Unified Command Platform and Juvare Saas Communication Overview

This following information describes the communication between the Unified Command Platform instance and Juvare SaaS, as well as possible changes that can happen to Unified Command Platform functionality when the Unified Command Platform cloud services in Juvare SaaS are updated.

The common parts in a Unified Command Platform system are:

  • The Unified Command Platform instance that is installed on client systems, or hosted in the Juvare infrastructure.

  • The Juvare SaaS that includes:

    • The configuration service that provides configuration information to the Unified Command Platform instance.

    • The Juvare SaaS that provides Unified Command Platform cloud services as plug-ins and features to the Unified Command Platform instance (for example, Ad Hoc Alerts, Contacts, and the Unified Command Platform Inbox).

    • The alert service that provides board and scheduled notification services to the Unified Command Platform instance.

      Juvare Exchange (JX), Unified Command PlatformFusion, and other services are not detailed in this content.

Communication Between the Unified Command Platform Instance and Juvare SaaS

Communications for end users, including enabled Juvare SaaS plug-ins and features, go through the Unified Command Platform instance. Devices that connect to the Unified Command Platform instance have access to these plug-ins and features.

To communicate, the Unified Command Platform instance needs access to the following Juvare SaaS components:

  • The configuration service

  • The Juvare SaaS features, if enabled (for example, Ad Hoc Alerts, Inbox, and so on)

  • The alert services that are used (for example, SMS, Voice, WhatsApp, and so on)

    Upon request, Juvare will help determine the hostname/IP address since this information may depend on the client and region. No firewall exceptions are needed to allow connections from the Unified Command Platform SaaS/configuration service to the Unified Command Platform instance. All communication is through standard HTTPS.

    You can configure email relay within Unified Command Platform. This configuration is not detailed in this document because it is client-specific (for example, determining the firewall configuration).

Configuration Service

Unified Command Platform periodically synchronizes the configuration with the configuration service using HTTPS. The default synchronization time is once per hour. The host with which the synchronization happens is defined in Unified Command Platform Admin: System: Configuration: Services.

The URL, Client Name, and Key are provided byJuvare.

The settings that the configuration service controls include:

  • The Juvare Login Services

  • The sending of notifications (for example, SMS, Voice, and so on)

  • JX

  • The Juvare SaaS plug-ins and features (for example, Ad Hoc Alerts, Unified Command Platform Inbox, and so on)

  • Others

The data flow is one-way. Information is retrieved from the configuration service. No information is transmitted from the Unified Command Platform instance to the configuration service.

Possible changes to any of these values appear in the audit log; however, changes are not expected in common operations.

Unified Command Platform Juvare SaaS Services

If the Juvare SaaS service (aka cloud services in Unified Command Platform) are enabled, a synchronization process runs every minute, by default. Information about users, positions, and groups in the Unified Command Platform instance is synchronized to the Unified Command Platform cloud services that provide, for example, notification sending functionalities.

If the communication channel is blocked, some services may not work or may contain outdated information. For example, Unified Command Platform Inbox notifications from boards are not delivered if there is no connection to the Unified Command Platform cloud services. Any features or plug-ins provided by the Juvare SaaS services are not available (for example, Ad Hoc Alerts).

Updates to Unified Command Platform Features in Juvare SaaS Services

Since Unified Command Platform cloud services are provided by the Juvare SaaS, updates to its features and functionalities are separate from the Unified Command Platform instance. Even if the Unified Command Platform instance is not updated to a newer version, some of the Unified Command Platform cloud services features or functions may update automatically. This means that parts of the user interface that are provided by the Unified Command Platform cloud services may change. For example, boards defined by the client will not change their appearance or functionality unless the Unified Command Platform instance is upgraded, but the Unified Command Platform Inbox feature and the Ad Hoc Alerts plug-in may receive new features without any interaction from the client.

Determining a suitable update policy occurs between Juvare and the client.