Nice Design Considerations

NICE Perform
Release 3.2
Design Considerations for NICE Perform Release 3.2

December 2009
385A0584-07 Rev. A0
Insight from Interactions
TM
Confidential and Proprietary Information of NICE Systems Ltd.
NICE Systems Ltd. shall bear no responsibility or liability to a client or to any other person or entity with respect to liability, loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by any NICE product. This includes, but is not limited to, any interruption of service, loss of business or anticipatory profits or consequential damage resulting from the use or operation of any NICE products. Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of NICE Systems Ltd. The systems described in this document are furnished under a license agreement or nondisclosure agreement. All information included in this document, such as text, graphics, photos, logos and images, is the exclusive property of NICE Systems Ltd. and protected by United States and international copyright laws. Permission is granted to view and photocopy (or print) materials from this document for personal, noncommercial use only. Any other copying, distribution, retransmission or modification of the information in this document, whether in electronic or hard copy form, without the express prior written permission of NICE Systems Ltd., is strictly prohibited. In the event of any permitted copying, redistribution or publication of copyrighted material, no changes in, or deletion of, author attribution, trademark legend or copyright notice shall be made.
All contents of this document are: Copyright 2009 NICE Systems Ltd. All rights reserved.
This product is covered by one or more of the following US patents:
5,185,780 5,446,603 6,122,665 6,330,025 6,785,369 6,959,079 7,152,018 7,386,105 7,573,421 5,216,744 5,457,782 6,192,346 6,542,602 6,785,370 6,965,886 7,203,655 7,392,160 7,577,246 5,274,738 5,819,005 6,246,752 6,564,368 6,856,343 6,970,829 7,240,328 7,436,887 7,581,001 5,289,368 5,911,134 6,249,570 6,615,193 6,865,604 7,010,106 7,305,082 7,474,633 7,587,454 5,325,292 5,937,029 6,252,946 6,694,374 6,871,229 7,010,109 7,333,445 7,532,744 7,599,475 5,339,203 6,044,355 6,252,947 6,728,345 6,880,004 7,058,589 7,346,186 7,545,803 5,396,371 6,115,746 6,311,194 6,775,372 6,937,706 7,085,728 7,383,199 7,546,173
360o View, ACTIMIZE, Actimize logo, Alpha, Customer Feedback, Dispatcher Assessment, Encorder, eNiceLink, Executive Connect, Executive Insight, FAST, FAST alpha Blue, FAST alpha Silver, FAST Video Security, Freedom, Freedom Connect, IEX, Interaction Capture Unit, Insight from Interactions, Investigator, Last Message Replay, Mirra, My Universe, NICE, NICE logo, NICE Analyzer, NiceCall, NiceCall Focus, NiceCLS, NICE Inform, NICE Learning, NiceLog, NICE Perform, NiceScreen, NICE SmartCenter, NICE Storage Center, NiceTrack, NiceUniverse, NiceUniverse Compact, NiceVision, NiceVision Alto, NiceVision Analytics, NiceVision ControlCenter, NiceVision Digital, NiceVision Harmony, NiceVision Mobile, NiceVision Net, NiceVision NVSAT, NiceVision Pro, Performix, Playback Organizer, Renaissance, Scenario Replay, ScreenSense, Tienna, TotalNet, TotalView, Universe, Wordnet are trademarks and registered trademarks of NICE Systems Ltd. All other registered and unregistered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Applications to register certain of these marks have been filed in certain countries, including Australia, Brazil, the European Union, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Argentina and the United States. Some of such registrations have matured to registrations.
385A0584-07 Rev. A0
For assistance please contact your local supplier or the nearest NICE Systems Customer Service Center:
EMEA Region: (Europe, Middle East, Africa) Tel: +972-9-775-3800 Fax: +972-9-775-3000 email: support@nice.com APAC Region: (Asia/Pacific) Tel: +852-8338-9818 Fax: +852-2802-1800 email: support.apac@nice.com The Americas Region: (North, Central, South America) Tel: 1-800-NICE-611 Fax: +720-264-4012 email: support.americas@nice.com Israel: Tel: 09-775-3333 Fax: 09-775-3000 email: support@nice.com
NICE invites you to join the NICE User Group (NUG). Visit the NUG Website at www.niceusergroup.org, and follow the online instructions.
International Headquarters-Israel Tel: +972-9-775-3100 Fax: +972-9-775-3070 email: info@nice.com United Kingdom Tel: +44-8707-22-4000 Fax: +44-8707-22-4500 France Tel: +33-(0)1-41-38-5000 Fax: +33-(0)1-41-38-5001 North America Tel: 1-800-663-5601 Fax: +201-356-2197 email: na_sales@nice.com Germany Tel: +49-(0)-69-97177-0 Fax: +49-(0)-69-97177-200 Hong-Kong Tel: +852-2598-3838 Fax: +852-2802-1800
All queries, comments, and suggestions are welcome! Please email: nicebooks@nice.com For more information about NICE, visit www.nice.com
Contents
1
Design Considerations Overview 15
Whats New in Release 3.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 List of Terms Used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2
Servers Deployment Considerations 21
NICE Perform Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 SMB Small Medium Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 VoIP Single Box Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 TDM Two Boxes Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Unified Server Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Semi-Distributed Server Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Distributed Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3
General Components Considerations 27
NICE Interactions Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 NiceScreen Logger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Screen Logger Sharing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Online Screen Storage Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Storage Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Design Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Discovery Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Outcome of Discovery Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Design Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Contents NICE Perform Release 3.2: Design Considerations (Rev. A0) Confidential and Proprietary Information of NICE Systems Ltd. 5
Storage Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 File Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Storage Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 General Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Storage Center Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Network Influence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Calculating the Number of Storage Centers per Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Storage Center Redundancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Issues for Consideration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Telephony Services Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Discovery Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Outcome of Discovery Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Telephony Services Server General Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Number of Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Telephony Services Server Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Analog and Digital Board Support Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Telephony Services Server Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 WAN Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Customer Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Supported Transfer Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Survey Load Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Customer Feedback Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Playback to Extension Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Analog and Digital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 IP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Telephony Services Server Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Screen Content Analysis (AKA Desktop Analytics) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Discovery Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Outcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Supported Deployment Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Screen Content Analysis Server Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Screen Content Analysis Agent Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Platform/Environment Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Capturing Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Data Extraction Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Stream Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Discovery Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Outcome of Discovery Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 NICE Stream Server Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Microsoft Windows Media Services (WMS) Streaming Server . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Supported Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Network Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Local Storage Space Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 WMS Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Active and Passive VoIP Logger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Active VoIP Logger Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Passive VoIP Logger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Passive VoIP Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Deployments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Mirroring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Recording Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 NICE Sentinel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 NMS Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 VRA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Network Embedded Logger (NEL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Recording Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Supported Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Supported Signaling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
4
Applications 57
Applications Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Applications Response Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Business Analyzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Evaluations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 My Universe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Packages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Player Client Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Media Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Clip Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Playback to Extension Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Trunk-Side Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Extension-Side Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 No Support for CDR Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Screen-Only Recording Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Rules Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5
Computer Telephony Integrations Policy 69
CTI Combinations Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
6
Interaction Analytics 71
Server Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Analysis Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Analysis Type Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Word Search - Storage Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Transcription - Storage Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Analysis from EMC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Prerequisite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Contents NICE Perform Release 3.2: Design Considerations (Rev. A0) Confidential and Proprietary Information of NICE Systems Ltd.
7
ScreenAgent 77
NICE ScreenAgent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Capture Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Hooking vs. Scraper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Capture Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Performance Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 ScreenAgent in Citrix and Terminal Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 When to Use? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 NAT/PAT Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Registration to Multiple Interactions Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Why Use this Configuration? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Examples of Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Constraints and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Resiliency Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Registration Failures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 LAN/WAN Disconnections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 ScreenAgent Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Installation Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 ScreenAgent Networking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
8
Scalability 87
Usage Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Single Data Hub and Linked Data Hub Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 System Scale Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Universal Component Scale Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Playback Scale Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Telephony Services Server Scale Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Interactions Center Scale Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Storage Center Scale Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Screen Content Analysis Scale Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Data Mart Scale Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Content Analysis Server Scale Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 NICE Sentinel Server Scale Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Loggers Scale Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Loggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 NiceScreen Loggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Logger Resiliency Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Usage Per Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 SMB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Interaction Package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Quality Management / Quality Optimization Enterprise (CC) 32-bit . . . 113 Quality Management / Quality Optimization Enterprise (CC) 64-bit . . . 117 Interaction Analytics / Analytics-Based Quality Optimization Enterprise (CC) 64-bit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
9
Deployment Configurations 121
Discovery Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Single Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Centralized Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 When to Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Distributed Screen Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 When to Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Centralized Active VoIP Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 When to Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Distributed Voice Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 When to Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Survivable Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 When to Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Multi Linked Data Hubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
When to Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
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Resiliency Options 135
Resiliency Options Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Database (DB) Cluster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 Applications Server Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 Interactions Center Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Supported Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Storage Center Redundancy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Voice Recording SIP Proxy (VRSP) Redundancy Architecture . . . . . . . . . 140 Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Deployment Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 VRSP Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 TDM Loggers N+1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 VoIP Loggers N+1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Supported Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Passive VoIP Loggers 1:1 Software System (Duplicate Recording) . . . . . 142 Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Branch Recording Survivability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Disk Space Calculation Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Total Recording Solution (TRS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 TRS Supported Environments: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 TRS Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 NIC Teaming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Disaster Recovery (DR) Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Solution Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Supported Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 General Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Prerequisites for SQL Mirroring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Prerequisites for Other Replication Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 Data Mart Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
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Network Considerations 147
Free Bandwidth Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Bandwidth Calculation Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Latency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Calculating the Required Latency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Latency Between Interactions Center and CTI Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Optimization Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Bandwidth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Latency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
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Active Directory Integration 161
Active Directory Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 Prerequisites for Active Directory Authentication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 Active Directory Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
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Media Encryption Solution 165
Media Encryption Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Solution Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Support in Multi Data Hub Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Threats to the Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 Media Encryption Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Applications Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Logger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Screen Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Content Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Media Encryption Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 Loggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 ScreenAgents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 Microsoft Windows Media Services (WMS) Streaming Server . . . . . . . . . . 169
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Virtualization 171
Discovery Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
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Additional Requirements 173
NAT/PAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Hardening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Index
177
Contents NICE Perform Release 3.2: Design Considerations (Rev. A0) Confidential and Proprietary Information of NICE Systems Ltd.
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Blank page for double-sided printing.
1
Design Considerations Overview
This manual describes the design considerations for NICE Perform Release 3.2.
Contents
Whats New in Release 3.2............................................................................................. 16 List of Terms Used.......................................................................................................... 17
Chapter 1: Design Considerations Overview NICE Perform Release 3.2: Design Considerations (Rev. A0) Confidential and Proprietary Information of NICE Systems Ltd.
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Whats New in Release 3.2
Whats New in Release 3.2

Updated system limitations in environments where multiple Interactions Centers are connected to the same physical switch. See page 28. Added Screen Logger Sharing on page 29. Added NICE Sentinel on page 51. Added Analysis from EMC on page 75. Voice archiving figures were updated. See Table 8-4:Storage Center Scale Figures on page 96. Number of channels in Interaction-based SIP based Active VoIP Loggers requires NICE approval. See Table 8-9:Loggers on page 100. Unified configurations with Interactions Package figures were updated. See Table 8-13:Interaction Package on page 112. Voice archiving figures in WAN environment were updated. See Table 11-4:Latency Limitations per Component on page 156.
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List of Terms Used
List of Terms Used

Table 1-1: List of Terms Term / Acronym Call Rate Explanation / Definition Number of complete calls that are handled by specific components in the system (Interactions Center, Database and so on).
Content Analysis Server A component that provides audio processing and searching services for NICEs Interaction Analytics solutions. This general term may refer to several types of servers, including Phonetics Indexing Server, Transcription Server and Word-Spotting Server. Branch Data Center A local office in the customer's organization. Usually includes agents/users with telephones and desktops. A facility used to house mission critical computer systems and associated components, which may include telephony system equipment and mass storage infrastructure. Basically, any site that the customer would consider a data center. A combination of NICE Perform Applications Server and Database at the same site. This term replaces what was previously referred to as NICE site. DataMart The NICE Perform Data Mart serves as a centralized repository for information, providing a single, unified data source for reporting and data access. Database Disaster Recovery Windows Media Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a proven platform to protect and securely deliver content for playback on computers, portable devices, and network devices. The latest version offers increased flexibility to support a wide range of business models that provide consumers even greater access to protected audio and video content. Encrypting File System A third party mass storage device. Currently the Storage Center supports the following ESM devices:
Data Hub
DB DR DRM
EFS ESM
EMC2 Centera - integrated through SDK IBM Tivoli (TSM) - integrated using client SAN/NAS - direct integration
Note: Refer to Storage_Center_Install.pdf for supported SDK/Client versions. Force Delete The maximum duration that data is retained on storage.
Chapter 1: Design Considerations Overview NICE Perform Release 3.2: Design Considerations (Rev. A0) Confidential and Proprietary Information of NICE Systems Ltd. 17
List of Terms Used
Table 1-1: List of Terms (Continued) Term / Acronym HMP IA IC Interaction-based Recording KSM Linked/Multi Data Hub Explanation / Definition Dialogic Host Media Processing (HMP) Software performs media processing tasks and converged telephony applications. Interaction Analytics Interactions Center Start/stop recording based on CTI information. Key Storage Manager A combination of multiple NICE Perform Data Hubs in primary and secondary configuration. This term replaces what was previously referred to as NICE Multi-site. Multi-site NPR3.2 PBOL Recording types Any NICE Perform deployment that supports multiple interconnected sites. NICE Perform Release 3.2 Playback On LAN
Interaction-based recording: Start/stop recording is performed based on CTI information. Total recording: The Logger is always recording (CTI independent), and works with static mapping only.
Retention SA SAMS Site
The minimum amount of time the archive data is required to exist in storage. ScreenAgent ScreenAgent Management System Any geographical location which a customer might refer to as a site. This may refer to any branch, data center, isolated site or site which is part of a multi-site network that offers central administration. A site may include agents/users. Sources are always associated to the same recording channels. A logical collection of physical storage locations. Retention settings are defined on a storage group. However, they do not apply to ESM devices. A physical storage area. Time Division Multiplexing VoIP Recording Agent
Chapter 1: Design Considerations Overview 18
Static Mapping Storage Group
Storage Unit TDM VRG
NICE Perform Release 3.2: Design Considerations (Rev. A0) Confidential and Proprietary Information of NICE Systems Ltd.
List of Terms Used
Table 1-1: List of Terms (Continued) Term / Acronym WMS Explanation / Definition Microsoft Windows Media Services
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2
Servers Deployment Considerations
The purpose of this chapter is to provide a list of optimization and design consideration points for the NICE Perform solution.
Contents
NICE Perform Components ........................................................................................... 22 SMB Small Medium Business..................................................................................... 24 Unified Server Deployment............................................................................................ 25 Semi-Distributed Server Deployment ........................................................................... 26 Distributed Deployment ................................................................................................. 26
Chapter 2: Servers Deployment Considerations NICE Perform Release 3.2: Design Considerations (Rev. A0) Confidential and Proprietary Information of NICE Systems Ltd.
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NICE Perform Components

Following are short descriptions of the NICE Perform building blocks:
Applications Server
The Applications Server is the main server to which all clients connect when running NICE applications. Various processes and services run to control the operations performed by users and to provide the functions requested.
VoIP Logger
The VoIP Logger provides VoIP recording solutions to customers that are deploying IP telephony networks. Audio is recorded to the hard drive of the Logger for short term playback capability.
TDM Logger
The Logger is a digital/analog voice logging system. Loggers continuously and simultaneously record and archive audio from multiple sources. Audio is recorded to the hard drive of the Logger for short term playback capability.
Interactions Center (IC)
The Interactions Center controls the recordings which are performed by the capture unit. It receives call information from the CTI server through the CTI driver.
Database (DB) Server
The Database Server holds call information and administrative information.

Data Mart
The Data Mart consolidates the reporting information from multiple sites and DBs.
Telephony Services Server
The Telephony Services Server is an optional server that enables performing Playback to Extension (instant callback), implements NICE Customer Feedback (NIF) and creates clips.
Storage Center
The Storage Center archives the audio and screen data from the capture units to the storage device for long term storage.
Screen Content Analysis (aka Desktop Analytics Servers)
The Screen Content Analysis Server captures screen information from the agent's screen for analysis, tags calls, Starts/Stops recording calls (voice and screen) according to different screen events. Screen Content Analyis requires client installation on the agent's PC.
22
NiceScreen Logger (MML)
NiceScreen Logger enables you to record and play back the agents screen activity synchronized with its corresponding voice recording.
Content Analysis Server
The Content Analysis Server performs the following audio analysis functions:
Talk over analysis Emotion detection Word Search Transcription
Stream Server
The Stream Server is an optional server that resolves problems of streaming media from the media source. There are two types of Stream Servers:
NICE Stream Server Microsoft Windows Media Services (WMS) Streaming Server
NICE Sentinel
NICE Sentinel is an easy-to-use tool for monitoring NICE Perform availability, faults and performance in real-time. The tool ensures that system administrators have access to necessary system performance and availability information in order to alert and correct any system issue before losing functionality or valuable data.
NMS Server
The Network Management System (NMS) Server is responsible for monitoring and alarming tasks. CA NMS Server will be obsolete during Q1 2010 after the Sentinel GA.
VRA (VoIP Recording Agent)
A capturing module which is installed on a desktop in order to supply recording capabilities of remote agents. The VRA ensures that voice activity from IP phones is captured and forwarded to a VoIP Logger.
23
SMB Small Medium Business
SMB Small Medium Business

Solution for small to medium contact centers with up to 100 seats.
VoIP Single Box Solution

This is a software-only solution for VoIP integrations.
Figure 2-1 VoIP SMB (Single Box Solution)
Database Server Applications Server Interactions Center Storage Center VoIP Logger NICE Sentinel / NMS ScreenAgent (Telephony Services) (Data Mart) (Stream Server)
Single Box Limitations
You cannot back up both SQL data and voice to tape on the same machine. The solution in these cases is to back up data to the network. Media Library must not be installed on the SMB Server, the VoIP Logger or the NMS Server. In this configuration, it must be installed on a different client machine. NICE Sentinel/NMS must be installed on a separate server.
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Unified Server Deployment
TDM Two Boxes Solution

The TDM solution includes one box for voice logging and a second box for other software components.
NOTE: SMB is a marketing offer, and the Two Boxes Solution is identical to the Unified server deployment according to the servers.
Figure 2-2 NiceLog SMB Two Box Solution
Database Server Applications Server (Telephony Services) Interactions Center (Data Mart) Storage Center (Stream Server) NICE Sentinel / NMS ScreenAgent NiceLog
Unified Server Deployment

NICE Perform delivers a powerful and flexible solution. Many organizations can address all their capacity requirements with a single server. In this deployment, the server runs all the Applications and Interactions services. The Logger runs on a dedicated server.
Figure 2-3 Unified Server Deployment
Database Server Applications Server Interactions Center Storage Center NICE Sentinel / ScreenAgent NMS (Data Mart) (Telephony Services Server) (NiceScreen Logger) (Screen Content Analysis Server) (Stream Server)
NiceLog/VoIP
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Semi-Distributed Server Deployment
Semi-Distributed Server Deployment

You can deploy NICE Perform on a Semi-Distributed server configuration to free the Interactions Center from the Database Server, NiceScreen and Applications tasks.
Figure 2-4 Semi-Distributed Server Deployment
(Data Mart) (Telephony Services Server) Database Server Storage Center NICE Sentinel / NMS ScreenAgent NiceLog/VoIP (NiceScreen Logger) (Stream Server) Applications Server (Screen Content Analysis Server)
Interactions Center
Distributed Deployment
You can deploy NICE Perform on multiple servers to address the performance, scale, and high-availability needs of very large organizations.
Figure 2-5 Distributed Environment
NiceLog/VoIP NICE Sentinel / NMS Storage Center Applications Server Data Mart Interactions Center Screen Loggers
Database Server
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3
General Components Considerations
The purpose of this chapter is to provide a list of optimization and design consideration points for general components of the NICE Perform Server solution.
Contents
NICE Interactions Center ............................................................................................... 28 NiceScreen Logger ......................................................................................................... 29 Storage Center ................................................................................................................ 30 Telephony Services Server ............................................................................................ 34 Screen Content Analysis (AKA Desktop Analytics) ....................................................43 Stream Server ................................................................................................................. 46 Active and Passive VoIP Logger ................................................................................... 48 NICE Sentinel ..................................................................................................................51 NMS Server .....................................................................................................................52 VRA .................................................................................................................................. 53 Network Embedded Logger (NEL) ................................................................................ 54
Chapter 3: General Components Considerations NICE Perform Release 3.2: Design Considerations (Rev. A0) Confidential and Proprietary Information of NICE Systems Ltd.
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NICE Interactions Center
NICE Interactions Center

The following functionality is not supported or partially supported in environments where multiple Interactions Centers are connected to the same physical switch:
Monitor - Supported. Missing functionality: Record Next, Record All and Record block of time. Feedback - Only last agents correlation is supported. Requires NICE approval. IP phone - not supported. Screen Content analysis - not supported. BSF\SDK - not supported.
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NiceScreen Logger
NiceScreen Logger
Screen Logger Sharing
Multiple Interaction Centers can control the same NiceScreen Logger by dividing the overall channel capacity into channel pools. For the number of Interaction Centers, see Table 8-9:Loggers on page 100.
Figure 3-1 Screen Logger Sharing
Limitations
All Interactions Centers must be part of the same Data Hub.
Online Screen Storage Calculation

Screen Data Rate (SDR) ~ 120 Kbit/sec (ETA must be used) which are ~ 15 Kbyte/sec
To calculate the online Screen Storage hours:
SDR x 60 seconds x 60 minutes = Kilo Byte required for 1 hour of Screen storage required of NiceScreen Logger
EXAMPLE:
15x60x60 = 54,000 KByte per hour With 146G HD when using a commercial server 146G data space = 153,092,096 KByte 153,092,096/54,000 = 2,835 hours of online storage
Chapter 3: General Components Considerations NICE Perform Release 3.2: Design Considerations (Rev. A0) Confidential and Proprietary Information of NICE Systems Ltd. 29
Storage Center
Storage Center
The Storage Center archives the audio and screen data from the capture units to the storage device.
Design Flow
Discovery Questions
What is the storage type (ESM/NAS/Local File System)? How long is the archiving window (hours)? What is the retention period (months)? What is the required archiving volume per day (GB)? What is the average call length (minutes)? Network diagram includes latency (milliseconds), and components deployment, especially location of the Database. Is redundancy required?
Outcome of Discovery Questions

This section describes the parameters needed for calculations. The values are based on the answers to the Discovery Questions and on the considerations listed below:
Number of required Storage Centers Location of Storage Center Redundancy design
Design Considerations
Storage Size
This value must be calculated by the SCCalculator utility only!
File Size
For speaker separation environment, the file size must be multiplied according to the following factors:
Environment TDM VoIP - with silent suppression VoIP - without silent suppression Factor 1.2 1.6 2.0
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Storage Center
Storage Type
Select the storage type according to the following: EMC2 Centera Select EMC2 Centera when the following apply:
The customer specifically requests it. Retention must be enforced for compliance.
IBM Tivoli The Storage Center cannot archive to multiple TSM Servers. The customer specifically requests it.
NOTE: The enforce retention feature is not supported with IBM Tivoli.
SAN/NAS or Local File System It is recommended to use SAN since it provides a robust solution with scalability. If SAN does not exist, use the local file system as a shared network path.
NOTE: Consult with a SAN vendor for additional technical considerations (for example, the acceptable distance between the SAN and the Storage Center, since they are connected by a physical cable).
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Storage Center
General Considerations
Storage Center Location
It is recommended to locate the Storage Center as close as possible to the Database. This applies to a Single Data Hub or a Multi Data Hub deployment.
Network Influence
Network performance has a major influence on Storage Center archiving capacity and playback capability.
Latency Influence
For a list of latency figures, see Table 11-4: Latency Limitations per Component on page 156.
Bandwidth
In Distributed environments, where there is WAN between the Storage Center and the Logger or the Storage area, the required bandwidth must be calculated according to the archiving rate and compression. For a list of needed bandwidth values for Voice and Screen archiving, see Table 11-1: Values for Elements Used in Free Bandwidth Calculation on page 148.
Calculating the Number of Storage Centers per Site

When calculating the number of Storage Centers required per site, the following requirements should be considered:
Number of playback connections (including IA - see Table 8-1:Playback Scale Figures on page 91 for values) Archiving capacity Archiving windows
The calculations are:
RequiredArchivedDataPerDay RequiredSCsForArchiving = -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SCArchivingCapacity ArchivingWindow 0.7 RequiredSCsForSite = RequiredSCsForPlayback + RequiredSCsForArchiving
NOTE:
The formula takes into account a 30% factor, to overcome temporary backlogs.
Storage Center Redundancy

The Storage Center supports N+N chains (for example, for each archiving rule, primary Storage Center and backup Storage Center can be configured).
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Storage Center
NOTE: It is mandatory to verify that the backup Storage Center is capable of fully handling any associate primary Storage Center failure.
Issues for Consideration
Starting from SP4, load balancing between Storage Centers in one Data Hub is supported. Locate selects the next Storage Center from the Locate order list every five minutes. This means that it is possible to add more Storage Centers to the Data Hub and get a larger number of concurrent playbacks. In a Multi Data Hub configuration, each Data Hub can have its own Locate order; each Data Hub can reach its limitation. Storage Center archiving depends on network connectivity to the Primary Data Hub Database. If there is a network disconnection between the Storage Center and the Primary Database, archiving stops. After the network is restored, archiving continues.
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The Telephony Services Server is an optional server which must be installed in Data Hubs for the following purposes:
Playing back and listening to interactions on a telephone extension using applications such as ROD, Business Analyzer, Monitor, and so on. Customer Feedback - an IVR-based survey tool that automatically gathers customer feedback at the end of the call. Creating Clips (in the Business Analyzer application).
NOTE: The same Telephony Services Server can be used for NIF, playback and for creating clips. NOTE: Playback to speakers on a user workstation does not require a Telephony Services Server.
Discovery Questions

Playback to Extension and/or Customer Feedback required? Playback to Extension
Number of concurrent playback to extensions.
Customer Feedback Number of concurrent Customer Feedback. Automatic or Manual routing (Automatic routing can be offered in Avaya environment only, see the NICE Perform 3.2 IDD for Customer Feedback certified environments).
PBX and CTI - type and version. Calls configuration: Do most of the calls stay on the same switch? Or is there transfer between customer sites? Analog, Digital or IP (IP for Playback to Extension is supported from NPR3 SP2, and is supported from NPR3 SP4 for Customer Feedback). IP: H.323 or SIP? See the NICE Perform 3.2 IDD for supported PBX and CTI versions. Analog: Number of slots (up to 3 boards per server). For specifications, see the Certified Servers Guide. Digital: Number of slots (maximum number of slots must not be exceeded). For specifications see Certified Servers Guide. Digital: Only ISDN trunk type is supported. Deployment configuration:
Single or Multi Data Hub deployment.

Chapter 3: General Components Considerations 34
Multi Interactions Centers in a Single Data Hub. Multi PBXs configuration in a Single Data Hub.
Voice comment - calculate the required storage in the Database.

Required number of ports. Port type (Feedback or Playback). Required number of Telephony Services Servers. Telephony Services Server deployment.
Telephony Services Server General Considerations

Number of Ports
Customer Feedback and Playback to Extension are supported on the same machine with up to three options:
Using analog cards for both operations. Using HMP E1/T1 boards for Playback to Extension along with the new DIVA boards. Using HMP IP for both operations along with the new DIVA boards.
Number of required ports for each function must be calculated according to the required concurrent operation (Playback to Extension and Customer Feedback). Multiple Telephony Services Servers per Data Hub can be used if the number of ports do not meet the requirements.
Feedback ports calculation:
Number of ports = (Number of seats x sampling rate x percentage of answer rate x Average survey duration) / (average call duration)
EXAMPLE: (300 seats x 50% sampling x 5% answer rate x 2 minute survey duration) / (3
minutes average call duration) = 5 ports
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Telephony Services Server Connectivity

Digital Board Support
Supported PBXs are detailed in the NICE Perform 3.2 IDD. Integration with additional PBXs can be approved with ARO on a commitment basis. Supported digital boards are detailed in the Certified Servers Guide.
NOTE: A new Telephony Services Server installation must use HMP based boards.
Analog Board Support
Supported PBX's are detailed in the NICE Perform Release 3.2 IDD. Verify with the customer how many analog ports can be added to the switch to cover all concurrent calls. (There are cases where the customer will need to add new shelves on the switch and analog boards).
IP (Standard SIP or H.323)
PBXs that support IP (standard SIP or H.323) are detailed in the NICE Perform 3.2 IDD. Playback to Extension supports both H.323 and SIP Connectivity (see supported PBXs in the NICE Perform 3.2 IDD). Software only solution.
Analog and Digital Board Support Prerequisites

Dialogic boards are installed on the Telephony Services Server and are physically connected to analog/trunk ports on the switch. Analog/trunk ports must be available on the switch.
Figure 3-2 Analog/Digital Board Connection
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Telephony Services Server Deployment

Single Data Hub Supported Configuration
Multiple PBXs connected to a single NICE Interactions Center:
One Telephony Services Server can be used. Analog/Digital ports of each switch must be defined and physically connected to the Telephony Services Server. The Telephony Services Server is connected to multiple PBXs, where all the PBXs can dial to the agent's phone.
Figure 3-3 Telephony Services Server in SIngle Data Hub Configuration
Multiple PBXs with connectivity.
There is connectivity between the PBXs. It is possible to define a dial plan and to establish a connection between PBX A and PBX B.
Figure 3-4 Telephony Services Server with Multiple PBXs
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NOTE: If there are two PBXs in two different geographical locations with no connectivity between them, two Telephony Services Servers must be deployed (one for each PBX). Multi Data Hub Supported Configurations
Multi Data Hub configuration is supported.

Figure 3-5 Telephony Services Server in Multi Data Hub Configurations
WAN Considerations
Best utilization: Telephony Services Server remotely dials to the extension (instead of streaming from the remote media source to the local Telephony Services Server). This means configuring the Telephony Services Server to reside close to the media source.
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Advantage for IP environments: The audio packets have high priority in the router (better performance). It is highly recommended to implement Quality Of Service (QoS) policy on the network to assure best priority to VoIP packets = voice quality. Recommended configuration:
Figure 3-6 Recommended Configuration for Telephony Services Server
The following configuration is recommended only if the telephony traffic between the sites is costly, and the customer is willing to take a narrowing of bandwidth in network utilization.
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Figure 3-7
Alternate Configuration for Telephony Services Server
NOTE: Streaming can be done directly from the Logger or through the Applications Server.
Customer Feedback
Supported Transfer Methods
Avaya Automatic Routing
Customers are prompted by the switch to stay on line after the call for a non-mandatory short survey. The customer waits until the agent hangs up and then is automatically transferred to the Customer Feedback system. The Switch must be configured with the proper settings on the switch (see the Customer Feedback Setup Guide) Advantages:
The agent is not aware of being surveyed.

Sampling can be done through switch programming.
Manual Transfer
At the end of the call, the agent asks the customers if they would like to fill a short survey and then transfers the customer to the Customer Feedback system. Advantages:
The agent can transfer the call directly to specific surveys using a specific hunt group number. Installation with no change to the switch configuration.
Semi-Automatic
The customer implements the transfer.
Survey Load Options

Regardless of the transfer type, the feedback server supports loading the survey using three different methods:
DTMF Signalling - normally used with Automatic Routing, but can be implemented in other methods as well. CTI - load by DNIS or phone number fields of the CTI information. Business Data - can be used with any pre-configured Business Data field.
For further details see Telephony Services Server Installation Guide and Customer Feedback Setup Guide.
NOTE: It is the customers responsibility to ensure that the switch provides the necessary data for the survey loading (DTMF/Business Data/CTI).
Customer Feedback Considerations

Surveys and prompts must be configured separately on each Telephony Services Server. Analog supported Environments are detailed in the NICE Perform Certified Servers Guide. SIP environments are supported from NPR3 SP4. See NICE Perform Release 3.2 IDD. Solution for non-certified PBXs and CTI Servers can be approved with ARO on a commitment basis. All Calls recording for Voice is recommended. There is no recording initiation based on customer willingness to take a survey. In an Automatic Routing environment, internal calls cannot be surveyed. Calls that pass through the Contact Center IVR system are considered internal calls and cannot be surveyed. Voice comments:
Feedback comments are stored as blobs in the Database.

Required disk space must be calculated. NPR3.1: Voice comments are supported with the following:
G.729 compression, which generates ~ 560 Kbit for one minute of audio. G711 compression, which generates ~ 4000 Kbit for one minute of audio
Playback to Extension Considerations

Analog and Digital IP
Telephony Services Server IP integration requires switch resources with either H.323 or SIP connectivity available. Multi PBXs connectivity is not supported.
NOTE: IP Playback to Extension is the best practice. This solution is a software-only solution which means an easier upgrade.
Physical connection between the Telephony Services Server and the switch is required.
Telephony Services Server Limitations

Failover between Telephony Services Servers is not supported. Customer Feedback.
Calls that are transferred between drivers may result in problems with agent correlation. Customer Feedback cannot be used as a standalone solution. Environments with predictive dialers and outbound calls are not supported. Screen/Voice recording of surveyed interactions is not available unless they are recorded by QM rules or by all calls screen/voice recording.
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Screen Content Analysis (AKA Desktop Analytics)

Screen Content Analysis enables you to:
Collect screen activity information. Extract content of UI elements to the Database, based on events that take place on the agent's screen. Create interactions based on screen activity. Create recordings based on screen activity. The agent's voice and/or screen can be captured whenever a specific event takes place.
Discovery Questions
Screen Content Analysis load:
Notification - How many events are reported to the Screen Content Analysis Server by all the Screen Content Analysis Agents (per second)? Recording initiation - How many recordings is Screen Content Analysis Server expected to initiate (per second)? Interaction initiation - How many interactions is Screen Content Analysis Server expected to initiate (per second)?
Agent identification - Does the agent have a unique OS user name? Application compatibility - Supported UI applications used by agents.
NOTE: For all required triggers: Data capture must be tested using the Screen Content Analysis Demo/Tester.
Outcome
Screen Content Analysis Server deployment (network considerations).
Supported Deployment Configurations

Screen Content Analysis Server Deployed near the Applications Server + DB
The advantages include:
Configuration which is stored in the Database, is always reachable. In case the Database/Applications Server is not reachable:
Failures in the Screen Content Analysis Agent may occur when agents log in to the workstation. Attributes will be buffered and inserted into the Database when the connection is restored (server buffer is limited by disk space).
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Screen Content Analysis Server Deployed near the NICE Interactions Center
The advantages include:
No latency for Interactions created by the Screen Content Analysis Server. No latency for Recordings created by the Screen Content Analysis Server. For latency considerations, see Table 11-4: Latency Limitations per Component on page 156.
Screen Content Analysis Agent remotely from Screen Content Analysis Server:
If the Screen content Analysis server is down or an agent is disconnected from the server, the attributes will be buffered and will be inserted to the Database later on. Agent buffer is limited to 1000 notifications. For latency considerations, see Table 11-4: Latency Limitations per Component on page 156.
Multi Data Hub environment:
Creating/Editing/Deleting events via the Screen Content Analysis Manager in the secondary Data Hub is dependant on the Screen Content analysis sever and the Database availability in the primary Data Hub.
Screen Content Analysis Server Limitations

One Screen Content Analysis Server is supported in a Data Hub. Scheduler: Recording schedules cannot be specified for interactions initiated by Screen Content Analysis only. Block Recording: Block recording is not supported. Recording action can take place only if open interaction exists. Screen Content Analysis Server recognizes Screen Content Analysis Agents via OS Login names only. Screen Content Analysis Server cannot recognize Screen Content Analysis Agents by mapped extensions. In a site which records all interactions for Compliance purposes, Screen Content Analysis should not be implemented.
Screen Content Analysis Agent Limitations

Platform/Environment Limitations
Terminal Emulators are not supported: Values cannot be extracted (Screen Objects) and activity cannot be captured (Trigger Objects) from applications running on Terminal Emulators (For Example: Terminal Emulators TN3270 or TN5250).
HTML pages are not supported: values cannot be extracted (Screen Objects) and activity cannot be captured (trigger object) from HTML pages. Citrix:
A Screen Object client action can be performed only when a trigger was captured. This means that if a trigger was captured by the Citrix published application, the Screen Object value can only be taken from the Citrix published application window. If a trigger was captured by the local desktop, the Screen Object value can only be taken from applications on the local desktop. For server actions the Citrix published application and the local desktop are considered as two different sessions. This means that an interaction or recording, started by the local desktop, cannot be stopped by a Citrix published application and vice versa.
Capturing Limitations
Double-clicking: Double-clicking mouse Triggers are not supported. All single-clicking mouse Triggers are supported. Microsoft Access: In Microsoft Office Access application, the triggers types Selection Changed and Item Selected are not supported. DPI Limitations: If an object is defined with specific system DPI settings, the Trigger may not be supported if the system DPI settings are changed.
Data Extraction Limitations

Value of a captured object: The value of a captured object cannot be larger than 4000 characters due to a Database limitation. Microsoft Outlook: In MS Outlook, the following values cannot be extracted (Screen Objects): Email addresses (To field, Cc field and Bcc field) and the email content. Values extracted from hidden objects: Values cannot be extracted (Screen Objects) if the top-left corner of the object is hidden by another element. This limitation does not apply to HTML pages. Capturing objects as a window/menu closes: In some cases, values cannot be extracted (Screen Objects) and activity cannot be captured (Trigger Objects) if the activity takes place at the moment a window/menu closes. Here are some examples: You want to extract the value from a text field after an agent types a value, however, after the agent types a value, the agent clicks Submit and closes the window. You want to capture the action of an agent clicking OK, but that action closes the window. You want to capture the action of an agent double-clicking a menu option, but that action immediately closes the menu. Data extraction from tables: Values cannot be extracted (Screen Objects) from a cell in a table, such as Microsoft Excel. (HTML tables are supported.)
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Stream Server
Stream Server
The Stream Server is an optional server which can be added to a Data Hub in order to resolve problems of streaming media from the media source. The NICE Stream Server enables you to stream any relevant media from either a Single Data Hub or Multi Data Hubs, from either a local or remote location. Two types of stream servers are available, each targeting a different problem:
NICE Stream Server resolves situations where the media has to cross firewalls in order to allow playback. Microsoft Stream Server resolves situations where the WAN quality does not allow playback using conventional methods.
Discovery Questions

Number of concurrent playbacks Network Topology
Firewall Bandwidth Latency

Whether to use Stream Server Number of Stream Servers NICE Stream Server or Microsoft Stream Server
NOTE: For more information, refer to the Certified Servers Guide for the Stream Server hardware specifications.
NICE Stream Server Deployment

The NICE Stream Server is installed on the Applications Server and set to Disabled by default. Single Data Hub can have multiple NICE Stream Servers for scalability reasons.
Microsoft Windows Media Services (WMS) Streaming Server

In environments where Stream Server is located at a remote Data Hub, or if the connectivity between the client machines and the Loggers/Storage Centers/Media Sources is poor, Windows Media Server streaming is the best streaming option.
In order to resolve WAN issues, a Microsoft Windows Media Services (WMS) Streaming Server should be located as close as possible to the media source.
Stream Server
Supported Protocols
Streaming protocols that can be used are:
RTSPT - Default protocol (port 554 must be opened) HTTP - Firewall tolerance (default port is 80)
Network Considerations
Microsoft Stream Server is recommended when Latency > 50 ms. When Latency exceeds 150 ms, the response time of Player is affected.
Local Storage Space Considerations

Using the Microsoft Windows Media Services (WMS) Streaming Server require Storage Space which will be used for ASF files encoding.
1 minute of voice requires 400 KB 1 minute of screen requires 1000 KB 1 minute of screen + voice requires 1400 KB
NOTE: Encoded ASF files can be reused for another Playback request (saving the need to encode the recordings again). Therefore it is recommended to calculate the storage space size according to the common query period that the users define in the site.
Deployment
The Microsoft Windows Media Services (WMS) Streaming Server must reside on a separate server Each additional Microsoft Windows Media Services (WMS) Streaming Server requires installation on a dedicated server.
NOTE: The Microsoft Windows Media Services (WMS) Streaming Server consumes a large amount of CPU, and it will work on 100% of CPU while the encoders are working (the CPU will be at 100% after 3 to 4 concurrent savings).
Prerequisites
Using DRM to encrypt the communication between the client and the server requires the customer to sign an agreement with Microsoft. This is described in the Stream Server Installation Guide.
WMS Limitations
When opening the player in a Dual monitor environment the screen stays black if the player is opened on the primary screen.
Active and Passive VoIP Logger
If two or more screens are used on site, note that the Playback Screen is limited to 2000 x 2000 resolution.

This section discusses the Design Considerations of the Active and Passive VoIP Logger.
Active VoIP Logger Limitations

Alcatel IP DR-Link OXE mode up to version 8.01 can support up to 16 VoIP Loggers (including the spare Logger for N+1). Alcatel IP DR-Link OXE mode higher than version 8.01 can support up to 240 VoIP Loggers (including the spare Logger for N+1).
Passive VoIP Logger

The Passive VoIP Logger enables recording in a VoIP environment using mirroring.
Passive VoIP Recording

The RTP packets of a call are sent to the IP address of an IP phone or gateway. To record a VoIP call, the Logger needs a replica of these packets. In Passive VoIP Recording, the replica is generated by the network switches. Mirroring is used on a network switch to send a copy of the packets which passed one or multiple ports (source) to other port/s (destination or monitor). The Passive VoIP Logger is connected to a destination port of a mirroring session configured in the network switches.
Passive VoIP Recording
Figure 3-8
NOTE: Some IT professionals refer to mirroring process as sniffing.

Deployments
Mirroring
In Passive VoIP Recording, mirroring is possible on:
Phones - recording of all calls. Gateway and Conference bridge - recording only external calls and conference calls.
NOTE: When internal call recording is required and mirroring phones is not feasible, an alternative is to set the telephony system to force internal calls to be routed through the gateway. This solution uses high network and gateway resources, and therefore is not recommended.
Recording Mode
Total Recording
The preferred solution is to mirror for each Logger. Mirroring should be performed only for extensions that are recorded by the Logger. The best way is to define VLAN on a group of phones which will be recorded by a specific Logger and then perform VLAN mirroring.
Interaction-based Recording
There is a trade off between recording channels per Logger and background traffic. The background traffic is higher in direct proportion to the number of mirrored phones. Higher background traffic can reduce the number of supported channels, since the Logger spends processing resources on filtering.
Gateway Based Logger Allocation
One of the ways to deal with background network traffic is to use gateway-based Logger allocation and to record calls that enter from a specific gateway to a specific Logger. This method is supported only in Interaction-based Recording. With gateway-based Logger allocation, it is possible to influence the Interactions Center's choice of recording Loggers (every group of Loggers views a group of gateways).
Limitations
The replica of the RTP packet is identical to the original packet. Not only is the payload the same, but also the original source and destination IP addresses. Thus, the replicated RTP packets cannot be transferred by the network's switching and routing. The Logger must be connected to a destination port of the mirroring session to receive the RTP packets for recording. All Loggers must reside on the same LAN as the gateways/phones. Mirroring over WAN is not supported with passive VoIP Loggers.
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Encrypted calls cannot be recorded (except in the Passive Recording solution for the Cisco telephony environment). Not all network switches support Mirroring. If there are physical changes in the site's structure, the system administrator should be aware of these changes and configure the switch accordingly. The mirroring port has limited capacity in handling large numbers of packets; this could cause an overflow which could result in VoIP packet loss. Passive recording in a NAT environment is not supported. IP change during an open call is not supported in a passive GW recording.
NOTE: By using the RSPAN (Remote Span) feature which is available with Cisco switches, it is possible to separate the phones and desktops into different VLANs, thereby enabling the Logger to perform mirroring from one distribution switch.
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NICE Sentinel
NICE Sentinel
A NICE Sentinel Server must be installed on a dedicated server to monitor system health. It is possible to run CA NMS and NICE Sentinel side-by-side, where each resides on its own dedicated server. It is possible to run two NICE Sentinel servers side-by-side, where each resides on its own dedicated server. In this case each NICE Sentinel server monitors the NICE Perform system/s independently.
A single NICE Sentinel server can be utilized to monitor:
A single Data Hub. The NICE Sentinel server will monitor all components within a single data hub.
Figure 3-9 Single NICE Sentinel Server - Single Data Hub
NICE Sentinel Server
A linked Data Hub. The NICE Sentinel server will monitor all components within a linked data hub.
Figure 3-10 Single NICE Sentinel Server - Linked Data Hub
NICE Sentinel Server
Several Linked Data Hubs or Standalone Data Hub. The NICE Sentinel server will monitor all components within several linked data hubs and/or standalone Data Hub.
Figure 3-11 Several Linked Data Hubs or Standalone Data Hub
NICE Sentinel Server NICE Sentinel Server
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NMS Server
NMS Server
An NMS Server must be installed on a dedicated server to monitor system health.
A single NMS server can be utilized to monitor:
A single Data Hub - All components within a single data hub.

Figure 3-12 Single NMS Server - Single Data Hub
A linked Data Hub - All components within a linked data hub.

Figure 3-13 Single NMS Server - Linked Data Hub
Multiple NMS servers can monitor:
A single Data Hub - Partial group of site components.

Figure 3-14 Multiple NMS Servers - Single Data Hub
Linked Data Hubs - Partial group of site components.
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VRA
Figure 3-15
Multiple NMS Servers - Linked Data Hubs
NOTE: In scenarios where multiple NMS servers are utilized, the union of all monitored groups must reflect all site components in order to ensure complete site monitoring. NOTE: In this deployment, the SQL Agent and OS Agent traps are captured by a single NMS only.
VRA
VRA is supported only in an English workstation. Other languages require NICE approval.
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Network Embedded Logger (NEL)

Deployment
Figure 3-16 presents typical deployment with Network Embedded Logger.
Figure 3-16 Network Embedded Logger - Typical Deployment
The Data Center hosts all telephony infrastructures which interconnect with multiple branch offices including NP servers. Each branch includes Network Embedded Logger software deployed on Cisco ISR which all recorded streams traverse through. Such configurations will only require minimum IT involvement in installation and maintenance of the recording modules in the remote branches. The transmission of the recorded media for storage at data center can be undertaken in real time, or can be implemented according to predefined rules. The buffered media is pulled from the central Storage Center for archiving and application use. During WAN disconnections, the Network Embedded Logger module continues recording and stores all audio packets in its local hard disk - for exact supported retention period refer to audio calculation section.
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Recording Modes
The solution records in Total recording mode only. In addition it can support DHCP configuration for the IP phones by decoding the SCCP (Skinny) messages and mapping the phones DNs to the IP addresses.
Supported Environments
The system works in a full Cisco VoIP environment, which includes Cisco's IP phones. Current supported models will be listed on the team site and on the updated NICE Perform 3.2 IDD.
Supported Signaling
During WAN disconnection between branches and DC all telephones in the branch enter to SRST mode. In this mode the router provide minimal telephony capabilities through Skinny (Cisco proprietor protocol) or SIP protocols.
NOTE: Currently Network Embedded Logger supports Skinny protocol only.
Network Embedded Logger captures these messages and keeps tracking on the extensions IP address in case it updates and continues recording during this time.
Prerequisites
Span port is required if recording of internal calls within the branch is required.
Limitations

Recording internal calls with AIM module is not supported. Real time monitoring is not supported. Summation in Network Embedded Logger level is not supported. Recording of TDM calls (ISR serves as a GW) is not supported with AIM.
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4
Applications
The purpose of this chapter is to provide a list of optimization and design consideration points for the NICE Perform Applications.
Contents
Applications Usage ........................................................................................................ 58 Playback .......................................................................................................................... 63 Media Library ..................................................................................................................64 Clip Recording ................................................................................................................ 65 Rules Manager ................................................................................................................ 68
Chapter 4: Applications NICE Perform Release 3.2: Design Considerations (Rev. A0) Confidential and Proprietary Information of NICE Systems Ltd.
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Applications Usage
Applications Usage
Applications Response Time
Table 4-1 lists standard response times for various transactions.
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Applications Usage
Table 4-1: Standard Response Times for Various Transactions Applications Usage Transaction Name First login Response Time (sec.) in LAN 10-15 Response Time (sec.) in WAN* Same as LAN
Comments
Application load time from the time you click the Login button until the application appears on the screen. First login to the application. Second login to the application. Moving from one application to another. Moving between modules within the same application. Creating a new evaluation.
Second login Open application Open module Create Evaluation Business Analyzer Save Evaluation Open Evaluation Run Business Analyzer Query Run Business Analyzer Query Playback
8-12 4-10 1-5 4-7 5 2-7 3-12
Same as LAN Same as LAN Same as LAN Same as LAN Same as LAN Same as LAN Same as LAN Same as LAN From Storage: 5-8 (from NAS) Same as LAN
Opening an existing evaluation. Query with 150 records, with default set of columns. Query with 1500 records, with default set of columns. From Play operation until play starts including the locate process (including screen).
7-15
From Logger: 3-6
Hop in Playback
* Up to 50ms latency.
Same as LAN
Moving forward and backward in playback.
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Applications Usage
Table 4-1: Standard Response Times for Various Transactions (Continued) Applications Usage Transaction Name First login My Universe Second login Save Package Response Time (sec.) in LAN 10-25 8-20 4-7 Response Time (sec.) in WAN* Same as LAN Same as LAN Same as LAN Save a Package with the following attachment types:
Comments
Five components

Packages
Interactions Evaluations Feedback
Open Package 4-7 Same as LAN
Open a Package with the following attachment types:

Open application Reporter Run Report Preview Report Monitor Open application Open application Insight Manager Load category 7-10 20-250 1-10 7-10 4-10 Same as LAN Same as LAN Same as LAN Same as LAN Up to 170 secon ds Up to 60 second s
Interactions Evaluations Feedback
Depends on Report type and content.
Group size is 15 agents.
1-5
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Applications Usage
Table 4-1: Standard Response Times for Various Transactions (Continued) Applications Usage ClearSight Transaction Name Open application Logout
Response Time (sec.) in LAN 1-10
Response Time (sec.) in WAN* Up to 40 second s Same as LAN
Comments
Business Analyzer
Queries
EXAMPLE: A site with 500 seats, a total of 1000 agents in two shifts, and 50 supervisors in one shift. Each supervisor performs an average of 10 queries per hour, requires the support of 500 queries/hour. Issues for Consideration:
A complicated query with a large number of filters or columns reduces the average number of queries. Multi Data Hub configuration:
Evaluations
Each local query that is initiated by another Data Hub is counted as a query resource. Such queries reduce the number of available query resources for the users at the local Data Hub.
Creation
EXAMPLE: A site with 500 seats, a total of 1000 agents in two shifts, and 50 supervisors in one shift. Each supervisor performs an average of 3 evaluations per hour, requires the support of 150 evaluations/hour.
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Applications Usage
My Universe
Example for QA - Supervisors + Agents Usage Model:
Assume the following:
700 concurrent users logged in My Universe:
1 Executive with 5 components 24 Supervisors, each with 6 components 675 Agents, each with 6 components
Example for Analytics Usage Model:
Assume the following: 71 concurrent users logged in My Universe:
1 Executive with 3 components 10 Supervisors, each with 7 components 60 Agents, each with 6 components
Packages
Saving
EXAMPLE: A site with 500 seats, a total of 1000 agents in two shifts, and 50 supervisors in one shift. Each supervisor creates an average of 3 Packages per hour, requires the support of 150 Packages created/hour. Opening
EXAMPLE: A site with 500 seats, a total of 1000 agents in two shifts, and 50 supervisors in one shift. Each agent opens 1 Package per shift, requires the support of 500 Packages opened/shift. For an 8 hour shift, the support of 63 Packages opened/hour is required.
Reporter
EXAMPLE: A site with 500 seats, a total of 1000 agents in two shifts, and 50 supervisors in one shift. Each supervisor performs an average of 2 reports per day, requires the support of ~10 reports/hour.
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Playback
Playback
Player Client Application

It is not necessary to install NICE Player. It is only necessary to install the codec pack once. The Player supports both NICE Perform versions 8.9 and NPR3.2. In addition, the Player can be installed as a standalone Player. The support referred to is for the following compressions and media formats:
Compressions: PCM, ADPCM16, ADPCM32, CELP (5.6-8.0), G.729, G.723, G.726, G.722 (Cisco). Formats: 8.9 AUD, 9.01 NMF.
NPR3.2, NPR3.1 and NPR3 SP4 Player can work side by side with any NPR2 SP4 (version 9.8.4.34 and higher) and NPR2 SP5.
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Media Library
Media Library

In order to retrieve from tape, Media Library and NICE Storage Center are required. Media Library installation is supported on the client machine and on the Applications Server.
NOTE: Media Library must not be installed on the SMB Server, the VoIP Logger or the NMS Server. In this configuration, it must be installed on a different client machine.
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Clip Recording
Clip Recording
This section discusses the system requirements to enable clip recording:
Playback to Extension Support

Recording a clip is done through standard NICE Perform Playback to Extension capabilities. A Dialogic board should be installed on the Telephony Services Server to support playback over extension. The dialogic board is connected to the switch for generating the call using analog or E1/T1 interfaces. With NPR3.2 we also support Telephony Services Server with VoIP interface (HMP). Analog and E1/T1 interfaces must be certified by R&D. The certified environments are:
See the NICE Perform Release 3.2 IDD for more information about supported telephony environments for Telephony Services Server.
Trunk-Side Recording
Problem
Internal calls, such as the call between the Telephony Services Server and the Clip Creator Extension, could not be recorded at trunk-side recording environment.
Figure 4-1 Call Through PSTN
Voice Logger
ACD
Supervisor
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Clip Recording
Solution using Call Through PSTN
Initiate outbound calls from the switch through the PSTN and back to the switch to the Clip Creator Extension.
EXAMPLE:
The Telephony Services Server will call 9, 7751234 instead of calling 1234. The solution has the following considerations:
The outgoing call is not free of charge as are internal calls. The customers must have DID (Direct Inward Dialing) numbers for each of the clip creator users. DID is a telephone service in which a company receives, from the telephony service provider, a block of telephone numbers that can be accessed via a small number of actual telephone lines.
EXAMPLE:
In a 200 seat environment where 40 supervisors create clips, 40 DID ports must be used for each one of the supervisors.
Solution using Call Through Loop
Another solution for a trunk-side recording environment is to use two switch trunks with a hardware loop. Calling through this trunk should be done with a special prefix. The switch should be configured in such a way that any calls with this prefix will go through the additional trunks.
Figure 4-2 Switch Loop Architecture
Voice Logger
ACD
Supervisor
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Clip Recording
The solution has the following considerations:
Two additional trunks should be added to the switch. In case there are no empty slots, an additional shelf should be added to the switch. The number of simultaneous recorded calls is limited to the number of timeslots at the additional trunk (24 for T1 and 30 for E1). The new trunks should be connected to the Logger using a standard NICE coupler connection. A dialed plan with the special prefix should be defined in the System Administrator in the same way as the Solution using Call Through PSTN solution. The call from the Telephony Services Server to the Clip Creator must be an incoming call.
Extension-Side Recording
Recording clips is supported in an Extension-side recording environment. The solution has the following considerations:
The call from the Telephony Services Server to the clip creator must be an incoming call. A dial plan with the special prefix should be defined in the System Administrator. The outgoing call is not free of charge, as are internal calls. The customers must have DID (Direct Inward Dialing) numbers for each of the clip creator users. DID is a telephone service in which a company receives, from the telephony service provider, a block of telephone numbers that can be accessed via a small number of actual telephone lines.
EXAMPLE:
In a 200 seat environment where 40 supervisors create clips, 40 DID ports must be used for each one of the supervisors.
No Support for CDR Systems

A CDR system does not have CTI events in real-time which is required for real-time clip recording.
Screen-Only Recording Clips

It is not possible to create Screen-only clips. If required, users can create Voice + Screen clips and keep their extension in mute.
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Rules Manager
Rules Manager

The number of Classification and Scorecard rules is limited to 1024 per multi Data Hub configuration. However, BD columns use columns from this pool as well. Table 4-2 below shows recording rules considerations.
Table 4-2: Recording Rules Considerations QA Maximum Rule Count 100 QA Selective 100 Selective + Negative Negative
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5
Computer Telephony Integrations Policy
Contents
CTI Combinations Guidelines........................................................................................ 70
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CTI Combinations Guidelines
CTI Combinations Guidelines

This section lists the NICE Perform Integration combination guidelines.
IMPORTANT Each request which falls under one or more of the guidelines requires a commitment!
Independent of the number of drivers required, the summed call rate for all drivers must comply with Interactions Center call rate limitations (see Table 8-3:Interactions Center Scale Figures on page 94). If one of the following driver types combination is used, see the IDD to validate that the combination is supported. The combinations that require referral to the IDD are:
Switch integration + Dialer integration. Any combination of any two of the following integrations which require CTI clients:
Alcatel OmniPCX Enterprise - TSAPI Avaya CVLAN Avaya TSAPI Aastra (Ericsson) MX-One NEC NEAX CTI Nortel CS1K Avaya Dialer (PD12, PC3, PC4) Cisco TSP
Two decoder integrations. Two integrations which are connected to the same switch, and which are related to the same agents/extensions. Active recording integration with an additional integration. The below combinations are not supported on the same Interactions Center. The workaround is to split the Interactions Center into two Interactions Centers, where each MPCM reports to a separate Interactions Center.
Etrali Active + VRA Etrali Active + Cisco
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6
Interaction Analytics
The purpose of this chapter is to provide Interaction Analytics (IA) configurations and considerations for the NICE Perform Applications.
Contents
Server Configurations .................................................................................................... 72 Analysis Quality.............................................................................................................. 73 Analysis Type Support ................................................................................................... 73 Word Search - Storage Considerations........................................................................ 74 Transcription - Storage Considerations ....................................................................... 74 Analysis from EMC ......................................................................................................... 75
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Server Configurations
Server Configurations

Content Analysis is supported only in a 64-bit Distributed Deployment environment (for hardware specifications, see Certified Servers Guide). The Content Analysis Servers are the components where the content analysis processing is performed. There are two main types of Content Analysis Servers:
Word Search Server Transcription Server
For environments that support Stereo Capture of audio, an Emotion Detection + Talk Over engine may be added. The Content Analysis Server can be associated to one or more Data Hubs. The Content Analysis Server analyzes calls from all Data Hubs to which it is associated. This feature can be implemented only in a centralized configuration where a linked Data Hub was implemented to support scale limitation. This means the Database and audio of all Data Hubs are located in the same Data Center. This configuration is not allowed for Distributed configuration where there is a WAN between the Content Analysis Server and the Database or the Storage centers of one or more Data Hubs. To ensure availability of Logger playback resources, it is required that audio be processed from the Storage Center and not directly from the Logger's Hard Drive. Therefore, the Storage Center is a requirement for any Interaction Analysis solution. It is strongly recommended that the Content Analysis Servers be physically located as close as possible to the Data Base, Storage Center and the audio storage. This is in order to minimize the network bandwidth that is utilized and to improve performance. In general, the Content Analysis Servers must reside close to the media. The Import and Export of categories is supported from NPR3.1. Import and Export is supported between the same NICE Perform versions (for Example: From NPR3.1 to NPR3.1), and from a lower to a higher NICE Perform version (for Example: From NPR3.1 to NPR3.2).
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Analysis Quality
Analysis Quality
For improved analysis quality, Call Flow analysis is recommended. By using Call Flow analysis, hold periods can be eliminated.
Analysis Type Support
Summed Content Analysis is supported by the following analysis engines:
Word Search Transcription
Unsummed Content Analysis supports the following analysis engines: Word Search Transcription Emotion Detection Talk Over
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Word Search - Storage Considerations
Word Search - Storage Considerations

Storage considerations are relevant only with Phonetics Indexing which is relevant only when English US, UK and German are in use.
Required storage for the creation of the Index files is calculated at 1.5 KB/sec. At least 500 GB or more are recommended for Index storage Disk space is consumed in the following manner:
Index files can be stored on local drive or NAS. Voice content deleted after analysis. Data is transferred to the Database. Index files created on 80% of disk space by default.
Large disk advantages: Longer retention periods. Indexed files on the disk allow quick search for new categories. Better performance. Reduce processing load.
Calculation example:
50,000 calls per day: 5 minutes average duration. 5 minute call of PCM audio file = 5 x 960 KB = 4800 KB. Index size = 4800/7 KB = 685.7 KB (ratio of PCM: index is 7:1) Required disk space for one day: approximately 22 GB for summed, and 44 GB for unsummed. 500 HD Capacity / 22 GB approximately 22 days before automatic retention.
Transcription - Storage Considerations

The approximate size of a transcription file for a three-minute call is 100 Kbyte. The XML includes Plain Text, Key Phrases, and Metadata.
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Analysis from EMC
Analysis from EMC

Analyzing calls that are archived to the EMC is supported from NPR3.1. Analyzing calls from the EMC reduces the overall analysis performance by approximately 20%.
Prerequisite
The Storage Centers local buffer-file system must include at least one month buffer storage space.
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7
ScreenAgent
The purpose of this chapter is to provide a list of optimization and design consideration points for the NICE Perform ScreenAgent.
Contents
NICE ScreenAgent .......................................................................................................... 78 Capture Methods ............................................................................................................ 79 Performance Capabilities............................................................................................... 80 ScreenAgent in Citrix and Terminal Server.................................................................. 81 NAT/PAT Environments .................................................................................................. 81 Registration to Multiple Interactions Centers .............................................................. 82 Resiliency Capabilities................................................................................................... 84 ScreenAgent Software ................................................................................................... 84 Performance Capabilities............................................................................................... 80 ScreenAgent Networking ............................................................................................... 85
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NICE ScreenAgent
NICE ScreenAgent

NICE ScreenAgent is a client application, installed on the client workstation, which captures screen activity while remaining undetected by the user. NICE ScreenAgent must be installed on each workstation where screen activity will be recorded. NICE ScreenAgent features include:
Multi-monitor screen-capture Terminal Server and Citrix environment screen capture Small footprint - ScreenAgent generate low data to minimize network bandwidth and storage Reduction to grayscale - facilitating smaller storage and reduced bandwidth Privacy regulation - ScreenAgent can selectively record/not record specific applications from the agent desktop
Architecture
Figure 7-1 Common Architecture
ScreenLoggers + Single Installation of SAMS
Agent Workstations with NICE ScreenAgent
Network Management Interactions Station Center
Voice Loggers
LAN
ScreenAgent Management System (SAMS)
ScreenAgent Management System is a reporting tool for NICE ScreenAgents installed at the Data Hub. It enables logs and status information to be sent from all NICE ScreenAgents at the site to one central server. A single ScreenAgent Management System can serve an entire site and can be installed on one of the Screen Loggers, or on the Interactions Center.
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Capture Methods
Capture Methods
The ScreenAgent supports the following capture methods:
Hooking capture method direct integration with graphical card through GDI interface. Scraper capture method dividing the screen to small rectangles and scraping the rectangle for changes:
DirectDraw Scraper captures method. GDI Scraper captures method.
Hooking vs. Scraper

Hooking capture method is the default and recommended capture method when installed on a workstation, as it provides enhanced performance and playback quality. Scraper capture method is recommended when:
Usage of the Hooking capture method slows down the graphical activity of the workstation. The recorded screen activity is very high (lots of changes on the screen: flash, video, and so on). There is a conflict between the Hooking capture method with one of the customer applications that results in failure of screen recording.
Scraper capture method is the only available capture method when installed on a Terminal Server/Citrix Server. Playback quality
Playback quality of the Hooking capture method is excellent; all graphical activities are captured and there is no omission. Playback quality of the Scraper capture method is very good; although there are omissions of some graphical activities, the generated stream is of high quality.
NOTE: DirectDraw Scraper is the default, and recommended, Scraper method. Use GDI scraper only when there is a compatibility problem between the customers applications and the DirectDraw capture method, since it may result in failure to record or give distorted playback.
Capture Limitations

The ScreenAgent application cannot capture screen activity that takes place in a full DOS window. The ScreenAgent application cannot capture accelerated screen activity (such as DirectX, Direct3D, OpenGL).
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Performance Capabilities
The Reduction to Grayscale and the Selective Application Recording features only work in Scraper capture method. Therefore, if you configure the ScreenAgent to use one of these features, the ScreenAgent will automatically use the Scraper capture method. When the ScreenAgent uses either the Hooking or DirectDraw scraper capture methods, the desktop composition feature under Windows Vista will be disabled. In order to retain the desktop composition feature, the GDI Scraper capture method must be used.
Performance Capabilities
Description
As an application that captures screen activity taking place on the screen, the ScreenAgent performance is highly affected by its operation environment. Parameters that affect the ScreenAgent performance are:
Hardware capabilities of the workstation - such as CPU, memory, video adapter Hardware capability of Terminal Server/Citrix. Resolution of the screen being captured. Amount of graphical activity that is being generated by the customer applications. Network bandwidth and latency between the ScreenAgent and the Screen Logger.
Recommendations
The following section details the ScreenAgent performance behavior and the effect that each capture method generates. The data below is applicable for the majority of scenarios; however, there may be other scenarios that generate a different performance behavior of the ScreenAgent.
NOTE: It is highly recommended to use the NICE Screen ETA tool at the customer site. This tool evaluates the compatibility of the ScreenAgent with the customer applications, the possible slowdown that may be generated by the ScreenAgent, and the average data rate that will be generated.
CPU usage:
When the hooking capture method is used, ScreenAgent CPU usage is very low (less than ~10%). When the scraper capture method is used, ScreenAgent CPU usage is high (20%-70%), and depends on the graphical activity taking place on the screen. Although the CPU usage with the scraper capture method is high, it has a minor impact on the performance of the workstation, since the engine that is scraping the screen works below normal priority. The Operating System favors other applications, and as a result, distributes more CPU time to these applications.
Memory usage:
Memory usage is lower when the ScreenAgent uses the hooking capture method.
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ScreenAgent in Citrix and Terminal Server
ScreenAgent in Citrix and Terminal Server

When to Use?
Installing the ScreenAgent on a Citrix/Terminal Server is required in environments where the customer has a Citrix/Terminal Server Farm that hosts all site applications. In this type of environment, the agents work on thin clients, on which the ScreenAgent cannot be installed. As a result, the ScreenAgent must be installed on the Citrix/Terminal Server.
Limitations
In a Citrix/Terminal Server environment, the ScreenAgent must identify itself and register to the Interactions Center using the unique OS login name method (identification by Extension/AgentId is not supported). Scraper is the only capture method that is supported by the ScreenAgent in a Citrix/Terminal Server environment (no support for hooking). The system does not support a situation where two ScreenAgents identify and register to the Interactions Center with the same OS login name. Such a situation can occur in a Citrix published application environment when the customer's applications suite is distributed between the Citrix servers. The system only supports a Citrix published application environment where the entire customer's applications suite is installed on each one of the Citrix servers in the farm (in such an environment it is guaranteed that all the applications that a specific agent is running will run in the same session).
NAT/PAT Environments
The ScreenAgent application is capable of working behind a NAT/PAT. In order to successfully record screen in a NAT/PAT environment, the below needs to be accessible to the ScreenAgent, either with their IP address or behind Static NAT, and the Workstation (ScreenAgent) can be hidden behind dynamic NAT (PAT):
Interactions Center Screen Logger ScreenAgent Management System (SAMS) Server System Administrator and KSM (if encryption is enabled) on Applications Server
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Registration to Multiple Interactions Centers

Why Use this Configuration?
The ScreenAgent is capable of connecting simultaneously and registering with multiple Interactions Centers. Registration to multiple Interactions Centers is needed in scenarios when there are multiple Interactions Centers in the environment that can initiate a screen recording request.
NOTE: The voice and screen of an interaction must be recorded by the same Interactions Center.
Examples of Environments
Example 1
A site has two PBXs and two Interactions Centers (an Interactions Center per PBX). Each agent has a single workstation and two phones.
In order to record screen activity when a call takes place, on either one of the phones, the ScreenAgent must register to both Interactions Centers.
Figure 7-2 Two Sites with Two Interaction Centers
Interactions Center
Interactions Center
Screen Logger
Screen Logger
Agent workstations with NICE ScreenAgent
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Example 2:
A site has a Multi Data Hub with a centralized TS/Citrix farm. Each site has a local PBX and a local Interactions Center. An agent logs in to the local PBX and will be recorded by the local Interactions Center. The agent TS/Citrix session takes place on one of the TS/Citrix servers on the centralized farm.
The ScreenAgent that is installed on the TS/Citrix servers must register to all Interactions Centers because it is not known from which site the session was initiated.
Figure 7-3 Multi Data Hub with Centralized Terminal Server
Interactions Center
Interactions Center
Screen Logger
Shared Terminal Server
Screen Logger
Agent workstations with NICE ScreenAgent
Constraints and Limitations

The ScreenAgent can connect and register simultaneously to a maximum number of 5 Interactions Centers. Although the ScreenAgent is connected and registered to multiple Interactions Centers, only a single Interactions Center can control ScreenAgent at the same time. Active Screen recording stops once the ScreenAgent loses connection with one of the Interactions Centers to which it is connected and registered (even if the recording was initiated by an Interactions Center that still has a connection with the ScreenAgent). NICE Media encryption with SA registration to multiple Interactions Centers is not supported if Interactions Centers are associated to different Data Hubs. Screen wrap-up is not supported in an environment that uses multiple Interactions Centers due to a race condition that might occur between the Interactions Centers recording commands (a new recoding command can be executed from one Interactions Center while the other Interactions Center recording command is in wrap-up time).
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Resiliency Capabilities
Resiliency Capabilities
Registration Failures
In a situation where the ScreenAgent fails to connect and register to the Interactions Center, no screen is recorded for the agent interactions that are currently taking place. The ScreenAgent will continue retrying to register until it succeeds.
LAN/WAN Disconnections
When the ScreenAgent loses connection to the Screen Logger, recording stops immediately. A connection between the ScreenAgent and the Screen Logger exists only when recording takes place. When the ScreenAgent loses connection to the Interactions Center:
Active recording stops once the ScreenAgent detects that the connection is lost (can be up to 1 minute). If there is no recording, the Interactions Center will not be able to record screen for any interaction of that agent until the connection is resumed.
ScreenAgent Software
Installation Prerequisites

The ScreenAgent installation supports both interactive installation and silent installation. Silent installation is recommended for deployment of large sites. The site must have a push deployment tool to deliver the ScreenAgent installation to each workstation. Administrative privileges are required for the ScreenAgent installation. Write privileges are required to the ScreenAgent log folder for the ScreenAgent to save logs.
Limitations
Converting of screen data to ASF is not supported when reduction to grayscale feature is used.
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ScreenAgent Networking
ScreenAgent Networking
Description
In all scenarios, the ScreenAgent initiates communication with the servers in the system. As a result, the ports that are used by the ScreenAgent for communication are arbitrary ports.
Control with Interactions Center - the connection is kept open as long as the ScreenAgent process is running. Data stream to Screen Logger - the connection is kept open while a recording is taking place. Status report to ScreenAgent Management System Server - the connection is opened when a status message is sent to the ScreenAgent Management System Server. Once the message is sent, the connection is closed.
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8
Scalability
Contents
Usage Models ................................................................................................................. 88 Single Data Hub and Linked Data Hub Considerations .............................................. 89 System Scale Capabilities ............................................................................................. 90
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Usage Models
Usage Models
For all usage models we assume the following:
For QA environment: ratio of 1:20 of supervisors: agents Supervisors perform 3 evaluations per hour Supervisors work in two shifts Average of 3 minute call length (except for Analytics where 5 minutes call length was assumed) Recording only: assuming negligible application usage. QA - Supervisors Only: assuming only supervisors login to the application suite, using mainly the Business Analyzer application. QA - Supervisors + Agents: assuming supervisors and agents login to the application suite. Supervisors using Business Analyzer and My Universe, and agents using My Universe only. Analytics: Same model as QA - Supervisors + Agents, with an addition of Content Analytics calls per day analyzed with 100 Insight Manager categories.
Usage Model:
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Single Data Hub and Linked Data Hub Considerations
Single Data Hub and Linked Data Hub Considerations
Conditions for switching from a Single Data Hub to a Multi Data Hub configuration (Applications version NPR3.1):
Reaching one of the following limitations in a 64-bit Distributed configuration:
Number of users/agents Number of seats Database call rate Number of Interactions Center per Data Hub
Network considerations: If there are two relatively large Data Hubs, it is recommended to deploy a Multi Data Hub configuration for the following reasons:
Avoid large data transportation on the network. Allow a large percentage of the operations to be performed locally.
Considerations for Data Hub deployment in a Multi Data Hub configuration: Recommended location for the Primary Data Hub and Data Mart is the most loaded site. Primary Data Hub must be deployed first. Distribution of customer geographical sites into NPR3.1 Data Hubs:
According to business unit the purpose is to maintain most of the operations as Query/Playback Local. According to Geographical location/ Network considerations the purpose is to perform most of the Cross-Data Hub operations (Multi Data Hub query, remote playback) on the best network segment.
IMPORTANT
A Multi Data Hub installation that consists of more than 5 Data Hubs requires approval. In a Multi Data Hub environment, all Data Hubs must be installed with the same:
Build version (Service Pack) Applications package
When upgrading a Multi Data Hub environment, all Data Hubs must be upgraded simultaneously. During Multi Data Hub upgrade, replication from the primary to the secondary Data Hub is disabled. Administrative operations on secondary Data Hubs cannot be performed. All Distributed environments (Multi-Data Hub or remote DataMart) using Windows Authentication requires Kerberos delegation. Kerberos delegation is trusted for users running applications, DataMart or SQL services for all the Data Hubs.
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System Scale Capabilities

See the following tables:
Universal Component Scale Figures
Table 8-1: Playback Scale Figures on page 91 Table 8-2: Telephony Services Server Scale Figures on page 93 Table 8-3: Interactions Center Scale Figures on page 94 Table 8-4: Storage Center Scale Figures on page 96 Table 8-5: Screen Content Analysis Scale Figures on page 97 Table 8-6: Data Mart Scale Figures on page 97 Table 8-7: Content Analysis Server Scale Figures on page 98
Loggers Scale Figures Table 8-9: Loggers on page 100 Table 8-8: NICE Sentinel Server Scale Figures on page 100 Table 8-10: NiceScreen Loggers on page 110 Table 8-11: Logger Resiliency Chains on page 111
Usage Per Environment Table 8-12: SMB on page 111 Table 8-13: Interaction Package on page 112 Table 8-14: QM + QO 32-bit - Supervisors Only on page 113 Table 8-15: QM + QO 32-bit - Supervisors + Agents on page 115 Table 8-16: QM + QO 64-bit on page 117 Table 8-17: IA + IA QO on page 119
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Universal Component Scale Figures

Playback Scale Figures
Table 8-1: Playback Scale Figures Maximum Number of Concurrent Playbacks Per Server Maximum Number of Concurrent Playbacks per Data Hub Voice Playback Storage Center Maximum Number of Concurrent Playbacks per Multi Data Hub
Comments
360 for summed 180 for unsummed 120 for unsummed + Screen
360 for summed 180 for unsummed 120 for unsummed + Screen
x number of Storage Centers
These figures relate to all Playback consumers:

x number of Loggers
Player (direct) Analytics Player through Stream Server (NICE and WMS)
Logger
20 summed 10 unsummed 30 Stereo 60 Summed Voice + Screen 20 2 streams for Voice and 1 stream for Screen
x number of Loggers
Call can be played only from the relevant Logger.
NICE Stream Server
x number of NICE Stream Servers
x number of NICE Stream Servers
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Table 8-1: Playback Scale Figures (Continued) Maximum Number of Concurrent Playbacks Per Server Microsoft Windows Media Services (WMS) Streaming Maximum Number of Concurrent Playbacks per Data Hub x number of Microsoft Windows Media Services (WMS) Streaming Screen Playback ScreenLogger Maximum Number of Concurrent Playbacks per Multi Data Hub x number of Microsoft Windows Media Services (WMS) Streaming
Comments
Voice - unlimited Screen - 16 Voice + Screen - 16
50
x number of Loggers
x number of Loggers
Playback channel is used for archiving as well. By default each storage consumes 10 connections for archiving.
Interaction Analytics Playback Resources Consumption Phonetics Indexing (English US, UK and German) Keyword Spotting
12 un-summed audio 6 summed audio 60 un-summed audio 30 summed audio 6 un-summed audio 3 summed audio 2 un-summed audio 1 summed audio 2 un-summed audio
number of Phonetics Servers number of Keyword Spotting Servers number of Transcription Servers number of Transcription Servers number of Servers
number of Phonetics Servers number of Keyword Spotting Servers number of Transcription Servers number of Transcription Servers number of Servers
Transcription (US English) Transcription All languages except US English) Talk Over \ Emotion Detection
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Telephony Services Server Scale Figures

Table 8-2: Telephony Services Server Scale Figures Deployment Type Telephony Services Server on a Dedicated server Number of Ports per Server Up to: Number of Ports per Data Hub x number of Telephony Services Server Number of Ports per Multi Data Hub x number of Telephony Services Server Comments
36 ports on an analog board -or400 HMP ports for ICB or 100 HMP ports for NICE Feedback -or60 digital ports
Telephony Services Server deployed on Applications Server, Storage Center or NiceScreen Logger
Up to:
36 ports on an analog board -or30 HMP ports -or30 digital ports
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Interactions Center Scale Figures

Table 8-3: Interactions Center Scale Figures Maximum Per Server Interactions Center Servers Call Rate for Interaction-based TDM Call Rate for Total TDM 18 calls/sec Maximum per Data Hub Up to 10 NICE Interactions Centers 23 calls/sec Maximum per Multi Data Hub Up to 50 Interactions Centers 115 calls/sec IC Call rate is for LAN environment DH call rate is limited according to the relevant Usage Model 23 calls/sec 23 calls/sec 115 calls/sec IC Call rate is for LAN environment DH call rate is limited according to the relevant Usage Model Call Rate for Total Passive VoIP Sniffing Call Rate for Interaction-based Passive VoIP Sniffing Call Rate for Total Active Recording (all supported environments) 8 calls/sec 23 calls/sec 115 calls/sec IC Call rate is for LAN environment DH call rate is limited according to the relevant Usage Model 7 calls/sec 23 calls/sec 115 calls/sec IC Call rate is for LAN environment DH call rate is limited according to the relevant Usage Model 8 calls/sec 23 calls/sec 115 calls/sec IC Call rate is for LAN environment DH call rate is limited according to the relevant Usage Model Comments
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Table 8-3: Interactions Center Scale Figures (Continued) Maximum Per Server Call Rate for Interaction-based Active Recording (all supported environments) Recording Channels Number of Sources 7 calls/sec Maximum per Data Hub 23 calls/sec Maximum per Multi Data Hub 115 calls/sec Comments IC Call rate is for LAN environment DH call rate is limited according to the relevant Usage Model 7,200 recording channels per server Up to 24,000 Recording Channels Up to 24,000 Sources Up to 120,000 Recording Channels Up to 120,000 Sources Voice and Screen sources for the channel mapping. Note: Sources include the ScreenAgents IP address. Number of ScreenAgents registered to Interactions Center Number of Loggers (including NEL) 2,000 Limited by Number of Interactions Centers and number of agents Up to 100 Loggers Limited by Number of Interactions Centers and number of agents Up to 500 Loggers
Up to 40 Loggers
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Storage Center Scale Figures

Table 8-4: Storage Center Scale Figures Maximum Per Server Voice Archiving to file system 10 GB Maximum per Data Hub Calculated by data rate Maximum per Multi Data Hub Calculated by data rate Comments
LAN environment. This figure includes the average call length and call deletion calculation.
Screen Archiving to file system Archiving to EMC Centera Number of Loggers Number of NEL Loggers
20 GB 1.1 GB Up to 30 Loggers Up to 60 Loggers
Calculated by data rate Calculated by data rate Up to 100 Loggers Up to 100 Loggers
Calculated by data rate Calculated by data rate Up to 500 Loggers Up to 500 Loggers
LAN environment.
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Screen Content Analysis Scale Figures

Table 8-5: Screen Content Analysis Scale Figures Maximum Per Server Screen Content Analysis Server Maximum per Data Hub 1 Screen Content Analysis Server Maximum per Multi Data Hub 5 Screen Content Analysis Servers Comments
Distributed Environment Notifications CTI Actions Seats 25/sec 2.5/sec 500 25/sec 2.5/sec 500 125/sec 12.5/sec 2,500 Requirement to support more seats per Data Hub requires commitment.
Unified \ Semi Distributed Environment Notifications CTI Actions Seats 16/sec 1.6/sec 500 16/sec 1.6/sec 500 80/sec 8/sec Requirement to support more seats per Data Hub requires commitment.
Data Mart Scale Figures

Table 8-6: Data Mart Scale Figures Maximum Per Server Data Mart Server Maximum per Data Hub 1 Data Mart Server Maximum per Multi Data Hub 1 Data Mart Server
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Comments
Content Analysis Server Scale Figures

Table 8-7: Content Analysis Server Scale Figures Maximum Per Server Transcription using Kaleo engine (U.S. English) Maximum per Data Hub Up to 4 servers per DH Maximum per Multi Data Hub x number of servers Comments Transcription and Word Search should not be installed on the same machine
400 processing hours per 24 hours (default accuracy) 84 processing hours per 24 hours (higher accuracy) 35 processing hours per 24 hours (all languages, except U.S. English) 430 processing hours per 24 hours 720 processing hours per 24 hours 1,400 processing hours per 24 hours
Transcription using Nuance engine (all languages, except U.S. English) Transcription using combination of Kaleo + Nuance engines Keyword Spotting
Up to 4 servers per DH
x number of servers
Transcription and Word Search should not be installed on the same machine Transcription and Word Search should not be installed on the same machine Transcription and Word Search should not be installed on the same machine
x number of servers
x number of servers
Phonetics indexing (English US, UK and German)
x number of servers
Transcription and Word Search should not be installed on the same machine Average call duration 5 minutes
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Table 8-7: Content Analysis Server Scale Figures (Continued) Maximum Per Server Keyword Spotting + Phonetics indexing (English US, UK and German) Maximum per Data Hub Up to 12 servers per DH Maximum per Multi Data Hub x number of servers Comments
600 Keyword Spotting processing hours per 24 hours 1,200 Phonetics indexing processing hours per 24 hours
Transcription and Word Search should not be installed on the same machine Average call duration 5 minutes Up to three concurrent languages can be supported. For a list of supported combinations, consult with IBA Sales Engineer. Can be enabled from any Content Analysis Server (including Word Search and Transcription) Talk Over and Emotion Detection can be installed on any of the Content Analysis Servers. They do not affect the other Analysis performance.
Talk Over \ Emotion Detection
960 processing hours per 24 hours
x number of servers
x number of servers
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NICE Sentinel Server Scale Figures
Table 8-8: NICE Sentinel Server Scale Figures Supported Number of Data Hubs NICE Sentinel 10
Loggers Scale Figures

Loggers
Table 8-9: Loggers Max Supported call rate per Loggers (cps)
Voice Logger
Processing Type
Recording Method
Supported number of channels
Maximum per Data Hub
Maximum in Multi Data Hub
Comments
TDM
480/240 recording channels in summed / unsummed recording mode
x number of Loggers
x number of Loggers
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Table 8-9: Loggers (Continued) Max Supported call rate per Loggers (cps)
Voice Logger
Processing Type
Recording Method
Comments
Decryption of calls and media encryption are not implemented
512 recording channels out of 3,500 concurrent calls
Passive VoIP Either decryption of calls or media encryption is implemented Both decryption of calls and media encryption are implemented 450 recording channels out of 3,500 concurrent calls 400 recording channels out of 3,500 concurrent calls
x number of Loggers
x number of Loggers
The same figures are supported in a Virtualized environment. For resource consumption see Certified Servers Guide.
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Table 8-9: Loggers (Continued) Max Supported call rate per Loggers (cps) Max Supported Call rate by Interactions Center Max Supported Call rate by Interactions Center Max Supported Call rate by Interactions Center Max Supported Call rate by Interactions Center
Voice Logger
Processing Type
Recording Method
Comments
Total
Interaction-based
500
Active Recording using VRA
Total
x number of Loggers
x number of Loggers
If media encryption is implemented
Interaction-based
450
102
Table 8-9: Loggers (Continued) Max Supported call rate per Loggers (cps) Max Supported Call rate by Interactions Center 512 3 2
Voice Logger
Processing Type
Recording Method
Comments
Total
Single Step Conference Interaction-based inefficient dialing digit by digit Service Observation Total on VMWare
Stereo channels are not available with Avaya DMCC
Avaya DMCC (FKA CMAPI) Active Recording
x number of Loggers 325 Max Supported Call rate by Interactions Center 2
x number of Loggers
Interaction-based inefficient dialing digit by digit Service Observation on VMWare
300
For resource consumption, see Certified Servers Guide.
103
Table 8-9: Loggers (Continued) Max Supported call rate per Loggers (cps) Max Supported Call rate by Interactions Center 462 3 2 x number of Loggers x number of Loggers
Voice Logger
Processing Type
Recording Method
Comments
Total
Decryption of calls or media encryption is implemented
Single Step Conference Interaction-based inefficient dialing digit by digit Service Observation
104
Table 8-9: Loggers (Continued) Max Supported call rate per Loggers (cps) Max Supported Call rate by Interactions Center 412 3 2 x number of Loggers x number of Loggers
Voice Logger
Processing Type
Recording Method
Comments
Total
Decryption of calls and media encryption are implemented
Single Step Conference Interaction-based inefficient dialing digit by digit Service Observation
105
Table 8-9: Loggers (Continued) Max Supported call rate per Loggers (cps) Max Supported Call rate by Interactions Center 4 Same as physical servers For resource consumption, see Certified Servers Guide.
Voice Logger
Processing Type
Recording Method
Comments
Total
500
Media encryption is not implemented Alcatel IP DR-Link
Interaction-based Total/Interactionbased on VMWare
400 300
x number of Loggers
x number of Loggers
Total Media encryption is implemented Interaction-based
450
Max Supported Call rate by Interactions Center 4
360
106
Voice Logger
Processing Type
Recording Method
Comments
Total Interaction-based Media encryption is not implemented Cisco Active VoIP Recording Total/Interactionbased on VMWare
500 500 300 Max Supported Call rate by Interactions Center
x number of Loggers
x number of Loggers
Total Media encryption is implemented Interaction-based 450
Max Supported Call rate by Interactions Center
107
Voice Logger
Processing Type
Recording Method
Comments
Total Interaction-based Media encryption is not implemented Total on VMWare
500 Requires NICE approval 300 Max Supported Call rate by Interactions Center
Aastra/Etrali/SB C Active VoIP Recording (SIP Integration)
x number of Loggers
x number of Loggers
Total Media encryption is implemented Interaction-based 450
Max Supported Call rate by Interactions Center
108
Table 8-9: Loggers (Continued) Max Supported call rate per Loggers (cps) Max Supported Call rate by Interactions Center 4 Same as physical servers For resource consumption, see Certified Servers Guide.
Voice Logger
Processing Type
Recording Method
Comments
Total
500
Media encryption is not implemented Nortel DMSIP Active Recording
Interaction-based Total/Interactionbased on VMWare
400 300
x number of Loggers
x number of Loggers
Total Media encryption is implemented Interaction-based AIM-102 NEL NME-302 NME522 Total
450
Max Supported Call rate by Interactions Center 4 x number of Loggers x number of Loggers NEL uses 2 channels per recorded phone.
360 10 50 75
109
NOTE: The following compressions are supported by the VoIP Logger: G711, G729A, G723, G722 (64 Kbit). See Vendor documentation for Vendor supported compressions
NiceScreen Loggers
Table 8-10: NiceScreen Loggers Per Server Number of Interactions Centers controlling the same Screen Logger Distributed Environment 250 channels x number of NiceScreen Loggers x number of NiceScreen Loggers Maximum per Data Hub 6 Maximum in Multi Data Hub Comment All Interactions Centers must reside on the same Data Hub.
Installed on Applications Server in Distributed Environment 50 channels Unified 30 channels
110
Logger Resiliency Chains

Table 8-11: Logger Resiliency Chains Chain Type TDM Logger VoIP Logger Mirrored Recording Chain Length 7+1 6+1 1+1 Supported Environment
Passive VoiP NEL
Usage Per Environment

SMB
Usage models:
Recording Only QA - Supervisors Only
Table 8-12: SMB Parameter Number of Seats Call Rate Value 100 Comment Number of Users/Agents that can be defined in the User Administrator (include retention period).
DH (Database server) Call rate (calls/sec)
Applications usage Business Analyzer - Queries (per hour) 40

Table 8-12: SMB (Continued) Parameter Value 30 100 10 Best Practice: Use the Monitor application on a minimal group size. Comment
Create Evaluations (per hour) ROD (concurrent users) Monitor (concurrent users)
NiceScreen Logger Recording Channels 10
Interaction Package
Usage Model:
Recording Only
Table 8-13: Interaction Package Unified* Semi Distributed Max per Server Users/Agents 3,600 5,500 10,000 Distributed SQL Server 64-bit Maximum Per Data Hub 10,000 Maximum in Multi Data Hub 50,000 Number of Users/Agents that can be defined in the User Administrator (include retention period). Comments
* For Unified configuration on 64-bit machine can be used only if all components supported it. Refer to Certified Servers Guide for 64-bit OS supported component matrix.
Table 8-13: Interaction Package (Continued) Unified* Recorded Seats 2,000 Semi Distributed 2,000 Call Rate DH (Database server) Call rate (calls/sec) 10 11 23 23 115 Distributed SQL Server 64-bit Comments
Call Volume Overall number of calls per day 550,000 625,000 1,300,000 1,300,000
* For Unified configuration on 64-bit machine can be used only if all components supported it. Refer to Certified Servers Guide for 64-bit OS supported component matrix.
Quality Management / Quality Optimization Enterprise (CC) 32-bit

Usage Model:
QA + Supervisors only
Table 8-14: QM + QO 32-bit - Supervisors Only Distributed SQL Server 32-bit Max per Server Users/Agents 10,000 Maximum Per Data Hub 10,000 Maximum in Multi Data Hub 50,000 Number of Users/Agents that can be defined in the User Administrator (include retention period). Comments
Concurrent Supervisors
88
88
361
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Table 8-14: QM + QO 32-bit - Supervisors Only (Continued) Distributed SQL Server 32-bit Concurrent My Universe Agent ROD (concurrent users) 30 450 30 450 Call Rate DH (Database server) Call rate (calls/sec) 13 13 Call Volume Overall number of calls per day 750,000 750,000 Applications usage Business Analyzer - Queries (per hour) Create Evaluations (per hour) View Evaluations (per hour) Reporter (reports per hour) Monitor (concurrent users) 850 265 660 30 50 850 265 660 30 50 4,250 1,325 3,300 30 250 Best practice is to use the Monitor applications on a minimal group size. Maximum monitored agents in Monitor and ROD is 500. 65 150 2,250 Comments
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Usage Model:
QA Supervisors + Agents
Table 8-15: QM + QO 32-bit - Supervisors + Agents Distributed SQL Server 32-bit Max per Server Users/Agents 10,000 Maximum Per Data Hub 10,000 Maximum in Multi Data Hub 50,000 Number of Users/Agents that can be defined in the User Administrator (include retention period). Comments
Concurrent Supervisors Concurrent My Universe Agent ROD
80 420 450
80 420 450 Call Rate
328 2100 2,250
12
12 Calls Volume
60
Overall number of calls per day
700,000
700,000 Applications Usage
Business Analyzer - Queries (per hour) Create Evaluations (per hour) View Evaluations (per hour) Reporter (reports per hour)
550 240 660 30
550 240 660 30
2,750 1200 3,300 30
115
Table 8-15: QM + QO 32-bit - Supervisors + Agents (Continued) Distributed SQL Server 32-bit Monitor (concurrent users) 50 50 250 Comments Best practice is to use the Monitor applications on a minimal group size. Maximum monitored agents in Monitor and ROD is 500.
116
Quality Management / Quality Optimization Enterprise (CC) 64-bit

Usage Model:
QA + Supervisors only QA Supervisors + Agents
Table 8-16: QM + QO 64-bit Distributed SQL Server 64-bit Max per Server Users/Agents 10,000 Maximum Per Data Hub 10,000 Maximum in Multi Data Hub 50,000 Number of Users/Agents that can be defined in the User Administrator (include retention period). Comments
Concurrent Supervisors Concurrent My Universe Agent ROD (concurrent users)
120 1,180 450
120 1,180 450 Call Rate
492 3500 2,250
23
23 Call Volume
115
Overall number of calls per day
1,300,000
1,300,000
Applications Usage Business Analyzer - Queries (per hour) Create Evaluations (per hour) View Evaluations (per hour) 1700 360 800 1700 360 800 8,500 1,800 4,000
117
Table 8-16: QM + QO 64-bit Distributed SQL Server 64-bit Packages: View + Open 1:1 ratio (per hour) 720 720 3,600 Comments Applicable only to Supervisors + Agents usage Model
Reporter (reports per hour) Monitor (concurrent users)
40 50
40 50
40 250 Best practice is to use the Monitor applications on a minimal group size. Maximum monitored agents in Monitor and ROD is 500.
118
Interaction Analytics / Analytics-Based Quality Optimization Enterprise (CC) 64-bit

Usage Model:
QA + Supervisors only QA Supervisors + Agents
Table 8-17: IA + IA QO Distributed SQL Server

(Unified and Semi Distributed configurations are not supported in this model)
Comments
Max per Server Users/Agents 10,000
Maximum Per Data Hub 10,000
Maximum in Multi Data Hub 50,000 Number of Users/Agents that can be defined in the User Administrator (include retention period).
Concurrent Supervisors Concurrent My Universe Agent ROD (concurrent users)
110 1,130 450
110 1,130 450 Call Rate
451 3500 2,250
7 Call Volume
35
Overall number of calls per day Max number of analyzed calls per day
220,000 170,000
220,000 170,000
119
Table 8-17: IA + IA QO (Continued) Distributed SQL Server

(Unified and Semi Distributed configurations are not supported in this model)
Comments
Applications Usage Business Analyzer - Queries (per hour) Create Evaluations (per hour) View Evaluations (per hour) Packages: View + Open 1:1 ratio (per hour) Reporter (reports per hour) Monitor (concurrent users) 1500 330 700 660 1500 330 700 660 7,500 1,650 3,500 3,300 Applicable only to Supervisors + Agents usage Model
40 50
40 50
40 250 Best practice is to use the Monitor applications on a minimal group size. Maximum monitored agents in Monitor and ROD is 500.
Categories
100
100
120
9
Deployment Configurations
This chapter describes the optional deployment configurations supported by the Enterprise Suite in the NICE Perform environment. Each configuration has different capabilities, advantages and disadvantages.
Contents
Discovery Questions ....................................................................................................122 Single Site .....................................................................................................................123 Centralized Recording .................................................................................................124 Distributed Screen Recording .....................................................................................126 Centralized Active VoIP Recording .............................................................................128 Distributed Voice Recording........................................................................................130 Survivable Recording...................................................................................................132 Multi Linked Data Hubs ................................................................................................134
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121
Discovery Questions
Discovery Questions
Single or Multi Data Hub deployment, based on the following scaling parameters:
Number of defined users/agents and Applications usage. Call rate. Number of NICE Interactions Center Servers supported by a single Data Hub.
In case of a Multi Data Hub deployment: Determine the number of Data Hubs (a maximum of 5 are allowed). Determine the location of the Data Hubs. Drill down to plan each Data Hub site. Network diagram
NICE Interactions Center Servers - determine the following: Recording method. Number of NICE Interactions Center Servers. Location of each NICE Interactions Center Server (data center or branch). Latency between Interactions Center and Database.
Is internal call recording required? Capture units - determine the following:
Type of Logger (TDM or VoIP). Location of Loggers (data center or branch). Is VRG/VRA required?
NiceScreen Loggers - determine the following: Number of NiceScreen Loggers. Location of NiceScreen Loggers (data center or branch).
Applications usage - determine the following: Which Applications will be used? Which functionalities are required in each Application? What is the organizational structure of Local/Enterprise groups?
Data Mart - determine the location of the Data Mart. Data Hub resiliency requirements. Branch survivability requirements.
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Single Site
Single Site
Figure 9-1 Single SIte
Applications Server Database Server Data Mart Storage Center Telephony Services Server Voice/VoIP Logger
Screen Agent
Screen Logger
NICE Sentinel / NMS
Interactions Center
A standard standalone NICE Perform deployment includes:
A Single Data Hub (Applications Server and Database) NICE Interactions Center(s) Voice/VoIP Logger(s) NiceScreen Logger(s) Telephony system equipment
In most cases, the site includes telephony system equipment, however, a common exception is an off-shore Contact Center deployment where the telephony components (excluding the phones) are remote.
123
Centralized Recording
Figure 9-2 Centralized Recording
Data Mart Storage Center Telephony Services Server Voice/VoIP Logger Applications Server
Database Server
Screen Logger Screen Agent
NICE Sentinel / NMS
Interactions Center
Screen Agent
Screen Agent
The Data Center hosts the following:
The Data Hub (Applications Server and Database). NICE Interactions Center(s). Voice/VoIP Logger(s). NiceScreen Logger(s) (optional).
The Data Center is interconnected with multiple branches. Each branch includes the following:
A small number of users and agents with phones. ScreenAgents on agents' desktops for screen recording. NiceScreen Logger(s) (optional).
124
When to Use

All CTI information is available in the Data Center. There is no direct PSTN access in the branches and no local PSTN access for emergency calls only. Voice can be captured in the Data Center. There are no requirements for:
Branch recording survivability. Internal call recording.
125
Distributed Screen Recording

Figure 9-3 Distributed Screen Recording
Applications Server Database Server
Data Mart Storage Center
Telephony Services Server Voice/VoIP Logger
NICE Sentinel / NMS
Interactions Center
Screen Agent
Screen Logger
Screen Logger
Screen Agent
Screen Agent
The Data Hub (Applications Server and Database). NICE Interactions Center(s). Voice/VoIP Logger(s).
Agent/users with phones. ScreenAgents on agents' desktops for screen recording. NiceScreen Logger(s).
126
When to Use

Network bandwidth allows screen packets to be streamed over the network (for archiving). or No need for long term archiving of screen media. Media will be stored locally. Unless Survivable Branch Recording is deployed, screen recording stops if the network disconnects.
127
Centralized Active VoIP Recording

Figure 9-4 Centralized Active VoIP Recording
Applications Server Database Server Data Mart Storage Center Telephony Services Server Voice/VoIP Logger
NICE Sentinel / NMS
Interactions Center
Screen Agent
Screen Logger VRG ScreenAgent + VRA Screen Logger
VRG ScreenAgent + VRA
The Data Hub (Applications Server and Database). NICE Interactions Center(s). VoIP, and Voice Logger(s) (voice loggers are optional). NiceScreen Logger(s) (optional).
Agents/users with phones. ScreenAgents on agents' desktops for screen recording. NiceScreen Logger(s) (optional). The capability to forward RTP streams to the Data Center.
128
When to Use

All CTI information is available in the Data Center. For an updated list of Active Recording Solutions, refer to the VoIP Logger section of the NICE Perform - Release 3.2 Price List. No requirements for branch survivability.
129
Distributed Voice Recording

Figure 9-5 Distributed Voice Recording
Applications Server Data Mart Telephony Services Server Database Server
Storage Center
NICE Sentinel / NMS
Interactions Center
Screen Agent
Voice/VoIP Logger
Voice/VoIP Logger
Screen Agent
Screen Agent
The Data Hub (Applications Server and Database). NICE Interactions Center(s). Possibly, NiceScreen Logger(s.)
Agent/users with phones. ScreenAgents on agents' desktops for screen recording. Voice/VoIP Logger(s). NiceScreen Logger(s) (optional).
130
When to Use

All CTI information is available in the Data Center. Recording is required when the network is disconnected.
With Total Recording, if the network is disconnected, call data can be partially completed using NICE Total Recording Solution (TRS).
Internal calls recording is required and cannot be accomplished by Active VoIP Recording.
Internal calls will not be recorded by branch distributed trunk-side implementation.
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Survivable Recording
Figure 9-6 Survivable Recording
Applications Server Data Mart Storage Center Telephony Services Server
Database Server
NICE Sentinel / NMS
Screen Agent
Interactions Center
Voice/Screen Logger
Interactions Center
Voice/Screen Logger
Screen Agent
Screen Agent
The Data Hub (Applications Server and Database).
The Data Center is normally interconnected with multiple branches. Each branch includes the following:
Agents/users with phones. ScreenAgents on agents' desktops for screen recording (optional). NICE Interactions Center(s). Voice/VoIP Logger(s). NiceScreen Logger(s).
When to Use
Local telephony switch and CTI at branches, or centralized call control with branch survivability (e.g. Cisco SRST).
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Advantages
Improved CTI information compared to TRS. Voice recording survivability - not only for Total Recording. With Total VoIP Recording, support for IP address changes in survivability mode. Screen recording survivability.
Disadvantages
Costly in terms of required number of servers for relatively few branches. The NICE Interactions Center is limited to up to approximately 500,000 calls. See Branch Recording Survivability on page 143. Supported call rate by Interactions Center is decreased due to latency of the Database.
133
Multi Linked Data Hubs
Multi Linked Data Hubs

Figure 9-7 Multi-linked Data Hubs: Physical Representation
Data Mart Telephony Services Server Storage Center Voice/VoIP Logger Applications Database Server Server (Primary)
Interactions Center
Voice/VoIP Logger NICE Sentinel / NMS
Interactions Center Voice Loggers Applications Server
Interactions Center
Database Server (Secondary)
When to Use

There are several Data Centers. Each Data Center hosts the Data Hub (Applications Server and Database). One of the Data Hubs is configured as the Primary Data Hub (publisher). All other Data Hubs are configured as Secondary Data Hubs (subscribers). The deployment plan for each of the Data Centers can be based on one of the deployment prototypes previously described:
Single Site (see Single Site on page 123). Branch Centralized Recording (see Centralized Recording on page 124). Branch Centralized Active VoIP Recording (see Centralized Active VoIP Recording on page 128). Branch Distributed Voice Recording (see Distributed Voice Recording on page 130). Branch Survivable Recording (see Survivable Recording on page 132).
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10
Resiliency Options
The purpose of this chapter is to provide resiliency options for the NICE Perform solution.
Contents
Resiliency Options Summary ......................................................................................136 Database (DB) Cluster..................................................................................................138 Applications Server Cluster ........................................................................................138 Interactions Center Cluster..........................................................................................139 Storage Center Redundancy .......................................................................................140 Voice Recording SIP Proxy (VRSP) Redundancy Architecture................................140 TDM Loggers N+1 .........................................................................................................142 VoIP Loggers N+1 .........................................................................................................142 Passive VoIP Loggers 1:1 Software System (Duplicate Recording) ........................142 Branch Recording Survivability ..................................................................................143 Total Recording Solution (TRS)...................................................................................143 NIC Teaming ..................................................................................................................144 Disaster Recovery (DR) Solution ................................................................................145
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Resiliency Options Summary

Table 10-1: Resiliency Options Summary Failed Component Affected Operations Total Voice Recording TDM Logger Solution N+1 Logger Chain (see page 142) Recovery Time
Hardware failure: 15 seconds Software failure: Up to 75 seconds Passive sniffing: Server shutdown - 10 seconds NIC failure (1 NIC) - 10 seconds Other failures - 2 minutes
N+1 Logger Chain (see page 142)
Total Voice Recording VoIP Logger Mirrored VoIP Recording (1:1) (see page 142) Interaction-based Voice Recording Screen Logger Screen Recording Pool of Loggers Pool of Screen Loggers Interactions Center Clustering (supported environments are detailed in the IDD) (see page 139) TRS (Total Recording) (see page 143)
No recovery time
Recording resumes with the next interaction Recording resumes with the next interaction

Interactions Center
Interaction-based Recording Screen Recording Call Information Tagging CAPI dependant applications:
3 minutes in total recording environment In Interaction Based recording with an IP Mapper (For Example: Avaya SMS) it depends on the mapping cycle update.

Storage Center
Recording On Demand Feedback BSF IP Phone
When the TRS runs (configurable)
Archiving
Storage Center Redundancy (see page 140)
No recovery time (archiving dependency on Primary Database availability)
136
Table 10-1: Resiliency Options Summary (Continued) Failed Component VRSP Affected Operations Total Voice Recording Solution Primary/Secondar y configuration (see page 140) Applications Server Clustering (see page 138) 2 minutes Recovery Time
Applications Server
System configuration Applications Usage Query Playback System Configuration Query Playback QM Capabilities Applications Usage Archiving Calls Interaction Analytics Call Information Tagging Reporter My Universe
Database Server Clustering (see page 138) SQL Database Backup (delta from the last backup will be lost)
30 seconds
After the server is backed-up and restored
Database Server
Interactions Center CTI Buffer (see page 143) Backup
No recovery time
Data Mart
137
Database (DB) Cluster
Database (DB) Cluster

Microsoft certified hardware is required (Hardware Compatibility List (HCL)). For more information, see the Certified Servers Guide. Support SQL and NT authentication.
Applications Server Cluster
The solution is an active-passive configuration based on Microsoft cluster solution (for more information about HW, see the Certified Servers Guide).
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Interactions Center Cluster
Interactions Center Cluster

Clustering the Interactions Center allows for minimum CTI information loss during an Interactions Center Server failure and resiliency for several important processes such as:
Interaction-based recording Screen recording Record on-demand Call QM marking
The solution is an active-passive configuration based on a Microsoft cluster solution (for more information about the hardware, see the Certified Servers Guide).
Prerequisites

Dual CTI link to the switch's CTI server per integration Duplicate CTI Analysis Database space:
Call flow analysis database records will be inserted by both Interactions Centers resulting in insertion of unnecessary records to the database. Since Analytics only processes records with voice recording, the only effect of doubling CTI records is higher disk space usage.
Limitations

After failover, QA rules will not continue recording a compound call that was started before the failover. Passive VoIP on DHCP environment. A change of IP address during failover will cause audio loss until an appropriate message from CTI is received.
The audio loss in an environment where the IP address CTI source is different from the call CTI source (like AVAYA TSAPI) can be significant. The audio loss, in an environment where the IP address CTI source is the same as the call CTI source (like Cisco TAPI), will be limited until the next message which includes the updated IP address.
NOTE: Audio loss is limited only in a scenario where a call, that was started during failover, is on a device that has new IP.
For a list of supported environments, see the NICE Perform 3.2 IDD.
139

Primary and secondary Storage Centers configuration. The Storage Center supports N+N chains (for example, for each archiving rule, primary Storage Center and backup Storage Center can be configured).
Voice Recording SIP Proxy (VRSP) Redundancy Architecture

Motivation
VRSP is crucial for recording even if the Interactions Center crashes.The below deployment options ensures recording with real redundancy.
Deployment Options
Distributed Environment:
Primary VRSP is installed on a separated machine (not on the Interactions Center or any of the VoIP Loggers). Can be installed on the following machines:
Storage Center Dedicated machine (the same spec as NMS Server)
Secondary VRSP is installed on the Interactions Center Server

VRSP Redundancy - Distributed Environment
Figure 10-1
Unified Server Deployment:
Primary VRSP is installed on the VoIP Logger Secondary VRSP is installed on the Applications Server (along with all other modules)
SMB Environment: Does not support VRSP redundancy.
Supported Recording Environment:
Total recording with Cisco Active and Etrali SIP recording integration VoIP Logger N+1
140
Voice Recording SIP Proxy (VRSP) Redundancy Architecture
VRSP Failure

Open calls continue to be recorded New calls will update with the secondary VRSP as the media provider
Cisco Active Limitation:
In the event of primary VRSP failure, a delay in recording is expected for every new call. This means that the beginning of the call might not be recorded. The reason for this is that Cisco tries to connect to the primary VRSP. After a few retries it switches to the secondary VRSP. The call is not recorded for the entire retry period.
141
TDM Loggers N+1
TDM Loggers N+1

Prerequisites

All Loggers must have the same hardware and software version. The spare Logger must have the number of channels equal or greater than the largest recording Logger in the chain.
VoIP Loggers N+1

Prerequisites

Available from Logger version 9.12. All normal and spare Loggers are connected to the same LAN. Required network support for multicasting. All loggers must have an equal number of channels, and the same configuration.
Total static:
Active and Passive VoiP
Limitations

Monitoring from the Monitor application cannot be performed on the spare Logger. Passive IP address changes during an Interactions Center failure will cause audio loss.
Passive VoIP Loggers 1:1 Software System (Duplicate Recording)

The Duplicate Recording 1:1 solution is based on an N+1 solution with zero failover time.
Prerequisites

Required network support for multicasting. Spare Logger must have an equal number of channels, and have the same configuration as the Normal Logger.
Limitations
Monitoring from the Monitor application cannot be performed on the spare Logger.
Passive IP address changes during an Interactions Center failure will cause audio loss.
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Branch Recording Survivability
Branch Recording Survivability

During network disconnection between the IC and the Database Server, a survivability mechanism was added to support:
Recording continuation in a survivable branch Full CTI information in the Database after survivable branch connection to the network is restored
Prerequisites

Required local disk space must be calculated since the mechanism is based on keeping the CTI files on local disk space. Up to 500,000 interactions can be kept for a single Interactions Center, the supported disconnection time must be calculated according to the customer call rate.
Disk Space Calculation Example

Average call disk space: ~10 KB Required disk space for 2000 calls is: 20 MB Log files require ~ 3 GB Recommendation:
At least 4 GB.
Total Recording Solution (TRS)

In case of a CTI failure or a general cluster failover, the TRS component ensures that all recorded Logger sessions are reported to the database. TRS calls are usually associated with a special TRS user ID. TRS calls have minimal information in the database. The calls contain the Loggers provided information (Trunk details, Logger ID and channel).
The following table presents supported information:

Table 10-2: TRS Metadata
Trunk Group and Trunk Number Yes No Participant Type ID Yes Yes
Configuration
Logger
Channel
UserId
Station
TDM Trunk Side TDM Extension Side
Yes Yes
Yes Yes
No Yes
No Yes
* User ID is reported when Station is reported and the site is configured as Fixed Seating. *The User ID that is reported is the one associated with the DN in the User Administrator application. Chapter 10: Resiliency Options NICE Perform Release 3.2: Design Considerations (Rev. A0) Confidential and Proprietary Information of NICE Systems Ltd.
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NIC Teaming
Table 10-2: TRS Metadata

Trunk Group and Trunk Number No No No No No Participant Type ID Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Configuration
Logger
Channel
UserId
Station
Passive VoIP Mapped by DN Passive VoIP Mapped by Unique Device ID Active VoIP Mapped by DN Active VoIP Mapped by Unique Device ID VoIP (Active/Passive) Mapped by both DN and Unique Device ID
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Yes* No Yes* No Yes*
Yes* No Yes* No Yes*
* User ID is reported when Station is reported and the site is configured as Fixed Seating. *The User ID that is reported is the one associated with the DN in the User Administrator application.
TRS Supported Environments:

Total recording Loggers N+1 1:1
TRS Limitations

In case of complicated calls with transfers or conference, each interaction is inserted as a separate interaction in the Database, and associated with a different contact. Does not support insertion of Screen events.
NIC Teaming

NIC teaming allows users to group two or more physical NICs into a single network device. NIC teaming is supported for all commercial servers. Teamed NICs have the same IP address (teaming type: Network fault tolerance).
144
Disaster Recovery (DR) Solution

Solution Overview
NICE Perform Disaster Recovery (DR) solution enables the enterprise to operate a stand-by Perform system in a remote Data Center, in case of primary Data Center failure. It includes on-going real-time replication of database information, as well as a procedure for activating vital information systems in the new location.
NOTE: All DR solutions require approval from NICE.

Standalone Data Hub Multi/Linked Data Hub environment (each Data Hub has a dedicated DR Data Hub).
General Prerequisites

Both Data Centers either share the same Domain, or have different Domains with full trust relations. DNS access is available in order to configure alias names for the Applications Server and Database Server. Storage replication between the Data Centers is deployed if playback from the DR site is required.
Prerequisites for SQL Mirroring

The planned Database Server must be deployed with SQL Server Enterprise Edition 64 bit to support SQL Mirroring. For Database mirroring bandwidth requirements see Table 11-1: Values for Elements Used in Free Bandwidth Calculation on page 148. A backup Database log is generated in the local file system (each call will generate ~500 Kbyte). Recommendation: At least 50 GB disk space is required on the database machine.
Prerequisites for Other Replication Technologies

Other replication technologies besides SQL mirroring can be approved for on-site verification with the following prerequisites:
For Database replication bandwidth requirements see Table 11-1: Values for Elements Used in Free Bandwidth Calculation on page 148.
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If the storage replication technology solution is used in Synchronous mode, then the maximum network latency allowed depends on the call rate. See Table 11-4: Latency Limitations per Component on page 156. If the storage replication technology solution is used in Asynchronous mode, there will be potential data loss when switching over to the DR site. All SQL instance objects (For Example: jobs, logins, SMK, and so on) must be replicated, not only the Database data/logs.
Limitations
Data Mart replication is not supported, even if the Data Mart resides on the same SQL server.
Data Mart Recovery

Recovery of the Data Mart database can be achieved using one of the following options:
Automatically:
Data Mart data is generated from an operational database. After the Data Mart server recovery, the Data Mart process will start collecting the information, and after a period of time (depending on the data size it could be a few days) the Data Mart database will automatically recover.
Manually:
In order to accelerate the recovery process, manually upload the Data Mart database from the last backup.
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11
Network Considerations
The purpose of this chapter is to provide a list of network consideration points for the NICE Perform solution.
Contents
Free Bandwidth Calculation ........................................................................................148 Latency .........................................................................................................................156 Optimization Recommendations.................................................................................158
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Free Bandwidth Calculation

This section describes how to calculate the required bandwidth to allow response time for the client machines according to the standard response time.
NOTE: Encryption influence on network consideration was not tested!
Free bandwidth for NICE Applications = Available bandwidth at the site - bandwidth utilization by other network applications. Table 11-1 lists values for the elements used in the free bandwidth calculation for the various network usage types.
Table 11-1: Values for Elements Used in Free Bandwidth Calculation
Network usage type Voice Playback G.711 Voice Playback ADPCM32 Voice Playback ADPCM16 Voice Playback G.729 Voice Playback G.723.1 6.3 Voice Playback G.723.1 5.3 Screen Playback Bit Rate 72 Kb/sec 36 Kb/sec 288 Kb/sec 10 Kb/sec 8.8 Kb/sec Formula x number of concurrent playbacks Comments If a conference is recorded without summation, meaning that the two streams of the conference are recorded separately, the required data rates are double. If the capturing platform uses stereo recording mode, the required data rates are double. The data rate includes protocol overhead. Source Media source Media source Media source Media source Media source Target Client Client Client Client Client
8 Kb/sec
Media source
Client
160 Kb/sec
x number of concurrent playbacks
The ETA tool should be used to determine the exact data rate and the performance implications on the agents personal computer, since the data rate might be influenced by screen resolution, screen depth and type of media. Data Volume per Day = (Average Number of Calls per Day) x (Data Compression in Kb/sec) x (Call Length in Seconds)
Media source
Client
Voice Archiving
Same as Voice Playback
Amount of data to be archived per day / Archiving window
Logger
Storage Center
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Table 11-1: Values for Elements Used in Free Bandwidth Calculation (Continued)
Network usage type Screen Archiving Bit Rate 160 Kb/sec Formula Archived Data Volume / Time Used for Archiving Comments The ETA tool should be used to determine the exact data rate and the performance implications on the agents personal computer, since the data rate might be influenced by screen resolution, screen depth and type of media. The amount of playbacks depends on the Interaction Analysis type. For details per Engine see Interaction Analytics on page 71. This number refers to the Control Command. Calculation based on the assumption that an acceptable time to download a 10 MB report is 10 seconds. Example: To download 10 MB report in 10 seconds, bandwidth should be at least 10000 KB/10 sec + 100 KB/sec = 1100 KB/sec. Source NiceScreen Logger Target Storage Center
Content Analysis
Same as voice playback
Number of Analytics Servers x Number of Analytics Threads
Media Source
ROD Reporter
16 Kb/sec (Report size KB / acceptable download seconds) + 100 KB/sec
x number of concurrent ROD users x number of concurrently downloaded reports
Client Applications Server
Applications Server Client
Recording Control Active VoIP Recording G.711
16 Kb /sec 170 Kb/sec
x number of concurrently recorded agents x number of recording channels The data rates are provided without silence suppression. The data rates include IP/UDP/RTP overhead.
Interactions Server Forwarding Devices (VRG, VRA etc.) Forwarding Devices (VRG, VRA etc.) Forwarding Devices (VRG, VRA etc.) Forwarding Devices (VRG, VRA etc.)
Logger VoIP Logger
Active VoIP Recording G.729 Active VoIP Recording G.723.1 6.3 Active VoIP Recording G.723.1 5.3
60 Kb/sec
VoIP Logger
40 Kb/sec
VoIP Logger
45 Kb/sec
VoIP Logger
149
Network usage type Screen Recording Bit Rate 160 Kb/sec Formula x number of concurrently recorded agents Comments Source Client Target NiceScreen Logger
The ETA tool should be used to

determine the exact data rate and the performance implications on the agents personal computer, since the data rate might be influenced by screen resolution, screen depth and type of media.
The maximum network bandwidth

allowed per NiceScreen Logger is 48 Mb per second. Interactions Center database access 400 Kb /sec per call x call rate A call with two participants, two records and one exception. The bit rate depends on the number of interactions, participants, recording, business data, and exceptions. Interactions Center Database
Database replication for linked Data Hub configuration SQL Mirroring (Disaster Recovery) Database replication via Storage replication technology (Disaster Recovery)
16 Kb/sec
x number of sites 1
Primary Data Hub Database Principle Database Principle Database
Secondary Data Hub database DR Database DR Database
1500 Kb/sec/call 1.5 MB/second
x call rate
150
Network usage type Data Mart Bit Rate Minimum of 4800 Kb/sec during populating Formula Comments The amount of data transferred by the Data Mart, assuming only nice_interactions domain was chosen, is ~80% of the data inserted by the NICE Interactions Center since last Data Mart population. For the following domains add: nice_cti_analysis add 10%. nice_ca add 30%. nice_screen_sense add 30%. nice_pbs_data add 5%. nice_qa add 5%. Amount of data from other domains are negligible. Example: By default all domains are selected and Data Mart population is executed every hour. Assuming there is one NICE Interactions Center with 3 calls per second, it will try to transfer 2760 Mb. (480 Kb inserted by the NICE Interactions Center per second x 3600 sec. x (80% + 10% + 30% +30% + 5% +5%) = 2760 MB.) The Data Mart populating will use different bandwidths based on the available bandwidth at populating time. For smooth operation, at least 4800 Kb/sec should be available. Business Analyzer Query 850 Kb/sec X number of concurrent queries Statistically, the number of concurrent operations is low. For example: If there are 300 queries per hour, on the average there will be only 1 concurrent query per second UPPER(300/3600). The worst case scenario will be 300 concurrent queries Business Analyzer Login 350 Kb/sec X number of concurrent login requests Applications Server Client Applications Server Client Source Database Target Data Mart Database
151
Network usage type My Universe Login Bit Rate 850 Kb/sec Formula Comments With seven components (My Evaluation Trend, Agent Performance, Generic Query, My Latest Evaluations, My Latest Interactions) This bit rate is required in order to get response time of 5 seconds. WMS General 4 Mb/sec Add 20% Lower bandwidth might affect the player response time. For operations that were not calculated like User and System Management. Source Applications Server Target Client
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Bandwidth Calculation Example

Site Specifications
Single Data Hub + DM 1 concurrent Login request to Business Analyzer 3 concurrent Business Analyzer queries 1 concurrent Login request to My Universe with seven components 20 Voice Playbacks (G.729) 10 Voice (G.729) + Screen Playbacks 1 Content Analysis Server with Speech to Text Engine 1 NICE Interactions Center Server, call rate: 3 calls/sec 300 concurrent recorded agents out of 1000 recorded agents Archiving:
80,000 voice calls per day Average call duration is 3 minutes G.729 compression Time frame for archiving is 5 hours
NOTE: See Table 11-2:Calculation Example on page 154 for specific example.
153
Table 11-2: Calculation Example

Item Business Analyzer Login Business Analyzer Query My Universe Login (seven components) Voice Playback (G.729) Voice+ Screen Playback Interaction Analytics Transcription NICE Interactions Center Server Recording Control Total Contingency Grand Total for working hours X1.2 Bit rate per unit 350 Kb/sec 850 Kb/sec 850 Kb/sec Formula Bit rate x Concurrent logins per second Bit rate x Concurrent queries per second Bit rate x Concurrent logins per second Calculation 350 x 1 850 x 3 850 x 3 ~Total Bit Rate 350 Kb/sec 2,550 Kb/sec 2550 Kb/sec
10 Kb/sec 10 + 160 Kb/sec 10 Kb/sec 400 Kb/sec 16 Kb/sec
Bit rate x number of concurrent playbacks Bit rate x number of concurrent playbacks Bit rate x number of Analytics Servers x Number of Analytics Threads Bit rate x Call rate Bit rate x number of concurrent recorded agents
10 x 20 (10+160) x 10 10 x 1 400 x 3 16 x 100
200 Kb/sec 1700 Kb/sec 10 Kb/sec 1200 Kb/sec 1600 Kb/sec 10,160 Kb/sec 12,192 Kb/sec ~12,000 Kb/sec
NOTE: The operation hours calculation contains recording, playbacks and application usage.
154
Table 11-3: Required Bandwidth during After Hours (Kb/sec)

Item Archiving (G.729) Bit rate per unit 10 Kb/sec Formula Archived data/Archiving time frame Calculation 144,000,000 / 18,000 ~Total Bit rate 8000 kb/sec
Data Mart Total Contingency Grand Total for after hours
4800 Kb/sec
4800 kb/sec 12,800
x 1.2
15,360 Kb/sec ~16,000 Kb/sec
NOTE:
The after hours calculation contains Archiving and Data Mart population. Archived data in bits = number of call per day x call duration in seconds x compression rate = 80,000 x (3 x 60) x 10 = 144,000,000 bits Time frame in seconds = 5 x 3600 = 18,000 seconds If the Archiving and Data Mart population increases during working hours, the total required bandwidth for NICE is 28,000 Kb/sec.
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Latency
Latency
Table 11-4: Latency Limitations per Component
Source Client Desktop ROD Client Target Applications Server Interactions Center TDM Logger (digital matrix) VoIP Logger Interactions Center NiceScreen Logger Latency (ms) 50 75 125 225 500 Ping (Round Trip) (ms) 100 150 250 450 1000 10 Calls per Second for 10 ms Latency Database 5 < Latency < 50 8 Calls per Second for 25 ms Latency 5 Calls per Second for 50 ms Latency ScreenAgent NiceScreen Logger Screen Content Analysis Agent Screen Content Analysis Server NICE Interactions Center 500 300 325 1000 600 650 Bit rate for the ScreenAgent is 160 Kb/sec. Triggers for events only. Triggers for events + actions start, stop interaction, recording. Higher Latency will cause a delay in the Monitor view. A plain Logger has no latency limitations. Comments
RTS - Logger Storage Center Database
500
1000
For archiving to DVD IDE on RTS client. 5 GB per hour for 25 ms Latency
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Latency
Table 11-4: Latency Limitations per Component (Continued)

Source Storage Replication Technology in synchronous mode (Disaster Recovery) Primary Database Target Latency (ms) Ping (Round Trip) (ms) Comments 10 Calls per Second for 10 ms Latency 8 Calls per Second for 25 ms Latency Redundant Database 5 < Latency < 50 5 Calls per Second for 50 ms Latency
Calculating the Required Latency

The latency at a site should be accurately determined:
The component which is most sensitive to latency should be taken into consideration. In case of complicated sites, the latency, which should not be exceeded, must be calculated for each branch. The most problematic network leg should be taken into consideration. In a multi-site/multi Data Hub environment, it is important to create a table with the latency information from site to site and/or from data Hub to Data Hub in order to identify the most problematic operations.
Latency Between Interactions Center and CTI Server

The purpose of this section is to describe the considerations that must be taken into account when there is network latency between the Interactions Center and the CTI Server. As branch recording environments are becoming more and more popular, it is common to find deployment where the Interactions Center and the CTI server are connected over WAN. The considerations that must be taken into account are as follows:
Alcatel-Lucent No limitation or recommendation for maximal latency between the Interactions Center and the Alcatel Lucent TSAPI Server. Genesys
Chapter 11: Network Considerations 157
Optimization Recommendations
It is recommended to have a latency of up to 100ms (200ms round-trip) between the Interactions Center Genesys T-Server. In implementation involving a WAN between the T-Server and clients, where latency may be an issue, traffic prioritization must be applied to the CTI traffic to help ensure fast round-trip times for packets.
NEC No limitation or recommendation for maximal latency between the Interactions Center and the NEC OAI service. Expected latency is usually less than one second.
Siemens No limitation or recommendation for maximal latency between the Interactions Center and the Siemens HiPath 4000 CAP interface.
Aspect No limitation or recommendation for maximal latency between the Interactions Center and the various Aspect CTI interfaces.
Avaya
No more than a 200 ms average round-trip packet delivery time to the AES, as measured with ping over every one hour time period. Periodic spiked delays of no more than 2 seconds while maintaining the 200 ms average round-trip delivery time, as measured with ping over every one hour time period.
Cisco Maximum supported latency between the PBX and TSP client is up to 80 ms.
Bandwidth
If the available bandwidth for NICE systems does not fit the requirements, several optimizations can be made:
Schedule the Storage rules to run during the least busy hours. Schedule the Data Mart populating task to run during the least busy hours (if the task runs only once a day, the amount of data transferred would be larger than if it runs every hour). If the screen retention period is relatively short, it is recommended to use large Hard Disk Drive space on the Screen Logger.
Latency
When latency is between 50 ms and 150 ms, Microsoft Windows Media Services (WMS) should be used for playbacks. Note that the WMS improves only playback response time, and does not affect the response time of other applications.
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When Latency is more than 50 ms between client machine and Applications Server, it is highly recommended to use Citrix for the application clients (the Citrix Server resides on the LAN where the Applications Server is located, while the remote clients connect through a Citrix session). For supported Citrix versions, see Certified Servers Guide.
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12
Active Directory Integration
This chapter describes the Active Directory Integration in the NICE Perform environment. The Integration has specific capabilities, advantages and disadvantages.
Contents
Active Directory Benefits .............................................................................................162 Prerequisites for Active Directory Authentication ....................................................162 Active Directory Limitations ........................................................................................163
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Active Directory Benefits
Active Directory Benefits

The current integration with Active Directory provides the following benefits:
Standard strong authentication (NTLM/Kerberos) Single Sign-On capability Central password management via Active Directory Central password policy management via Active Directory NICE Proprietary Authentication Active Directory Authentication (NTLM/Kerberos)
NICE Perform supports the following authentication modes:
By default, the NICE Proprietary Authentication mode is used for each new NICE Perform installation, so the system should be configured explicitly to use Active Directory Authentication. The afore-mentioned authentication modes cannot be supported simultaneously. After understanding the overall system implications, System Administrators must select the appropriate mode that best fits their business needs.
Prerequisites for Active Directory Authentication

The following prerequisites are required for NICE Perform to integrate with Active Directory:
Microsoft Windows 2000/2003 Server Active Directory CLDAP service listening on UDP port 389 and accessible anonymously from the NICE Perform Applications Server. LDAP service locator (used to detect available LDAP servers) All relevant domains must be Trusted Domains (bidirectional trusts within a single Forest or multiple Forests) All NICE Perform Applications Servers must be in Trusted Domains An Active Directory user must be mapped to NICE Superuser for administrative operation in NICE Perform. It is recommended to set the value for Password never expires to true
NOTE: Relevant domains are domains that host NICE Perform Applications Servers and domains that host users for the NICE Perform applications.
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Active Directory Limitations
Active Directory Limitations

The following lists the limitations for changing the Authentication mode from NICE Proprietary to Active Directory Authentication:
Moving back from Active Directory authentication to NICE Perform proprietary is possible using a manual procedure, and requires NICE approval. Federated Environment is not supported. To use Active Directory Authentication, each user must be defined in a Trusted Domain.
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13
Media Encryption Solution
This chapter describes the Media Encryption solution in the NICE Perform environment. This solution has specific capabilities, advantages and disadvantages.
Contents
Media Encryption Solution ..........................................................................................166 Media Encryption Prerequisites ..................................................................................168 Media Encryption Limitations......................................................................................169
Chapter 13: Media Encryption Solution NICE Perform Release 3.2: Design Considerations (Rev. A0) Confidential and Proprietary Information of NICE Systems Ltd.
165

Solution Highlights
The highlights of the solution are as follows:
End-to-end media (voice and screen) encryption. Data is encrypted as close as possible to the time of its creation and to its physical location, in order to reduce potential security breaches and increase data security. Once encrypted, the media (voice/screen) is kept encrypted throughout its life cycle. Data is also written encrypted to local backup tapes, as well as to Storage Center, and to any NAS/SAN or CAS storage supported by Storage Center. The media is decrypted for playback and when using Content Analysis, only just immediately before playback or the analysis process. The solution complies with security standards and regulations. More specifically, the solution employs standard, strong encryption algorithms, sensitive data like encryption keys are transferred over secured channels only, and the keys are managed and stored in a secured database.
Support in Multi Data Hub Environments

In a Multi Data Hub deployment, each site has its local KSM Web service. The Cryptographic Information is saved to the local Cryptographic Database using the local KSM, and is retrieved from the local KSM upon demand. The module that retrieves the information, for example the Player, specifies the site of the call, and the KSM retrieves the key from the appropriate database. If the site is not the local site, the KSM turns to the KSM at the other site to retrieve the key. The Cryptographic Information stored in the Cryptographic Database is not replicated between Data Hubs.
IMPORTANT Enabling SSL connection between KSM servers at different sites requires that each KSM holds the CA certificates of all other KSM servers in the Multi Data Hub environment.
166
IMPORTANT In Multi Data Hub environments, Port 443 must be open on the Applications Servers in both the primary and the secondary Data Hubs.
Threats to the Media

The Media Encryption solution completely removes threats to:
Media on storage Media Encryption eliminates the risk that media can be reconstructed by an intruder who gains access to the Logger, NiceScreen Logger or Storage Center. Media on the wire Media Encryption eliminates the risk that media can be reconstructed by an intruder who accesses the local network and puts a sniffer on the wire. Media retrieved using the Loggers API Media Encryption eliminates the risk that media can be reconstructed by an intruder who gains unauthorized access to the Loggers APIs.
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Media Encryption Prerequisites
Media Encryption Prerequisites

IMPORTANT
Media Encryption requires digital certificates for SSL communication with the SQL Server and Applications Server. The certificate generation and renewal process is under the customer's responsibility. If a certificate expires, although NICE Perform will continue to record and encrypt the calls, the customer will not be able to play the encrypted calls. To play the encrypted calls, the certificate must be renewed. The customer is responsible to securely backup the SQL Server database keys and passwords that are generated and defined during system setup. These will be required in order to provide support in case of database corruption.
General
A Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) must be used in the Database Servers branch of the System Administrator application.
Applications Server

The Applications Server has a license key for encryption. The Applications Server has a CA certificate for the SQL Server. The Applications Server has a certificate for the Internet Information Services (IIS). In a Multi Data Hub environment, a CA certificate is required for each of the Key Storage Managers in the system. EFS must be enabled.
Logger

A certificate must be installed. EFS must be enabled.
Screen Agent

EFS must be enabled. The Client machine has a CA certificate for the Key Storage Manager.
Content Analysis

The Applications Server must support encryption and be properly configured. The Content Analysis Server must have a CA certificate.
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Media Encryption Limitations
Media Encryption Limitations

Loggers

Audio that is recorded before the Logger was upgraded and configured to work in encryption mode, will not be encrypted. Encryption is applied to the Logger as a whole, and not to specific channels of the Logger. Encrypted audio that is stored on a tape or DVD must not be restored to a Logger (an old Logger) that does not support encryption.
ScreenAgents
ScreenAgent registration to multiple Interactions Centers is not supported if the Interactions Centers are associated with different Data Hubs. This situation can occur when an agent has two different identities in two different switches that belong to different Data Hubs. Screen that is recorded before the ScreenAgent was upgraded and configured to work in encryption mode, will not be encrypted.
Player
The Save As option removes the encryption, even if the media is saved to an .nmf file. As best practice, NICE recommends granting the Save As permission only to privileged users.
Microsoft Windows Media Services (WMS) Streaming Server
To secure the media streaming when using Windows Media Services for playback over WAN, the customer must implement Microsoft's Digital Rights Management (DRM) services. This requires the customer to sign a contract with Microsoft and receive an annual DRM license.
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14
Virtualization
Contents
Discovery Questions ....................................................................................................172
Chapter 14: Virtualization NICE Perform Release 3.2: Design Considerations (Rev. A0) Confidential and Proprietary Information of NICE Systems Ltd.
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Discovery Questions
Discovery Questions
A list of discovery questions is presented below to assist in better understanding the customers environment and to discover if a Virtualized NICE Perform system can be deployed within this environment:
1. What are the business needs for using VMware? 2. Data center optimization/Servers Consolidation? 3. Centralized Desktop (using VDI)? 4. High Availability (manually/automatically moving VMs between two local physical
machines)?
5. Disaster Recovery (manually/automatically moving VMs between two physical machines in
different sites)?
6. What are the existing VMware Product Versions? 7. What is the ESX (Hypervisor) version? 8. What is the VDM (Connection broker) version? 9. What is the Virtual Center (Management Application) version? 10. Does the customer have policies regarding deploying VMware? 11. A policy for deploying ESX on every server, even when deploying only one VM on one
physical server?
12. A policy for using VMware High Availability and/or Disaster Recovery applications (such as
V-Motion, HA, Site Recovery Manager and so on) for operational mission-critical systems?
13. What type of severs are used at the sites (model/specifications), and are there available system
resources in order to deploy NICE Perform on virtual machines?
Chapter 14: Virtualization NICE Perform Release 3.2: Design Considerations (Rev. A0) Confidential and Proprietary Information of NICE Systems Ltd.
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15
Additional Requirements
Contents
NAT/PAT .........................................................................................................................174 Hardening ......................................................................................................................175
Chapter 15: Additional Requirements NICE Perform Release 3.2: Design Considerations (Rev. A0) Confidential and Proprietary Information of NICE Systems Ltd.
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NAT/PAT
NAT/PAT
From NICE Perform Release 2 and above, the NICE Perform Applications Suite also supports NAT/PAT environments. NAT/PAT environments require defining a resource for each machine name instead of IP addresses (by resources we also refer to services, Loggers, Storage Centers, Interactions Center). As a result, the Applications Suite may be configured in three different modes:
Configuration A Regular networking environments (without NAT/PAT):
The communication between services (communication layer) is done using machine names or IP (fully qualified machine names or IP). Other system resources (such as Logger, Interactions Center) are accessed according to their particular configuration. No need to use Genuine Channels.
Configuration B NAT/PAT Environment:
IMPORTANT It is mandatory that communication between services (communication layer) is done using machine names (fully qualified machine names).
Resources must be defined by machine names. Genuine Channels must be used. Certified configuration client workstations and NICE servers reside from both sides of the NAT/PAT. NAT/PAT between servers or Multi Data Hub configurations requires NICE approval.
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Hardening
Hardening

If the customer requires additional security, use the NICE Server Hardening configuration (refer to Hardening Guide for Microsoft Windows 2003). If the NICE hardening policy does not meet the customer needs, contact NICE Product Management. NICE publishes a Hardening Guide for NICE Perform for Windows 2003 Server (available on ExtraNICE). NICE hardening guidelines are based on the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Security Guide. The NICE Hardening Guide comes with a template (.inf) file that can be applied to a Windows 2003 Server to automatically make the necessary changes to operating system parameters using the Microsoft Management Console (MMS). In certain scenarios, if a customer cannot independently make the necessary analysis based on the information provided by NICE, the customer may request that NICE validate their hardening procedures, based on the customers IT department security policies. Such a validation requires special staging of a testing environment. The validation may be performed by NICE Professional Services in the local region, based on commitment and Product Management approval.
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Index
1+1 considerations 142
acronyms 17 Active Directory integration 161 benefits 162 limitations 163 prerequisites 162 active VoIP Logger passive VoIP Logger 48 applications 57, 71, 77 Clip recording 65 Media Library 64 playback 63 Rules Manager 68 applications concurrent usage 58 Business Analyzer 61 My Universe 62 Reporter 62 applications response time 58 backward compatibility 15 Business Analyzer 61
discovery questions 122 distributed screen recording 126 distributed voice recording 130 multi-linked data hubs 134 single site 123 survivable recording 132 design considerations 135, 173 applications 57, 71, 77 deployment configurations 15, 121, 161, 165 integrations 69 servers 21 Desktop Analytics 43 server limitations 44
G H I
glossary 15, 17 hardening 175 integration policy 69 integration combination guidelines 70 integrations 69 interaction analytics 71 limitations 44 list of terms 17 Media Encryption 165 limitations 169 media threats 167 Multi Data Hub support 166 prerequisites 168 solution 166 solution highlights 166 threats to the media 167 multi-data hub 89 multi-site 89 My Universe 62
Index 177
B C
Clip recording CDR systems 67 extension-side recording 67 Playback to Extension 65 screen only 67 trunk-side recording 65 compatibility 15 CTI integrations policy 69 Customer Feedback considerations 41 definitions 17 deployment configurations 121 branch centralized recording 124 centralized active VoIP recording 128 centralized recording 124
L M
NICE Perform Release 3.2: Design Considerations (Rev. A0)
n+1 considerations 142 NAT 174 NAT/PAT 174 NEL 54 network considerations 147 bandwidth calculation example 153 free bandwidth calculation 148 latency 156 optimization recommendations 158 network design considerations 147 Network Embedded Logger 54 NIC 144 NICE ScreenAgent architecture 78 NiceScreen Logger 29 overview 15 PAT 174
O P R
release 3.1 whats new 15 release 3.2 whats new 16 Reporter 62 resiliency options 135 1+1 considerations 142 applications server cluster 138 branch recording survivability 143 database cluster 138 disaster recovery 145 Interactions Center cluster 139 n+1 considerations 142 NIC teaming 144 passive VoIP loggers considerations 142 storage center redundancy 140 total recording solution 143 TRS 143 Voice Recording SIP Proxy redundancy architecture 140 VoIP loggers considerations 142 VSRP redundancy architecture 140
scalability 87, 90 scale capabilities 90 Screen Agent 77 capture methods 79 in Citrix server 81 in terminal server 81 limitations 84 NAT/PAT 81 networking 85 NICE ScreenAgent 78 performance capabilities 80 registration to multiple ICs 82 resiliency capabilities 84 software 84 Screen Content Analysis 43 ScreenAgent architecture 78 servers deployment configurations 21 distributed deployment 26 semi-distributed server 26 SMB 24 unified server 25 single data hub 89 single data hub vs. multi-data hub considerations 89 single site 89 single site vs. multi-site considerations 89 Storage Center 30 Stream Server 46 system scale capabilities 90 Telephony Services Server 34 telephony services server 34 terminology 15, 17 Total Recording Solution (TRS) 143 TRS 143 virtualization 171 discovery questions 172 VMware 171 VoIP Logger Passive 48 VoIP Loggers 48 VRA 53
Index NICE Perform Release 3.2: Design Considerations (Rev. A0)
178

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NICE Perform

Design Considerations for NICE Perform Release 3.2

Insight from Interactions

Confidential and Proprietary Information of NICE Systems Ltd.

When to Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Blank page for double-sided printing.

Whats New in Release 3.2

Whats New in Release 3.2

List of Terms Used

List of Terms Used

List of Terms Used

Retention SA SAMS Site

Static Mapping Storage Group

Storage Unit TDM VRG

List of Terms Used

Blank page for double-sided printing.

NICE Perform Components

NICE Perform Components

The Database Server holds call information and administrative information.

NICE Perform Components

NiceScreen Logger (MML)

Talk over analysis Emotion detection Word Search Transcription

SMB Small Medium Business

SMB Small Medium Business

VoIP Single Box Solution

Single Box Limitations

Unified Server Deployment

TDM Two Boxes Solution

Unified Server Deployment

Semi-Distributed Server Deployment

Semi-Distributed Server Deployment

Content Analysis Server

Telephony Services Server

NICE Interactions Center

NICE Interactions Center

Online Screen Storage Calculation

Outcome of Discovery Questions

Number of required Storage Centers Location of Storage Center Redundancy design

Calculating the Number of Storage Centers per Site

The calculations are:

RequiredArchivedDataPerDay RequiredSCsForArchiving = -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SCArchivingCapacity ArchivingWindow 0.7 RequiredSCsForSite = RequiredSCsForPlayback + RequiredSCsForArchiving

Storage Center Redundancy

Issues for Consideration

Telephony Services Server

Telephony Services Server

Number of concurrent playback to extensions.

Single or Multi Data Hub deployment.

Telephony Services Server

Voice comment - calculate the required storage in the Database.

Outcome of Discovery Questions

Telephony Services Server General Considerations

Feedback ports calculation:

minutes average call duration) = 5 ports

Telephony Services Server

Telephony Services Server Connectivity

Analog Board Support

IP (Standard SIP or H.323)

Analog and Digital Board Support Prerequisites

Telephony Services Server

Telephony Services Server Deployment

Multiple PBXs connected to a single NICE Interactions Center:

Multiple PBXs with connectivity.

Telephony Services Server