adopting an existing system

I've held off on updating the blog for a while to keep LUKE'S POST at the top of the page. This is really great info so if you missed it please take a little time to go back to it.

As I've been running around doing 4.1 upgrades I've found that lots of existing systems have been inherited by people who weren't involved in the original deployment project. Since most people in this position don't have a clear path to ask the questions they have, or maybe even know what questions they should ask, I thought I would take a post and put out some advice on the matter. Here's our plan:

1. contact Vocera support
2. gather system info
3. look at current usage
   
4. check the database
5. get training!
   

Contact Vocera Support

First step, hopefully before you even have a problem to report, you need to contact Vocera support and get setup with them. You are going to want to document some things so have a pen or keyboard handy.

First thing open up the VOCERA SUPPORT page, take note of the email address and save that to your contacts. Also pick a phone number to put in there and your speed dials too;
408-882-5100 or
800-331-6356

OK now that we know how to get in touch with them, go ahead and setup a support login, you should see a list of info you need to send them on the main support page. It could take a little time to get that account created, don't worry if it does.

Once your account is created go ahead and log into the Support Center. The first page is the "Home" tab and it tells you contact info, hours and holidays, the current top Knowledge Base articles, and any open cases you have. Very good info!

Just for a little practice, go to the Find Knowledge Base Article tab, and search for "ftp" and you should get a hit "How should large amounts of data be transmitted to Vocera? (FTP)" go ahead and click that link. I suggest you copy that info, print it, keep it handy somehow. If it changes you now know how to find it.

Let's give them a call during normal business hours. You should get a live, friendly, and helpful person on the phone in pretty short order. I would ask them for the following:

• support contract type (standard or 24x7)
• renewal date
• names of people allowed to open cases
• if there are any open tickets you can't see
• a copy of your license key if you don't already have one
• your account managers name and contact information
  

There is your crash course on Vocera Support, now that we have a safety net in place we are moving on!


Gather System Info

Time to look at what we have installed, here is the lingo:

VS or Vocera Server; any server running Vocera. There is often more than one of these running in a cluster.

VTS or Vocera Telephony Server; a server with a Dialogic card that acts as a PBX gateway for VS servers.

VRS or Vocera Reports Server; this server crunches advanced reports for you, these are worth their weight in gold, I hope you have one.

Staging Server; this is an isolated VS that can be used for testing and lab work.

BCWS or Badge Configuration Workstation; there should be a pc somewhere used to flash new badges, it will probably have nothing connected to it but a wireless access point.

For each of these systems we need to do make sure we have the following:

• IP address
• hostname
• a local user account with remote access permissions
• a way to connect to it; RDP, VNC, IP KVM, whatever you use - BUT TEST IT!
• check OS patch levels, and how much available disk, RAM, and CPU you have

OK something we need to make special note of: when you log into the local keyboard and look at the monitor you should swee two windows open on each VS and VTS. When you login via RDP you will need to use either "/console" or "/admin" to get to it. I'm not going into all the details here, google can be your friend on this one.

For this next part I have to assume someone left you a link and credentials for the VS and VRS applications. If you don't have these links and login ID's you need to get them or contact Vocera Support and see if they can help you.

On the VS:

• Login to the console and look into every groups permissions tab noting any that have Vocera Administration, usually one group to itself. Look at the group membership for any groups that have it and review all names to see if anyone has a backdoor into your system.
• If the previous admin is gone, remove the account. If they have transfered and still use a badge carefully check the permissions to make sure they are appropriate. If they are the backup admin don't be too rash.
• Make sure backups are running nightly and you have them going off box somewhere that you can get to them if you need them.
• Check your version and patch level, plan to apply service packs to current (read the release notes) and determine if you need to coordinate a upgrade.

On the VTS

• Take a look at your VTS and note the wiring going to your PBX. Either you have analog phone lines terminated or a T1 cable (looks just like a network cable) between the two.
  
• If you have analog you should find out what the extension on EACH line is and test them individually.
  
• If you have a T1/ISDN PRI find out where the crossover cable is between the VTS and the PBX and MAKE SURE IT IS LABLED WITH BIG BOLD LETTERS.

On the VRS:

• If you can, log in as administrator and reset the password. If this account/password is shared amoung people you may not be able to. If your not up to 4.1 yet and you use VRS heavilly you should probably be talking to your account team about some benefits of upgrading.

BCWS:

• I'd go for a function test, if you factory reset a badge does it flash from the BCWS and work on the active production VS? If not it's time to roll up your sleeves.

You can configure email alerts for things like VTS failure and cluster failovers (and even more if you have upgraded to 4.1 like scheduled report delivery) if you want it/need it, set it up! If you have another management software running, setup some alerts there for basic network connectivity, and low disk space.



Gather Usage Info

With all the basics out of the way, you need to get a pulse on the health of your system.

If you have a VRS, start with running these reports:

• low rec by access point
  
• low rec by badge
  
• low rec by user
  

The threshold on these reports is 70% so you will see everything below that. I'd take this approach:

1. low rec by access point, any below 50% go look at the antennas, check the configuration and code level, finally see if there are any other AP's close enough for badges to roam too. Often the last AP heading out parking or smoking areas, I wouldn't worry as much about the fringe AP's as one with low rec in a unit.
2. low rec by badge, any badge that is being passed between users that reports less than 50% I would want to look at and test myself. If it's bad you need to replace or RMA it, don't let it back out to the user community.
3. low rec by user, here's where it gets tough. Generate this report and look for where you can make the most difference. It will take time and training, and you need the support of the people running the departments but taking the time and getting the users trained up is well worth the effort.
   

This will get us an idea of what is giong on, but we should also check our ticket system, however the users were instructed to report problems and see what has been opened (and what was closed.) Sometimes we find that real issues were closed without resolution by people who didn't know how to escalate the issue. It's at least worth a look.

As part of our pulse checking, go get a badge and a headset and go walk the entire environment while doing a "play test tone." Wherever you are getting drops so are the users.

I'm going far out with my personal opinion here, but I think sometimes people spend too much time looking at network stats and heatmaps, the only thing that users care about is what they experience first hand, everyday. Your wireless tools are invaluable in finding and fixing problems, no doubt, but there is nothing like a badge for gauging the actual user experience.


Check The Database

So for the basics of getting to know our production database we are going to keep this a little light and fluffy.

First step is to log into the web console and go to the Maintenance menu, Data Check tab and run an integrity check for Names, Phone Numbers, and Groups. Pay attention to high priority items, but if you're not positive on how to resolve a conflict it's best to ask for help first! Look for duplicate names, for example a doctor who is a user and has the same name as an address book entry for his main practice number. This little tool can catch quite a few problems.

For a day or two, log into the console a few times a day and on the Status Monitor menu, on the Group Status tab, look for groups with zero active users. Any of these you find you need to report to the appropriate department head. If those people are not using Vocera find out if they should instead be an Address Book Entry with a pager, or just removed from the system.

Grab a badge and call several Address Book Entries, extensions, pagers, local area code, long distance, and 800 numbers. Document any types of numbers that do not work.


Get Training!

As the admin people are going to expect you to have all the answers, nearly all of them are already in the VOCERA DOCUMENTATION the ones to live and die by are the Administration Guide and the Infrastructure Guide but there will be important info in all of them!

OK, with our virtual bookshelf filled with the guides we need it's time for training! VOCERA UNIVERSITY is what you are looking for. You'll want to do the intro to Vocera class as well as the system admin class, if you are also responsible for training end users (or re-training) I would suggest the End User Training class. There is a nice little write up on each on the pdf's on this page.

If you want to know about other opportunities for meeting other admins you should ping your account manager, they may know of regional events or about an upcoming user conference and be able to get you informtion.


Final Thoughts

I know this is a long post and there is a lot of information in here, but it's far from complete. Some sections really just give you enough info to create a query for google or to ask for help intelligently, lets use the comments section to ask questions and fill in the gaps where we need to!