Overview of
ECI |
Electronic Customer Interface (ECI) is IBM's
electronic call-tracking and service dispatch system. You can use Tivoli Problem
Management to place an ECI request for service, or ECI call, for your help desk
customers. ECI processes and automates electronic requests for service, eliminating the
need for you or your help desk customers to speak directly to service center personnel.
You can request service for computer as well as non-computer equipment, depending on your
arrangement with IBM. For more information, see Appendix C of the Tivoli Problem
Management User's Guide. Note the following:
- If you do not plan to use Tivoli Problem Management with ECI, you can disregard this
help topic.
- The ECI system operates with Windows-based systems only at this time.
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Ghost calls |
ECI may send information about equipment that
was serviced for an unrelated problem to Tivoli Problem Management. Because this
information did not originate from Tivoli Problem Management, this call is referred to as
a ghost call. For example, an IBM Customer Engineer, originally dispatched to
service a network printer, also performs service on the database server. Information about
the database server service is sent to Tivoli Problem Management as a ghost call.
You can configure Tivoli Problem Management so call and problem records are not created
when ghost calls are received. See Configuring TPM
parameters. |
Configuration
prerequisites |
Before you can configure Tivoli Problem
Management for use with ECI, you must have an arrangement with IBM to access the ECI
system. In addition, you need the following information from IBM:
- An ECI ID and password
- An ECI queue manager name, and ECI queue names for sending and receiving service request
information.
- A toll-free number arrangement with IBM, if you plan on IBM Customer Engineers using
help desk analysts as the point of contact (optional)
You also need to add the Configure ECI system action or ECI Integration action group to
the profile used by the ECI system administrator to configure Tivoli Problem Management
for use with ECI. See Configuring Profiles and Configuring Menu Items. |
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You must configure Tivoli Problem Management
before you use Tivoli Problem Management with ECI. You use the ECI Configuration dialog
box to do this. To configure Tivoli Problem Management for ECI, you perform these tasks:
- Specify logon parameters related to the manner in which Tivoli Problem Management
communicates with ECI, such as number of messages queued before a logon to ECI is
attempted, logon intervals, and the number of times to retry a connection after an attempt
to connect to ECI fails.
- Specify Tivoli Service Desk parameters, such as the default 800 telephone number,
default contact telephone number, and default call sort order.
- Specify Tivoli Problem Management parameters such as automatically closing cleared
problems, automatically closing cancelled problems, and updating Problem History. These
parameters affect Tivoli Problem Management tables.
- Specify the names of the queue manager and queues Tivoli Problem Management uses to send
and receive service request information.
In addition, you must decide how help desk analysts are to access ECI-related commands.
Consider placing ECI commands on one menu on the Tivoli Service Desk menu bar. In this
manner, users can quickly access all ECI- related commands quickly from one place. For
more information, see Configuring Profiles and Configuring Menu Items. |
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You configure Tivoli Problem Management for ECI
using the ECI Configuration dialog box. The ECI Configuration dialog box contains these
tabs:
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Configuring ECI ID and password |
You must provide ECI with
ID and password information to validate your ECI arrangement with IBM. To configure ECI
ID and password information:
- Start Windows Notepad or other text editing program.
Result: The text editing program appears.
- Type ID=xxx and press Enter.
xxx is your ECI ID.
- Type PW=yyy and press Enter.
yyy is your ECI password.
- From the File menu, choose Save.
Result: The Save As dialog box appears.
- In the File name box, type ecisec.id.
Note: Save ecisec.id to your SAI_ROOT directory.
- Choose OK.
Result: ecisec.id is saved to the SAI_ROOT directory.
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You must specify
Tivoli Problem Management logon parameters. To configure Tivoli Problem Management ECI
logon parameters:
- From the ECI Configuration dialog box,
choose the Logon tab.
Result: The Logon tab appears.
- In the Max Queue Size box, type the maximum number of messages that are queued before
Tivoli Problem Management attempts to send messages to ECI.
Tip: Set the Max Queue Size to 0 if you want every outgoing request to
cause an immediate logon.
- In the Logon Interval box, type the number of minutes between attempts to send messages
to ECI.
- In the Retry Interval box, type the number of minutes before Tivoli Problem Management
attempts to send messages after an attempt to contact ECI fails.
- In the Grace Period box, type the number of minutes before Tivoli Problem Management
attempts to send messages after the maximum message queue size is reached.
- In the Last Logon Alert box, type the number of minutes before Tivoli Problem Management
displays an alert message from the last successful contact with ECI. Specify a value
greater than the logon interval.
- In the No. of Immediate Retries box, type the number of times Tivoli Problem Management
immediately tries to contact ECI after an initial failed attempt.
Note: If a successful connection is not made after the specified number
of retries, Tivoli Problem Management waits until its next scheduled attempt, a user makes
an attempt, or the maximum queue size is reached again.
- In the Logon Exclude Intervals box, type the time interval in military time that Tivoli
Problem Management does not attempt to contact ECI, if any. Use commas to separate more
than one interval, such as 2300-0430, 1130-1300.
- If you want Tivoli Problem Management to dial the ECI telephone number, select Dial on
Connect.
- If you want Tivoli Problem Management to disconnect the ECI telephone number, select
Hangup on Disconnect.
- Do one of the following:
- Choose another ECI Configuration dialog box tab and continue configuring Tivoli Problem
Management.
- Choose Accept.
Result: The parameters are saved and the ECI Configuration dialog box
closes.
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Configuring
TSD parameters |
You must specify Tivoli
Problem Management application parameters. To configure Tivoli Problem Management
application parameters:
- From the ECI Configuration dialog box,
choose the TSD tab.
Result: The TSD tab appears.
- In the Default (800) Number box, type the default 800 telephone number that appears in
the Place ECI Service Call dialog box.
Tip: The Default (800) Number is the default 800 telephone number that
appears in the Place ECI Service Call dialog box, differing only in the extension. The
extension uses the number in the TPM Location ID. Leave this box blank if you are not
using a default 800 number.
- In the Default Contact Phone box, type the default contact telephone number that appears
in the Place ECI Service Call dialog box.
- In the Closed Call Hold Days box, type the number of days Tivoli Problem Management
keeps closed calls before deleting them.
- In the Cancelled Call Hold Days box, type the number of days Tivoli Problem Management
retains cancelled calls before archiving them.
- In the Call Days Displayed box, type the default number of days of calls to display in
Tivoli Problem Management Work with dialog boxes.
- In the Display Open/Closed Calls list, select the default state of calls you want
displayed displays in Tivoli Problem Management Work with dialog boxes.
Note: This option does not apply to TPM Open/Closed calls.
- If you are using a default 800 telephone number (step 2), and you want Tivoli Problem
Management to pad the telephone number extension with zeros for those with less than five
digits, select Pad extension with zeros.
Tip: It is highly recommended that you do not select this box. If you do
not pad extensions, you avoid the risk of having duplicate entries in the Tivoli Problem
Management database (records with and without padded extensions).
- If you do not want to use the data from the active Tivoli Problem Management call in the
Place ECI Service Call dialog box, select Empty call place dialog.
Note: This box only affects the Place ECI Service Call dialog box as it
is opened and while there is an open TPM call.
- Do one of the following:
- Choose another ECI Configuration dialog box tab and continue configuring Tivoli Problem
Management.
- Choose Accept.
Result: The parameters are saved and the ECI Configuration dialog box
closes.
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Configuring
TPM parameters |
You must specify how
Tivoli Problem Management interacts with ECI. To configure TPM parameters:
- From the ECI Configuration dialog box,
choose the TPM tab.
Result: The TPM tab appears.
- If you want to close the corresponding TPM problem when an ECI call is cleared, select
Auto Close Cleared Problems.
- If you want to close the corresponding TPM problem when an ECI call is cancelled, select
Auto Close Cancelled Problems.
- If you want to create a TPM problem when an ECI call is received but did not originate
locally, select Auto Create Ghost Problems. When this box is selected, Auto Create Ghost
Calls is also selected.
- If you want to specify a default contact, choose the Browse button next to the Default
Contact box then select a name from the Quick Contact dialog box.
- If you want to create a TPM call when an ECI call is received but did not originate
locally, select Auto Create Ghost Calls.
- If you want to update the TPM problem history when the status of a corresponding ECI
call is updated, select Update Problem History.
- If you want to use customer information only from TPM even if a valid customer record is
found in the ECI database, select Override Customer Info.
- If you want the ECI customer telephone number extension used from the location of the
contact for the corresponding TPM call, select TPM Phone Extension Same As ECI. Normally
this box should be selected.
- From the Map Machine Type to: list, select System, Component, Item, Module, or Problem
Type to classify Machine Type in the TPM SCIM hierarchy.
- From the Map Model to: list, select System, Component, Item, Module, or Problem Type to
classify Model in the TPM SCIM hierarchy.
- From the Map Failing Element to: list, select System, Component, Item, Module, or
Problem Type to classify Failing Element in the TPM SCIM hierarchy.
- From the Map Part Number to: list, select System, Component, Item, Module, or Problem
Type to classify Part Number in the TPM SCIM hierarchy.
- From the Map System Type to: list, select System, Component, Item, Module, or Problem
Type to classify System Type in the TPM SCIM hierarchy.
- Do one of the following:
- Choose another ECI Configuration dialog box tab and continue configuring Tivoli Problem
Management.
- Choose Accept.
Result: The parameters are saved and the ECI Configuration dialog box
closes.
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Configuring
ECI parameters |
You must specify the
queues Tivoli Problem Management uses to send and receive information to and from,
respectively, ECI. You must also specify the queue manager for these queues. To
configure ECI parameters:
- From the ECI Configuration dialog box,
choose the ECI tab.
Result: The ECI tab appears.
- In the Queue Manager Name box, type the name of Queue Manager for the Put Queue and the
Get Queue.
- In the Put Queue box, type the name of the queue that Tivoli Problem Management uses to
send information to ECI.
- In the Get Queue box, type the name of the queue that Tivoli Problem Management uses to
receive information from ECI.
- Do one of the following:
- Choose another ECI Configuration dialog box tab and continue configuring Tivoli Problem
Management.
- Choose Accept.
Result: The parameters are saved and the ECI Configuration dialog box
closes.
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