2Document Server
Document Server
This chapter includes information about setting up the Document Server. It includes the following topics:
About the Document Server
The Document Server is required for Oracle’s Siebel Correspondence, Siebel Presentations, and Siebel Proposals. The Document Server is used to generate Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint documents.
About Running Document Server Functionality on Siebel Mobile Web Clients
This chapter focuses on installing and setting up the communal Document Servers that Siebel Web Clients use. However, the functionality for the Siebel Document Server is also available for the Siebel Mobile Web Client so that field sales representatives can generate proposals, presentations, and correspondences while traveling.
For the Siebel Mobile Web Client, Microsoft Office be installed locally on the mobile computer to act as the Document Server.
About Obtaining Required Hardware for the Document Server
The Document Server is supported only on Windows operating systems because Microsoft Office runs only on the Windows operating system. For information about the supported Windows operating systems, see Siebel System Requirements and Supported Platforms on Oracle Technology Network.
To maintain stability and performance, the Document Server must run on a dedicated host computer. The Siebel Server on this computer must host one instance of the Siebel eDocuments component group. No other components can be running other than required system components.
The Document Server can run successfully on a computer that meets the minimum hardware requirements for a Siebel installation. For example, you can use a two-processor computer.
To support more users, you can run additional instances of the Siebel eDocuments component group on additional dedicated host computers.
Process of Setting Up the Document Server
To set up the Document Server to prepare to use Correspondence, Presentations, or Proposals, perform the following tasks:
Installing the Siebel Server for the Document Server
Install the Siebel Server on the dedicated host computer of the Document Server. For general information about installing the Siebel Server, see Siebel Installation Guide for the operating system you are using.
During installation, you can enable component groups. Enable only the Siebel eDocuments (alias eDocuments) component group, the System Management (alias System) component group, and the Auxiliary System Management (alias SystemAux) component group. Do not enable any other component groups. Make sure that Siebel eDocuments component group is not enabled on your main Siebel Server.
You can also enable the Siebel eDocuments component group after installation is complete. For more information, see Enabling the Component Group for the Document Server.
Make sure that you use the same SRF file on your Document Server as you use on your other Siebel Server. If you update one SRF file, remember to update the SRF file on all your Siebel Server computers, including the Document Server.
When your main Siebel Server runs on a UNIX operating system, use the following approaches to set up the Document Server (Windows operating system):
Install third-party mounting software, such as Samba, to enable the Document Server (Windows operating system) to access the Siebel File System on the UNIX operating system.
Stop the File System Manager Server component on the Document Server (Windows operating system), and set it to Manual Start.
This task is a step in Process of Setting Up the Document Server.
Setting Up the Document Server in a Heterogeneous Environment Using Mounting Software
Complete the following procedure to set up the Document Server in a heterogeneous environment using third-party mounting software.
To set up the Document Server in a heterogeneous environment using third-party mounting software
Install third-party software, such as Samba, that enables the Windows computer to access the Siebel File System on the UNIX computer.
Make sure that the Siebel File System enterprise parameter on the Siebel Server on the Windows computer refers to the Windows share for the Siebel File System on the UNIX computer.
Make sure that the Siebel eDocuments component group is disabled for the Siebel Server on the UNIX computer.
Before you install the Siebel Server (the Document Server) on the Windows computer, make sure that the Siebel Gateway Name Server and the Siebel Server are running on the UNIX computer.
During installation of the Siebel Server on the Windows computer, enable only the component groups for Siebel eDocuments (alias eDocuments), System Management (alias System), and Auxiliary System Management (alias SystemAux).
Setting Up the Document Server in a Heterogeneous Environment Without Mounting Software
Complete the following procedure to set up the Document Server in a heterogeneous environment without third-party mounting software.
To set up the Document Server in a heterogeneous environment without third-party mounting software
Make sure that the Siebel File System enterprise parameter is set to the full path of the Siebel File System on the UNIX computer.
Make sure that the Siebel eDocuments component group is disabled for the Siebel Server on the UNIX computer.
Before you install the Siebel Server (the Document Server) on the Windows computer, make sure that the Siebel Gateway Name Server and the Siebel Server are running on the UNIX computer.
During installation of the Siebel Server on the Windows computer, enable only the component groups for Siebel eDocuments (alias eDocuments), System Management (alias System), and Auxiliary System Management (alias SystemAux).
On the Siebel Server (the Document Server) on the Windows computer, complete the following steps:
Shut down the File System Manager Server (alias FSMSrvr) component, and set it to Manual Start in one of the following ways:
Use the following srvrmgr command:
manual start {component | comp} component name [for [app] server server name]In the Servers view of the Administration - Server Configuration screen, select the Windows Siebel Server that runs the Document Server in the Siebel Servers list, select the Filesystem Manager component in the Components list, and click Manual Start.
Note: To re-enable components, use the following srvrmgr command: auto start component. For information about re-enabling components, see Siebel System Administration Guide.In the Enterprise component definition, for the Document Server component, set the Siebel File System component parameter to *FSM*
Synchronize all components.
Restart the Siebel Servers on the UNIX computer and on the Windows computer.
Installing Microsoft Office on the Document Server
You must install Microsoft Office on the dedicated host computer of the Document Server. For information about the versions of Microsoft Office that are supported, see Siebel System Requirements and Supported Platforms on Oracle Technology Network.
This task is a step in Process of Setting Up the Document Server.
To install Microsoft Office on the Document Server
Log in to the server computer using the same user account that the Siebel Server NT service uses.
This user account must belong to the Administrators group.
Note: The installation must use the same account that the NT Service uses. The installer configures COM security settings so that the installing user account has the correct permissions to access and launch the application. If the install uses an account other than the Siebel Server NT service account, errors can occur when the Document Server tries to launch the application.Install Microsoft Office using a typical or complete installation.
Verify that your version of Microsoft Office installs the Web Authoring Tools (HTML) component with the typical installation. If it does not, use the custom installation option and install all of the typical components and the Web Authoring Tools (HTML) component.
Note: Do not perform a custom installation, and attempt to select only the Microsoft Office features that the Document Server uses. These features are not available, and if you attempt to select them, the Document Server does not function properly.Start the applications that the Document Server uses.
Starting the applications forces the applications to register themselves.
If you use Siebel Proposals, make sure that the following Microsoft Word option is not selected: Confirm conversion at open.
To find this option, navigate to Tools, Options, and then General.
Close the applications.
Enabling the Component Group for the Document Server
If you did not do so during installation, you must enable the Siebel eDocuments component group. This group contains the DocServer component that generates Correspondence, Presentations, and Proposals. For more information about enabling this component group, see Siebel System Administration Guide.
This task is a step in Process of Setting Up the Document Server.
Setting MaxTasks Parameters for the Document Server
Due to Siebel design limitations, third-party Microsoft Office applications run in a single-threaded environment. Thus, the Document Server is capable of processing only a single document at a time on the server. To increase the number of documents printed at any one time, it is recommended you increase the number of servers.
Set the following Siebel Application Object Manager parameters:
MaxTasks. Set this parameter to 1. If this parameter is greater than 1, an error message is sent to the log file as an alert. Processing of the request continues, but results are unpredictable when two requests arrive at the same time.
Honor MaxTasks. Set this parameter to TRUE. This parameter affects the queuing process and the performance of the Document Server.
For a value of TRUE, all requests to the Document Servers queue on the SRM_REQUEST table; requests are not assigned to a Document Server until one is available to take the request. For information about setting parameters, see Siebel System Administration Guide.
For a value of FALSE, requests are queued on the internal queue of the DocServer component. If the Document Server stops processing, all queued processes on that server are lost.
This task is a step in Process of Setting Up the Document Server.
About Synchronizing Components for the Document Server
Synchronizing components for the Document Server is not specific to the Document Server, but is a required post-installation step for the server infrastructure. For general information about synchronizing components, see Siebel System Administration Guide.
Configuring the Document Server
To configure the Document Server, perform the following optional tasks:
Enabling HTML Generation for Correspondence
By default, correspondence is saved only in document format, not in HTML format. In the My Correspondence Requests view, the View HTML command is unavailable, and the user cannot view the correspondence in HTML format.
The DocumentServerViewHTML server parameter specifies if the Document Server generates HTML versions of documents. The default value is FALSE. By default, the Document Server generates documents only in their native format, and not in HTML. To enable the user to display correspondence in HTML format, you must edit the DocumentServerViewHTML parameter to the value TRUE instead of FALSE. Any documents generated after you enable the parameter are saved in both formats.
When you generate an HTML document, a copy of the generated document is created in HTML and stored in the Siebel File System. This process can affect performance, and it increases the storage space required in the Siebel File System. The clarity of the HTML document depends on the ability of your Microsoft Office application to translate its native format into HTML.
To enable HTML generation for correspondence
Start the Server Manager.
Enter the following command:
srvrmgr> change param DocumentServerViewHTML=True for comp DocServer
Note: You can also change parameters in the Administration - Server Configuration screen. For more information, see Siebel System Administration Guide.
Configuring Application Recycle Period
You use the MSWordLiveCount parameter to control how often the Microsoft Office applications are restarted.
You can set each parameter to a positive integer that specifies the number of documents to be processed before the corresponding Microsoft Office application is shut down and restarted. A value of 0 (the default) indicates that the applications are not shut down. If you set the parameter value to any integer other than 0, and the Document Server fails to launch, the corresponding application is shut down and then restarted again.
To configure the application recycle period
Start the Server Manager.
To change the application recycling period for Microsoft Word, which is used for correspondence and proposals, enter the following command:
srvrmgr> change param MSWordLiveCount=1 for comp DocServer
To change the application recycling period for Microsoft PowerPoint, which is used for presentations, enter the following command:
srvrmgr> change param MSPPLiveCount=1 for comp DocServer
Routing Requests to One Document Server
If you run multiple Document Servers within the same enterprise, then the server infrastructure routes document requests to different Document Servers to achieve load balancing.
However, you can specify that all requests are routed to one Document Server. For example, you can specify one Document Server to help diagnose a server problem.
To route all requests to one Document Server
Start the Server Manager.
Enter the following command:
srvrmgr> change param DocumentServerName=DocSrvr1
Enabling Additional Logging
You can enable additional logging for debugging purposes.
Event logging writes events to the log file using the log level for each event type. The number you specify indicates the filtering level for logging. The default value is 3. This value means that events with a level of 1, 2, or 3 are logged, while events with a level of 4 or 5 are suppressed. Setting the filtering level to 5 means that all events are logged. For more information about event logging, see Siebel System Monitoring and Diagnostics Guide.
To enable additional logging
Start the Server Manager.
Enter the following command for each event type for which you want to enable additional logging:
srvrmgr> change evtloglvl event_alias_name=level for component Docserver
where:
event_alias_name is one of the following event types:
eDocDocServerEvent. The Document Server business service is the high-level entry point for document generation. This business service passes document generation requests to the code that handles correspondence, proposals, or presentations. Set the logging to eDocDocServerEvent to provide high-level information about the incoming document generation request.
eDocDocEngineEvent. Because a proposal can have many components, the proposal generation code can be called many times. The Document Engine component calls the proposal generation code as often as necessary to generate each of these components, and then merges them together. Set the logging to eDocDocEngineEvent to trace events related to calling the proposal generation code and to collating the final proposal document.
eDocCorrespEvent. Correspondence generation is the process of performing the mail merge from the Siebel CRM application into the predefined Microsoft Word document. Set the logging to eDocCorrespEvent to trace the mail merge process between Siebel CRM and Microsoft Word.
eDocProposalEvent. Proposal generation is the process of merging fields from the Siebel CRM application into the predefined Microsoft Word document. Set the logging to eDocProposalEvent to trace the merge process between Siebel CRM and Microsoft Word.
eDocPresentationEvent. Presentation generation is the process of merging fields from the Siebel CRM application into the predefined Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. Set the logging to eDocPresentationEvent to trace the merge process between Siebel CRM and Microsoft PowerPoint.
level is a number that indicates the log level for the event type.
About Accessing the Service for the Siebel Server
The Document Server is a component of the Siebel Server. This component, if enabled, is run as a child process of the service for the Siebel Server. When you run the service for the Siebel Server, use a Microsoft Windows user ID such as SADMIN.
Do not use the LocalSystem user ID to run this service for the following reasons:
This user ID grants unnecessary privileges to the Siebel Server, resulting in security issues.
Users cannot proceed past the initial prompts when they access Microsoft Word for the first time because they cannot access Microsoft Windows with the LocalSystem user ID.