ACS allows the telco to directly provision individual resource-limited customers, or alternatively to create a wholesale customer with a (larger) set of resource limits, and delegate to them the ability to create individual customers, the sum of whose resource limits must never exceed those of the wholesaler. This feature is called tiered customer management. A reseller is a wholesaler that may in turn create and manage 'normal' customers, and/or other wholesale customers (agents). Agents can only create normal customers.

The concept of telco-managed customers is unchanged by the advent of tiered customer management. Telco managed customers are simply customers that never log into ACS but are managed explicitly (and without resource limits) by the Telco.

The hierarchy of customer management thus looks like this:

• Telco

• Reseller

• Agent

• Customer

Resellers and agents are both implemented as ACS customers, because they both need to have resource limits allocated to them. Resellers and agents can only set resource limits for all their customers up to a combined total value that is less than or equal to their own resource limits.

This allows them to be a kind of super-user in relation to those ACS customers attached to them, for example. those customers that directly refer to them as their parent customer, or indirectly (via one level of indirection only) as in the case of a reseller who can also see the customers attached to their agents.

Resellers and agents may select any of their attached customers in the main customer combo box at the top of various windows and ‘become’ that customer. It means the reseller/agent has the means to edit their customers' configurations as desired.

When a customer is created, if the Create User for Customer check box is selected, an administrator user, with level 5 permission, is also created. See Adding Customers. A reseller may choose to change the permission level of an agent, to restrict what the agent is able to do.

As well as performing all tasks defined in Security level permissions, a user with permission level:

• 5 or more (Reseller) can create and edit agents and customers, as long as the resource limits allocated to them do not exceed those given to the reseller by the telco. Within the tiered hierarchy, a reseller may allocate, or move to other agents, customers under them. A reseller cannot allocate customers to other resellers or their agents.

• 4 cannot create agents, but can create normal customers.

See Defining the Security Levels for details of ACS security levels.

Follow these steps to add new a customer to the database.

1. On the Customer tab, click New.

   Result: The New Customer screen is displayed.

2. In the Customer Name field, enter the name of the new customer.

3. In the Description field, enter a description of the new customer.

4. In the Customer Reference field, enter a reference number for the new customer.

   Note: This field is optional, unless the parameter shown below is present in the acs.jnlp (if you have logged on to ACS directly) or sms.jnlp (if you have logged on through the SMS application) file, in which case it becomes mandatory.

   <param name=requireCustomerReference value="TRUE" />

5. Select the Customer Type from the drop down box. This can be:

   • Normal

   • Reseller [R]

   • Agent [A]

6. Select what customer type the new customer is attached to

   • Normal - Can attach to any of the options.

   • Reseller - Attached to telco.

   • Agent - Can attach to a reseller.

   Note: Only the Telco (super-user) can see the Telco option.

7. A Resource Multiplier can be specified for a reseller or an agent.

   The resource multiplier is used to scale the default resource limits that will be allocated to the new customer. See Setting the Resource Limits for details.

   Default values are:

   • Reseller – 10

   • Agent – 5

8. If:

   • All the new customers' calls for service numbers and CLIs will use an override control plan that is owned by the telco, select the Use override control plan check box and go to Step 9.

   • An override control plan is not required, leave this box cleared and go directly to Step 10.

9. If you selected the Use override Control Plan check box in Step 8, select the Override Control Plan that is to be used from the list.

10. From the Language drop down list, select the applicable language for your customer.

11. If required, enter a PIN in the PIN field.

12. If required, enter a management ID in the Management ID field.

13. If the customer is to be managed by the ACS administrator, select the Managed Customer check box. By default this is selected.

    Important: This indicates that this is not a self managed customer.

14. If you want ACS to allocate a user for your new customer, select the Create User for Customer check box.

    Note: If the Create user for Customer check box is selected the user name "Administrator" and password "admin" will be allocated. It is important that the customer changes the password for this user when they use the system for the first time.

    When a new customer is added, a user of privilege level 5 will be supplied by the system.

15. In the Termination Number Range Rules screen section, select:

    • Own Range to use the termination ranges set up on the Termination Ranges tab of the ACS Resources screen.

    • Default Range to use the default termination range set up on the Default Termination Range tab of the ACS Tools screen.

    • No Checking to accept the termination numbers without validation (Default).

16. Click Save.

    Result: The new customer's details are saved in the database.

    To change the default resource limits, go to Customer Resource Limits for details.

Related topic

Customers

Follow these steps to edit customer information in the database.

1. In the table on the Customer tab, select the customer to edit.

2. Click Edit.

   Result: The Edit Customer Details screen is displayed.

3. Change the customer details as required. See Adding Customers for details about the fields.

   Note: You cannot change the override control plan.

   If you wish to change a reseller or agent that this customer is attached to, first clear the combo box and press Enter to display the list to pick from.

4. Click Save.

   Result: The details are saved and the screen will return to the main window.

Related topic

Customers

Follow these steps to delete a customer from the database.

Warning: Deleting a customer record will delete all other configuration used by the customer.

1. In the table on the Customer tab, select the customer to delete.

2. Click Delete.

   Result: The Confirm Delete prompt is displayed.

3. Click OK.

   Result: The customer is removed from the database.

   Note: You cannot delete a customer if it is:

   • A reseller (Type R) with an agent or customer

   • An agent (Type A) with a customer

You will see an error message. You must delete, or re-attach to other resellers or agents, all attached customers and/or agents first. See Tiered hierarchy.