Types of Users

To VST, a user is a person who has a profile within the VST server. Similarly, to VS and VMP, a user is a person who has a profile within those respective on-premises systems.

Because VST integrates with on-premises Vocera systems and affiliated organizations that may or may not have Vocera systems, various messaging scenarios involve different types of users with different capabilities.

Table 1. Types of Users
User Type	Description
Anonymous user	A user who is unknown to either VST or to VMP. In some messaging situations, a user is known to one of these systems but unknown to the other platform. From the VST point of view, an anonymous user is a VS user who is not in the VSTContacts group, and is consequently not synced and unknown to VST. If an anonymous user appears in a conversation, VST tracks that user in its database for internal purposes. For example, suppose a VCS user sends a message to a badge user who does not have a VST account (a dedicated badge user who is not in VSTContacts) and also to a VST user. To the VST system, the badge user is anonymous but is tracked to allow the VST user potentially to respond to the conversation. From the VMP point of view, an anonymous user is a member of an organization that is two levels removed from it, and is consequently not synced and unknown to the VMP server. For example, suppose Abelard Hospital is affiliated with both San Jose Medical Center and Palo Alto Medical Center in VST, but San Jose and Palo Alto are not affiliated with each other. If San Jose Medical Center has an on-premises VMP system, Palo Alto Medical users are anonymous to it, because Palo Alto is not an affiliate of San Jose.
Linked user	An external VS user profile that is linked to a native VST user profile. If the linked account belongs to a badge user, the user has access to both the badge and also the VST application. Messages are sent to devices as described in Message Routing for Linked Users. If the linked account belongs to a VCS user, the VST application takes precedence, and the VCS application is no longer available. In general, you should not create a native VST profile for a VCS user.
VS user	A person who has a profile on the Vocera Voice Server; a badge or VCS user.
VST user (external)	A VS user who has been synced into VST.
VST user (native)	A person who has a user profile that was created directly within VST.