Method and system for distributed call recording

• US 8,228,898 B2
• Filed: 11/27/2006
• Issued: 07/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Everard, Jason Allen
• Primary Examiner(s): Jagannathan, Melanie
• Assistant Examiner(s): HAMEL, JOEL A
• Application Number:
  US11/563,246
• Publication Number:
  US 20080123628A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,066 Days
• Field of Search: 370352-356, 379/32.01, 379/32.05, 379/85, 379/213.01, 455/413, 704/200
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2535 adapted for voice communication over an Internet Protocol [IP] network Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network equipment and services H04M7/006; implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/656 for recording conversations

Abstract

A distributed call recording method and system. A recording agent performs recording of a phone call, preparing of the recorded phone call for being subsequently archived, and transferring of the prepared phone call to a central archiving server through a secure connection. The recording agent is a software application runs on a computer system, which may be a generic personal computer or a phone for Voice/video Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) communication. The secure connection utilizes a connection-oriented transport protocol and a security application, providing Quality of Service and data integrity, respectively. A remote management server may be used for monitoring, configuring, and controlling operations of a recording agent through a management interface.

Claims

1. A distributed call recording method for a phone, wherein the phone is coupled to a Local Area Network (LAN) and is a transceiver of a phone call, wherein the phone call is incoming from or outgoing to the LAN, said method comprising:

recording packets of the phone call in a local memory of a recording agent pursuant to values of a call recording profile upon determining that the phone call triggers said recording based on a predetermined triggering condition, wherein the predetermined triggering condition is selected from the group consisting of a user intervention dictating said recording, a detection of a signaling packet for Voice Over Internet Protocol (VolP) in the phone call, and combinations thereof, wherein the recording agent runs on a personal computer (PC) that is coupled to the LAN, wherein the PC hosts the phone, or the recording agent is integrated into the phone;

preparing the recorded phone call for being subsequently archived in a central archiving server pursuant to an archival configuration value of the phone call;

transferring the phone call resulting from said preparing to the central archiving server coupled to the LAN via a secure connection, using an authenticating variable shared between the recording agent and the central archiving server;

wherein said preparing comprises;

parsing the recorded phone call and extracting signaling data and/or media data resulting from said parsing;

generating at least one archival configuration value from the parsed signaling and/or media data, wherein said at least one archival configuration value specifies a keyword in the media data, a number of utterance of the keyword, and a predefined voice stress level such that the phone call is archived in the central archiving server only when the parsed signaling and/or media data of the phone call is of interest pursuant to said at least one archival configuration value; and

storing said at least one archival configuration value in the local memory of the recording agent in a manner that said at least one archival configuration value associates with the phone call.

2. The method of claim 1, said recording comprising:

detecting the predetermined triggering condition occurred for the phone call;

storing a signaling packet of the phone call in the local memory of the recording agent;

parsing the stored signaling packet and extracting signaling data resulting from said parsing;

generating a parameter of the call recording profile from the extracted signaling data, wherein the parameter comprises an originating caller number, a destined callee number, and current time;

finding that the parameter of the call recording profile generated from the signaling data of the phone call satisfies a preconfigured call recording profile of the recording agent such that the generated parameter of the call recording profile triggers recording of a media packet of the phone call; and

storing the media packet of the phone call in the local memory of the recording agent until termination of the phone call.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the recording agent performs said transferring, said transferring comprising:

sending a request for the secure connection to the central archiving server with the authenticating variable shared between the recording agent and the central archiving server;

receiving a grant for the secure connection from the central archiving server responsive to said sending the request;

authenticating the central archiving server which sent the grant, using the shared authenticating variable;

sending the prepared phone call to the authenticated central archiving server; and

purging the transferred phone call from the local memory of the recording agent,

wherein the recording agent keeps the amount of available local memory larger than a predefined threshold.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the central archiving server performs said transferring, said transferring comprising:

receiving a request for the secure connection from the recording agent and the authenticating variable shared between the recording agent and the central archiving server;

determining that the recording agent which sent the request for the secure connection is a communicable recording agent upon discovering the recording agent in an agent address filter that lists at least one recording agent as being communicable;

sending a grant for the secure connection to the recording agent from said determining;

authenticating the recording agent, subsequent to said sending the grant, using the shared authenticating variable received from the recording agent;

receiving the prepared phone call from the authenticated recording agent responsive to sending of the prepared phone call by the recording agent; and

archiving the received phone call in a storage of the central archiving server.

5. The method of claim 1,

wherein a remote management server is coupled to the central archiving server via a second secure connection such that the remote management server provides a management interface for the recording agent through the central archiving server,

wherein the remote management server is configured to remotely start and/or stop the recording agent performing said recording, said preparing, and said transferring,

wherein the remote management server is configured to remotely query and/or update at least one current configuration value in the call recording profile of the recording agent.

6. A computer program product, comprising a computer usable storage device having a computer readable program code embodied therein, said computer readable program code containing instructions that when executed by a processor of a computer system implement a distributed call recording method for a phone, wherein the phone is coupled to a Local Area Network (LAN) and is a transceiver of a phone call, wherein the phone call is incoming from or outgoing to the LAN, said method comprising:

recording packets of the phone call in a local memory of a recording agent pursuant to values of a call recording profile upon determining that the phone call triggers said recording based on a predetermined triggering condition, wherein the predetermined triggering condition is selected from the group consisting of a user intervention dictating said recording, a detection of a signaling packet for Voice Over Internet Protocol (VolP) in the phone call, and combinations thereof, wherein the recording agent runs on a personal computer (PC) that is coupled to the LAN, wherein the PC hosts the phone, or the recording agent is integrated into the phone;

preparing the recorded phone call for being subsequently archived in a central archiving server pursuant to an archival configuration value of the phone call;

transferring the phone call resulting from said preparing to the central archiving server coupled to the LAN via a secure connection, using an authenticating variable shared between the recording agent and the central archiving server;

wherein said preparing comprises;

parsing the recorded phone call and extracting signaling data and/or media data resulting from said parsing;

generating at least one archival configuration value from the parsed signaling and/or media data, wherein said at least one archival configuration value specifies a keyword in the media data, a number of utterance of the keyword, and a predefined voice stress level such that the phone call is archived in the central archiving server only when the parsed signaling and/or media data of the phone call is of interest pursuant to said at least one archival configuration value; and

storing said at least one archival configuration value in the local memory of the recording agent in a manner that said at least one archival configuration value associates with the phone call.

7. The computer program product of claim 6, said recording comprising:

detecting the predetermined triggering condition occurred for the phone call;

storing a signaling packet of the phone call in the local memory of the recording agent;

parsing the stored signaling packet and extracting signaling data resulting from said parsing;

generating a parameter of the call recording profile from the extracted signaling data, wherein the parameter comprises an originating caller number, a destined callee number, and current time;

finding that the parameter of the call recording profile generated from the signaling data of the phone call satisfies a preconfigured call recording profile of the recording agent such that the generated parameter of the call recording profile triggers recording of a media packet of the phone call; and

storing the media packet of the phone call in the local memory of the recording agent until termination of the phone call.

8. The computer program product of claim 6,

wherein a remote management server is coupled to the central archiving server via a second secure connection such that the remote management server provides a management interface for the recording agent through the central archiving server,

wherein the remote management server is configured to remotely start and/or stop the recording agent performing said recording, said preparing, and said transferring,

wherein the remote management server is configured to remotely query and/or update at least one current configuration value in the call recording profile of the recording agent.

9. A computer system comprising a processor and a computer readable memory unit coupled to the processor, said memory unit containing instructions that when executed by the processor implement a distributed call recording method for a phone, wherein the phone is coupled to a Local Area Network (LAN) and is a transceiver of a phone call, wherein the phone call is incoming from or outgoing to the LAN, said method comprising:

recording packets of the phone call in a local memory of a recording agent pursuant to values of a call recording profile upon determining that the phone call triggers said recording based on a predetermined triggering condition, wherein the predetermined triggering condition is selected from the group consisting of a user intervention dictating said recording, a detection of a signaling packet for Voice Over Internet Protocol (VolP) in the phone call, and combinations thereof, wherein the recording agent runs on a personal computer (PC) that is coupled to the LAN, wherein the PC hosts the phone, or the recording agent is integrated into the phone;

preparing the recorded phone call for being subsequently archived in a central archiving server pursuant to an archival configuration value of the phone call;

transferring the phone call resulting from said preparing to the central archiving server coupled to the LAN via a secure connection, using an authenticating variable shared between the recording agent and the central archiving server;

wherein said preparing comprises;

parsing the recorded phone call and extracting signaling data and/or media data resulting from said parsing;

generating at least one archival configuration value from the parsed signaling and/or media data, wherein said at least one archival configuration value specifies a keyword in the media data, a number of utterance of the keyword, and a predefined voice stress level such that the phone call is archived in the central archiving server only when the parsed signaling and/or media data of the phone call is of interest pursuant to said at least one archival configuration value; and

storing said at least one archival configuration value in the local memory of the recording agent in a manner that said at least one archival configuration value associates with the phone call.

10. The computer system of claim 9, said recording comprising:

detecting the predetermined triggering condition occurred for the phone call;

storing a signaling packet of the phone call in the local memory of the recording agent;

parsing the stored signaling packet and extracting signaling data resulting from said parsing;

generating a parameter of the call recording profile from the extracted signaling data, wherein the parameter comprises an originating caller number, a destined callee number, and current time;

finding that the parameter of the call recording profile generated from the signaling data of the phone call satisfies a preconfigured call recording profile of the recording agent such that the generated parameter of the call recording profile triggers recording of a media packet of the phone call; and

storing the media packet of the phone call in the local memory of the recording agent until termination of the phone call.

11. The computer system of claim 9,

wherein a remote management server is coupled to the central archiving server via a second secure connection such that the remote management server provides a management interface for the recording agent through the central archiving server,

wherein the remote management server is configured to remotely start and/or stop the recording agent performing said recording, said preparing, and said transferring,

wherein the remote management server is configured to remotely query and/or update at least one current configuration value in the call recording profile of the recording agent.

12. A process for supporting computer infrastructure, said process comprising providing at least one support service for at least one of creating, integrating, hosting, maintaining, and deploying computer-readable code in a computing system, wherein the code in combination with the computing system is capable of performing a distributed call recording method for a phone, wherein the phone is coupled to a Local Area Network (LAN) and is a transceiver of a phone call, wherein the phone call is incoming from or outgoing to the LAN, said method comprising:

recording packets of the phone call in a local memory of a recording agent pursuant to values of a call recording profile upon determining that the phone call triggers said recording based on a predetermined triggering condition, wherein the predetermined triggering condition is selected from the group consisting of a user intervention dictating said recording, a detection of a signaling packet for Voice Over Internet Protocol (VolP) in the phone call, and combinations thereof, wherein the recording agent runs on a personal computer (PC) that is coupled to the LAN, wherein the PC hosts the phone, or the recording agent is integrated into the phone;

preparing the recorded phone call for being subsequently archived in a central archiving server pursuant to an archival configuration value of the phone call;

transferring the phone call resulting from said preparing to the central archiving server coupled to the LAN via a secure connection, using an authenticating variable shared between the recording agent and the central archiving server;

wherein said preparing comprises;

parsing the recorded phone call and extracting signaling data and/or media data resulting from said parsing;

generating at least one archival configuration value from the parsed signaling and/or media data, wherein said at least one archival configuration value specifies a keyword in the media data, a number of utterance of the keyword, and a predefined voice stress level such that the phone call is archived in the central archiving server only when the parsed signaling and/or media data of the phone call is of interest pursuant to said at least one archival configuration value; and

storing said at least one archival configuration value in the local memory of the recording agent in a manner that said at least one archival configuration value associates with the phone call.

13. The process of claim 12, said recording comprising:

detecting the predetermined triggering condition occurred for the phone call;

storing a signaling packet of the phone call in the local memory of the recording agent;

parsing the stored signaling packet and extracting signaling data resulting from said parsing;

generating a parameter of the call recording profile from the extracted signaling data, wherein the parameter comprises an originating caller number, a destined callee number, and current time;

finding that the parameter of the call recording profile generated from the signaling data of the phone call satisfies a preconfigured call recording profile of the recording agent such that the generated parameter of the call recording profile triggers recording of a media packet of the phone call; and

storing the media packet of the phone call in the local memory of the recording agent until termination of the phone call.

14. The process of claim 12, wherein the recording agent performs said transferring, said transferring comprising:

sending a request for the secure connection to the central archiving server with the authenticating variable shared between the recording agent and the central archiving server;

receiving a grant for the secure connection from the central archiving server responsive to said sending the request;

authenticating the central archiving server which sent the grant, using the shared authenticating variable;

sending the prepared phone call to the authenticated central archiving server; and

purging the transferred phone call from the local memory of the recording agent,

wherein the recording agent keeps the amount of available local memory larger than a predefined threshold.

15. The process of claim 12, wherein the central archiving server performs said transferring, said transferring comprising:

receiving a request for the secure connection from the recording agent and the authenticating variable shared between the recording agent and the central archiving server;

determining that the recording agent which sent the request for the secure connection is a communicable recording agent upon discovering the recording agent in an agent address filter that lists at least one recording agent as being communicable;

sending a grant for the secure connection to the recording agent from said determining;

authenticating the recording agent, subsequent to said sending the grant, using the shared authenticating variable received from the recording agent;

receiving the prepared phone call from the authenticated recording agent responsive to sending of the prepared phone call by the recording agent; and

archiving the received phone call in a storage of the central archiving server.

16. The process of claim 12,

wherein a remote management server is coupled to the central archiving server via a second secure connection such that the remote management server provides a management interface for the recording agent through the central archiving server,

wherein the remote management server is configured to remotely start and/or stop the recording agent performing said recording, said preparing, and said transferring,

wherein the remote management server is configured to remotely query and/or update at least one current configuration value in the call recording profile of the recording agent.