Migrating from printer log to electronic log

[ericb1]

I'm new to phone sytems in general, but I started a new job and they have their Merlin phone system SMDR port with an ethernet cable plugged into it. The other end has a serial port adapter and it's plugged into an old Panasonic printer that prints the phone log.

I was wondering how easy it is to remove the printer and instead plug this into a pc, or a server, and have it write to a log file where I can manipulate the data as I want to.

Any suggestions as to how difficult this is, or any software I would need is greatly appreciated, thanks!!!

 

[tdaugirdas]

You need a copy of WinSPM software - so you can administer your system from a PC. The same cable you have can connect to the PC's serial port or modem. You can download the WinSPM, Release 5 software free from the Avaya.com website. Even though it is listed as an update - it is the full program. After installing it, you can then upgrade with successive patches to the latest version. I am not sure that you can get exactly the same reports as through the SMDR port. Your other option is to find the available utility to have anything going into your serial port - print automatically to a file. I know one used to be available for the old DOS computers - and I am sure you can find one for today's more modern ones.

 

[ericb1]

Thanks so much!! But like I said, this is an ethernet cable coming out of the SMDR port, then attached to a serial port adapter so that it could be attached to a printer. Do I need to keep this setup and use the serial adapter? Or can I remove it and just plug the cable into an ethernet port?

Thanks again!!!

 

[tdaugirdas]

The normal connection for WinSPM is either from the computer's modem or serial port. If you connect via the computer's serial port, you need a DB-9 from the serial port that plugs into an AT&T 355AF adapter. You then run ethernet cable from the adapter to the ADMIN port on the processor. You probably already have the 355AF adapter for your SMDR connection to the serial printer. If so, you can probably use the same cable hookup - just use a DB9 adapter to connect to your computer's serial port vs. the printer. To connect via modem - it is more indirect. You run a regular RJ11 phone jack from your computer's modem to an open port on a 012 or 016 basic telephone module. WinSPM gives you the option to connect either way.

 

[jgideon]

If you're plannign to capture to file on a PC, you can either write a script with whatever terminal emulation software you're going to use, or investigate a product like:

http://www.magsys.co.uk/comcap/

http://www.tglmicro.com/Portlog.htm

http://www.muconsulting.com/serialloggerservice/index.html

i've not used any of them, but they look like they'd work.

 

[ericb1]

AWESOME! Thanks so much!

 

[ericb1]

I just realized that I was saying "serial port" in my post, but it's really the printer port, or the parallel port on the back of the printer. The parallel port has this adapter to plug in an ethernet cable.

Can this still be done? Can I still remove this from the printer, and plug it into the parallel port (same as printer)? Or do I need a serial port adapter? Thanks so much!

 

[tdaugirdas]

You need to plug it into a serial port - so you will need a serial port adapter. Make sure you have a 355AF adapter that is connected to your ethernet cable. If you don't have one - you will need to get one - and a DB25 to DB9 adapter as well.

 

[ericb1]

I'm having a hard time finding a free downloadable copy of WinSPM, either on avaya's site or anywhere else. We're on a tight budget, so purchasing costly software isn't an option today. I tried to find some free serial port loggers, and then program my own solution to read the log files, but so far no luck. Any advice? Thanks so much!!

 

[tdaugirdas]

Go to the Avaya website. Under support, software, magix/legend, you will find various versions of WinSPM updates. Choose the WinSPM release 5.0 update - it is the full version of the software - even though it is described as an update. After installing it, use the successive patches to upgrade to the latest version, release 9.0.

Tom Daugirdas,
President
STCG, Inc.
stcg.com

 

[TouchToneTommy]

For waht you're asking for, you don't need SPM. If all you want to do is capture the SMDR info into your PC instead of printing on the fly on your printer, just plug the DB-25 into your PC instead of the printer. If you look, you've probably got a serial printer, or a parallel printer with a serial card added to it.

Run Hyperterminal, and Capture the output as a text file. Later, open it in Excel, and import it a fixed width data, putting the delimiters around the columns as appropiate. Now you can sort the data, compile it, whatever.

 

[ericb1]

Hmm, I'll try anything at this point. I did get ver.5 of WinSPM up and running, but couldn't get it to log anywhere. It kept saying that I needed to be plugged in to the ADMIN port of the phone system, and I'm plugged in to the SMDR port. When I plug into the ADMIN port, it doesn't seem to log any calls, when I plug into the SMDR port, it won't connect. Perhaps it's just some settings I need to adjust?

I also tried using the hyperterminal, and all I get is garbage, this "C" looking character for each entry. Do I need to adjust the settings on the hyperterminal to get this to log correctly? Can I use the hyperterminal to create a running log or text file?

Again, thanks everyone for all their help!

 

[tdaugirdas]

Hi:

You can't adiminister the phone system through the SMDR port - you need to shift over to the admin port. To connect - you need to go from your PC's serial port (DB9) - through a 355AF adapter and ethernet cable to the processor admin port. You may need a DB25 to DB9 adapter - depending on the 355 adapter you have. The alternative is to use the computer's modem to connect to the processor through an open port on an 012 or 016 card. WinSPM offers you those two options for connecting.

Tom Daugirdas,
President
STCG, Inc.
stcg.com

 

[ericb1]

Can I still log all the incoming and outgoing calls through the admin port? If so, then I'm ok, I'll give it another try.

 

[tdaugirdas]

No - the admin port is for programming the system - the "smdr" port is for reports. So - you would have to shift back and forth between the two.

Tom Daugirdas,
President
STCG, Inc.
stcg.com

 

[TouchToneTommy]

Dude - you're not trying to program the system. You don't need SPM and you don't need to connect to the Admin port. You need to connect to the SMDR port to get Station Message Detail Reporting, and it's just a 1200 baud serial port. The 355 adapter changes from Avaya's 8-pin connector to a DB-25, then step it down to a 9-pin to plug into your PC. Run Hyperterminal to capture the output. It is one way. Nothing you type will affect it.

 

[ericb1]

Thanks, I understand that (although I didn't know what SMDR stood for until now ;-)) However, I've tried a ton of setting combinations, and still seem to be logging garbage on the hyperterminal.

I'm using 1200 BPS, data bits: 8, parity: none, stop bits: 1, flow control: hardware, use FIFO buffers: Yes, emulation: auto detect

All the entries are logging unreadable characters. Do those settings look correct, or is there something stupid I'm overlooking? Thanks again for everyone's help, I really appreciate it, I'd be screwed without you two!