4 Installing and Configuring the Siebel Connector

The Siebel Connector integrates Siebel HelpDesk 8.x with Enterprise Manager. Using this connector, you can create a Siebel HelpDesk request, update an existing service request, or close a service request based on metric alerts in Enterprise Manager.

This chapter provides the following information for setting up and configuring the Siebel Connector:

Introduction to the Siebel Connector
Prerequisitess
Installing and Uninstalling the Siebel Connector
Registering the Connector Descriptor
Registering Ticket Templates
Configuring the Siebel Connector
Creating Siebel Service Requests
Navigating Between Siebel HelpDesk and Enterprise Manager
Reading Ticket Templates
Enabling SSL for HTTPS
Siebel Connector Tips

Introduction to the Siebel Connector

The Siebel Connector integrates Enterprise Manager with Siebel HelpDesk through either an HTTP or HTTPS connection. You can create, update, or close tickets based on only the following types of alerts in Enterprise Manager:

Metric alerts
Availability alerts (includes alerts for Up, Down, Blackout Started, Blackout Ended, Agent Unreachable, Agent Unreachable Resolved, Metric Error Detected, and Metric Error Resolved).

The following sections explain various Siebel Connector concepts that you must understand before you start using the Siebel Connector.

Auto Ticketing

Whenever an alert is triggered in Enterprise Manager, the Siebel Connector can automatically open or update a service request. You can specify the set of alerts for which tickets must be opened and the alert severity for which this should happen.

This can be done in Notification Rules, the user-defined rules that define the criteria by which notifications should be sent for alerts.

See Also:

"Configuring Notifications" in Oracle Enterprise Manager Advanced Configuration Guide

After the ticket is opened, any subsequent update of the alert, such as a change in alert severity, causes an annotation to the ticket. After the alert is cleared (severity is set to Clear), the ticket can be optionally closed.

Manual Ticketing

From the Enterprise Manager Grid Control, you can choose to manually open a Siebel HelpDesk service request based on an open alert in Enterprise Manager. The Siebel Connector populates the ticket with details based on the alert and the ticket template.

Ticket Templates

Ticket templates are transformation style sheets in XSLT format that transform Enterprise Manager alerts to ticket format before the requests are sent to Siebel HelpDesk.

These templates specify how Enterprise Manager alert attributes can populate the fields of a Siebel service request.

In Auto Ticketing, a notification method is created for each registered ticket template. The selected notification method determines which ticket template is used when a notification is sent out to the Connector. For manual ticketing, you have to select a ticket template before submitting a request to create ticket.

Grace Period

The grace period provides you with a configuration to prevent the creation of a large number of tickets for frequently reoccurring alerts. For alerts that occur frequently within a relatively short time interval, it is often desirable to open and maintain one trouble ticket that tracks each occurrence of the alert instead of separate tickets each time.

For recurring alerts, the Grace Period is a time period during which reoccurrences of the same alert cause an existing ticket for the alert to be updated (or re-opened) instead of causing a new ticket to be opened.

For example, an alert triggers and a ticket is opened for it. If the Grace Period is one hour and the alert is cleared at 10:00 am, then if the same alert retriggers before 11:00 am (one hour grace period), the ticket that had been originally created for the alert is updated/reopened rather than creating a new ticket.

Prerequisites

Before using Siebel Connector, ensure that you meet the following prerequisites:

Siebel HelpDesk 8.x is installed and configured.
Siebel HelpDesk Web services are up and running.

Installing and Uninstalling the Siebel Connector

To install the Siebel Connector:

Copy the file EMHelpdesk.jar to the Oracle Management Service (OMS). In case of multiple OMSs, you have to copy the jar file for all OMSs.

Run the following command on all OMS's:

emctl extract_jar connector EMHelpdesk.jar Siebel_Connector $ORACLE_HOME

Files are extracted from the jar file to the following directory:

$ORACLE_HOME/sysman/connector/Siebel_Connector

Ensure that the following files are extracted:
- SiebelDeploy.xml — Connector Descriptior
- SiebelHelpdeskTemplate.xsl — Ticket Template
- CreateResponse.xsl — Ticket Response Template
- EMModel.xml — Alert Schema

After you install Enterprise Manager, when you access the Enterprise Manager console as a Super Administrator, you can see the Siebel Connector in the Management Connectors. See "Configuring the Siebel Connector" for instructions.

To uninstall the Siebel Connector, select it in the Management Connectors page, then click Delete.

Registering the Connector Descriptor

After you install the Siebel connector, register the connector descriptor file SiebelDeploy.xml to describe the connector metadata and the configuration properties of the connector, such as Web service end points, authentication schema, and ticket URL pattern.

From the Oracle Management Server (OMS) host command window, run the following emctl command from the $ORACLE_HOME/bin directory:

emctl register_connector connector $ORACLE_HOME/sysman/connector/Siebel_Connector/SiebelDeploy.xml host port database_SID username password $ORACLE_HOME

Table 4-1 emctl Parameters

Parameter	Description
`host`	Host name of the Enterprise Manager repository.
`port`	Listener port of the repository.
`database sid/ Service Name for RAC DB`	Repository database instance ID or service name if you are using RAC database as the repository.
`username`	Specify `SYSMAN.`
`password`	Password for `SYSMAN.`

Registering Ticket Templates

Ticket templates need to be registered before they are recognized in Enterprise Manager.

From the Oracle Management Server (OMS) host command window, run the following emctl command from the $ORACLE_HOME/bin directory:

emctl register_ticket_template connector $ORACLE_HOME/sysman/connector/Siebel_Connector/siebelTemplates/SiebelHelpdeskTemplate.xsl host port database_SID username password connector_type_name connector_name template_name template_description

Table 4-2 emctl Parameters

Parameter	Description
`host`	Host name of the Enterprise Manager repository.
`port`	Listener port of the repository.
`database sid/ Service Name for RAC DB`	Repository database instance ID or service name if you are using RAC database as the repository.
`username`	Specify `SYSMAN.`
`password`	Password for `SYSMAN.`
`connectorTypeName`	Connector type name you define in `connectorType.xml`. For example, "`My Ticketing Connector".` The double quotes ("") are mandatory.
`connectorName`	Connector name. This should be the same as the connector type name. For example, "`My Ticketing Connector".`
`templateName`	An intuitive name for the ticket template to be displayed in Enterprise Manager.
`description`	A short description for the ticket template. This description is also displayed in Enterprise Manager.

Configuring the Siebel Connector

To configure the connector:

As Super Administrator, from Enterprise Manager Grid Control, click Setup.

The Overview of Setup page appears.
Click Management Connectors in the left pane.

The Management Connectors page appears. The row for the ticketing connector should appear in this page.
Click the Configure icon for the connector that you just registered.

The General tab of the Configure Management Connector page appears (Figure 4-1).
Configure the following:
- Connection settings
  - Web Service End Points
  - Authentication details
- Web Console settings
- Grace Period
See "General Settings" for details.
Click OK.

The Management Connectors page reappears. The ticketing connector row should have a check mark in the Configured column.
In the Configure Management Connector page, go to the Ticket Templates tab (Figure 4-2) and ensure that ticket templates are successfully loaded.

If you choose HTTPS as the protocol to establish a connection between MOM and Enterprise Manager, see "Enabling SSL for HTTPS" on page 4-16.

Figure 4-1 Configure Management Connector General Page

General Settings

The following sections explain how to provide various configuration details.

Connection Settings

The HelpDesk Connector communicates with the Help Desk through their Web services. Mandatory fields are indicated by an asterisk ( * ).

*Web Service End Points — Endpoints to CreateTroubleTicket, UpdateTroubleTicket, and GetTroubleTicket Web services exposed by Siebel Help Desk.
*Username— User with the privilege to create, update, and query tickets in Siebel. All service requests created through the connector are generated using this user account.
*Password— Password associated with the supplied Siebel user.

Web Console Settings

Web Console settings are required if you want the Connector to provide links from Enterprise Manager to the Siebel Help Desk application user interface. These links are the User Interface navigational links from Enterprise Manager to the Siebel Help Desk application user interface.

To enable this functionality, provide the following Web console settings.

Enable Web console— Check to launch the Siebel Service Request page within the context from Enterprise Manager.
HelpDesk Host— Siebel HelpDesk hostname. Provide the machine name and port details of the Web server that hosts the Siebel Application User Interface (and not the details of Web services or the database server).

Grace Period

You can enable and disable the grace period and configure its value. By default, the grace period is disabled. See "Grace Period" for details.

This setting applies to all alerts processed by Siebel Connector.

Working with Ticket Templates

The following sections provide information about viewing, removing, replacing, and adding ticket templates. Use the Configure Management Connector Ticket Templates page (Figure 4-2) to perform any of the activities mentioned in the following sections.

Viewing Template Code

Click the template name to view the code for the template.

The ticket templates are in XSLT format. A basic knowledge of XSLT is required to understand the code.

Removing Templates

Important:

If the template you delete has a notification rule associated with it, the notification fails.

Select the template and click Remove.
At the prompt, confirm the removal.
Before you exit the page, click OK for the deletion to take effect.

Note:
Unless you click OK before you exit, the template is not deleted. Next time you go to the Ticket Template page, the templates reappear.

Though the ticket template is removed from the Enterprise Manager repository, it is still available on OMS in the Connector home directory. You can re-register the ticket template later if required.

Replacing Templates

To replace an existing ticket template, do the following in sequence:

Delete the ticket template.
Register the new template using emctl.

Adding New Templates

To add templates, you should define new templates and register them using emctl.

See Also:

"Customizing Ticket Templates"

Figure 4-2 Configure Management Connector Ticket Templates Page

Re-registering Removed Connectors

The Siebel Connector is automatically registered when Enterprise Manager is installed. However, you may remove this connector at some point and then want to subsequently re-register it.

To re-register a connector that has been removed:

Run the following command on all Oracle Management Servers:
```
emctl extract_jar connector EMHelpdesk.jar Siebel_Connector $ORACLE_HOME
```
Files are extracted from the jar file to the following directory:
```
$ORACLE_HOME/sysman/connector/Siebel_Connector
```

From the Oracle Management Server (OMS) host command window, run the following emctl command from the $ORACLE_HOME/bin directory:

emctl register_connector connector $ORACLE_HOME/sysman/connector/Siebel_Connector/SiebelDeploy.xml host port database_SID username password  $ORACLE_HOME

Run the following emctl command from the same directory:

emctl register_ticket_template connector $ORACLE_HOME/sysman/connector/Siebel_Connector/siebelTemplates/SiebelHelpdeskTemplate.xsl host port database_SID username password connector_type_name connector_name template_name template_description

Note:

For multiple Oracle Management Servers, you only need to register the connector once from any of the Oracle Management Servers.

Creating Siebel Service Requests

You can create service requests automatically, or you can create them manually. The following sections explain how to create both types.

Creating Service Requests Automatically

Perform the following steps to create a ticket automatically:

From Enterprise Manager Grid Control, click Preferences.
In the left pane, under Notification, click Rules, then Create.
In the Create Notification Rule General page, specify the rule name, description, and the targets for which this rule should apply.
In the Create Notification Rule Availability page, select the availability states for which you want to create tickets.
In the Create Notification Rule Metrics page, select the metrics and their associated alert severities for which you want to create and update tickets.

Ensure that you select all relevant alert severities if you want to update the ticket when the alert severity changes. For example, to open a ticket for a critical alert on the CPU Utilization(%) metric, and the ticket to be updated if the CPU Utilization(%) changes to warning or clear severity, then in the notification rule select Critical, Warning, or Clear severities for the CPU Utilization(%) metric.
In the Create Notification Rule Methods page, choose the ticket template from the Advanced Notification Methods table (Figure 4-3).

In the table, registered ticket templates appear as Java Callback type notification methods under the same name as the ticket template's file name. This ticket template opens tickets for all availability and metric alerts specified in this notification rule.

This makes the ticket templates available for use to open tickets.

See Also:
"Configuring Notifications" in Oracle Enterprise Manager Advanced Configuration Guide

The following process occurs after you create the notification rule for your alerts:

A notification is sent to the Siebel Connector when a metric alert that matches your rule triggers.
The Siebel connector creates/updates a ticket according to the ticket template as set in the notification rule.
In Enterprise Manager, the alert annotation is updated. A comment is added to the Metric Details page of the alert to indicate that a ticket was created or updated, along with the ticket ID and ticket page URL.

A ticket is updated if there is an existing active ticket for an alert. In Figure 4-4, the first screen shows the ticket in the Siebel HelpDesk page, and the second screen shows the alert as it is displayed in Enterprise Manager.

Figure 4-3 Notification Methods

Figure 4-4 Siebel Service Request and the Alert as Displayed in Enterprise Manager

Creating Service Requests Manually

Perform the following steps to create a ticket manually:

After a metric alert occurs, go to the associated metric details page for the alert. To access this page, click the alert message in Enterprise Manager Grid Control (Figure 4-5).
Click the Create/View Ticket link in the Related Links section.

The Create Ticket page appears if no active ticket exists for the alert.
Select a ticket template and then click Submit (Figure 4-6).

If you do not see the desired template, you can register one using the emctl command. See "Registering Ticket Templates".

If creating or updating the ticket is successful, the ticket ID appears in the Last Comment column of the Alert History table for the metric alert.If the Web console settings are configured and enabled, the ticket ID appears as a link to the ticket page in the Siebel Help Desk. If there is no annotation, the ticket creation fails and error information is logged in the file emoms.log.

Note:

You cannot manually update the ticket using the Siebel Connector. You have to manually update the ticket in the Siebel Help Desk for any subsequent alert change.

Figure 4-5 Metric Details Page

Figure 4-6 Create Ticket Page

Navigating Between Siebel HelpDesk and Enterprise Manager

The following sections explain how to switch from one console to the other.

Navigating from Enterprise Manager to Siebel

In Enterprise Manager Grid Control, click the alert message to go to the metric details page for the alert.
In the Alert History table, locate the ticket ID link in the Last Comment column.
(If not found) Click the icon in the Details column to get more information about the alert.
On the page that appears, locate the ticket ID in the Alert Details table.
Click the ticket ID link. You are forwarded to the Siebel HelpDesk login page.
Provide valid Siebel account details.

The service request associated with this alert is displayed.

Note:

If you do not use Siebel Web console, uncheck the Enable web console option in the Web Console Settings section so that the ticket ID is shown in plain text. Otherwise, it displays as a link that does not work.

Navigating from Siebel HelpDesk to Enterprise Manager

From the HelpDesk Service Request page (Figure 4-7), go to Description and copy the Event Page URL.
Search the URL using a Web browser.

The Enterprise Manager Grid Control login page is displayed.
Specify the Enterprise Manager username and password.

You are forwarded to the alert related to this service request.

Note:

The Enterprise Manager user whose name you specify should at least have View privileges on the target on which the alert was raised.

Figure 4-7 Alert Details in Siebel HelpDesk Service Request Page

Reading Ticket Templates

When the Enterprise Manager connector creates an incident service request record, a data transformation occurs that maps the attributes of the Alert in Enterprise Manager with the attributes of a Service Request on the HelpDesk system. The trouble ticket template and response files specify this mapping. The logical mapping is summarized in Table 4-3. This table will help you to read the Siebel Ticket Template (SiebelHelpdeskTemplate.xsl).

Table 4-3 Service Request Payload and Enterprise Manager Event Mapping

Service Request Attributes	Enterprise Manager Event Attributes	Data Type	Default Value for Create	Default Value for Update
Id		DTYPE_ID		N/A
SR Number		DTYPE_TEXT		N/A
Status (SR_STAT_ID)		DTYPE_TEXT	Open/Closed	Open if EM's Severity = Clear. Closed if EM's Severity = Clear
SR Type (SR_CAT_TYPE_CD)		DTYPE_TEXT	Internal	N/A
Service Request Type		DTYPE_TEXT	Internal	N/A
Severity (SR_SEV_CD)	Severity Helpdesk: 1—Critical 2—High 3—Medium Enterprise Manager: Critical Warning Down	DTYPE_TEXT
Abstract	Message. For example, CPU utilization increases from 50% to 95%.	DTYPE_TEXT		N/A
Area (SR_AREA)		DTYPE_TEXT	IT	N/A
Description	TargetType: Type of target that this event is associated with. For example, host or database. TargetName: Name of the target that this event is associated with. For example, DB1 or `stadc40.us.oracle.com`. TargetHost: Name of the host of the target that the event/alert was generated by. TargetAgent: Name of the server hosting the agent that monitors the generated event. MetricColumn: Name of the metric column as it appears on Enterprise Manager Grid Control. MetricName: Name of the metric. For example, CPU utilization or memory usage. KeyValues: Values associated with a key value base event. CollectionTime: Time at which the event occurred. NotificationRuleName: Name of the notification rule that generated the notification during auto-ticketing. Event Page URL: URL for event details page.	DTYPE_TEXT		N/A

Siebel Ticket Template (SiebelHelpdeskTemplate.xsl)

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<xsl:transform version="1.0" 
       xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"
       xmlns:ns0="http://xmlns.oracle.com/sysman/connector/tt"
       targetNamespace="http://xmlns.oracle.com/sysman/connector/tt"
       xmlns:ser="http://siebel.com/Service/ServiceReqEMHelpDesk" 
       xmlns:data="http://www.siebel.com/xml/ServiceReqIO/Data"
       elementFormDefault="qualified">
 
  <!-- 
  This template creates an incident type ticket with default categorization
  (Category: Default, Type:Default, Item:Default), and high priority. On update,
  the description and message fields are updated. 
  -->
   <xsl:template match="ns0:EventModel">
    <xsl:choose>
      <xsl:when test="normalize-space(ns0:TicketId) = ''">
        <!-- EDIT THE TAG VALUES BELOW TO CHANGE HOW A TICKET IS FILLED
             DURING TICKET CREATION. REFER TO THE MANUAL
             FOR DESCRIPTION OF THESE HELPDESK SUPPORT DATAFIELDS--> 
        <ser:ServiceReqEMHelpDeskInsertAndQuery_Input xmlns:data="http://www.siebel.com/xml/ServiceReqIO/Data">
          <data:ListOfServicereqio>
            <!--Zero or more repetitions:-->
            <data:ServiceRequest operation="?">
              <data:Abstract><xsl:value-of select="ns0:Message"/></data:Abstract>
              <data:Status>Open</data:Status>
              <data:ServiceRequestType>Internal</data:ServiceRequestType>
              <xsl:choose>
                <xsl:when test="normalize-space(ns0:Severity) = 'Critical'">
                  <data:Severity>1-Critical</data:Severity>                  
                </xsl:when>
                <xsl:when test="normalize-space(ns0:Severity) = 'Down'">
                  <data:Severity>2-High</data:Severity>              
                </xsl:when>
                <xsl:when test="normalize-space(ns0:Severity) = 'Warning'">
                  <data:Severity>3-Medium</data:Severity>                 
                </xsl:when>
                <xsl:otherwise>
                  <data:Severity>5-Question</data:Severity>               
                </xsl:otherwise>
              </xsl:choose>         
              <data:Area>IT</data:Area>
              <data:Description>
Ticket created by EM Siebel Connector.
Event Information:
---------------------------------------

Target Type: <xsl:value-of select="ns0:TargetType"/>
Target Name: <xsl:value-of select="ns0:TargetName"/>
Target Host: <xsl:value-of select="ns0:TargetHost"/>
Target Agent: <xsl:value-of select="ns0:TargetAgent"/>
Metric Column: <xsl:value-of select="ns0:MetricColumn"/>
Metric Name: <xsl:value-of select="ns0:MetricName"/>
                <xsl:choose>
                  <xsl:when test="normalize-space(ns0:KeyColumn) != ''">
Key Column: <xsl:value-of select="ns0:KeyColumn"/>
Key Values: <xsl:value-of select="ns0:KeyValues"/>
                  </xsl:when>
                </xsl:choose>
Collection Time: <xsl:value-of select="ns0:CollectionTime"/>
                <xsl:choose>
                  <xsl:when test="normalize-space(ns0:NotificationRuleName) != ''">
Notification Rule: <xsl:value-of select="ns0:NotificationRuleName"/>
                  </xsl:when>
                </xsl:choose>
Event Page URL: <xsl:value-of select="ns0:EventPageURL"/>
--------------------------------------
              </data:Description>
            </data:ServiceRequest>
          </data:ListOfServicereqio>
          <ser:LOVLanguageMode>LIC</ser:LOVLanguageMode>
          <!--Optional:-->
          <ser:ViewMode>All</ser:ViewMode>
        </ser:ServiceReqEMHelpDeskInsertAndQuery_Input>
      </xsl:when>
      <xsl:otherwise>
        <!-- EDIT THE TAG VALUES BELOW TO CHANGE HOW A TICKET IS FILLED
             DURING TICKET UPDATE. REFER TO THE MANUAL
             FOR DESCRIPTION OF THESE HELPDESK SUPPORT DATAFIELDS--> 
        <ser:ServiceReqEMHelpDeskQueryAndUpdate_Input xmlns:data="http://www.siebel.com/xml/ServiceReqIO/Data">
          <data:ListOfServicereqio>
            <!--Zero or more repetitions:-->
            <data:ServiceRequest operation="?">
            <data:SRNumber><xsl:value-of select="ns0:TicketId"/></data:SRNumber>
              <xsl:choose>
                <xsl:when test="normalize-space(ns0:Severity) = 'Critical'">
                  <data:Severity>1-Critical</data:Severity>                  
                  <data:Status>Open</data:Status>
                </xsl:when>
                <xsl:when test="normalize-space(ns0:Severity) = 'Down'">
                  <data:Severity>2-High</data:Severity>              
                  <data:Status>Open</data:Status>
                </xsl:when>
                <xsl:when test="normalize-space(ns0:Severity) = 'Warning'">
                  <data:Severity>3-Medium</data:Severity>                 
                  <data:Status>Open</data:Status>
                </xsl:when>
                <xsl:when test="normalize-space(ns0:Severity) = 'Clear'">
                  <data:Status>Closed</data:Status>
                </xsl:when>
                <xsl:otherwise>
                  <data:Severity>5-Question</data:Severity>               
                  <data:Status>Open</data:Status>
                </xsl:otherwise>
              </xsl:choose>         
            </data:ServiceRequest>
          </data:ListOfServicereqio>
          <ser:LOVLanguageMode>LIC</ser:LOVLanguageMode>
          <!--Optional:-->
          <ser:ViewMode>All</ser:ViewMode>
        </ser:ServiceReqEMHelpDeskQueryAndUpdate_Input>
      </xsl:otherwise>
    </xsl:choose>
  </xsl:template>
</xsl:transform>

Enabling SSL for HTTPS

Follow the instructions provided in this section if you choose HTTPS as the protocol to establish a connection between Siebel Help Desk and Enterprise Manager.

Generating a Certificate Request File

Generate a certificate request file for the Siebel Help Desk and send it to the Certificate authority; for example, VeriSign.

Note:

The certificate request file is dependent on the Web server Siebel uses.

Importing the Certificate from the Certificate Authority

After you get the certificate, import it to the Web server Siebel uses. The import mechanism varies depending on the Web server used by Siebel Help Desk.

Adding Signed Certificates to Wallet Manager

Note:

Oracle Wallet Manager is available at $ORACLE_HOME/bin on OMS. See Oracle Application Server Administrator's Guide for details.

Do the following in Enterprise Manager:

As Super Administrator, create a wallet by entering the following orapki utility command at the OMS host:

orapki wallet create -wallet client -auto_login

Note:
orapki is available at $ORACLE_HOME/bin on OMS.
Add the trusted certificate to the wallet by entering the following command:

orapki wallet add -wallet client -trusted_cert -cert verisignCert.cer
To view the content of the wallet, enter the following command:

orapki wallet display -wallet client

Ensure that ewallet.p12 is available.
In Oracle Wallet Manager, open the client certificate ewallet.p12.
Go to Select Trusted Certificates and select Operations on the main menu.
Select Export All Trusted Certificates.
Save the file as certdb.txt.
Place the file certdb.txt in the connector home root directory ($OMS_HOME/sysman/connector).

If the file certdb.txt already exists in the root directory, open the file and add the contents of your certdb.txt file to the existing content.

Now the Java SSl can use this file for communication between Enterprise Manager and the Siebel server in HTTPS mode.

See Also:

For information on creating Wallets, see "Creating and Viewing Oracle Wallets with orapki" in the Oracle Database Advanced Security Administrator's Guide, 10g Release 2 (10.2).

Siebel Connector Tips

This section provides various tips that might help you to use the Siebel Connector effectively.

Recommended Protocol

Oracle recommends that you use HTTPS as the protocol for the communication between Enterprise Manager and Siebel HelpDesk.

Use HTTP only if a secure connection is not required and the data can be transferred in clear text between the two systems.

Supported Alerts

This release supports the following types of alerts:

Metric alerts
Availability alerts

Notification Failure

Notification is blocked for processing if the notification device is down due to any issues. For instance, the Siebel HelpDesk server is down, the Siebel HelpDesk configuration on Enterprise Manager is wrong, or the service request is removed in Siebel HelpDesk.

Notification failure on one target impacts all other targets of the same target type for which the rule applies. That is, subsequent notifications are blocked until the issue is fixed or the maximum retrials fail.

Note:

The maximum retrial period is one day.

Customizing Ticket Templates

If the Siebel ticket templates do not satisfy your requirements, you can modify them. To do this, Oracle recommends that you use SiebelHelpdeskTicketTemplate.xsl as the base template. Copy this ticket template to a new file, modify, and register the new ticket template.

For example, to change the mapping or add more severity attributes based on Enterprise Manager Alert's severity, modify the following attributes:

<xsl:choose>
                <xsl:when test="normalize-space(ns0:Severity) = 'Critical'">
                  <data:Severity>1-Critical</data:Severity>                  
                </xsl:when>
                <xsl:when test="normalize-space(ns0:Severity) = 'Down'">
                  <data:Severity>2-High</data:Severity>              
                </xsl:when>
                <xsl:when test="normalize-space(ns0:Severity) = 'Warning'">
                  <data:Severity>3-Medium</data:Severity>                 
                </xsl:when>
                <xsl:otherwise>
                  <data:Severity>5-Question</data:Severity>               
                </xsl:otherwise>
              </xsl:choose>

The template is highly customizable. Oracle recommends that only users with advanced knowledge of XSLT make complex changes. You can use notification rules as a filter to associate proper ticket templates with alerts. You can have as many tickets templates as desired. One notification rule can have only one ticket template.

Customizing the Connector Descriptor

You can customize the connector descriptor. You can modify the URL that navigates from Enterprise Manager to the Siebel application User Interface. This might be required, for instance, when you do a non-English deployment. The default URL to the Siebel application User Interface is for an English language deployment and therefore, for other languages, you have to modify the default URL.

To customize the connector descriptor, do the following:

Modify the connector descriptor XML file SiebelDeploy.xml.
1. Modify the bookmark URL.
  
  For instance, in the following sample URL, modify eai_enu for a non-English deployment.
  
  http://hostname/eai_enu/start.swe?SWEExtSource=WebService&SWEExtCmd=Execute
2. Based on the format of the URL, parameterize the information that you want to configure using the Connector Configuration page. For details, refer to the section "Defining XML and XSL Files" in the Oracle Enterprise Manager Integration Guide.
Register the new connector descriptor.