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The Integrator synchronizes all user data from the VFC database to WFE, recreating the same group structure in WFE as it exists in VFC. The synchronization of all VFC users is supported, including users created by an Active Directory synchronization.

While organizations do not exist in VFC, WFE relies on organizations for enforcing user access scoping , and for logically associating users and data sources. As the first step of the deployment process, the Integrator requires the creation of a parent organization in WFE. This organization can be on any level of an existing WFE organizational hierarchy. The name of the parent organization must be added to the Integrator configuration. The user groups and data sources managed by the integration are associated with the organization upon creation.

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Under the parent group, a default group holds all individual VFC synchronized employees, regardless of what VFC groups those employees belong to. On the same hierarchical level, under the parent group, the WFE groups matching the VFC groups get automatically created by the integrator. They retain their VFC names, with the configured name prefix.

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Changes to users or groups that happen in VFC are applied to their WFE equivalent the next time the synchronization process runs. Changes to users or groups that happen in WFE do not apply to their VFC equivalents. If conflicting information exists in VFC and WFE, the changes in WFE are overridden the next time the synchronization process runs. However, if a non-VFC user is manually added to any of the WFE groups representing a synchronized VFC group, the user is not removed the next time the synchronization process runs.

The integration supports the synchronization of all VFC users, including users created by an Active Directory synchronization.

Switches and data sources

To synchronize the required recording metadata, the switch platforms for which the Integrator is configured must be specified in the appsettings.Production file of the Integrator.

The Integrator supports the synchronization of metadata from:

• recorded switch platforms, and
• import sources, where VFC does not record the calls, but it ingests the recordings from the switch platform through the configured import source.

The list of supported switch platforms is listed in the configuration file, specifying the platform IDs or import source types, and the platform type that describes the WFE data source type of the platform. The integration process does not run until one or more of the supported platforms is added to the list of configured platforms in the file.

Data sources in WFE do not have to be created manually, the Integrator automatically creates them to represent the switches configured in VFC. You must configure the Integrator to create the right WFE data sources for your deployment and monitoring needs by supplying switch configuration details in the appsettings.Production file.

You must specify:

• the VFC Recording Server addresses,
• the platform name, describing the platform ID or import source type of the switch,
• the time zone of the switch,
• optionally, the extensions configured for that switch platform.

The granular configuration options in the Integrator allow for the accurate mapping of extensions to data sources in WFE.

A data source object in the appsettings.Production file can only be of one platform name, and it must be in a single time zone. However, it can represent multiple switches of the same name, in the same time zone, being recorded by one or more VFC recorders. If the extensions are configured for the data source object, the specified extension numbers are associated to the WFE data source upon creation.

The extension parameter can be omitted or left empty for a data source object, which results in all extensions recorded by the specified recorders on the specified platform name to be associated with that data source. The extensions can be configured as an array of individual alphanumeric values or number ranges, but do not support wildcard operators.

If multiple identical data source objects exist in the appsettings.Production file without extension values specified, extensions for that platform name are associated with each WFE data source.

If multiple data source objects exist in the appsettings.Production file without extensions specified but different platform names are set for them, extensions configured to record all platforms are associated to each data source.

If multiple identical data sources exist in the appsettings.Production file and some of them have extensions specified, the described extensions are associated with the corresponding data source created in WFE. The other, unspecified extensions are associated with the first data source that has no extensions added.

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If a platform name has been added to the Configured Platforms parameter, but no data source objects exist in the Data Mapping section, no corresponding WFE data source is created, and no related recording data is synchronized to WFE.

The Integrator configures both the local and UTC time zone of a switch platform to the corresponding WFE data source. The Integrator configuration requires the time zone configured in the IANA time zone format <area>/<location>, but in the WFE user interface the time zone shows in both IANA and UTC/GMT-offset formats, depending on the application. For example, a switch at a site in Los Angeles is seen as America/Los_Angeles in Reports, but shows as GMT-08:00 Pacific Time (US & Canada) on the data source settings page under Recording Management.

For each configured data source in the appsettings.Production file, the Integrator searches WFE for an existing data source that meets the following criteria:

• It has the same name as the data source platform name configured in the DataMapping section of the appsettings.Production file.
• The Type matches the platform type associated with the platform name specified in the ConfiguredPlatforms parameter of the appsettings.Production file. 
• The Switch/sub-type is External Recorder.
• The Organization associated with the data source matches the organization ID of the parent organization created as part of the Integrator deployment process.

If the Integrator finds an existing data source with matching details, it notes the switch_ID of the WFE data source. If the Integrator does not find an existing data source with matching details, it creates one.

The Seating Arrangement property of the created data source is set to:

• Hybrid for phone types,
• Free for trader and application types.

The Contact Policy Type of all created data sources is set to Back office - Contact per call.

The Recorded Platform property of the created data source is set to the value of the data source platform specified in the Integrator configuration file.

Recorders and call metadata

The Integrator synchronizes recording metadata to WFE by periodically checking the VFC database for new recording data and marking them for synchronization. Call marking is the process of reading in a call record from the database, evaluating it against the Integrator configuration, and sending it to the WFE database.

The Integrator only synchronizes recording metadata, not media files.

Each VFC installation is represented as a single recorder in WFE, and all synchronized call records get associated with this recorder, regardless of the number of distinct VFC recorders that captured the calls. The Integrator creates an external recorder server in WFE for each VFC installation. The Server Name of the external server must be specified in the appsettings.Production. It is recommended the Server Name matches the host name of the Media Repository the Integrator connects to.

The way calls are recorded and stored is different in VFC and WFE. Refer to Data models for more details on the VFC call data models, and see Contacts and Interactions for information about the WFE call data models.

Due to the difference in the call record handling, the call search and replay functionality also differs in VFC and WFE. To keep the call search experience consistent across both systems for VFC users, the Integrator retains the VFC call model in WFE.

In WFE, every record in the search results under Interactions represents a single session from the WFE call model. In VFC, every record in the search results under Conversations represents a single conversation entry from the VFC call model.

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If more than one record was created during a conversation, related records can be shown together by selecting the ellipsis (…) button on the record and selecting Show Related.

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During the synchronization process, each VFC conversation is mapped to a WFE session, allowing for the WFE call search experience being the same as in VFC.Image Removed

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To maintain the Show Related functionality, sessions are related to contacts and associated records can be viewed when selecting a call record from the search results.

The call records originating from WFE remain unchanged and a single record in the Interaction search results still represents a single session.

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The default group synchronization method creates an identical group hierarchy in WFE as the groups exist in VFC. These groups retain their names configured in VFC, but the Integrator removes special characters, and if a group name at any hierarchy level is longer than 50 characters, the Integrator does not process the group and logs an error.

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If a group name is longer than 50 characters or the group needs to be synchronized to WFE with a different name, the Integrator can be configured to read in a CSV file listing the original VFC group names and the corresponding shortened or amended group names, as intended to be listed in WFE.

You must specify the full file path, file name, and extension of the CSV file in the Integrator configuration. If a file path is specified, but the file cannot be found, the process fails, and the Integrator reverts back to the default group synchronization process.

The contents of the file must be entered in the following format:

• The first column must contain the group names exactly as specified in VFC.
• Every unique group must be in a separate row.
• The second column must contain the amended group names as they should be synchronized to WFE.
• The rows and columns must not have header values.

You can list groups from any level of the group hierarchy. Duplicate group names are ignored. Any groups not listed in the CSV file are synchronized to WFE using the default synchronization process.

As all groups in WFE must have a unique name, VFC groups with the same name under different parents cannot be synchronized without a change to the name. To avoid skipping groups with identical names, you can choose a level in the group hierarchy to act as a suffix to all of sub-groups by setting the UniqueIdentifier parameter in the Integrator appsettings.Production file. The name of the groups on the specified level in the hierarchy get concatenated to the names of all their sub-groups with a dash.

You can limit how many levels in the VFC group hierarchy become separate groups and sub-groups in WFE by setting the HierarchyLevelDepth parameter in the appsettings.Production file. Sub-groups under the specified hierarchy depth are not created as groups in WFE, and their users get assigned to the parent group on the level specified by the HierarchyLevelDepth parameter instead. If the parameter is not specified or set to the default value, all VFC groups are synchronized to WFO as unique groups.

Changes to users or groups that happen in VFC are applied to their WFE equivalent the next time the synchronization process runs. Changes to users or groups that happen in WFE do not apply to their VFC equivalents. If conflicting information exists in VFC and WFE, the changes in WFE are overridden the next time the synchronization process runs. However, if a non-VFC user is manually added to any of the WFE groups representing a synchronized VFC group, the user is not removed the next time the synchronization process runs.

Switches and data sources

To synchronize the required recording metadata, the switch platforms for which the Integrator is configured must be specified in the appsettings.Production file of the Integrator.

The Integrator supports the synchronization of metadata from:

• recorded switch platforms, and
• import sources, where VFC does not record the calls, but it ingests the recordings from the switch platform through the configured import source.

The list of supported switch platforms is listed in the configuration file, specifying the platform IDs or import source types, and the platform type that describes the WFE data source type of the platform. The integration process does not run until one or more of the supported platforms is added to the list of configured platforms in the file.

Data sources in WFE do not have to be created manually, the Integrator automatically creates them to represent the switches configured in VFC. You must configure the Integrator to create the right WFE data sources for your deployment and monitoring needs by supplying switch configuration details in the appsettings.Production file.

You must specify:

• the VFC Recording Server addresses,
• the platform name, describing the platform ID or import source type of the switch,
• the time zone of the switch,
• optionally, the extensions configured for that switch platform.

The granular configuration options in the Integrator allow for the accurate mapping of extensions to data sources in WFE.

A data source object in the appsettings.Production file can only be of one platform name, and it must be in a single time zone. However, it can represent multiple switches of the same name, in the same time zone, being recorded by one or more VFC recorders. If the extensions are configured for the data source object, the specified extension numbers are associated to the WFE data source upon creation.

The extension parameter can be omitted or left empty for a data source object, which results in all extensions recorded by the specified recorders on the specified platform name to be associated with that data source. The extensions can be configured as an array of individual alphanumeric values or number ranges, but do not support wildcard operators.

If multiple identical data source objects exist in the appsettings.Production file without extension values specified, extensions for that platform name are associated with each WFE data source.

If multiple data source objects exist in the appsettings.Production file without extensions specified but different platform names are set for them, extensions configured to record all platforms are associated to each data source.

If multiple identical data sources exist in the appsettings.Production file and some of them have extensions specified, the described extensions are associated with the corresponding data source created in WFE. The other, unspecified extensions are associated with the first data source that has no extensions added.

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If a platform name has been added to the Configured Platforms parameter, but no data source objects exist in the Data Mapping section, no corresponding WFE data source is created, and no related recording data is synchronized to WFE.

The Integrator configures both the local and UTC time zone of a switch platform to the corresponding WFE data source. The Integrator configuration requires the time zone configured in the IANA time zone format <area>/<location>, but in the WFE user interface the time zone shows in both IANA and UTC/GMT-offset formats, depending on the application. For example, a switch at a site in Los Angeles is seen as America/Los_Angeles in Reports, but shows as GMT-08:00 Pacific Time (US & Canada) on the data source settings page under Recording Management.

For each configured data source in the appsettings.Production file, the Integrator searches WFE for an existing data source that meets the following criteria:

• It has the same name as the data source platform name configured in the DataMapping section of the appsettings.Production file.
• The Type matches the platform type associated with the platform name specified in the ConfiguredPlatforms parameter of the appsettings.Production file. 
• The Switch/sub-type is External Recorder.
• The Organization associated with the data source matches the organization ID of the parent organization created as part of the Integrator deployment process.

If the Integrator finds an existing data source with matching details, it notes the switch_ID of the WFE data source. If the Integrator does not find an existing data source with matching details, it creates one.

The Seating Arrangement property of the created data source is set to:

• Hybrid for phone types,
• Free for trader and application types.

The Contact Policy Type of all created data sources is set to Back office - Contact per call.

The Recorded Platform property of the created data source is set to the value of the data source platform specified in the Integrator configuration file.

Recorders and call metadata

The Integrator synchronizes recording metadata to WFE by periodically checking the VFC database for new recording data and marking them for synchronization. Call marking is the process of reading in a call record from the database, evaluating it against the Integrator configuration, and sending it to the WFE database.

The Integrator only synchronizes recording metadata, not media files.

Each VFC installation is represented as a single recorder in WFE, and all synchronized call records get associated with this recorder, regardless of the number of distinct VFC recorders that captured the calls. The Integrator creates an external recorder server in WFE for each VFC installation. The Server Name of the external server must be specified in the appsettings.Production file. It is recommended the Server Name matches the host name of the Media Repository the Integrator connects to.

The way calls are recorded and stored is different in VFC and WFE. Refer to Data models for more details on the VFC call data models, and see Contacts and Interactions for information about the WFE call data models.

Due to the difference in the call record handling, the call search and replay functionality also differs in VFC and WFE. To keep the call search experience consistent across both systems for VFC users, the Integrator retains the VFC call model in WFE.

In WFE, every record in the search results under Interactions represents a single session from the WFE call model. In VFC, every record in the search results under Conversations represents a single conversation entry from the VFC call model.

Image Added

If more than one record was created during a conversation, related records can be shown together by selecting the ellipsis (…) button on the record and selecting Show Related.

Image Added

During the synchronization process, each VFC conversation is mapped to a WFE session, allowing for the WFE call search experience being the same as in VFC.Image Added

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To maintain the Show Related functionality, sessions are related to contacts and associated records can be viewed when selecting a call record from the search results.

The call records originating from WFE remain unchanged and a single record in the Interaction search results still represents a single session.

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Encrypt secrets stored in the Integrator configuration file

The WFE API key and VFC API user details can be encrypted, and the Integrator configuration file is automatically updated to only store a hashed secret that represents these freetext values. After the Integrator is installed and configured, running an installation command with the ENCRYPT parameter creates an AES256 hash of the API secrets, and and updates the appsettings.Production file with a new Secret parameter, replacing the WFE and VFC API credentials. If the configuration file contains the freetext values of these credentials, the Integrator writes warnings to the logs, but the metadata synchronization does not require encrypted secrets.

The encrypted values can only be decrypted by manually removing the Secret parameter and reinserting the WfeApiKey and VfcApiUser values in the appsettings.Production file.

If the connection credentials change after encryption and need to be updated, replace the Secret parameter with the WfeApiKey and VfcApiUser parameters containing the new values. After you verify that the connection is successful using these values, run the encryption command again.

If both the encrypted (Secret) and unencrypted (WfeApiKey and VfcApiUser) versions of the values are contained in the configuration file, the Integrator uses the encrypted values.

See Encrypt API connection credentials.

Deployment process

The VFC to WFE Metadata Integrator deployment process requires configuration in the VFC and WFE environments before the installation of the Integrator. The configuration of the synchronization details is carried out in the appsettings.Production.json file of the Integrator tool after installation.

1. Install server certificates
2. Create a parent organization in Workforce Engagement
3. Create a parent group in Workforce Engagement
4. Create API key in Workforce Engagement for each WFE Tenant
5. Create a VFC API user account
6. Configure file upload from Recorder Servers
7. Enable External Recorder data sources in Workforce Engagement
8. (optional) Enable AQS in Workforce Engagement
9. Install the Integrator
10. Configure the Integrator
11. (optional) Encrypt API connection credentials

Install server certificates

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1. Sign in to VFC as an Administrator user.
2. Follow the User Configuration topic to create a new user that is only used for submitting API requests to VFC.
   1. Set API Access Only to enabled.
3. Note the user name and password of the created user. You must enter the exact values in the appsettings.Production configuration file of each Integrator during the configuration process.

Configure file upload from Recorder Servers

The Integrator does not process recordings that are stored on the Recorder Servers, so the upload of media and metadata files to a central storage location must be configured.

1. Sign in to VFC as an Administrator user.
2. Follow Configuring media file upload to configure policy-based or non-policy based file upload.

Enable External Recorder data sources in Workforce Engagement

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1. values in the appsettings.Production configuration file of each Integrator during the configuration process.

Configure file upload from Recorder Servers

The Integrator does not process recordings that are stored on the Recorder Servers, so the upload of media and metadata files to a central storage location must be configured.

1. Sign in to VFC as an Administrator user.
2. Follow Configuring media file upload to configure policy-based or non-policy based file upload.

Enable External Recorder data sources in Workforce Engagement

To enable External Recorder data sources that represent the VFC switch platforms, turn on the Data Marking API for External Recorder license item in WFE.

1. In a browser, go to http://<wfo_app_server_address>/wfo/control/license_edit.
2. On the License Data page, under Features, enable 2021R1 - Data Marking API for External Recorder.
3. Click Save.

(optional) Enable AQS in Workforce Engagement

If you have Voice Quality scoring enabled in VFC and would like the voice quality data synchronized, the WFE Audio Quality Statistics license item must be enabled.

1. In a browser, go to http://<wfo_app_server_address>/wfo/control/license_edit.
2. On the License Data page, under Features, enable 2021R1 - Data Marking API for External Recorder.Click SaveAudio Quality Statistics.
3. Click Save.

Install the Integrator

Follow the Installation Guide to install the VFC to WFE Metadata Integrator.

Configure the Integrator

Follow the Configuration Guide to configure the VFC to WFE Metadata Integrator.

(optional)

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If you have Voice Quality scoring enabled in VFC and would like the voice quality data synchronized, the WFE Audio Quality Statistics license item must be enabled.

1. In a browser, go to http://<wfo_app_server_address>/wfo/control/license_edit.
2. On the License Data page, under Features, enable 2021R1 - Audio Quality Statistics.
3. Click Save.

Install the Integrator

Follow the Installation Guide to install the VFC to WFE Metadata Integrator.

Configure the Integrator

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Encrypt API connection credentials

You can encrypt the API credentials used for connecting to WFE and VFC and ensure that these values are stored securely in the appsettings.<environmentName>.json file.

1. Verify successful connection by reviewing the logs for successful dependency check messages. If the WFE API key and the VFC API user information are accurate and the connection is successfully established, you can start the encryption of the API credentials.
2. Open the Command Line as an administrator and run the following command with the ENCRYPT parameter specified. If you specified a new installation directory during the installation process, specify the INSTALLDIR parameter.

After the command completes, verify the connection between the Integrator, VFC, and WFE by checking the logs for new successful dependency check messages.

Troubleshooting

Follow the Troubleshooting Guide to troubleshoot issues with the VFC to WFE Metadata Integrator.

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