Siebel Smart Answer Administration Guide > Configuration and Implementation of Siebel Smart Answer > Smart Answer Setup >

Using Multiple KB Files

Each Siebel Server instance can have only one Smart Answer Manager. This requires that you have a Siebel Server for each KB file you want to add to your business system.

For example, using two KB files (KB1, KB2) would require two Siebel Servers (ServerA, ServerB), each pointing to its respective KB file. In addition, each Smart Answer Manager would also point to its respective KB. This example would also require two Response Groups (RG1, RG2) and two Smart Answer Profiles (P1, P2) to monitor each of the KBs.

NOTE:  Each Siebel Server should point to the same gateway server. This allows you to administer the servers from the same screen in the application (Server Administration > Enterprise Operations).

Use the following steps to configure Siebel Smart Answer to use multiple KB files:

1. On the appropriate Siebel Server, create a new catalog and import the KB file you want to use.

   For example, on ServerA, create a new catalog and import the KB1 to this catalog. On ServerB, create a new catalog and import KB2 to this catalog.

2. Create a new profile, one for each catalog or KB file you have.
3. (For eMail Response only) Set up the response groups on the main Siebel Server.

   For example, start by setting up the response group on Server A.

   1. Create a response group for a KB file you created.
   2. Add an input argument in the response group called Catalog Name.
   3. In the value field, enter the name of the catalog you created in Step 1.
   4. Repeat Steps a-c for each KB file you created.
   5. Add another input argument called Smart Answer Profile with the name of the profile you created in Step 2.

      For example, on ServerA, create two response groups, RG1 and RG2. Add an input argument in each response group called Catalog Name and Smart Answer Profile. The RG1 Catalog Name value should contain KB1 and P1 and the RG2 Catalog Name value should contain KB2 and P2.

4. Enable the Smart Answer Manager server component on each Siebel Server.

   For example, on ServerA, change the Knowledge Base Name parameter to the catalog name for KB1 on the Smart Answer Manager Component Parameters tab. On ServerB, change the Knowledge Base Name parameter to the catalog name for KB2 on the Smart Answer Manager Component Parameters tab.

5. (for eMail Response only) On the main Siebel Server, create Communication Inbound Manager tasks for each response group.

   For example. on ServerA, create two Communications Inbound Manager tasks, one for RG1 and one for RG2, and start both tasks.

When you send a message to the profile monitored by RG1, the categories from KB1 will be used. Similarly, when you send a message to RG2, all categories will come from KB2.

Master/Slave configurations should be used for load balancing large volumes of inbound requests (more than 50,000 requests a day). This configuration suits a multiple server scenario, where one server serves as the master and other servers function as slaves. Server Request Broker will load balance incoming messages among master and slave servers. Performance is optimized as all feedback is sent to the master server.

The master server records Smart Answer feedback and synchronizes the Knowledge Base to the slave servers. One or more slave servers connect periodically to the master server to copy the most recent knowledge base. The master server is the only server that can learn. The slave servers simply connect and receive information from the master. This server setup configuration should only be used for load balancing, where large volumes of incoming requests of the knowledge base are expected.

You must have at least three servers to run a master/slave configuration. The components to this setup are as follows:

• One server running Communications Manager. For further information on setup, see Siebel Communications Server Administration Guide.
• One server running Smart Answer Master.
• One server running Smart Answer Slave.

The master server parameters are listed in Table 2.

The slave server parameters are listed in Table 3.

• If a categorization or feedback request is made when the master server is saving the file to disk, or loading the KB, the Smart Answer engine will wait until the save operation is completed before responding.
• If a categorization or feedback request is made when the slave server is reading the new KB, the request will be held until the slave server has completed the operation.
• If a master attempts to write a record while a slave is reading the KB, the master will wait ten second intervals until the slave server is available.
• If the slave attempts to read while the master is writing the KB, the slave will return without having performed the operation.

1. For a three-server install (A,B,C), install Siebel Server with Gateway Server on Machine A, install Siebel Server on B pointing to same gateway as on A, install Siebel Server on C pointing to same gateway as A.
2. On machine A, enable Communications Inbound Manager, and do not enable Smart Answer. On Machine B enable Smart Answer with Master, and on Machine C enable Smart Answer with Slave.
3. For Master (machine B), navigate to Server Administration > Components, then query for the Smart Answer Manager Server component.
   1. Click on Component Parameters view tab, and query for the Categorization Manager Type parameter, and type in "Master" for current value.
   2. Query for the KB Update Interval and set this to 0, query for the KB Write Interval and set this to the value of your choice. See Table 2 for the values.
4. For machine C (Slave) follow steps 1 through 3, except enter "Slave" as the current value for the Cat Mgr Type, and set KB Write Interval to 0, and KB Update Interval to the value of your choice. See Table 3 for the values.