survivability patterns — The device pool carries the SRST Reference and Connection Monitor Duration
- Unified CM dial plan partitions and calling search spaces — Local route groups and the calling/called party transformation CSSs are bound to devices through the device pool
Referenced by
- Unified CM dial plan partitions and calling search spaces — Local route groups let off-net calls use the gateway set by the device pool instead of the route pattern (CUCM 15 System Configuration Guide; Configure Call Routing). The topic id comes from a sibling research directory name. The relationship has not been checked against the topic registry.
Sources
- 1In CallManager 3.1(2), a device pool could not be deleted while it had devices assigned, while Device Defaults used it, or while it was the only device pool in the database.Cisco CallManager Administration Guide, Release 3.1(2) - Device Pool Configuration · Deleting a Device Pool · Checked 2026-09-24
- 2In CallManager 3.1(2), the device pool held the CallManager group, Date/Time Group, Region, Media Resource Group List, User Hold and Network Hold MOH Audio Sources, Calling Search Space for Auto-registration and Auto-Answer Feature Control.Cisco CallManager Administration Guide, Release 3.1(2) - Device Pool Configuration · Device Pool Configuration Settings · Checked 2026-09-24
- 3Unified CM 15 documentation says a device pool can be assigned to phones, gateways, trunks and CTI route points.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Device Pools Overview · Checked 2026-09-24
- 4New endpoints autoregister with the first Unified CM node in the group that has the Auto-registration Cisco Unified Communications Manager Group setting enabled; in most cases that group is named Default.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Autoregistration · Configure Autoregistration / Configure the Cisco Unified CM Group for Autoregistration · Checked 2026-09-24
- 5The autoregistration calling search space is assigned on the device pool (Calling Search Space for Auto-registration), and Cisco advises limiting autoregistered phones to internal calls only.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Autoregistration · Configure Autoregistration / Configure a Calling Search Space for Autoregistration · Checked 2026-09-24
- 6For autoregistration, administrators can use the Default device pool or configure separate device pools for SIP and SCCP devices.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Autoregistration · Configure Autoregistration / Configure Device Pools for Autoregistration · Checked 2026-09-24
- 7Cisco warns that enabling autoregistration carries a security risk, and says to disable it on the node once new devices have been registered.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Autoregistration · Configure Autoregistration / Autoregistration Overview and Enable Autoregistration · Checked 2026-09-24
- 8Cisco advises against using the default Unified CM server group because the name is not descriptive and can cause confusion.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Configure Cisco Unified CM Groups · Checked 2026-09-24
- 9A Cisco Unified CM Group is a prioritised list of up to three redundant servers: a primary node and up to two backup nodes, with list order setting priority.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Configure Cisco Unified CM Groups / Cisco Unified CM Groups Overview · Checked 2026-09-24
- 10Device pools are configured in Cisco Unified CM Administration under System > Device Pool.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Configure Device Pools, Step 1 · Checked 2026-09-24
- 11The device pool's Connection Monitor Duration sets how long a phone monitors its connection to Unified CM before it unregisters from SRST and reregisters with Unified CM.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Configure Device Pools, Step 8 · Checked 2026-09-24
- 12The Release 15 device pool chapter lists these device pool settings: Date/Time Group, Region, Phone NTP Reference, Cisco Unified CM Group, Media Resource Group List and SRST Reference.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Device Pools Overview; Basic Device Pool Configuration Fields · Checked 2026-09-24
- 13Cisco groups the core device pool settings into three areas: Network Time Protocol for SIP devices, Regions for bandwidth and audio codecs, and Cisco Unified CM Groups for call-processing redundancy.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Core Settings for Device Pools Overview · Checked 2026-09-24
- 14In Unified CM, Date/Time Groups define time zones, and the administrator assigns configured Phone NTP References to the appropriate Date/Time Group.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Add a Date/Time Group · Checked 2026-09-24
- 15In Unified CM 15, a device pool provides a common set of configurations for a group of devices, so devices inherit the pool's settings instead of each device being configured individually.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Device Pools Overview · Checked 2026-09-24
- 16Device Defaults in Unified CM set default values, including device pool assignment, for devices that autoregister with a Unified CM node.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Endpoints · Configure Endpoints / Configure Device Defaults · Checked 2026-09-24
- 17Even while a device is roaming, Unified CM always uses the Communications Manager Group setting from the phone record, never from the roaming device pool.Feature Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Device Mobility · Device Mobility Restrictions · Checked 2026-09-24
- 18When a device roams to a different device mobility group, Unified CM uses the Calling Search Space, AAR Group and AAR CSS from the phone record, not from the roaming location.Feature Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Device Mobility · Device Mobility Overview / Device Mobility Groups · Checked 2026-09-24
- 19Device Mobility requires the phone to have a dynamic IP address. Phones with static IP addresses keep their home location settings when they roam.Feature Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Device Mobility · Device Mobility Restrictions · Checked 2026-09-24
- 20If the device pool of the matching subnet is the device's home device pool, the device stays in its home location; otherwise it is treated as roaming and gets the matching subnet's device pool settings.Feature Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Device Mobility · Device Mobility Overview / IP subnet matching · Checked 2026-09-24
- 21Device Mobility uses the longest-match rule for subnets: an address such as 9.9.8.2 matches 9.9.8.0/24 rather than 9.9.0.0/16.Feature Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Device Mobility · Device Mobility Overview / IP subnet matching · Checked 2026-09-24
- 22The clusterwide Device Mobility Mode service parameter sets the default. Each phone can be set to On, Off or Default, where Default follows the service parameter.Feature Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Device Mobility · Enable Device Mobility · Checked 2026-09-24
- 23NAT or PAT between the phone and Unified CM can prevent Device Mobility from matching the phone's IP address to the correct subnet.Feature Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Device Mobility · Device Mobility Restrictions · Checked 2026-09-24
- 25When a device roams, the Device Mobility roaming-sensitive settings come from the roaming device pool: Date/Time Group, Region, Location, Network Locale, SRST Reference, Connection Monitor Duration, Physical Location, Device Mobility Group and Media Resource Group List.Feature Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Device Mobility · Device Mobility Overview / Roaming Sensitive Settings · Checked 2026-09-24
- 26With Device Mobility, Unified CM matches a device's IP address against configured IP subnets to find its physical location and assign the device pool tied to that subnet.Feature Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Device Mobility · Device Mobility Overview · Checked 2026-09-24
- 27Cisco's Device Mobility task flow runs in this order: enable Device Mobility, configure physical locations, configure device mobility groups, configure device pools for Device Mobility, then configure Device Mobility Information (subnet-to-device-pool mappings).Feature Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Device Mobility · Device Mobility Configuration Task Flow, Steps 1-5 · Checked 2026-09-24
- 28A device learns its local route group through the device pool: the local route group is associated in the Local Route Group Settings section of System > Device Pool.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager Release 15 and SUs - Configure Call Routing · Configure Call Routing / Associate a Local Route Group with a Device Pool · Checked 2026-09-24
- 29Cisco says the local route group approach, with a single set of route patterns and gateway selection by device pool, works only for centralised call-processing deployments.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager Release 15 and SUs - Configure Call Routing · Configure Call Routing / Local Route Groups Overview · Checked 2026-09-24
- 30Local route groups let one set of route patterns serve multiple locations: Unified CM picks the gateway from the calling device's location instead of from the route pattern.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager Release 15 and SUs - Configure Call Routing · Configure Call Routing / Local Route Groups Overview · Checked 2026-09-24
- 31Unified CM supports up to 2000 regions.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Configure Regions / Regions Overview · Checked 2026-09-24
- 32The User Hold and Network Hold MOH Audio Source fields that sat on the 3.1(2) device pool are not among the device pool settings in the Release 15 chapter, so the 3.1(2) field set should not be assumed to describe current releases.inferredSystem Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Device Pools Overview (compared with cisco-ccm-admin-312-device-pool Device Pool Configuration Settings) · Checked 2026-09-24
- 33For media resources such as Music on Hold, a device uses the Media Resource Group List set on its own configuration, and falls back to its device pool's MRGL if none is set.Feature Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Music On Hold · Music On Hold chapter, media resource group list statement (heading not captured) · Checked 2026-09-24
- 34A device pool name can be up to 50 characters: alphanumerics, periods, hyphens, underscores and blank spaces.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 14 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Configure Device Pools / Basic Device Pool Configuration Fields - Device Pool Name · Checked 2026-09-24
- 35Within Cisco's Release 15 NTP task flow, the administrator adds an NTP server, chooses Symmetric Key or Autokey authentication, configures Phone NTP References, and then adds a Date/Time Group.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Configure the Network Time Protocol Task Flow, Steps 1-4 · Checked 2026-09-24
- 36Each device pool has exactly one Unified CM group assigned, and that is how a device gets its Unified CM group.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Cisco Unified CM Groups Overview · Checked 2026-09-24
- 37Cisco says administrators can create as many device pools as they need, typically one per location, though pools can also be organised by function.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Device Pools Overview · Checked 2026-09-24
- 38When selecting a codec, Unified CM takes the codecs that match on both sides of a call leg and filters out any that exceed the maximum audio bit rate configured between the regions.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Configure Regions / Regions Overview · Checked 2026-09-24
- 39For scalability and lower resource use, Cisco recommends using the region default values from the Service Parameters Configuration window wherever possible.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Configure Regions Task Flow / Configure Clusterwide Defaults for Regions · Checked 2026-09-24
- 40Cisco's Release 15 regions task flow runs in this order: customise audio codec preferences, configure clusterwide defaults for regions, then configure region relationships.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Configure Regions Task Flow, Steps 1-3 · Checked 2026-09-24
- 41SCCP phones do not need Phone NTP References because they obtain network time from Unified CM directly through SCCP signalling.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Configure the Network Time Protocol / Phone NTP References · Checked 2026-09-24
- 42For SIP phones on Unified CM, Phone NTP References must be configured and assigned through the device pool, so that each SIP phone is pointed at an appropriate NTP server.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Configure the Network Time Protocol / Phone NTP References · Checked 2026-09-24
- 43An SRST reference is assigned to devices through the device pool's SRST Reference field.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Configure Device Pools, Step 8 · Checked 2026-09-24
- 44Unified CM provides a default local route group named Standard Local Route Group, and administrators can configure more.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager Release 15 and SUs - Configure Call Routing · Configure Call Routing / Local Route Groups Overview · Checked 2026-09-24
- 45Cisco's Release 15 core-settings task flow runs in this order: configure Network Time Protocol, configure region relationships, configure Cisco Unified CM Groups, then configure device pools.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools · Configure Core Settings for Device Pools Configuration Task Flow, Steps 1-4 · Checked 2026-09-24
- 46The Unified CM device pool carries Calling Party Transformation CSS and Called Party Transformation CSS fields used for call-routing number transformations.System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager Release 15 and SUs - Configure Call Routing · Configure Call Routing / transformation patterns section (heading not captured) · Checked 2026-09-24
- 47In the device and feature migration CSVs, the device pool column looks informational. The article gives no rule for turning it into a Webex Calling setting; location assignment is handled by the separate device-pool-to-location mapping step.inferredMigrate devices and features from Unified CM to Webex Calling · DeviceBulk.csv column descriptions (read together with cisco-help-x974bd-migrate-ucm-data-to-wxc Map device pool to locations) · Checked 2026-09-24
- 48The migration tool's CSV import template includes a CUSTOM DEVICE POOL field, described as a tag for a set of devices or users (example value Location-NY).Migrate Unified CM data to Webex Calling · Import data / CSV template field descriptions · Checked 2026-09-24
- 49In the device and feature migration workflow, the DeviceBulk.csv, DeviceBulkError.csv and ImportedDataBulk.csv files each carry a column for the Unified CM device pool the device belongs to.Migrate devices and features from Unified CM to Webex Calling · DeviceBulk.csv, DeviceBulkError.csv and ImportedDataBulk.csv column descriptions · Checked 2026-09-24
- 50The Control Hub migration tool for Unified CM to Webex Calling has a 'Map device pool to locations' step, where each Unified CM device pool is assigned a Webex Calling location or left undefined.Migrate Unified CM data to Webex Calling · Map device pool to locations · Checked 2026-09-24
- 51The migration tool can migrate only those Unified CM directory numbers that are mapped to a single device pool.Migrate Unified CM data to Webex Calling · Map device pool to locations · Checked 2026-09-24
- 52The migration tool maps locations per device pool, so a Unified CM device pool that spans several physical sites would send all its devices to one Webex Calling location. Such pools may need to be split on Unified CM before migration.inferredMigrate Unified CM data to Webex Calling · Map device pool to locations · Checked 2026-09-24
Documents
Cisco CallManager Administration Guide, Release 3.1(2) - Device Pool Configuration
Feature Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Device Mobility
Feature Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Music On Hold
Migrate devices and features from Unified CM to Webex Calling
Migrate Unified CM data to Webex Calling
System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager Release 15 and SUs - Configure Call Routing
System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 14 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools
System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Autoregistration
System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Core Settings for Device Pools
System Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Release 15 and SUs - Configure Endpoints
Cite this page
APA
WarmTransfer. (2026, September 24). Unified CM device pools and device configuration model. WarmTransfer. https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/cucm-device-pools
BibTeX
@misc{warmtransfer-cucm-device-pools,
title = {Unified CM device pools and device configuration model},
author = {{WarmTransfer}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/cucm-device-pools},
note = {Verified 2026-09-24}
}