There is a pdf of this information available at the foot of this page. Please download and give to your IT team before upgrading.
Important: If you are upgrading your InterAction and you are asked to uninstall the previous version then this will remove the localMethods.xml file from your server. Please create a back-up of this file before upgrading and paste it back into the same location after the upgrade finishes.
Please Note: For all InterAction upgrades, it is important to make a backup copy of your InterAction config file before any updates are made. Once the update is finished, please reinstate the copied config file, making sure that any previous settings for “maxResultCountCeiling”, “maxDBResultThreshold” and “inClauseThreshold” are reapplied. This will help to avoid issues with the ability to send emails and pull in your suppression lists for each send.
If you are planning to make any changes to your InterAction environment such as upgrades, please notify your Customer Success Manager as soon as possible with the following:
- The planned dates & time
- The answers to the questions in this article (below)
Questions to be answered before upgrade/changes
As a guide, if you are able to answer all the questions below with "No", then we expect the transition will be seamless.
However, to ensure as little downtime as possible, please inform your Customer Success Manager of the planned upgrade day and time, so that we can test the connection to your upgraded InterAction environment.
If the answer to any of the questions below is "Yes" please contact us so we can discuss the changes that are planned and how we can best support you to ensure a smooth transition with minimal disruption to the Vuture platform.
Please have the following information to hand prior to reading further
- Vuture URL
- Internal IA URL
- IP Address we use to connect to your system
Networking & Firewall Changes
Will there be any changes to the following?
- IP Addresses
- URLs (the one we connect to)
- Firewall rules
- Firewall equipment changes
InterAction Server Environment
Your InterAction servers (Application & Database) within your network and how these will be affected during your planned changes.
If you are replacing any of the existing servers with new servers, changing the physical location, or how the servers are addressed on your network then it is possible that the existing Vuture integration settings may need to be updated on your network as well as on the Vuture platform.
1. Are you replacing the existing InterAction Database server with a new SQL server?
If you are moving your InterAction Database to a new MS SQL Server, you will need to update the configuration on ALL InterAction Application servers to ensure that they are able to connect to, and communicate with, InterAction. For the InterAction Application server that Vuture connects to, it may be possible that you will need to update your firewall rules to allow this server to communicate with the new Database server.
2. Is InterAction being deployed to new Web (Application) Servers?
At the time of an InterAction upgrade many firms take the opportunity to move their InterAction environment to newer hardware or virtual servers. As Vuture typically connects to a dedicated server, replacing your production IA Application server should not affect Vuture configuration. Please check with your IT team if Vuture is connected to InterAction via a dedicated Application server or not.
3. Is the InterAction Application Server the Vuture connects to being replaced with a New Server?
If the application server that Vuture connects to is being replaced, please inform your Customer Success Manager as soon as possible, so that we can begin to work with your IT team to minimise the downtime. Typically a new server will require the integration to be set up specifically on that server, with new firewall rules, repointed URL, an SSL certificate, and a newly installed and patched InterAction server which accepts connections from the Vuture platform.
If you answered "No" to all of these questions, then it seems that you are upgrading your InterAction environment in-situ (on the existing servers) and it is very likely that none of the connectivity parameters will change.
InterAction Set-up & Configuration
This section refers to InterAction and its settings and configuration. Typically most firms will upgrade their current database using LexisNexis provided tools and scripts. The advantage of this is that the upgrade process does not alter system settings, configuration and data IDs.
1. Are you migrating your data to a new InterAction Database?
If you are migrating your current data or a subset into a new database through either an integration job or via export/import routines, the IDs for contacts, companies, activities, folders & lists, activity types etc. will all be different from your current system, and will require the Vuture platform's integration to be reconfigured to the new database settings. Please contact your Customer Success Manager as soon as possible to discuss this.
Network and Firewall Configuration
- Is there a planned change to your firewall set up?
- Is there a planned change to your network security configuration?
- Is there a planned change to HTTP Authentication Type (Basic/NTLM) ?
Additional Required Questions:
Are you upgrading InterAction on your existing servers?
SQL Server / DB Name / Port
Are you replacing the InterAction Server the Vuture connects to?
- New IP / URL / SSL
Will any of your InterAction IDs (e.g. Folder IDs, Contact IDs, Activity IDs) change after the upgrade?
There should be no change if you are upgrading your existing database using InterAction upgrade tools.
If you are migrating your data to a new database, or any of your ID numbers do change, the integration will no longer work as expected. Your Customer Success Manager should be informed of any planned changes that will occur as a part of your scheduled upgrade dates so the Vuture configuration updates can be planned accordingly.
Will the InterAction URL, that Vuture uses to connect, change? If you are replacing the InterAction application server Vuture connects to with new hardware, it is possible the URL and IP address could change. Please ask your IT teams to confirm if they will be transferring the existing URLs or issuing new details.
If all the settings currently used will be maintained by your IT team then these should not change, however, if new URLs will be used, please inform your Customer Success Manager before your scheduled upgrade of the new settings.
Will the IP address for the InterAction URL change? As above, if you are planning to use the existing hardware, there should be no changes. If you are moving to new hardware it is possible the IP address will change - please ask your IT team to confirm and inform your Customer Success Manager well in advance.
Additionally, your SSL certificate will also need to be updated and moved to any new hardware.
Will the Vuture IA system user account and/or password change?
You should not have to change the Vuture User Account name or password for an upgrade but please contact your Customer Success Manager if you will be changing these.
Will the Vuture IA system user account have different permissions?
Please ensure that the Vuture IA user account retains admin level permissions after the upgrade.
Will the Vuture IIS username and/or password (if you use them) change?
It is simplest to ensure that they do not change, or inform your Customer Success Manager if they do.
Will any changes need to happen on your firewall for the routing of HTTPS (port 443) traffic from your Vuture IP addresses to your upgraded InterAction Application Server?
Will the IA connection be down for more than 22 hours?
Are you creating a UAT IA environment?
If you do, create it using Copy and the settings and users should all be the same as in the live environment.
Do you use Alternate Email with Vuture?
If yes, please make sure you migrate the local methods xml file.
Are you using ECard Wizard integration currently?
If you are using ECard Wizard, new configuration will be required to mirror the setup of your production IA server and new URLs will need to be updated to the Internal URL. If also allowing InterAction users to select contacts via Cross Domain Ajax you will need to configure IIS as described in this article: https://support.vutu.re/s/article/5262684987549-E-Card-Wizard-InterAction-Connection-via-Cross-Domain-Ajax
