Installing Alarm Server

Installing and Configuring Alarm Servers

1. Start the IA application on the administration workstation and open the connected system model you made when creating HAC nodes.

2. To add the Alarm Server virtual unit:

   • Right-click Virtual Units in the model tree and choose Add Virtual Unit.

   • Choose the base installation and the Alarm Server virtual unit template.

   • Give the virtual unit an appropriate name, for example ACME_Alarm_Server where ACME is replaced with the real customer name.

   • Enter a free virtual IP address.

   • Click OK.

3. To define the software specific variables, right-click the VU you just created, choose Software, and click Edit.

   • Enter the information in the variable fields of the Element Properties pane.

     Groups/Explanations	Variable	Description
     Typically you can use the default values for these general variables.	IP Address of the Virtual Unit	Virtual IP address, for information only. Address cannot be changed as it is defined when the virtual unit is created.
     	Alarm Server Port for Other Servers	The TCP/IP port where Alarm Server listens for incoming alarms from other processes, such as High Availability Controller (HAC).
     	Use Windows Authentication for Database Connections	Specify whether Windows authentication should be used for database connections. The selection is on by default, and we recommend using it. With Windows authentication, you can leave database password fields empty. If you deselect the option, SQL logon is used, and you must enter database user name and password for each database connection, and they are saved in registry and log files as plain text.
     	Log File Directory of the Virtual Unit	Software running in the virtual unit uses this directory for their log files.
     	Configuration Database Server Address or Name	By default, the value defined in database installation is used automatically.
     	Configuration Database Name	By default, the value defined in database installation is used automatically.
     	Configuration Database User Name	By default, the value defined in database installation is used automatically.
     	Configuration Database Password	By default, the value defined in database installation is used automatically.
     	Operative Database Server Address or Name	By default, the value defined in database installation is used automatically.
     	Operative Database Name	By default, the value defined in database installation is used automatically.
     	Operative Database User Name	By default, the value defined in database installation is used automatically.
     	Operative Database Password	By default, the value defined in database installation is used automatically.
     Use Server Connection Security settings for: Tenant: To verify the secure HTTPS connection between Alarm Server and other servers of a Contact Center system. Central: If the server connection is secured in a tenant system, it must be secured also for the central alarm server.	Internal Server Certificate in Use	To secure the server-server connection with the internal server certificate, select this option. Added in 1608.
     	Internal Server Certificate Common Name	Common Name part of the Internal Server Certificate subject, Issued To. Note: The Subject Name of the certificate must match the DNS address of the alarm server. Consider also using Subject Alternative Name, for more information see section Certificates in Installation Guide. Added in 1608.
     	Internal Server Certificate Issuer	Optional Internal Server Certificate issuer name, Issued By. Added in 1608.
     	Internal Server Certificate Store	Internal Server Certificate store location. Added in 1608.
     Use Client Connection Security settings for: Tenant: Secure connection to clients. Central: Secure connection to tenant systems.	Client Certificates Subject List (FQN)	Define the subject (FQN) of client certificates/tenant system internal certificates: Enter each certificate with a string “C=value, O=value, OU=value, CN=value ”, and separate them with a semicolon. Note: If client certificates/tenant system certificates are not defined here, secure connection can be made also if the same Internal Server Certificate is found both on client and server, such as the Alarm Server and a HAC, and correspondingly on the Central Alarm Server and Tenant Alarm Servers. Added in 1608.
     	Client Handshake Timeout (s)	Define timeout for secure connection negotiation. The default value is 30 seconds. Added in 1608.
     Define the service account with Service Control variables.	Use Group Managed Service Account (gMSA)	Select whether to use Group Managed Service Account. If this option is checked, the password cannot be entered but an automatically created 120 characters long password is used. For more information, see Installation Guide > Group Managed Service Accounts (gMSA). Added in SP09.
     	Alarm Service Logon User Account	Specify the user account to be used with alarm service. Added in SP06.
     	Password for Alarm Service Logon User Account	Password for Alarm Service Logon User Account. Added in SP06 If the checkbox Use Group Managed Service Account (gMSA) is checked, this field is disabled.
     To define e-mails being sent in error situations, define E-Mail Converter Settings.	Enable E-Mail Converter	Enable sending e-mails when Alarm Server detects an error.
     	Process Minor Alarms	Send e-mail when Alarm Server detects a minor error. Not selected by default. Changed in SP09.
     	Process Major Alarms	Send e-mail when Alarm Server detects a major error. Selected by default.
     	Process Critical Alarms	Send e-mail when Alarm Server detects a critical error. Selected by default.
     	E-Mail From Address	Define the sending e-mail address for Alarm Server messages
     	E-Mail Recipients	Define e-mail addresses where Alarm Server messages are sent to. Separate multiple addresses with a semicolon.
     	E-Mail CC Recipients	Define e-mail addresses where Alarm Server messages are copied to. Separate multiple addresses with a semicolon.
     	E-Mail BCC Recipients	Define e-mail addresses where Alarm Server messages are sent as blind copies. Separate multiple addresses with a semicolon.
     	E-Mail Subject for Alarm Notification	Define the subject of the message that is sent when an alarm occurs.The default value is ALARM NOTIFICATION: $SEVERITY$ alarm raised @ $HOST$
     	E-Mail Subject for Cancelling Alarm	Define the subject of the message that is sent when an alarm is cancelled. The default value is ALARM NOTIFICATION: alarm cancelled.
     	E-Mail Converter's Alarm Processing Interval (s)	Define how often the e-mail converter checks the internal alarm list, and sends a message if needed. Enter the number of seconds between 5 and 60. The default value is 10.
     To define SMS messages being sent in error situations, define the following SMS Converter Settings	Enable SMS Converter	Enable sending SMS when Alarm Server detects an error.
     	Process Minor Alarms	Send SMS when Alarm Server detects a minor error. Not selected by default.
     	Process Major Alarms	Send SMS when Alarm Server detects a major error. Selected by default.
     	Process Critical Alarms	Send SMS when Alarm Server detects a critical error. Selected by default.
     	SMS Recipients	Define numbers where Alarm Server messages are sent to. Separate multiple numbers with a semicolon. Use international format, for example +358101234567;+4915221234567.
     	SMS Text for Alarm Notification	Define the SMS text that is sent when an alarm occurs. The default value is $SEVERITY$ alarm raised @ $HOST$ ($TIME$), instance: $INSTANCE$, process: $PROCESS$ ($NAME$)
     	SMS Text for Cancelling Alarm	Define the SMS text that is sent when an alarm is cancelled. The default value is Alarm cancelled @ $HOST$ ($TIME$), instance: $INSTANCE$, process: $PROCESS$
     	SMS Converter's Alarm Processing Interval (s)	Define how often the SMS converter checks the internal alarm list, and sends a message if needed. Enter the number of seconds between 5 and 60. The default value is 10.
     To define SNMP Traps being sent in error situations, define the following SNMP Trap Converter Settings	Enable SNMP Trap Converter	Enable sending SNMP Traps when Alarm Server detects an error.
     	Process Minor Alarms	Send SNMP trap when Alarm Server detects a minor error. Not selected by default. Changed in SP09.
     	Process Major Alarms	Send SNMP trap when Alarm Server detects a major error. Selected by default.
     	Process Critical Alarms	Send SNMP trap when Alarm Server detects a critical error. Selected by default.
     	SNMP Trap Destination Addresses	Define the addresses where the Alarm Server messages are sent to. Separate multiple addresses with a semicolon, for example 1.0.0.1:1234;2.0.0.1:1234.
     	SNMP Trap Configuration	Select the trap type Use Generic Trap For All Alarms or Use Alarm Severity Based Traps. (the default value)
     	SNMP Trap Converter's Alarm Processing Interval (s)	Define how often the SNMP Trap converter checks the internal alarm list, and sends a message if needed. Enter the number of seconds between 5 and 60. The default value is 10.
     If there are more than one Alarm Server in the system, define Alarm Forwarding Settings as well. In a multi-tenant system, define the central Alarm Server that receives alarms from all tenants but does not forward them to others.	Enable Forwarding Alarms to Other Alarm Servers	Enable sending alarms to other Alarm Servers.
     	Other Alarm Server Addresses	Define the addresses of other Alarm Servers. Separate addresses with a semicolon, for example 1.0.0.1:1234;2.0.0.1:1234. In a multi-tenant system, between the central Alarm Server and tenants, the IP address definition for sending alarms does not work. Use DNS addresses instead.

   • Save the variables, instantiate the virtual unit on appropriate HAC nodes, and apply changes.

4. Right-click each HAC node of the system, and select Deployment Variables for High Availability Controller > Alarm Server on the Element Properties pane, and define the following variables:

   Variable	Description
   Enable Alarm Server Messages	Enable informing Alarm Server via HTTP about error situations on HAC Node.
   IP Addresses for Alarm Server	Enter the DNS address and port (the default port value is 21013) of the Alarm Server virtual unit, for example alarm.acme.com:21013. If you have several alarm servers in your system, enter all of them as name:port pairs separated with a semicolon. Make sure that DNS names are resolved to IP addresses by the DNS server, or manually by adding resolving in hosts file located under C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc.

5. Save the variables, and apply changes.

6. Save the system model.

   To start the function, connect the system and choose Connection > Connect and wait until system model is synchronized between the HAC nodes, then choose Connection > Monitoring Mode.

Monitoring Health Status

Sinch Contact Center system is monitored and managed by HAC. As of 1608, alarm server can monitor HAC server health status to make sure HAC is still alive, and correspondingly, several tenant system alarm servers can be monitored by a central alarm server.

• HACs send heartbeat messages every ten seconds to an Alarm Server.

• Alarm Server may send heartbeat messages to a central Alarm Server, as defined in Alarm Forwarding Settings.

• To be able to monitor health status, each Alarm Server must be configured with the keepalive_config.xml configuration file:

  1. Create a configuration file according to examples below. Typically, just define the HOSTS section.

     You can find basic examples in Examples_AlarmServer_keepalive_config_files.txt file in the Examples And Templates installation package.

  2. Save the file with a name keepalive_config.xml in the folder [Alarm Server VU]\etc.

<CONFIG KEEPALIVE="SIMPLE">
<GENERAL>
<ACTIVERETRIES>3</ACTIVERETRIES>
<INACTIVERETRIES>3</INACTIVERETRIES>
<SEVERITY>CRITICAL</SEVERITY>
<INUSE>YES</INUSE>
</GENERAL>
<HOSTS>
<HOST ALIAS="Local HAC Server">
<NAME>MY-HAC-COMPUTER</NAME>
<INSTANCE>MY-HAC-INSTANCE</INSTANCE>
<PROCESS>HAC</PROCESS>
</HOST>
</HOSTS>
</CONFIG> 

<CONFIG KEEPALIVE="SIMPLE">
<GENERAL>
<ACTIVERETRIES>3</ACTIVERETRIES>
<INACTIVERETRIES>3</INACTIVERETRIES>
<SEVERITY>CRITICAL</SEVERITY>
<INUSE>YES</INUSE>
</GENERAL>
<HOSTS>
<HOST ALIAS="Tenant 1 Alarm Server">
<NAME>TENANT-1-COMPUTER</NAME>
<INSTANCE>Tenant1AlarmServer_VU</INSTANCE>
<PROCESS>AlarmServer</PROCESS>
</HOST>
<HOST ALIAS="Tenant 2 Alarm Server">
<NAME>TENANT-2-COMPUTER</NAME>
<INSTANCE>Tenant2AlarmServer_VU</INSTANCE>
<ACTIVERETRIES>6</ACTIVERETRIES>
<INACTIVERETRIES>6</INACTIVERETRIES>
<INUSE>NO</INUSE>
</HOST>
</HOSTS>
</CONFIG>