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About Server Key Maps

For each Siebel Server, you use server key maps to define multiple rule groups that you want that server to load and process. This allows you to use different servers for different business purposes. After you define server key maps in the assignment administration views, each assignment server (AsgnSrvr) process looks for the server name in the key mappings during startup and only loads rules from those rule groups. The AsgnSrvr also registers the rule group row IDs as keys. When you submit a request to a server, you must submit the AsgnKey parameter as a row Id of one of the rule group row Ids assigned to that server.

Server key mapping uses an internal key-based routing mechanism to route requests to a particular server, however, this is done in the background and is not apparent. You can specify multiple servers to load the same rule group. In this case, the Siebel Server Request Broker component routes requests, based on load balancing metrics, to one of the assignment servers that loaded that rule group.

If you want to exclusively mark certain rule groups for use with server key maps, you can set the Key Based flag to true for these rule groups (using the Key Based list column on the assignment Rule Groups List view). These rule groups are not loaded by any Assignment Manager component operating in default mode.

The server key mapping feature is supported only in certain environments when using specific functionality as follows:

• Script or workflow process calling a business service

  You can invoke Assignment Manager through a business service from within a workflow process, or from a script, using one of the following predefined business services:

  • Server Requests business service. Use this generic business service to submit requests to a particular component using the server request broker. With this business service, you can use the Assignment Manager server mapping feature. If you are using this business service to invoke rules based on rule groups, pass the AsgnKey parameter as the input parameter, and pass the ReqKey parameter as a request parameter (in the child property set for the component). Then, set both the AsgnKey and ReqKey parameters to the rule group Id of the relevant rule group.
  • Synchronous Assignment Manager Requests business service. This business service has one method available: Assign. This method sends a request to the Assignment Manager server component using the AsgnObjName and ObjRowId parameters. All active rules in the database are processed.

    Use this business service:

    • To submit requests to assign a single object row
    • With the Default Group (when no server key maps are defined)

For more information about business services, see Siebel Business Process Designer Administration Guide. For more information about scripting, see Object Types Reference.

• Interactive assignment

  In the default configuration, interactive assignment runs in default mode. However, interactive assignment can be customized to use the server key mappings feature using the SetAsgnKey InvokeMethod on the business component base class CSSBCBase. Using a script, a workflow process, or a business service, you call the InvokeMethod to pass the row Id of one of the rule groups as the parameter. After which, interactive assignment uses this parameter as the AsgnKey and ReqKey parameters when submitting requests to the AsgnSrvr component. You call InvokeMethod only once for one session, but subsequent requests in the same session reuse the rule group row Id. However, when the session is logged out or the server is restarted, you must call InvokeMethod again to set the AsgnKey parameter. Otherwise, Assignment Manager reverts to running in default mode.

  NOTE:  When operating Assignment Manager in default mode, rules from rule groups that have the Key Based flag checked are not loaded.

• Batch assignment and dynamic assignment do not read server key mappings

NOTE:  You cannot run Default Mode and Server Key Mappings mode on the same assignment server because the two tasks are mutually exclusive functionalities. For example, you cannot use the same assignment server to run resource assignment (used for professional service automation and does not use rule groups) and credit assignment (used for sales and does use rule groups). You should run assignment for each on different servers.

TIP:   Siebel Incentive Compensation and Siebel Marketing are specifically designed to use the server key mapping and rule group features. For more information about each of these Siebel products, see Siebel Incentive Compensation Administration Guide and Siebel Marketing Installation and Administration Guide.