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Support Automation Planning Considerations

You can use the following information to research and gather information to help you plan for a successful Support Automation configuration.

• Read the Release Notes to understand the requirements for Support Automation.
• Server and Network—Consider the following supported Support Automation server modes:
  • Main Server—Support Automation uses main application server. The server provides socket-based and HTTP-based communications.
  • Socket Proxy Server—Support Automation uses a socket proxy on the same tier as the web server which off-loads encryption/decryption processing from the main server for direct socket connections to support scalability.
  • Message Routing Server (MRS)—Support Automation separates high bandwidth and unpredictable traffic from the main application server to support server scalability and provide a network routing shortcut for geographical scalability using remote control connections.
• Server Sizing—Consider the following server variables:
  • Network characteristics of end-user and analyst connections—The server load is directly proportional to the data of the message routing component. Low bandwidth, high latency, and high packet loss contribute significantly to lowering the load on the server. When network conditions are optimal (high bandwidth, low latency, low packet loss), the speed on the server is much higher. The total number of concurrent analyst users and end-user logins per minute, including self-service user, can place a heavy load on the server.
  • Connection type—The number of socket connections as opposed to the number of HTTP connections affects the servers as follows:
    • When you connect predominantly through socket connections, the load on the servers is so light that, assuming powerful hardware, the application is network bound rather than CPU bound. The hardware does not limit the number of concurrent connections but rather the network can limit the connections.
    • When you connect through HTTP, the load on the web and application servers is higher and the application is CPU bound unless scaled significantly.
  • Remote Control usage—Remote Control uses significant network bandwidth in a sustained way whenever it is running. All traffic routed between end users and analysts flows through the server. The number of concurrent Remote Control connections has a significant role in any sizing assessments.

    Note: Remote Control is the only high-bandwidth tool in the Live Assistance toolset. Chat and Automation are low bandwidth. Screenshot and File Transfer can use high bandwidth for short periods while files are transferred.