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Maintenance
Intuity AUDIX provides special maintenance features including:
- System Maintenance — describes the organization and function of the maintenance layer
- Logs — describes the different types of logs in which the system records information about its activities
- Diagnostics — describes the types of hardware diagnostics available
- Database Audits — describes the types of database audits that run automatically or on demand to ensure the integrity of system data
- Remote Service Center — describes the role of the remote service center in maintaining the system
- RAID — describes the data-mirroring feature package
- Security — describes a few security features
- Additional Maintenance Tools — describes other products that the customer or field technicians can use in conjunction with the system, such as Trouble Tracker and the Inband PBX Configuration Tool.
System Maintenance
The customer services layer of the product is part of the platform and is common to all features and feature packages. Depending on its requirements, the feature or feature package uses the utilities offered by the maintenance layer.
This scheme provides the customer's system administrator with a single point of reference for maintenance and troubleshooting regardless of configuration. For example, the configuration includes Intuity AUDIX Voice Messaging, Intuity FAX Messaging, and Intuity AUDIX Digital Networking. All of these applications use the same alarm log to report problems occurring within the feature or in its interaction with other feature packages. This log:
- Receives entries from all areas of the system
- Prioritizes alarms according to severity
- Is accessible in an easy-to-read report
Reviewing the logs allows the customer's system administrator to reach a quick understanding of overall system status. This common maintenance platform offers a variety of other features aimed at efficient and effective maintenance and troubleshooting.
Logs
The system uses a series of logs as the central collection point for information flowing from all of the Intuity AUDIX features and feature packages. These logs provide a systemwide view of activities, errors, and alarms.
Messages in the logs range in importance from informational to critical. The logs vary based on audience (who can access them) and information type. The current system uses four logs:
- Activity Log
The activity log records a list of Intuity AUDIX mailbox-related events (for example, logins and message creation, receipt, and deletion). This log is useful for responding to subscriber-reported problems. The activity log is accessible to the vm, sa, and craft logins.
- Administrator's log
The administrator's log records informational messages that could require some action by the Intuity AUDIX system administrator. These messages might simply log a successful nightly backup or they could alert the system administrator that the system is low on disk space. The administrator's log is accessible to the vm, sa, and craft logins.
- Alarm log
The alarms signal a service-affecting or potentially service-affecting problem with the system. The alarm log records major, minor, and warning alarms generated by the system. The system automatically notifies a designated remote service center of all major and minor alarms. The customer is responsible for resolving all warning alarms. The alarm log is accessible to the vm, sa, and craft logins.
- Maintenance log
The maintenance log records error occurrences, error resolutions, and informational events that can help Professional Services troubleshoot an alarm. The maintenance log is accessible only to the craft login.
Alarms
Errors found by the system are recorded in the maintenance log. The system then attempts to diagnose and isolate those problems and can send an alarm to the alarm log if it cannot correct the error automatically.
The contents of the alarm log represent all of the significant problems the system detects. Therefore, it is the starting point for troubleshooting the system.
Note: Many alarm codes and alarm numbers have changed from previous releases. See Alarms for current alarm listings.
The alarm log holds two types of entries:
- Active alarms
An active alarm indicates a current problem in the system.
- Resolved alarms
Resolved alarms have been corrected either automatically or through a repair procedure.
Three alarm levels indicate the severity of an alarm:
- Major Alarms
Major alarms indicate problems that could affect key system components or features. For example, if more than 25% of the voice ports are out of service, a major alarm is generated. Major alarms are repairable by technicians.
- Minor Alarms
Minor alarms indicate problems that could affect full service but are not critical to system operation. For example, if a network connection occurs, a warning alarm appears. Minor alarms are repairable by technicians. Minor alarms are repairable by technicians.
- Warning alarms
Warning alarms indicate problems that could potentially affect system service if not resolved. For example, if the customer system administrator does not create a trusted server password and a trusted server tries to log in, a warning alarm is generated. Warning alarms are repairable by the customer.
When an active alarm is corrected, its status changes from "active" to "resolved."
Alarm Resolution
If the customer purchases a maintenance service contract and activates the alarm origination feature, the system automatically sends major and minor alarms to a remote service center for correction. Warning alarms are not sent to a remote service center. Warning alarms must be corrected by the system administrator using the procedures detailed in Alarms.
Alarm Notification
Viewing the administrator's log and the alarm log on a daily basis is the best way to be informed of new entries. Active alarms (alarms that have not been resolved) and new entries to the administrator's log are noted on the STATUS line.
The STATUS line can display multiple levels of alarms. The alarm level is important because it classifies problems within the system so that the most severe can be worked first. In most cases, the alarm level also marks the area between the responsibility of the system administrator (warning alarms) and the responsibility of the remote service center (major and minor alarms).
Remote Maintenance Circuit Card
The system can employ a remote maintenance circuit card. This card monitors a number of items including disk drive status and environmental conditions.
The remote maintenance circuit card:
- Provides a single point of remote alarming and service access to the system (this is accomplished through an on-board Hayes-compatible modem in the U.S. version and an external modem in the non-U.S. version)
- Provides dial-up access, even when the system is no longer responding to local control
- Has a UNIX-based remote console feature that allows remote service center personnel to remotely access the system almost as if they were at the local console
- Allows the remote service center to perform a reboot of the system
- Monitors voltage levels and fan status on the system
Note: The remote maintenance circuit card also monitors the internal uninterrupted power supply on older models of the MAP/100p.
Remote Service Center
The remote service center plays a key role in maintaining and troubleshooting the system.
If a major or minor alarm remains active on a customer's system for at least five minutes, the Remote Maintenance circuit card automatically places a call to the remote service center designated on the Alarm Management screen. The modem on the Remote Maintenance circuit card that was used to place the call to the remote service center also allows remote service center personnel to log in to the system and correct the problem. Problems can usually be corrected without disrupting service.
Remote notification of alarms varies based on the terms of a customer's maintenance contract. If the customer selects the remote service center as the remote alarming center, alarms are sent to the remote service center, where they are tracked and resolved in a timely manner.
Diagnostics
The system provides utilities to manually test most of its hardware components and their physical links to other parts of the system.
- POST
Any time the Intuity AUDIX is booted or rebooted, a power-on self-test (POST) is performed. It checks the following components on a pass/fail basis: CPU, CMOS RAM, ROM checksum, memory refresh, DMA controllers, interrupt controller, keyboard, dedicated memory, base memory, extended memory, total memory, calendar/clock, diskette, and hard disk.
- Remote maintenance circuit card
This card, described in Remote Maintenance Circuit Card, automatically monitors a number of internal components, including:
Digital Networking
Several networking tests are available to diagnose networking problems.
Remote Connection Test
The remote connection test checks the transmission path from the local to the remote machine. This test can be performed on a remote machine with which the customer plans to exchange voice messages.
Channel Internal Loop-Around Test
The channel internal loop-around test checks the operation of an individual channel on the networking card. This test ensures that the board is operating correctly.
Modem Loop-Around Test
The modem loop-around test checks the connectivity between the networking card and the modem through a channel configured as RS-232. The test sends a signal from the networking card to the modem and back. This test ensures that the card and the modem are communicating and that the modem is configured correctly.
Network Loop-Around Test
The network loop-around test checks the data transmission path that connects the local Intuity AUDIX machine with the service office (SO) and the public network.
Note: The system administrator might have to reset the networking card after performing a networking diagnostic test.
TCP/IP
The TCP/IP diagnostics can be used when subscribers are experiencing problems with Intuity Message Manager, Enhanced List Application (ELA), or mailbox synchronization with a supported email application. TCP/IP diagnostics are also used in connection with digital networking and Ethernet LAN connectivity, either as part of diagnosing a reported subscriber problem or as part of troubleshooting an alarm. These diagnostics allow you to:
- Test the system's TCP/IP software.
- Test the connection between the system and a subscriber's PC.
- View the statistics for the LAN card.
For more information, see Intuity Digital Networking.
Voice Card and Connections
Voice card diagnostics check each channel on the voice card for loop current. Loop current is present on a channel when a live telephone line is physically connected between the voice port and a properly administered switch port.
Serial Port Circuit Card and Connections
The serial port circuit card is equipped with diagnostic utilities that allow a customer's system administrator to troubleshoot the circuit card, for example, to monitor lead status, view port parameter settings, and test functionality.
Serial Port External Loopback Test
This test is a program that writes a data pattern to one or more selected ports, reads the data back, and then compares the two sets of data. Before you can execute this test, the transmit and receive pins must be wired together.
Serial Port Internal Loopback Test
This test is the similar to the external loopback test, but it does not require that the transmit and receive pins be wired together. Because it does not test the full cabling of the port, the internal loopback test is not as thorough as the external loopback test.
Serial Port Send Test
The send test simply writes a continuous stream of printable alphanumeric characters to the specified port. This test is helpful when a new device is being added to the system and a continuous steam of data is required to resolve wiring issues.
Switch Integration
Switch integration is the mechanism by which the system and the switch share information to expedite and enhance call processing. At this time, switch integration diagnostic utilities are available for Data Communications Interface Unit (DCIU) integrations and Digital Station Interface circuit card integrations.
DCIU Integrations
Diagnostic utilities for DCIU integrations include:
- View switch link status.
- Diagnose the switch integration card.
- Reset switch integration hardware and software.
- Busy-out the switch integration link.
- Release the switch integration link.
For more information, see the switch integration documentation specific to the switch installed at the customer's location.
Digital Interface Circuit Card Integrations
Diagnostic utilities for digital interface circuit card integrations include the VBPC Link Status screen. This screen shows usage and status of the VBPC ports.
Database Audits
During normal operation, Intuity AUDIX databases work independently of each other under the direction of a set of software and hardware processes. These processes coordinate the files, databases, and system hardware.
Since databases are handled separately, it is possible for one database to contain information that conflicts with another database. For example, if a subscriber is removed from the Intuity AUDIX database, other databases could still contain messages addressed to that subscriber or mailing lists that include that deleted subscriber's name.
To reconcile possible conflicts among databases, software programs called audits run automatically (or can be performed on demand) to check for inconsistencies and, when possible, update information in databases to correct problems. For example, audits remove all references to a deleted subscriber which includes deleting the subscriber's name from mailing lists and canceling message deliveries to that subscriber.
Intuity AUDIX Voice Messaging Audits
The Intuity AUDIX feature package performs many regular internal audits on the databases of information it maintains. These databases include:
Networking Database Audits
The networking database audit consists of a series of internal checks. These checks verify, for example, that files are not corrupted and that values within the files are within the proper ranges. The networking database consists of two parts: the networking administration database and the remote subscriber update status database.
Switch Integration Software Audits
The switch integration software in the system is part of a layer that is accessible to all the software applications. Therefore, the software maintains its own database of subscribers to execute the switch-related requests from the applications. Subscribers are added to the switch integration database automatically after being added to an application, such as Intuity AUDIX.
Because the switch integration software maintains its own database, it must be synchronized periodically with the other application databases. This synchronization is accomplished through several audits.
Lodging Mailbox Database Audit
The Lodging mailbox database audit consists of a series of internal checks between the Lodging speech database and the Lodging mail database. If the audit finds discrepancies, Lodging reports them. The administrator can then schedule a time to run the Audit and Fix Database command to resolve them.
RAID
The impact of disk failures is greatly reduced with the use of Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID). RAID is a method of providing complete data redundancy using a minimum amount of storage capacity for storing the information. RAID allows for greater disk capacity per disk and mirroring of the information contained on the disks. Two forms of RAID are available:
- RAID level 1 is offered on the MAP/40P models. RAID level 1 provides a high level of data availability through disk mirroring where a duplicate copy of the data from one disk drive is copied and stored on another disk drive.
- RAID level 5 is standard on the MAP/100P models. RAID level 5 provides data the highest read data transaction rate by allowing for concurrent read and write processes of data transfer.
Requirements
Mirroring requires the base platform configuration with switch integration. A mirrored system requires twice the disk capacity of a standard unmirrored configuration. Therefore, in most cases, the customer must also add one or more additional hard drives to the system.
Capacity
Mirrored disks provide no additional speech storage space since two copies of the exact same data are maintained. In fact, enabling mirroring could decrease the potential speech storage capacity of the system.
Note: A portion of the first disk drive in any Intuity AUDIX system is dedicated to nonspeech data. See System Components and Capacities for more information.
The following table shows the differences in speech storage space between mirrored and unmirrored configurations.
Connectivity
Besides the installation of additional hard disk drives, mirroring requires no additional hardware or connections beyond the standard configuration.
Security
The system is designed to be very secure. The following is a list of some of the security features.
Subscriber Passwords
Passwords protect all messaging mailboxes. The system offers password aging and password timeout mechanisms that can help restrict unauthorized subscribers.
Subscriber passwords must comply with the following guidelines:
- Passwords can be from five to 15 digits in length, although the system administrator can specify a minimum required length.
- A password cannot:
The system administrator can administer the system to age subscriber passwords, at which time subscribers must select a new password.
Callers are given three attempts per call to enter their mailbox correctly before they are automatically disconnected. An administrator can also specify how many consecutive invalid attempts are allowed before a voice mailbox is locked.
Administrative Logins and Passwords
There are three logins to access the system. Each login has its own unique password and provides varying levels of access to the features and capabilities of the system. This layered approach limits access to particularly powerful features and is convenient when delegating system administrator responsibilities.
All of the subscriber password compliance guidelines apply, including password aging, for both the system administrator (sa) and voice mail (vm) logins.
Note: Enhanced call transfer is available for DCIU or CLAN switch integration.
Enhanced Call Transfer
With Enhanced Call Transfer, the system uses a digital control link message to initiate the transfer. The switch then verifies that the requested destination is a valid extension in the dial plan. The system verifies that the digits entered contain the same number of digits as are administered on the Intuity AUDIX system for extension lengths. When callers request a name addressing transfer, the name must match the name of an Intuity AUDIX subscriber (either local or remote) whose extension number is in the dial plan.
Call transfers are subject to control by the customer system administrator. This administrative control is designed to encompass all of the numbers to which a caller can transfer.
Controlling Call Transfers Using
Allowed and Denied NumbersTo transfer to another extension, the subscriber presses * T, the digits of the extension to which he or she wants to transfer, and #. The system administrator can administer the Intuity AUDIX system to permit transfers to only certain allowed numbers or ranges of numbers. For example, the system administrator can administer the system to forbid call transfer to extensions beginning with 9, if dialing this number results in access to an outside line. See Creating Restricted Number Lists for additional information on establishing dialing restrictions.
If a caller enters an extension that is an allowed transfer, the switch completes the transfer, disconnects the Intuity AUDIX system, and sends a "disconnect — successful transfer" message to the system. If the number is not valid, the switch leaves the system connected to the caller and sends a "fail" message to the Intuity AUDIX system. Then the system plays an error message to the caller and prompts for further activity.
Controlling Call Transfers Using
"Subscribers versus Digits"Allowing * T transfers increases the risk of toll fraud. If the customer decides to allow * T transfers, the system can be set to allow transfers by either subscribers or digits.
- Transfer by subscriber — in a system administered to allow transfer by subscriber, callers can only transfer to an administered AUDIX subscriber.
- Transfer by digits — in a system administered to allow transfer by digits, the destination telephone number must correspond to a pattern administered in the Allowed and Denied Numbers menus. It must also have the same number of digits as extension numbers within the Intuity AUDIX system.
Restricting call transfers to administered subscribers is the more secure of the two options. Fraudulent use of call transfer is virtually eliminated when the Intuity AUDIX system verifies that the specified destination is an administered number and denied numbers are administered carefully to include such things as a phantom mailbox beginning with 9. However, you must also consider that if digits are specified, the caller might find a way to access the switch and to use switch features and functions to complete fraudulent long-distance calls.
Switch Administration
The current Intuity AUDIX documentation set includes detailed instructions on how to administer switches to prevent toll fraud. For more information, see Switch Administration Tasks Checklist and the switch integration book for the specific switch at the customer's site.
Outcalling
Toll fraud can be minimized when outcalling to Intuity AUDIX subscribers who are offsite and often have their message notification forwarded to a call pager. To do so, the outcalling:
- Ports can be assigned to a tollrestricted Class of Restriction (COR) that allows calling only within a local area.
- Numbers can be entered into an unrestricted calling list for either ARS or Toll Analysis.
- Numbers can be limited to 7 or 10 digits to restrict outcalling to, for example, international extensions.
Unattended Backups
The nightly unattended (automatic) backup that the Intuity AUDIX system performs might not have enough information to restore the system completely. However, the backup does contain enough information to return the system back to working order should a problem occur. This offers customers the security of always having the previous day's messaging and system information available.
At a minimum, the customer should have enough tape or disk cartridges to complete seven backups (one for each night of the week). Depending on the needs of the business, these tape or disk cartridges can be archived for a longer length of time or can be swapped out daily. This ensures that the previous day's messaging and system information is available at any time.
Unattended backups do not always store voice data. In the event of a system failure, all voice messages are lost unless you have also performed an attended backup.Additional Maintenance Tools
Several other Technology products can enhance the Intuity AUDIX system maintenance environment.
Trouble Tracker
As described under Alarms, most system configurations will send alarms to a remote service center. However, as an option, the system can also send alarms to a Trouble Tracker system. Trouble Tracker is a Avaya product that uses databases to monitor a network. For more information on Trouble Tracker, see Introduction to Trouble Tracker, 585-225-021.
Inband PBX Configuration Tool
An administrative tool that is only used by Field technicians for providing services. This tool is used to administer inband parameters on the voice mail for inband switch integration.
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