Field Notice: FN - 62768 - Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal (CVP) - Considerations for 2007 Daylight Savings Time Change
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Revised March 4, 2008
March 29, 2007
NOTICE:
THIS FIELD NOTICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS AND DOES NOT IMPLY ANY KIND OF GUARANTEE OR WARRANTY, INCLUDING THE WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY. YOUR USE OF THE INFORMATION ON THE FIELD NOTICE OR MATERIALS LINKED FROM THE FIELD NOTICE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. CISCO RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHANGE OR UPDATE THIS FIELD NOTICE AT ANY TIME.
Revision History
| Revision |
Date |
Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 |
04-MAR-2008 |
Changed reference to Timezone Update tool in Workaround/Solution section to 1.2.2 or higher. |
| 1.0 |
29-MAR-2007 |
Initial Public Release |
Products Affected
| Products Affected |
|---|
| Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal (CVP) - 3.x, 4.x |
| Internet Service Node (ISN) - 2.1.0 |
Problem Description
In compliance with the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the switchover dates to and from Daylight Savings Time (DST) will shift in the United States in calendar year 2007. DST will commence three weeks earlier (the second Sunday in March) and will end one week later (the first Sunday in November), each occurring at 2:00 A.M. Because assumptions around the timing of the ongoing DST transition were designed into both the Microsoft Windows operating system and the Cisco Unified Contact Center software, adequate preparation for this event is necessary in order to avoid negative impact to system data reporting context. Further, as the JDK/JRE (Java) runtime facilities are themselves subject to the same update requirements, certain components of the product that utilize the JDK/JRE are required to have the Java Platform JDK US DST Timezone Updater ("TZupdater") patch tool applied. The tool is available directly from Sun Microsystems' Sun Developer Network.
This notice is intended to both alert you to the specific impact of the DST change and to detail the necessary remedial steps to ensure consistent and seamless product operation. Several Enterprise and Hosted product and product options are affected, and each requires specific consideration as discussed in the following section. Customers deploying these product and configuration options should follow the steps outlined in the notice to ensure they avoid encountering problems with the forthcoming March 2007 DST transition.
The Contact Center product/product options affected are:
- Microsoft Windows operating system (Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, or Windows 2000)
- Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal (versions 3.0, 3.1 and 4.0) - ISN (version 2.1)
Background
Microsoft Windows Considerations
In general, the Enterprise and Hosted Contact Center product components rely on the underlying Windows operating system to manifest time zone context, including DST start and end event timing. For this reason, all Enterprise, Hosted, and Unified Customer Voice Portal (CVP) Contact Center customers must adhere to Microsoft's guidance for Windows system maintenance to ensure their systems are updated for the 2007 DST change.
Windows Server 2003 and Server 2003 Service Pack 1 customers can obtain a software patch from Microsoft that will apply the necessary update to their servers. Client applications running on Windows XP SP2 can likewise obtain this update. See the Microsoft link following this paragraph. Windows 2000 Server customers should contact Microsoft regarding procedures applicable to their version of the operating system, and to patch availability as it applies to holders of an extended support agreement (if applicable).
See the following Microsoft links describing system preparation and steps, and also Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article numbers 928388 and 914387.
Daylight Saving Time Help and Support Center
Preparing for Daylight Saving Time changes in 2007
The Microsoft material applies to global time zone considerations, and not only the 2007 DST change for the United States.
Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal
The Cisco Unified Portal Application Server 2.x and 3.x runs on Windows 2000 Server. The operating system patch listed above, under Microsoft Windows Considerations, for customers with extended support contracts should be used to update all CVP Applications servers so the system clock on those servers will be at the correct value. This also applies for the operating system on Unified CVP VXML Server and Studio machines. For those customers without the extended support contract, follow the manual steps listed in the link and KB articles in the Microsoft Windows Considerations section above.
The Cisco Unified Portal Application Server 4.0 runs on Windows 2003 Server. The operating system patch listed above under Microsoft Windows Considerations must be applied to all Windows 2003 Servers that run CVP 4.0 components.
The Cisco Unified Voice Portal VXML Server and Studio, which is deployed with CVP 3.0, 3.1 and 4.0 use Java technology that hardcodes the DST dates and times within its internal tables. Sun Microsystems provides a tool to adjust these dates to the new values. Use this tool to update all CVP VXML Servers and Studio machines.
Secondarily, if the Unified CVP VXML Server is deployed with WebSphere Application Server 5.1.1.3, you must also update the Java technology that WebSphere uses.
If your Unified CVP solution is using Loquendo Speech Suite 7.0.7 as a voice server, the Loquendo Speech Suite 7.0.7 core components rely on the operating system clock, so the DST change does not require any additional patch. An optional component of the Speech Suite - the Loquendo Management Console - being a Java application will, however, require the JRE to be updated.
For CVP 4.0 deployments on AIX operating systems, you must update AIX to Technology Level 4.
For all updates, see the Workaround/Solution section.
Problem Symptoms
Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal (CVP) Considerations
Failure to update the operating system for CVP Applications Servers and CVP VXML Servers will result in calls being logged at the wrong times with the new DST rules in effect. Failure to update the Java technology in the CVP VXML Server and Studio will cause the wrong times to be written to the logs for the CVP VXML Server.
Failure to update the operating system of the Reporting Server (CVP version 4.0 and above only) will result in time value discrepancies in the database during the discrepancy period (March 11th through April 1st and October 28th through November 4th). Date and time values that originate from Java will be correct and will show a one hour difference from the date and time value originating in the reporting servers underlying OS. A breakdown of date and time values and their source is provided below.
Date and Time storage in the database:
There are 3 main dates in the tables, 2 are from the VXML servers and 1 from the reporting server itself:
1) callstartdate - value comes from VXML Server's JRE
2) eventdatetime - value comes from VXML Server's JRE
3) dbdatetime - value comes from the Reporting Server's OS
Tables which include these values:
callevent
outgingECCvariable
vxmlsession
CVP 4.0 and AIX
On AIX systems, the system administrator sets the DST rules for their system to follow by configuring the TZ environment variable in the /etc/environment file. If the administrator has specified that DST is observed, but no rules to select the date have been specified, then a default DST rule will be selected by the system. This default rule is set to match the DST rule for the United States.
Workaround/Solution
Microsoft Windows Considerations
Apply the Windows system maintenance (patch or manual process, as appropriate) per the Microsoft guidelines referenced in the Background section of this field notice. Questions or special consideration issues should be provided directly to Microsoft. Cisco Enterprise and Hosted Contact Center customers have responsibility for administering their own Windows server operating system.
Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal (CVP)
The applicable Windows 2000 update should be applied to the operating system as directed by Microsoft. Reference the "Microsoft Windows Considerations" in the Background section of this field notice.
To update the Java technology used in the Unified CVP VXML Server, go to the Java SE Downloads Page to obtain the JDK US DST Timezone Update Tool - 1.2.2 or higher.
To update the Loquendo Management Console follow the instructions provided by Sun here:
U.S. Daylight Saving Time Changes in 2007
Java should be updated to version 1.4.2_11 or later. Note that 1.4.2_08 is the minimum requirement.
To update the WebSphere Application Server 5.1.1.3 product, go to the following link and follow the instructions:
IBM WebSphere Application Server Java SDK latest Interim Fix for V5.1.1.
CVP 4.0 and AIX
Update to Technology Level 4 following instructions at the AIX O/S updated to support 2007 Daylight Saving Time change page.
For More Information
If you require further assistance, or if you have any further questions regarding this field notice, please contact the Cisco Systems Technical Assistance Center (TAC) by one of the following methods:
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