Shared servers

Overview

Due to strict regulatory requirements in certain countries, recordings and metadata containing Client Identifying Data (CID) needs to be stored and accessed only from within a certain country or jurisdiction. Recording may be done outside of the jurisdiction, if all data associated with the recording is immediately moved to the final storage location, and no data containing CID is kept at the place of recording. Microsoft SfB/Lync systems can be deployed in a shared fashion, where certain components of the system can be used by other parts of the system. For instance, Edge pools can be shared by multiple Front-End pools. Due to this design, calls belonging to users from different countries/jurisdictions will be handled by the same shared component in certain cases. In order to record calls handled by the shared components such as Edge Servers, various Verba components needs to be deployed and made aware of all recorded users regardless of their location. 

 In order to meet these requirements, the Verba system supports shared components/servers. It allows deploying multiple Verba system to properly segregate both media and metadata, and support shared SfB/Lync deployments. Key features include:

• Multiple Verba systems, called Verba clusters, can be deployed to segregate media files and recorded metadata.
• Certain servers in a Verba cluster can be shared with other clusters to allow recording of users initially belonging to the other cluster(s). These calls are called external calls.
• Server roles available for sharing: Verba Recording Server, Verba SfB/Lync Call Filter, Verba Media Collector & Proxy Server
• Only SfB/Lync recording is supported
• Only voice/video call recording is supported
• External calls recorded by the shared Recording Servers are automatically moved to the corresponding Verba cluster using an internal API running on the Verba Media Repository servers. No metadata or media file is kept on the shared servers for these type of calls.
• Silent monitoring is not supported for external calls recorded by shared servers  

Configuring a Verba cluster

In order to allow using shared servers in a Verba system, a Verba cluster needs to be configured.

Follow the steps below to configure the cluster:

Step 1 - In the Verba web interface click on Administration > Verba Servers and select your Media Repository server.

Step 2 - Click on the Change Configuration Settings tab.

Step 3 - Expand Network.

Step 4 - Configure your Verba Cluster ID and add your Media Repository servers belonging to this cluster.

Step 5 - After making your changes click on the Save button on top right corner of the configuration tree.

Step 6 - Follow the instruction in the yellow stripe above the configuration tree to apply changes to Verba services.

Step 5 - Repeat step1 - step4 on each Media Repository servers.

Configuring shared servers

Follow the steps below to add a shared server:

Step 1 - In the Verba web interface click on Administration > Verba Servers.

Step 2 - On the top right edge of the view select Add New Verba Server.

Step 3 - Enter the Hostname and select the Role of your server.

Step 4 - Check the Shared checkbox. Optionally enter a Description.

Step 5 - Click on the Save button then follow the instruction in the yellow stripe above the configuration tree to apply changes to Verba services.

 Firewall requirements

The same firewall rules apply for shared Verba servers as for normal Verba servers. On the Verba Media Repository servers, the port needs to be opened for the Verba Storage Management Service.

Please visit the Firewall configuration for Lync recording deployments page for more information.