Solution Overview

The QMS Call Recording solution supports two methods of recording calls for ShoreTel. Both methods employ an integration with ShoreTel TAPI to receive call control events. For this integration with ShoreTel TAPI, an Application Server for the QMS server must be configured on the ShoreTel PBX. Also, the ShoreTel Remote Server software must be installed on the QMS server, which installs the ShoreTel Telephony Service Provider (TSP) on the QMS server.

The difference between the two methods centers around how audio is sent to, and received by, the QMS server. The first method of recording employs port mirroring to create call recordings. Any network switches to which ShoreTel IP phones are connected must have port mirroring enabled, in order to forward all audio packets from any recorded phones to the QMS server. Audio packets are captured (also referred to as "sniffed") off of the "Capture" network adapter in the QMS server for processing.

The second method of recording uses the ShoreTel feature called TAPI/Wave recording. When using this method, the ShoreTel Remote Server software is responsible for interacting with the Windows Wave subsystem to send audio to the QMS Server. When a call is to be recorded, the QMS server will make a call to a Route Point, defined in the ShoreTel PBX. This call is automatically answered by the QMS server, and once connected, the Route Point is responsible for making audio available to QMS for recording. The main advantage of this method is flexibility, as it does not require setting up port mirroring. ShoreTel TAPI/Wave also allows recording of calls in the following instances:

  1. An extension has been reassigned to another extension’s phone, or to an external phone number, through the External Assignment feature.

  2. A ShoreTel user has the enabled the Find-Me feature, which will forward a call to another ShoreTel extension if the call is not answered at the original extension. The Find-Me feature allows a call to be forwarded to an external phone number, but calls going to an external phone number cannot be recorded as the ShoreTel PBX will have no access to the audio streams.

There are a few disadvantages, however, which are all ShoreTel limitations:

  1. Only 200 simultaneous calls are allowed per ShoreTel Remote Server.

  2. Internal calls are unable to be recorded.

  3. During certain conference call scenarios, the Route Point disconnects briefly, which results in a gap in the audio while the Route Point reconnects. There is not an option to keep the Route Point connected when a party leaves a conference call.

  4. Stereo recordings are not available, as the audio streams coming from the Route Point are mono only.