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Configuring Master and Alternate Siebel Smart Answer Servers

Each Siebel Smart Answer Server is capable of running with two servers. The Master server is the active server which is responsible for the run time operations of the Siebel Smart Answer system. The Alternate server is the backup server which does no run-time processing, but collects data from the Master to ensure all of the data is synchronized between the servers in case failover is required. There are two programs for starting servers in the smart_answer_server directory, which were installed as services during installation.

Startup Behavior

What follows are guidelines for the start up process and expected behavior of the Siebel Smart Answer Master and Alternate servers.

1. The server immediately tries to locate and connect to the other server. This is true for both the Master and the Alternate servers.
2. Servers must not be started simultaneously. Wait approximately 30 seconds for the Master server to start before starting the Alternate server.
3. If this attempt fails, this server considers itself the Master and takes over the Siebel Smart Answer run-time services.
4. If at startup a server successfully connects to a Master, it considers itself the Alternate.
5. When this happens the Alternate will re-initialize its underlying data to match the Master and then continue to mirror any updates to the Master as long as the Master is reachable.

NOTE:  Configuration data is not mirrored, only data relating to corpora, dashboard analytics, and knowledge bases are mirrored (All data viewable in the Siebel Smart Answer Administration Tool is synchronized).

Failover Behavior

If for any reason the Master server is unreachable by the Alternate server, (power outage, computer failure, network failure). The Alternate server will enter recovery mode. When this happens the Alternate server:

1. Stops trying to synchronize data.
2. Starts the Siebel Smart Answer run-time services.
3. Waits for communication from clients such as the SAAdapter.dll or the Siebel Smart Answer Administration Tool.

   NOTE:  At this point the Alternate is now considered the Master server.

4. The original Master server must be manually started again, at which point it will:
   1. Re-initialize data from the new Master.
   2. Begin synchronizing incoming data from the new Master.

      NOTE:  The server will stay in the Alternate state until the new Master fails.

5. The SAAdapter.dll will rotate through the list of servers in saconnectorconfig.txt until it finds a valid connection. Currently Siebel Smart Answer only supports one additional backup server.
6. The Siebel Smart Answer Administration Tool must be reconnected to the new Master.