[asterisk-users] CDR Design

[regs at kinetix.gr]

I think that the custom cdr back-end can be successfully used to 
maximize or minimize the CDRs detailing
on a per-needs basis. Furthermore, the CDR() function gives plenty of 
room for even more detailing.
In my opinion the detail level (fields) is not the issue with the CDRs 
generation nor is the lack of backends (asterisk gives a lot of different
backends to store your CDRs). I find the issue with asterisk CDRs to be 
in the lack of proper CDRs generation for the B-leg of every call.
If we want to really track what happens during a call through the CDRs 
one has to have all the details not only for the incoming channel
but for the outgoing one as well. Furthermore, one needs to be able to 
tweak the B-leg CDRs like he does with the incoming legs. So what
needs to be done in my opinion is record every B-leg CDR when such an 
event occurs and give the user access to the CDR info by
extending the CDR() function (so that one can specify the channel of the 
CDR that is being tweaked) or creating a seperate one for
the outgoing channels.

Grey Man wrote:
> I've taken the liberty of starting a new thread to discuss the design
> of the Asterisk CDR mechanism. The discussion has been kindly
> initiated by murf putting together a proposal (link ommitted to see if
> email gets accepted).
>
> After reading the proposal I still don't think it's the right way to
> go. To my mind adding more channel variables increases the complexity
> in a situation that is already overly so. I think it's a mistake to
> try and think about all the different call scenarios and come up with
> little tricks for the more complicated ones. There will always be
> something missed; app_shotgun initiates calls to 100 random numbers
> and as soon as three or more calls are answered it will start randonly
> transferring them amongst each other at 2 second intervals.
>
> I think it's important to clarify at the outset what a CDR should be.
> The most fundamental requirement for CDRs is that they accurately
> record the following pieces of information for EVERY call entering or
> leaving the system (note every means every and not; "channel" calls
> but not "peer" calls).
>
> 1. Destination (aka as A Number)
> 2. AccountCode (aka as B Number)
> 3. Call Start Time (answer time),
> 4. Duration.
>
> Of course adding extra information can be very useful and I'm not
> proposing any fields be removed from the current implementation
> (although for pity's sake one change that should be made it to use a
> GUID/UUID for the CDR's uniqueid and save endless confusion).
>
> People that really do need verbose or enhanced CDRs to do things like
> tracking a call's flow as it travels in and out of queues, parking
> lots etc. would be better off using AMI or the new CEL and not CDRs.
> At the very least if problems arise with their call flow tracking they
> will still be able to rely on the accuracy of the CDRs to piece it
> altogether to work out what's going wrong.
>
> My proposal of creating a 1-to-1 relationship between CDRs and
> Asterisk channels already exsits but somewhere along the line it's
> going awry. As an experiment, and to actually do something instead of
> continually moaning about it, I started commenting out the blocks of
> code in res_featrures.c and sip_channel.c that muck around with the
> channel CDRs when a transfer occurs. The results of that were that the
> CDRs for blind and attended transfers actually got better! They're
> still not quite right but are pretty close with only one CDR on each
> having a wrong destination.
>
> Regards,
>
> Greyman.
>
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