Friday, January 19, 2007

SMDR - Station Message Detail Recording

Station Message Detail Recording (SMDR) is a feature that is available for most telephone systems and IP PBXs. The data is generally a system log of call traffic which includes call direction, date and time of the call, length of call, extension and trunk or line. There are various other pieces of information such as authorization code and account code that may be optionally available depending on the capability of the hardware. The raw or unprocessed SMDR output of the telephone system is often too volumous and difficult to read. Call accounting software packages utilize SMDR data and translate the information into a simplified database format for further analysis. The data is often presented in graphical, detailed or summary reports by extension, departments or other corporate levels. Traffic statistics and ad hoc reports are all generated through seasoned call accounting systems.