Prerequisites
Interaction Concentrator has important specific requirements noted in the following subsections. Before you install Interaction Concentrator, review the requirements and recommendations in these subsections.
[+] Hosting
Genesys recommends that you or your IT specialist assign host computers to Genesys software before you start a Genesys installation. Keep in mind the following restrictions:
- Do not install all Genesys server applications on the same host computer.
- When installing multiple server applications on the same host computer, prevent all of them, except Configuration Server, from using swap space.
See the “Network Locations for Framework Components” chapter of the
Framework Deployment Guide and the “Architecture” chapter of the
Framework Management Layer User’s Guide for information about the optimal locations for:
- Configuration Layer components
- Management Layer components
- T-Server
For Interaction Concentrator and its DB Server, observe the following recommendations:
- Install DB Server on the same computer as the Interaction Database (IDB).
- For better data reliability install ICON as close to T-Server as possible. Ideally, ICON should be on same physical host as the T-Server or Interaction Server for which it gathers data. This prevents network disruptions within the LAN from making an impact on data quality. If you are running a high availability environment, the second instance of ICON should be on a different host but in same subnet as the T-Server or Interaction Server.
Time Synchronization Among Hosts
In an environment with either a single ICON instance or multiple ICON instances operating with multiple T-Servers, synchronize the system time on the T-Server host computers to one second or better.
[+] Genesys Framework
Deploy the Genesys Framework components before you deploy Interaction Concentrator.
Configuration Layer
At the very least, you must set up the Configuration Layer of Genesys Framework. You cannot configure Interaction Concentrator components without the Configuration Layer. This layer contains DB Server, Configuration Server, Configuration Database, Configuration Manager, and, optionally, Deployment Wizards.
Management Layer
If you intend to monitor or control Interaction Concentrator and its DB Server through the Management Layer, you must also configure and install Management Layer components—in particular, LCA, Message Server, Solution Control Server (SCS), and SCI.
To monitor the status of Interaction Concentrator components through the Management Layer, you must load an LCA instance on every host that is running ICON and DB Server instances. Without LCA, the Management Layer cannot monitor the status of these components. If you do not use the Management Layer, you do not need LCA.
[+] Telephony Objects
Create configuration objects for every PBX about which you want Interaction Concentrator to store data.
Use Configuration Manager to configure telephony objects, including a Switching Office object and Switch object for the PBX, and one DN (Directory Number) object for each user’s telephone number.
[+] T-Server
If you intend to collect computer-telephony integration (CTI)–related (call) reporting data, configure and install a T-Server application for your particular PBX, if it is not yet deployed. Make sure that the Switch object that this T-Server will serve is specified in the T-Server Application Properties dialog box.
In a multi-site environment, deploy one T-Server application for each PBX.
All T-Servers and, if applicable, Interaction Servers of type T-Server from which an ICON instance should collect data must be listed among the ICON Application object’s connections.
Important
For information about, and deployment instructions for, telephony objects and T-Server, see the Framework T-Server Deployment Guide for your particular T-Server.
[+] Outbound Contact
If you intend to collect data about outbound campaigns, deploy components of Genesys Outbound Contact, release 7.2 or higher. If you have an earlier release of Outbound Contact, upgrade to release 7.2 before you deploy Interaction Concentrator.
To provide outbound information to ICON, at least one OCS application must exist and be properly configured.
All OCS instances from which an ICON instance should collect data must be listed among the ICON Application object’s connections.
For deployment instructions for Outbound Contact components, see the
Outbound Contact Deployment Guide. For Outbound Contact migration instructions, see the
Genesys Migration Guide. For recommendations on how to enable outbound reporting in Interaction Concentrator, refer to the "Integrating with Outbound Contact" chapter in the
Interaction Concentrator 8.1 User’s Guide.
[+] Universal Routing
If you intend to collect data about virtual queues, deploy components of Universal Routing, release 7.2 or higher, that support virtual queue functionality. If you have an earlier release of Universal Routing, upgrade to a release that supports virtual queue functionality.
Interaction Concentrator requires Universal Routing Server (URS) release 7.2.001.11 higher for virtual queue reporting.
In order to provide virtual queue information to Interaction Concentrator, at least one URS application must exist.
Interaction Concentrator functionality related to writing extended routing results from virtual queues into IDB requires Universal Routing Server (URS) release 7.6 or higher. To enable extraction of this extended routing information, you must also set the values of the report_reasons and report_targets configuration options in URS to true.
For deployment instructions for Universal Routing components, see the
Universal Routing 8.1 Deployment Guide. For Universal Routing migration instructions, see the
Genesys Migration Guide. For recommendations on how to enable virtual queue reporting in Interaction Concentrator, refer to the chapter about monitoring virtual queues in the
Interaction Concentrator 8.1 User’s Guide.
Interaction Concentrator functionality related to storing virtual queue history in IDB requires URS release 8.1 or higher.
[+] Multimedia
If you intend to collect interaction, agent state, and agent login session data for eServices (e-mail and chat) and 3rd Party Media interactions, configure and install an Interaction Server application for your multimedia switch, if it is not yet deployed. Make sure the Switch object this Interaction Server will serve is specified in the Interaction Server Application Properties dialog box.
In a multi-site environment, deploy one Interaction Server application for each multimedia switch.
The Interaction Server from which an ICON instance should collect data must be listed among the connections of the ICON Application object. However, ICON cannot connect directly to applications of type Interaction Server. If necessary, you must configure a dummy Interaction Server Application of type T-Server, designate the multimedia switch that Interaction Server uses as a switch for the dummy application, and connect the ICON Application to the T-Server–type Interaction Server. For more information, see Storing Multimedia Data.
The functionality introduced in ICON release 7.6.1 to support a large number of concurrently active multimedia interactions requires Interaction Server release 7.6.1 or higher.
For information about—and deployment instructions for—Interaction Server, see the
eServices Deployment Guide. For recommendations on how to enable multimedia reporting in Interaction Concentrator, refer to the chapter about integrating with Genesys eServices and 3rd Party Media in the
Interaction Concentrator 8.1 User’s Guide.
[+] Interaction Database
Interaction Concentrator uses IDB to store reporting data. At least one IDB instance is required, which can be running on any Genesys-supported RDBMS except Sybase and Informix. Oracle versions 8.1 and earlier are also not supported. For a list of Genesys-supported RDBMSs, see the Genesys Supported Operating Environment Reference Guide. For the changes in RDBMS support introduced with Interaction Concentrator 8.1, see the
Interaction Concentrator 8.1 Release Note.
When planning an installation, observe the following recommendations for IDB:
[+] Security Features
Interaction Concentrator supports the following security features:
- Encrypted RDBMSs
- Hiding TEvent attached data from logs.
Support for Secure Connections
- Starting with release 8.1.1, Interaction Concentrator supports Transport Layer Security (TLS) and TLS-FIPS connections.
- Starting with release 8.1.2, Interaction Concentrator Supports client-side port definition, to provide secured connections to T-Server, SIP Server, Configuration Server, and Message Server.
On Windows platforms, support for TLS is integrated into the operating system, and there are no additional requirements to enable Interaction Concentrator to support it. On UNIX-based platforms, you must install the Genesys Security Pack on the Interaction Concentrator host.
For details on all of the supported security features, see the
Genesys 8.1 Security Deployment Guide.
Database Sizing
The size of your IDB depends on your deployment scenario, including such factors as typical call flows, attached data storage, values configured for storing outbound data in custom or secure fields, and the amount of time that records will be retained in the database.
Genesys provides an interactive tool to help you estimate the required size of your IDB. This tool, the
Interaction Concentrator 8.1 Database Size Estimator, is a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
For more information about database sizing and deployment guidelines, see the Interaction Concentrator section in the
Genesys Hardware Sizing Guide. The Genesys Info Mart section of the Genesys Hardware Sizing Guide can also provide helpful sizing and performance information for Interaction Concentrator.
