Archive Contact Store

[jonorr267]

I don't have any experience of using Contact Store but have been asked by a customer how he should go about archiving. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I have googled this but not been able to find anything. Thanks Jon.

 

[jonorr267]

I have worked out how to set up archiving, but what the customer wants is the last six months (since contact store was installed) backing up. Is it possible to copy the directory that CS saves recording in? After reading through some of the documentation I personaly don't think this would work (could be wrong but CS wouldn't know which file was which as it wasn't archived?) but it is something the customer suggested and I said i would try to find out for him.Thanks Jon.

 

[CarGoSki]

With a DVD+RW drive installed in the ContactStore server, you can archive calls automatically.

The application writes files to disk in batches as calls are recorded. It also archives the call details to the disks.

Recording files are copied to the DVD disk:

When 14 hours of recordings have been made (equivalent to 100MB when recording in G.726 mode).

or

24 hours have passed since the last write to DVD

whichever is sooner.

When a recording is archived, the index and the recording are stored. The index for the file is stored as xml files in the database. When a call is deleted from the hard disk, ContactStore prompts for the DVD that is specified as part if the archive configuration.

The .xml files associated with each recording are archived to the DVD along with the .wav files that contain the actual recording. The xml files describe the recording and are useful for long term identification if necessary, for example if an archived call needs to be retrieved after a number of years. If you need to retrieve an archived recording you can find the index in the database and from it find out which DVD the recording is on.

Tip

It is also advisable to keep backups of the call records from the database.

Supported drives
ContactStore requires the Nero DVD tools to write to the DVD drive. You must therefore use a drive that is supported by Nero. If Nero is not bundled with your DVD drive, you must install it separately. Single-sided 4.7GB DVD+RW media are supported.

DVD+RW media control and care
To find calls easily and reliably, be sure that all media are labeled, handled and stored correctly. To ensure maximum reliability and consistent high quality recording and playback, follow these DVD+RW care procedures rigorously at all times:

Follow the manufacturer's guidelines for cleaning the drive's lens.

Disks exposed to temperatures outside the operating environment must be stabilized before use. Leave the cartridges in the operating environment temperature for a MINIMUM of two hours.

Protect disks from extremes of heat. Do not store disks in direct sunlight.

Avoid excessively damp environments; disks can be damaged by liquids and also by extreme humidity.

Do not let disks get dirty. When not in use, store disks in their supplied protective container.

Do not drop disks.

Do not touch the optical media inside the cartridge.

Archival procedures
The following sections explain how to complete the basic archival procedures:

Loading a disk

Changing disks

Labeling a disk

Verifying recorded disks

Reusing an old disk

Loading a disk
To load a new disk:

Insert a blank DVD+RW disk in the drive.

Wait 10 seconds for it to spin up.

In the ContactStore System Administration application, click the System Overview link to confirm that the ContactStore has recognized the disk.

The Current DVD media field shows that the disk has been recognized and is being written to; it also shows the volume label that has been assigned to the new disk. The Free Space on current DVD media line shows 4.7GB available on a clean disk.

Changing disks
The System Overview page shows when the disk is full; however, you should change disks at regular intervals, for example, daily, or every Monday at 9:00 am. Do not wait for a disk to fill up completely. If a DVD is filled, subsequent calls are not archived. You could lose recordings if there is a hard disk failure when the DVD is filled.

Tip: Check the state of the current disk in the drive daily, though alarms will be generated if the disk is not writable when calls are ready to be archived.

To eject a disk that is still being recorded in order to retrieve calls from another disk, replace the partially full disk and recording will continue to it.


The archival process never writes to disks out of sequence. For example, if you eject a partially full disk, then insert a blank disk on which the next set of calls is written, you cannot then reinsert the partially full disk.

Labeling a disk
As you eject each disk, label the disk itself using an approved indelible marker. Your label should indicate:

The identifier of the ContactStore producing the disk. The identifier is Calls by default; you can change this value on the Server Settings page of the System Administration application.

The sequential serial number of the disk.

The date/time the disk became full.

Verifying recorded disks
To verify that the contents of the disks are valid, you must first eject and re-insert the disk. Wait 10 seconds and then open Explorer on the drive.

If the contents of the disk are valid, there will be a single UID file and a set of large.tar files that contain the .wav and .xml files of the original recordings.

If these files are not present, refer to Appendix A of this manual for troubleshooting instructions.

If you cannot resolve the problem, contact your supplier's support organization for advice. Be sure to:

Place the disk back in its protective container.

Store the disk in a logical order with the other recorded disks.

Reusing old disks
Disks can only be written to if they are returned to their original state, with no files or formatting information on them.

To avoid accidental or fraudulent erasure of calls, reuse of DVD+RW disks is not encouraged; it is only possible if the disk has been completely wiped clean and returned to its initial state.

To recycle disks after a period of time:

Strike out the old disk label.

Insert the disk.

Delete ALL FILES from the disk.

Confirm that ContactStore has accepted the blank disk.

If accepted, the System Overview page shows the new volume label and 4.7GB of free space, as it would with a new disk.

Backing up your Server
You are strongly advised to install and configure an automated backup tool to provide a recoverable image of your server. You should back up the partitions onto which you have installed ContactStore, as well as the operating system partition(s).

Backing up the call details database
If you configure a Database backup path using the Administration pages, ContactStore will automatically write a backup of the database each night. The backup occurs just after 1am every morning. On Sunday mornings a full backup is made; on other days an incremental backup is added to this file. Each week, the previous week’s backup file is renamed from ContactStore.dump to ContactStore.old and the previous week’s file is deleted.

Therefore, you need to archive ContactStore.dump file every night, either before 1am or after 2am, to avoid colliding with the database backup. If you specify a fileshare on a remote computer, you will need to configure a fileshare to allow access to a user account and then set the ContactStore service to 'Run as...' that user. To allow ContactStore to function, you must ensure this user account has at least the same access rights as the local system account which the service uses by default.

Restoring the call details database
If it becomes necessary to restore the contact details database complete the following steps:

Stop the ContactStore service.

Stop the MSSQL$CONTACTSTORE Service.

Open a command window.

In the command window type osql -E Sqlserveragent to start the SQLSERVERAGENT.
The command prompt "1>" is displayed.

Type RESTORE DATABASE eware FROM DISK = '<path to database backup file>' WITH REPLACE. Note that this command is case sensitive.

Press Enter.

At the prompt "2>" type go.

Press Enter.

Type exit.

Press Enter.

Start the MSSQL$CONTACTSTORE service.

Start the ContactStore service.