Last Updated on April 12, 2022

Avaya IP office devices are powerful phone systems that unify communications and provide agents and employees a solution that enables them to conduct their business communications. These devices may be soft phones on their computer or any VoIP phone. Many companies have implemented these phone systems because they are an excellent choice for any small, medium or large business. Whether the business is a small startup in a single location or has multiple locations, Avaya phones can adapt to any company’s budgets and goals and provide their agents with the capabilities they need to get the job done. The companies that have adopted Avaya phone systems can improve the performance of their agents by implementing call recording.

This article will discuss three common methods for call recording in an Avaya environment, the pros and cons and how to select the recording method that best suits your company.

What are call recording methods common in Avaya devices?

There are three common configuration scenarios available for call recording with Avaya devices.

1. Extension side recording (Scenario 4) – is passive recording from the extension lines for phone business systems for analog / Time-division multiplexing (TDM) Lines. The majority of Avaya digital phones can be configured using this scenario.
   
2. Extension side recording via Port Mirroring (Scenario 5) – is passive recording from VoIP phones. The VSLogger Recording Server records all unencrypted VoIP calls by tapping into the Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN) or mirror port of an on-premise switch.
   
3. Active recording based on Computer Supported Telecommunications Applications (CSTA) Protocols (Scenario 10) – is a special configuration for Avaya digital and VoIP phones with Avaya Aura Application Enablement Services (AE Services) that supports the CSTA protocol.

The Pros and Cons of Extension Side Recording (Scenario 4)

Extension side recording of Avaya Nortel digital phones may be setup for passive recording configuration. This configuration is available for both analog and TDM digital lines. The VSLogger Recording Server is setup to tap the lines between the phone extensions and the PBX or phone system. Check the compatibility table here for a list of supported phone models of Avaya and formerly Nortel phones.

This configuration contains the following pros and cons.

Pros:

• Search by extensions/agents, caller id, dialed numbers, etc. (depending on line and PBX programming)
• Monitor live calls by recorded extension.
• All calls are recorded including external and internal calls (extension to extension).
• Only selected/desired extensions connected to recorder are recorded
• Optionally use Desktop Assistant to pause, start, or mute recordings. Works well with PCI and HIPPA compliance
• Screen capture triggered and synchronized with captured audio recording

Cons:

• For digital phones, special wiring and configuration is required, based on phone models including time consuming D-Channel programming.
• Often more expensive than trunk-side recording, if number of extensions is more than number of trunk channels.
• Not always 100% compatible, possible conflicts with some proprietary digital PBX extensions.

Versadial supports the recording boards from DST series from Synway and NGX series from Audiocodes. Most Avaya digital phones can be recorded with this configuration.

What is H.323?

H.323 is a communications protocol developed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as a standardization that was created for real time applications such as a VoIP call. H.323 creates connections between phones. This communications protocol enables information to be exchanged in digitalized voice, digitalized video, data, communications control and connection control. H.323 allows voice or video communication between two or more participants. This protocol creates a connection or a session between participants. Several Avaya VoIP phones use signaling based on H.323.

What is Unified Networks IP Stimulus (UNIStim)?

Unified Networks IP Stimulus is a Nortel proprietary telecommunications protocol that has been acquired by Avaya for IP PBX and IP phone communications.

What is Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)?

Session Initiation Protocol is a communications protocol used for initiating, maintaining, and terminating VoIP calls. To start a call, data packets are sent from one ip to another. Any SIP enabled device can receive these inbound calls. This means the users may make or receive calls for any VoIP enable device such as a smart phone or soft phones on computers. This technology may also be used for video conferencing as well.

How to record Avaya calls via a SPAN or Mirror port

Avaya VoIP phones typically use H.323, UNIStim or SIP technology. It is more common to see original Avaya VoIP devices use H.323, newer Avaya VoIP phones use SIP and Nortel VoIP devices use UNIStim. Versadial is capable of Passive call recording via VoIP extension via Scenario 5.

In this scenario, Versadial uses the port mirroring function from network switches to collect voice packets from the soft phones on computers or VoIP phones. Most switches already have port mirroring capabilities embedded in them making setup inexpensive and may be configured via IP or console port to allow remote configuration. Versadial call recorders can capture from several Mirror ports at once.

What are Avaya Aura Application Enablement (AE) Services?

The Avaya Aura AE Service is a software platform that connects Avaya’s Communication Manager and client applications. AE Services contain Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), protocols, client-side libraries and web services that facilitate the capabilities of Avaya’s Communication Manager with application developers.

What is Telephony Services Application Programming Interface (TSAPI) for Avaya?

The Telephony Services Application Programming Interface is a public programming interface to the TSAPI service available on the Avaya Aura AE Services. The TSAPI for communication manager provides client applications access to Avaya’s third-party call control capabilities via an access server.

What is Device, Media, and Call Control (DMCC) for Avaya?

The Device, Media, and Call Control is an interface that allows application developers to capture media from agents for call recording.

How to record Avaya calls via TSAPI and DMCC Protocols

Versadial supports recording of outgoing and incoming calls by using the DMCC and TSAPI protocols provided by Avaya’s Communication Manager and AE Services. This is accomplished by Scenario 10 – Active Call Recording Based on CSTA Protocols. To setup this configuration, Avaya Communication Manager, Avaya AE Services and Versadial VSLogger call recorder must be configured together. For more details, see the About DMCC recordings entry.

How to determine the best Avaya Call Recording Configuration

In general, companies should pursue Active Recording based on CSTA protocols whenever possible. This configuration provides the ability to record digital and VoIP phones, remote sites to a centralized recorder and there is no need for individual phone wiring to the recorder. In essence, this configuration provides the most flexible method of recording.

Every business has different call recording objectives and devices. Business managers should evaluate their business goals and objectives and determine the call recording configuration that best fits their needs. Contact us for assistance with evaluating what call recording configuration will help your business accomplish your goals.

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Last Updated on April 12, 2022