service definition file

This section describes how to use the service definition file, which is used to define which services are available.

A service is a particular type of processing that a caller requires. For example, in a software company’s call center, a caller with a question about installing software would be directed to the Technical Support service; a caller wanting to purchase software might be directed to the Sales service.

Assign a unique identifier for each service that you provide for your callers. Each call that is received or started by Blueworx Voice Response is linked to a service.

You assign a static identifier, a Service ID, to each service. The ICM uses the Service ID to distinguish one service that is on the Blueworx Voice Response system from another. The IDs are configured in the ICM central database and should remain constant across Blueworx Voice Response restarts.

The ICM uses information about services to make call routing decisions. The ICM also provides this information in real time monitor screens and historical reports.

The format of the service definition file is as follows. The fields are separated by one or more blanks.

Table 1. Format of the service definition file
Field name	Value	Data type	Max size
ServiceID	The number of the service	STRING	9
ServiceAvailable	"Y" indicates the service is available. "N" or "n" indicate that the service is not available	STRING	1
StateTable	The name of the state table that runs the service, ended by a blank	STRING	15
ServiceName	Descriptive name of the service	STRING	39

Table 2 shows the service definition file that is used in the installation verification test.

Table 2. Sample definition file
* Service Definition File *
`ServiceID`	`ServiceAvailable`	`StateTable`	`ServiceName`
`1`	`Y`	`None`	`General Info`
`2`	`Y`	`GeoTel1`	`Problem Support`
`3`	`N`	`GeoTel2`	`Not Available`
`4`	`Y`	`GeoTel3`	`Account Enquiry`
`* The next entry is used to test outgoing calls`
3001	`Y`	`S2`	`Number to Call`

The service definition file is verified when the custom server is started or when a request is made to obtain a ServiceID.

During verification of the file the following checks are made:

If a record contains a non numerical value in the ServiceID field, it is ignored. For example, in Table 2, records with "*" in the ServiceID field are ignored.
If the contents of the ServiceAvailable field is not "Y", the service is handled as being unavailable.
The ServiceName field value for a service must be unique in the file. An error is reported if the field value is not unique.
The StateTable field value for a service must be unique within the file. An error is reported if the field value is not unique.
The ServiceID field value for a service must be unique within the file. An error is reported if the field value is not unique.
There must be at least one available service. An error is reported if no service is available.
Blank lines are not permitted in the service definition file. If a blank line is included in the file, it will cause a duplicated record error.

Each time a request is made to obtain a ServiceID, if the file has been changed, it is reloaded and verified again. If an error is found during an attempt to reload the file, reloading is ended and an error is logged. The Cisco ICM custom server continues to operate with the previous version of the file. Any errors that are in the service definition file must be corrected before the Cisco ICM custom server can be restarted.

Service definition file