High availability and operations architecture for ivr applications

A computer readable medium for storing a computer program that manages voice response services, comprising:

• a cluster grouping segment, recorded on a medium, that groups, into M+X clusters, a plurality of voice response units, M being a number of voice response clusters in operation at any time to provide full operational capacity and X being a number of redundant voice response clusters;
• a cell grouping segment, recorded on a medium, that groups into N+Y cells, a plurality of web application servers that host voice response application software and that have a plurality of communications ports, N being a number of web application server cells in operation at any time to provide full operational capacity and Y being a number of redundant web application server cells;
• a managing segment, recorded on a medium, that manages, using a network dispatcher, sessions provided by at least one web application server by maintaining session affinity for the sessions;
• a first providing segment, recorded on a medium, that provides M+X voice response clusters and N+Y web application server cells during first periods of operation;
• a second providing segment, recorded on a medium, that provides M voice response clusters and N web application server cells during second periods of operation while removing X voice response clusters and Y web application server cells from operation and provisioning the X voice response clusters and Y web application server cells with software updates;
• and
• a cycling segment, recorded on a medium, that cycles the M+X web application voice response clusters and N+Y web application server cells from operation until all of the M+X voice response clusters and all of the N+Y web application server cells are removed from operation and provisioned with software updates.

A system for managing voice response services, comprising:

• a plurality of voice response units, grouped into M+X clusters, M being a number of voice response clusters in operation at any time to provide full operational capacity and X being a number of redundant voice response clusters;
• a plurality of web application servers, grouped into N+Y cells, that host voice response application software and that have a plurality of communications ports, N being a number of web application server cells in operation at any time to provide full operational capacity and Y being a number of redundant web application server cells;
• a network dispatcher that manages sessions provided by at least one web application server by maintaining session affinity for the sessions;
• wherein
• M+X voice response clusters and N+Y web application server cells are provided during first periods of operation;
• wherein
• M voice response clusters and N web application server cells are provided during second periods of operation while removing X voice response clusters and Y web application server cells from operation and provisioning the X voice response clusters and Y web application server cells with software updates;
• and wherein
• M+X web application voice response clusters and N+Y web application server cells are cycled from operation until all of the M+X voice response clusters and all of the N+Y web application server cells are removed from operation and provisioned with software updates.