CDR intake, retention and export

Purpose

The CUCM writes a call detail record (CDR) for every call and transfers the files regularly to a billing server. For this, EasyUC provides a separate SFTP destination per CUCM connection. The call reports under Reporting are built from the received files.

On saving, EasyUC creates the FTP user cdr- plus connection ID with its own directory and sets the password you entered. The background job cdr:import reads the received files (default: every eight minutes), transfers the calls to the CDR database and then deletes the file.

Retention is limited. Every night, the job cdr:csv writes all calls that are older than the configured number of days to a CSV file and removes them from the database (default: 02:00). If the export is switched on, EasyUC transfers this file to your server over SFTP and then deletes it locally.

Prerequisites

• License with the cucm module and the provisioning feature. Without provisioning, the entry is missing from the Actions menu.
• EasyUC account with the ROLE_APP_ADMIN role. Only administrators see the Administration menu.
• The CUCM connection has been created and enabled. For a disabled connection, Actions shows only Enable Connection.
• In the CUCM, EasyUC is entered as a billing server for CDR delivery, with the user cdr-<connection ID> and the password assigned here. The dialog shows the user name and, as the destination, sftp:// plus the address of the EasyUC appliance.
• In the CUCM, writing of CDRs is switched on (service parameter CDR Enabled Flag).
• For the export: an SFTP server with user and password that EasyUC can reach.
• The background jobs cdr:import, cdr:csv and cdr:old:data are active under Administration → System & Operations → Background Jobs.

Step by step

1. In the header, select the EasyUC Cisco workspace.
2. In the menu, open Administration → CUCM & Provisioning → CUCM Connections. The Manage CUCM Connections page lists all connections.
3. In the row of the connection you want, click Actions. The Menu popover opens.
4. Click CDR. The CDR dialog opens.
5. Switch on Enable. The other fields appear.
6. Under Number of Digits to make anonymous, select a value from 0 to 15.
7. Note the user name from the heading of the FTP area (cdr- plus connection ID). The FTP User field is locked.
8. Enter FTP Password and Ftp Retype Password.
9. In the Delete Old Data area, enter the retention period in days under How many days to keep the data.
10. If old data is to be backed up before deletion, switch on Export Deleted Data to a sFTP Server? and fill in Ftp Ip, FTP User, FTP Password and Ftp Retype Password for your server.
11. Click Save (top right or at the bottom of the dialog). The dialog closes and EasyUC shows a success message (“Success”). Cancel closes the dialog without changes.
12. In the CUCM, enter the billing server with the user cdr-<connection ID> and the assigned password.
13. After a few test calls, click Logs in the CDR column of the Manage CUCM Connections list and check the Pending Files and Processed Files tabs.

Step by step: clearing the CDR database immediately

1. Open the CDR dialog as described above.
2. In the Delete Old Data area, switch on the Clear NOW CDR Database? switch. A warning appears: “Delete all the CDR files and also delete all the calls from the CDR Database” and “This process will start now and run in the background”.
3. Click Save. EasyUC starts the job cdr:csv immediately. It writes all calls to a CSV file, removes them from the database and resets the switch.

Fields and options

Check the result and narrow down errors

• Success: In the Manage CUCM Connections list, the CDR column shows the status and the Logs link. The CDR Logs dialog shows received files that have not yet been read under Pending Files, with size and time, the files that have been read under Processed Files and the CSV files of the cleanup under Old CDR Data.
• Pending Files stays empty: The CUCM delivers nothing. In the CUCM, check the billing server, user name and password, and whether EasyUC can be reached.
• Files remain under Pending Files: Under Background Jobs, check whether cdr:import is running and look in its log.
• Message “This value should not be blank.” in the export area: When the export is switched on, address, user and password are required.
• Saving fails because of the password: Password and repetition do not match.
• The CSV files do not arrive on the export server: The SFTP login failed. The files then remain locally under Old CDR Data.
• Reports are empty: Possible causes are missing files, an import that has not yet run, the time filter of the report or the retention period.