Siebel Communications Server Administration Guide > Upgrading from Version 6.x > Upgrading Siebel CTI from Version 6.x (and Earlier) >

Upgrade Issues for CTI Drivers

In version 6.x (and earlier), Siebel CTI drivers (whether drivers provided by Siebel Systems or custom drivers developed by customers or by other vendors) were written to the Adaptive CTI API, and were based on a client-side CTI architecture.

Due to the architectural changes for Siebel Communications Server, CTI drivers from previous versions will not function in version 7.x and subsequent releases, and cannot be upgraded. Some of the code from an existing driver may, however, be reusable in developing a replacement driver.

In version 7.x, Siebel Systems provides a CTI-specific communications driver that supports Intel NetMerge CTI middleware (formerly Dialogic CT Connect), which is included in Siebel CTI Connect.

The 7.x Siebel CTI Connect driver replaces the Dialogic CTI driver provided with previous versions of Siebel CTI Connect. (For versions 7.0.x and 7.5.x, the Siebel CTI Connect driver was named Dialogic CTI.)

(One other new driver is also provided for 7.x that enables you to use Siebel Universal Queuing to to support multichannel communications functionality: User-interactive Email.)

Siebel Systems also provides the Adaptive Communications API, which replaces the Adaptive CTI API. The Adaptive Communications API is described in Developing a Communications Driver. You must use this new API to develop any custom communications drivers intended to support CTI middleware products and other communications functionality.

In previous versions, Adaptive CTI drivers used the COM object model, were loaded on each agent's desktop machine, and could be developed using Visual Basic. In version 7.x, however, Adaptive Communications drivers run in a server environment and the COM model is no longer used. It is recommended that replacement custom drivers be created using C or C++, for best performance.

In version 6.x, a single CTI driver was generally used with your CTI configuration, and profiles were not used with such drivers. To support a multichannel call or contact center, now multiple communications drivers can be used in the same environment, and may be applicable to the same agent.

For each applicable driver that supports a communications channel you require (such as voice or email), a profile must be created and associated with the communications configurations to which the driver's functionality should apply.

The driver and profile model is based on what was supported for communications adapters (now drivers) and profiles for Siebel Communications Server, version 6.x. However, new driver records can now be added in the Communications Drivers and Profiles view, to support using custom drivers. For each driver record:

• The Library Name field specifies the file, usually a library file such as a .dll or .so file, for the driver.
• The Channel String field specifies a string that must match a designated string defined within the driver file. The channel string is used to identify the driver to itself. Each new driver must include this element.

Some of the CTI configuration parameters from previous versions have become driver parameters for the Siebel CTI Connect driver. Several configuration parameters or driver parameters are new or have been renamed.

Drivers and driver parameters are configured, along with profiles and profile parameter overrides, in the Communications Drivers and Profiles view. Configuration parameters are configured in the All Configurations view.

For more information about communications drivers, see:

• Configuring Communications Drivers and Profiles
• Developing a Communications Driver