Overview
CDR Reconciliation is a feature in the system which checks that all recordable conversations have been recorded correctly and warns if conversations have been lost. It works by comparing the original CDRs to the system database. The CDR reconciliation offers the following functions:
- Periodically matches the original CDRs with the database records. If a conversation cannot be found in the Verba system, the service creates a database record in the system and flags it.
- During the process, the service also compares the duration of the conversation to the length of the media file, and if the difference is bigger than the configured threshold, flags the record. Other media errors are checked during the recording process by the recording service,
- Conversations that were not completed, such as not answered or busy, are also imported optionally and flagged (for Skype for Business and Cisco only).
- The service always looks for the CDRs created after the last run of the CDR reconciliation.
- The reconciliation only works for the recorded extensions/addresses/numbers configured in the Verba database. Only extensions, where the recording mode is set to always-on, are used in the process.
- Since recorders might insert the database records later (due to a connection issue with the database), the service periodically rechecks imported records and delete the ones where a matching recorded conversation is found.
- The service can send system alerts if Lost Conversations are identified.
- The standard search interface offers the ability to list conversations that were not recorded (but the reconciliation process inserted them), or conversations where the recorder detected media processing error(s)
- Specific reports are available in the reporting tool for Lost Conversations. The reports can be generated automatically and sent via email.
- The feature is available on:
- Microsoft Lync 2010, 2013
- Microsoft Skype for Business 2015, 2019
- Cisco Unified Communications Manager 8.5 and later
- Symphony XML
- Zoom Meeting
- Zoom Phone
- The system only processes voice/video conversations.
- This feature increases the load on CDR databases and consequently may have a performance impact. Another side effect is, that users will be able to find Lost Conversations in the Web UI and not answered or established conversations too.
Before turning on this feature, please consult your system administrator to discuss the possible load on your CDR databases. Make sure your users are aware of this feature, and that they understand the impact on the system. Once this feature is turned on, users will be able to find not only not recorded conversations, but not answered / not established conversations as well.
If you want to eliminate false alarms or unnecessary imports, consider testing all call scenarios before rolling out the feature.
The configuration for Lync/SfB and Cisco systems is different:
- For the SfB CDR configuration, refer to the Configuring Lync - SfB CDR Reconciliation article.
- For the Cisco CDR configuration, refer to the Configuring Cisco CDR Reconciliation article.
- For Symphony CDR reconciliation, refer to Symphony Instant Messages - Files - CDRs.
- For Zoom Meeting and Zoom Phone CDR reconciliation, refer to Zoom Meeting and Phone.
Finding not recorded or incorrect conversations
If CDR reconciliation is enabled, the system can identify not recorded conversations or conversations with incorrect media. The system hides these records by default; the web application has to be configured to display not recorded conversations. Please refer to the previous section for more information.
You can use the standard search feature to list these type of conversations. If you navigate to Search / Advanced Search Options / Recording audit, you can find the following options:
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Recorded conversations | Conversations recorded properly, without any errors. |
| Recorded conversations with incorrect media | Conversations with media errors. The system can identify the following media errors:
You can search for a specific type of error by using the Conversation detail record fields option and selecting the Media Check field. The system uses thresholds (server level settings) to identify and mark recordings with media errors. If a certain type of error occurs more than the configured threshold, the recorder will automatically mark the recording. |
| Not recorded conversation due to error | Conversations which were not recorded at all, but the system should have recorded them. These type of conversations also include conversations where the recorder has managed to insert a database record, but it was unable to record the media. |
| Not answered conversations | The CDR import process can be configured to import CDRs for not answered / established conversations. Refer to the CDR database connection parameters for more information on the configurations. The system can identify the following conversation types:
You can search for a specific type of code by using the Conversation detail record fields option and selecting the End Cause field. |
Alerting on not recorded or incorrect conversations
When the system is running the reconciliation policy and it finds out that certain calls were not recorded (missing from the Verba database), an alert is raised showing the missing recordings. For more information on the alert, see CDR Importer Service: RecordFailure Alert.
Reporting not recorded or incorrect conversations
If you want to create reports periodically and send them in an email, you can use the new report templates available for CDR reconciliation:
- Not Recorded and Incorrect Conversation Details
- CDR Reconciliation Summary
- Users CDR Reconciliation Summary
- CDR Reconciliation for Skype for Business Summary
Understanding why recording failed
There can be various reasons why a conversation was not recorded. It is recommended to establish a process to investigate after recognizing missing recordings. The following list can be used as a starting point for such process:
- Check if the recorded extensions are configured properly in the system
- Check if recording is enabled in the recorded communication system (certain platforms require additional configuration to enable recording for a device, user or line)
- Check if the Recording Servers are up and running and there are no errors in the server logs
- Check if the recording service is up and running and there are no errors in the log
- Check if the SQL database server is reachable for the recorder services
- Check if the calls are on the Recording Servers waiting for to to be inserted and uploaded
- Check with the network team if there are any issues with the network connections
- Check with the telephony team if there is any error related to the calls missing
- Try to reproduce the call scenario to see if that is still not recording
In order to help the investigation process for Skype for Business integrations, the CDR reconciliation process automatically retrieves Skype for Business diagnostics data from the Skype for Business CDR tables and stores the information in the Skype for Business CDR metadata template fields for missing calls and for calls which were not recorded properly (there were recording errors during the recording process). You can find more information about the Skype for Business CDR table fields at https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/skypeforbusiness/schema-reference/call-detail-recording-cdr-database-schema/call-detail-recording-cdr-database-schema.
Monitoring the reconciliation process
The CDR Importer service creates a task entry for each periodic run. These tasks can be monitored at System / Background Task page.