TeleFlow System Management

From TeleFlow

The following section describes some methods that can be used to manage a TeleFlow system.

Contents 1 Accessing the Voice Application Servers 2 TeleFlow Application Server 2.1 Shutdown and restart 2.2 Installing Software/Patches 2.3 Restarting TeleFlow Services 3 Backups 3.1 How they are created 3.2 How to use them to safely backup data

Accessing the Voice Application Servers

Remote access to the Voice Application Servers is achieved using Remote Desktop (Start >> Programs >> Accessories >> Communications >> Remote Desktop Connection). In order to connect to a remote computer using Remote Desktop, you must supply the IP Address for the Voice Application Server you wish to access, along with any required user or password information. (In fact, when you connect to a system using remote desktop, you may be prompted to log-in to Windows as you normally would when sitting down to work at your own computer.) For (obvious) security reasons, the user/password information is not available as part of the documentation package, and rather, must be provided to individuals requiring them on a “as-needed” basis.

TeleFlow Application Server

Shutdown and restart

Unless the system has completely locked up due to a operating system error or an errant process, and an orderly shutdown is not possible, the TeleFlow Application Server should be shut down in the following manner:

1. On the TeleFlow Monitor, click ‘Application’ and then ‘Shutdown All Normal’. (If the TeleFlow Monitor is not maximized, you should be able to locate it in the Windows taskbar. If it isn’t running, find it in the TeleFlow Windows Programs menu, under “Server Tools”) For additional information about TeleFlow Monitor functionality, refer to the ‘TeleFlow Voice Office Products - TeleFlow Monitor’ section of this document, or the TeleFlow help file.
2. Wait for all of the light green indicator lights in the left-hand side of the window to turn dark green. NOTE: The lights will remain light green for one of the following reasons:
   1. The applications haven’t completed the tasks necessary for a ‘safe shutdown’. Such conditions might be that a caller is currently on the line, or a report that takes awhile to complete.
   2. The required logic wasn’t implemented in one of the applications. This shouldn’t happen, but is possible. Generally, if all callers are finished, and you have given the system a few minutes to clear the remaining lights, but there are some light green lights, you should probably continue with step 3 as though all lights are dark green.
3. Once the indicator lights have all turned dark green, it is safe to shut down the remaining applications. Be sure to shut down any applications you are running. All of the software required for running your TeleFlow Applications will safely shut down with Windows.
4. Click ‘Start’, ‘Shut Down’ and select ‘Restart the Computer’, then click the ‘Yes’ button. DO NOT use the option to ‘Close all programs and log on as a different user’.

If some or all of the indicator lights remain green, and an immediate shutdown is required, you can start the shutdown process as per point 3, above. Be aware, however, that if a caller is on a line, or an important report is being run, both of these operations will be stopped abruptly. This may result in reports not being completed when the system is restarted, or unexpected data in TeleFlow Application(s) data files.

Installing Software/Patches

Ideally, few installations will be performed on TeleFlow Application Servers. Once they are up and running successfully, it is most desirable that they be left to run without interruptions, and without installation of additional software or patches. (Adding software/patches to a stable production system has an element of risk, potentially interfering with the normal operations of the existing software.) Nevertheless, it is sometimes necessary, for a variety of reasons, to add software to a production system, or to install a patch or service pack for existing software or the operating system. When this is necessary, the following approach is the safest way to perform the installation(s) and minimize the risk of problems resulting from them.

1. Ensure that a recent backup of all files necessary to the TeleFlow Application Servers has been made, in the unlikely event of a catastrophic system failure. (This should be done routinely anyway)
2. Ideally, a primary TeleFlow Application Server has a redundant backup server. If this is the case in your environment, it would be ideal to perform any necessary patch or software updates on the backup server prior to installing on the production server. This gives you the time after the installation to verify that everything is still operating/performing as it should be, and that the installation didn’t cause any problems, before you perform the same installation(s) on the primary production server. This provides more time to verify that everything works properly before setting the system live. If you are set up for it, it would also allow you to use the redundant system as the main production server while you install the software in the primary production server. Of course, if you have only one production server, you must simply take care to minimize down time, choose the down time wisely (i.e. Make sure down time is at a time when there are normally few callers to the system), and ensure anyone who might be affected by the down time is aware of it.
3. Follow instructions 1, 2 and 3 in the previous section “Shutdown and Restart” to shut down most of the applications on the system. To complete the shutdown, run the Service Control Manager (Start >> Settings >> Control Panel >> Administrative Tools >> Services), and stop the “TeleFlow Server” service. If you are using NMS hardware, locate and stop the “NMS CT daemon service”. Next, run task manager, go to the processes tab, and stop the isdncta.exe process. Stopping these NMS services should cause calls to rollover to your backup server, provided rollover has been configured on your telephony circuits.
4. Run TeleFlow Config (Start >> Programs >> TeleFlow >> Server Tools >> TeleFlow Config). Uncheck the box to “Start TeleFlow Service Automatically”. Click “OK”.
5. Install the software or patches you need to install, following any/all instructions to restart the computer. When all the installations are completed, restart the computer (unless this was the very last step of the most recent installation anyway). Log in as the user that is normally used for configuration (or operation) of the Voice Application Server. After logging in, it is usually best to wait several minutes for all processes to start normally, and until system activity “calms down”. In particular, if the update was a Windows Update, there may be processes still updating, and it is ideal to allow this to complete fully before getting TeleFlow services running again. Although there are no set rules for how long to wait, 5-10 minutes should generally be sufficient. If the system is not responsive (suggesting that there are still processes working in the background) wait a little longer before proceeding.
6. Run TeleFlow Config (Start >> Programs >> TeleFlow >> Server Tools >> TeleFlow Config). Check the box to “Start TeleFlow Service Automatically”. Click “OK”.
7. Restart the computer, and log in again.
8. Run TeleFlow Monitor (Start >> Programs >> TeleFlow >> Server Tools >> TeleFlow Monitor). It should automatically connect to the TeleFlow Server, and you should see a series of light green lights on the left hand side of the TeleFlow Monitor window. If is doesn’t connect, click “Connection >> Connect >> OK”. If that also fails, something may have gone wrong, and TeleFlow Server would not start successfully. Give the computer a minute or two, in case not all of the system services have started yet, and try connecting again. If the connection isn’t working, or the Monitor connects but you see a series of lights changing between yellow and red, go to the “Restarting TeleFlow Services” section below.
9. Once the TeleFlow Monitor is connected, and all the lights are green, place a test call to the system to ensure it is operational. Again, it may be necessary to give the system a minute or two before everything is initialized enough to answer the phone. It is always wise to call one or more of the primary Voice Applications of the system, to ensure they are still functioning properly. See the “Telephone Numbers and Services Assigned” section in this document for phone numbers for your Voice Application Servers.
10. If you can successfully call the system, then it is fairly safe to assume that the new software installation was successful, and didn’t cause any problems. It is still wise, however, to keep a close eye on the system for a few days afterward to ensure the software update hasn’t caused any problems. If you are unable to call the system, there is likely something wrong. Contact enGenic for assistance.

Restarting TeleFlow Services

1. The first thing to try in restarting TeleFlow manually is this: Open the service control manager, locate TeleFlow Server service, and shut it down. Wait a few minutes, and try starting the service. Go back to "Run TeleFlow Monitor" above and try connecting again. If that still fails, proceed to the next step.
2. Shut down TeleFlow Server service again. Run a command prompt. Type “OAMSYS”, and press enter. Wait for the command to complete. Try starting the TeleFlow Server service, and try step 8, above, again. If this fails, you will likely need to contact an expert for assistance.

Backups

Back ups of the Voice Applications should be done on a regular basis to ensure a recent restore point is always available in the event of a system failure. The TeleFlow Application(s) utilizes a mySQL Database. Back ups of the database should be done on a regular basis to minimize data loss should a problem occur.

First, review the following notes on how the backups are created. Then, use the Backup Steps, below, in order to perform a backup of the necessary files.

How they are created

The Voice Application Server(s) runs services that automatically create weekly backups of the Voice Applications directory and the database. The files that make up the backup are then zipped up and stored temporarily, and made available for download. The services that create these weekly backups also manage them such that they are not kept permanently, which would create a disk storage problem. Rather, there are periodically removed, on a schedule that always keeps the last several backups available.

For an example of how to back up a MySQL database, please refer to this section.

How to use them to safely backup data

Although there is an automated process that creates frequent backups of the files required to restore the Voice Application Server(s) should a failure occur, failure can sometimes mean that the computer on which the Voice Applications are running is not functioning well enough to get to the backups. As such, it is recommended that the backup files be frequently (this is best done on a schedule, perhaps once a week) copied from the servers to either another computer’s hard drive, or to off-site storage (or quite likely: both). Use the following procedure to back up the Voice Applications and database.