Distributed record server architecture for recording call sessions over a VoIP network

• US 8,422,641 B2
• Filed: 06/15/2009
• Issued: 04/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Calabrio
• Original Assignee: Calabrio
• Inventors: Martin, James Paul II
• Primary Examiner(s): Gauthier, Gerald
• Application Number:
  US12/484,834
• Publication Number:
  US 20100316199A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,401 Days
• Field of Search: 370/230, 370/332, 370/352, 370/356, 379/85, 379/88.08, 379/88.25, 379/142.06, 379/265.09, 379/114.14, 379/189, 455/424, 704/221, 704/258, 704/273
• US Class Current: 379/88.08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1045 Proxies, e.g. for session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2236 Quality of speech transmission monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42221 Conversation recording systems at the subscriber's set H04M1/656
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5191 interacting with the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42

Abstract

Devices, systems, and methods for recording call sessions over a VoIP network using a distributed record server architecture are disclosed. An example recording device for recording segments of a call session includes a record server configured to receive an agent voice data stream and an external caller voice data stream from an agent telephone station, and a file repository configured to store voice data and call data associated with each recorded segment of the call session. The recording device is configured to tag recorded segments of each call session, which can be later used by a third-party application or database to check the status and/or integrity of the recorded call session.

Claims

1. A recording device for recording segments of call sessions over a VoIP network, the recording device comprising:

a recording service configured to receive an agent voice data stream and an external caller voice data stream from an agent telephone station during a call session, the recording service configured to tag each recorded segment of the call session with an identifier indicating the recording state of the call session during the segment, the recorded segments comprising portions of the call session segmented by interruptions in the call session, the recording service further configured to perform a segmentation synchronization routine for gathering one or more tagged segments associated with the call session from another record server tasked to record the call session; and

a file storage repository configured to store voice data and call data associated with each recorded segment of the call session.

2. The recording device of claim 1, wherein the identifier includes a parameter or field indicating whether an upstream failure occurred during the recording of the call session.

3. The recording device of claim 1, wherein the identifier includes a parameter or field indicating whether a downstream failure occurred during the recording of the call session.

4. The recording device of claim 1, wherein the identifier includes a parameter or field indicating a segment number of the each recorded segment.

5. The recording device of claim 1, wherein the identifier includes a parameter or field indicating a total number of segments associated with the call session.

6. The recording device of claim 1, wherein the identifier includes a parameter or field indicating whether the recording of the call session is complete.

7. The recording device of claim 1, wherein the call data associated with each recorded segment includes service data point information associated with the agent telephone station.

8. A system for recording call sessions over a VoIP network, the system comprising:

at least one agent telephone station for monitoring call sessions between an agent and one or more external callers on a telephone network;

a plurality of record servers configured to record agent voice data and external caller voice data from the agent telephone station during each call session, each record server including a recording service configured to tag each recorded segment of the agent voice data and external caller voice data with an identifier indicating the recording state of the call session during the segment, the recorded segments comprising portions of the call session segmented by interruptions in the call session, each record server further including a file storage repository configured to store voice data and call data associated with each recorded segment of the call session;

at least one proxy server configured to selectively route the agent voice data and the external caller voice data for each call session to one or more of the record servers; and

wherein at least one of the record servers is configured to run a segmentation synchronization routine configured to gather the tagged segments associated with the recorded call session from the plurality of record servers.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein each agent telephone station includes a VoiP telephone with a built-in-bridge or an associated gateway configured to transmit agent voice stream packets and external caller voice stream packets from the agent telephone station to record servers.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the identifier includes a parameter or field indicating whether a failure occurred during the recording of the call session.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the identifier includes a parameter or field indicating a segment number of each recorded segment.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the identifier includes a parameter or field indicating a total number of segments associated with the call session.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the identifier includes a parameter or field indicating whether the recording of the call session is complete.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the call data associated with each segment includes service data point information associated with the agent telephone station.

15. The system of claim 8, wherein the proxy server comprises a stand-alone server in communication with each of the record servers.

16. The system of claim 8, wherein the proxy server is configured to load balance the recording of each segment across the record servers.

17. The system of claim 8, wherein the proxy server is configured to route a single call session to multiple record servers for recording.

18. The system of claim 8, further including a communications manager configured to route call sessions to the at least one agent telephone station.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the communications manager is configured to load balance the recording of each segment of the call session across the record servers.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the at least one proxy server comprises a plurality of proxy servers each configured to route the agent voice data and the external caller voice data for each call session to one or more of the record servers.

21. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one agent telephone station includes videoconferencing or screen-capturing means, and wherein each record server is further configured to record video or screen data during a call session.

22. The system of claim 8, wherein the segmentation synchronization routine is configured to copy tagged segments stored on multiple record servers to a single record server or file storage repository.

23. A method of recording call sessions over a VoIP network including a plurality of recording devices configured to record call sessions from a number of agent telephone stations, the method comprising:

initiating the recording of a call session between an agent telephone station and an external caller and receiving an agent voice data stream and an external caller voice data stream from the agent telephone station;

prompting a plurality of the recording devices to record segments of the call session, the recorded segments comprising portions of the call session segmented by interruptions in the call session;

tagging each recorded segment of the call session with an identifier indicating the recording state of the call session during the recorded segment;

storing each recorded segment of the call session within a file storage repository; and

gathering each of the tagged segments associated with the call session recorded on each of the recording devices; and

storing the segments as a single call session.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein tagging each recorded segment of the call session with an identifier indicating the recording state of the call session includes associating a parameter or field with each recorded segment indicating whether a failure occurred during the recording of the call session.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein tagging each recorded segment of the call session with an identifier indicating the recording state of the call session includes associating a parameter or field with each recorded segment indicating the segment number.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein tagging each recorded segment of the call session with an identifier indicating the recording state of the call session includes associating a parameter or field indicating the total number of recorded segments in the call session.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein tagging each recorded segment of the call session with an identifier indicating the recording state of the call session includes associating a parameter or field indicating whether the recording of the call session is complete.

28. The method of claim 23, wherein gathering each of the tagged segments recorded on each of the recording devices is performed by a first recording device, and includes:

searching a file storage repository of the first recording device for a tagged segment of the call session;

identifying one or more other recording devices containing, in a respective file storage repository, at least one other tagged segment of the call session; and

copying or moving each segment recorded by one or more other recording devices to the file storage repository of the first recording device.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising prompting the one or more other recording devices to delete the recorded segments upon copying each segment to the file storage repository of the first recording device.