The SocialMiner user interfaces are designed to be embedded in other web application user interfaces.

If your web site or application doesn't support OpenSocial, then add SocialMiner to a web page by using an iFrame (for example). With this technique you can make a frame sized to show one of the SocialMiner web pages (like the campaign results panel).

SocialMiner has a single-server, all-in-one, small or large deployment model. You cannot use a load-balancing, split data-center deployment. There is no replication. The solution is not redundant. The best availability solution for SocialMiner is to back it up at a second location using a scheduled backup. In the event of a site loss, you then restore into a new VM.

The server may be deployed inside or outside the corporate firewall in "Intranet" and "Internet" deployment models.

• The Intranet deployment model provides the additional security of corporate network firewalls to reduce the risk of an external party accessing the system. This deployment model is required if SocialMiner must access internal sites, such as an internal forum site. The disadvantage of the Intranet deployment model is that the SocialMiner system cannot be accessed by partners lacking VPN access. It is common for some public relations functions to be externally managed by an agency and offering easy access to the SocialMiner system is very useful. Also, the Intranet deployment model does not allow rendering of SocialMiner OpenSocial Gadgets in public Internet containers such as iGoogle. The Intranet deployment model complicates proxy configuration, however it simplifies directory integration.

• The Internet deployment model puts SocialMiner outside of a corporate firewall. This deployment model relies on the built-in security capabilities of the SocialMiner appliance. This may be acceptable from a security perspective depending on system use and corporate policies. For example, in some applications the SocialMiner system handles 100 percent public postings and there is no disclosure risk associated with a compromised SocialMiner system. The Internet deployment model may complicate directory integration.

SocialMiner can be deployed where some users access the server through a firewall or proxy. For the customer chat interface, the SocialMiner server can be deployed behind a proxy server or firewall to prevent it from being abused or for limiting access by those outside the firewall.

Cisco supports SocialMiner deployment on any hardware provided that SocialMiner is installed with the Cisco provided VMWare OVF.

For the complete list of possible server options, see http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​c/​dam/​en/​us/​td/​docs/​voice_ip_comm/​uc_system/​virtualization/​virtualization-cisco-socialminer.html.

The following table shows the sizing limits for small and large deployments of a single SocialMiner system.

Retaining Saved Chat Transcripts

A meter on the System Administration panel of the Administration tab shows the current overall SocialMiner disk usage. The meter shows percent usage and hovering over the meter shows the actual number of bytes in use (the same data can be retrieved using the serviceability API).

The Purge Settings section of the panel displays the maximum age a contact can be before it is automatically purged by the system (default is 30 days).

As chat transcripts comprise the majority of disk usage, users can decide how long they wish to retain contacts by using the formula below to calculate the amount of disk space required to retain chat transcripts for one month (assuming the default purge setting of 30 days is kept). Once the average disk space requirement for a month's worth of chat transcripts is calculated, users can determine if they wish to retain contacts for the full 30 days and allocate the appropriate disk space accordingly; or they can choose to purge contacts more frequently.

Note: If SocialMiner starts to run out of disk space, it will purge contacts based on age (the oldest ones being purged first).

Formula to calculate the number of chats per month:

NUMBER_CHATS_MONTH = ACTIVE_CHAT_TIME_MONTH_IN_MIN / DURATION_CHAT_MIN

where:

ACTIVE_CHAT_TIME_MONTH_IN_MIN is the average number of minutes per month that agents spend on chat activities. Assuming that agent activity occurs for 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, 4 weeks a month; the value is 13440 minutes (8*7*4*60).

DURATION_CHAT_MIN is the average duration of a chat in minutes.

Formula to calculate the amount of disk space required per month for chat transcripts:

DISK_SPACE_MONTH = (TR_SIZE + SC_SIZE) * NUMBER_SIMULTANEOUS_CHATS * NUMBER_CHATS_MONTH

where:

TR_SIZE is the average transcript size in Kbytes.

SC_SIZE is the average size of the metadata for a contact in Kbytes (which is normally 3 Kbytes).

NUMBER_SIMULTANEOUS_CHATS is the number of simultaneous chats sessions allowed.

NUMBER_CHATS_MONTH is the value calculated above.

Maximum Network Latency for Chat

The maximum network latency permitted for chat is 250 ms.

Network Bandwidth for Chat

Allocate network bandwidth required for chat based on this formula:

CHAT_NETWORK_BANDWIDTH (in Kbps) = CHAT_SESSIONS_SENDING_MSG_PER_SECOND * AVG_MSG_SIZE

For example, If all 400 sessions are active and 10% of chat sessions are sending messages every second, then 400 * 10/100 = 40 chat sessions are sending message each second.

If the average message size is 1 Kb, then the chat network bandwidth is 40 Kbps.

SocialMiner minimizes the storage of usernames and passwords to reduce the security risk of a compromised system. There is an administration account for the system setup, but all SocialMiner user access is controlled through Active Directory (AD) authentication. There are no SocialMiner user passwords stored on the SocialMiner System.

Users do not need to be manually set up on SocialMiner to access the system. Any user that is authenticated by the Active Directory setup can use the system. If limits on who can use system are required, set up an AD group and configure SocialMiner to only allow access for that group.

AD authenticated users have access to all functions on the system, although panels access could be blocked by blocking certain URLs.

The SocialMiner system supports one standard OVF Appliance. SocialMiner can only be deployed on servers using VMware ESXi.

See Virtualization for Cisco SocialMiner for more information.