Extracting log files from a Nortel BCM telephone system

We have recently had a number of enquiries from companies that are trying out our Call Detail Recording software for Nortel BCM telecoms systems which we have produced as part of our 'labs' concept - providing simple, innovative, solutions to technical problems encountered by ourselves or our clients.

The BCM Call Logger software allows companies to view details of their incoming and outgoing calls by processing the log files generated from Nortel BCM PABX systems. However a number of people have found they cannot find the log files in order to import them into the BCM Call Logger software. With that in mind, the rest of this post is a simple guide to how to extract Call Detail Recording log files from a Nortel BCM system. Our instructions assume that you have access to, or can set up, an FTP server to receive the log files. You can choose how often log files are updated - we suggest that overnight is usually the best option.

The first and most important thing to note is that the instructions differ depending on the firmware version of your BCM. Older BCM models (in particular the BCM200 and BCM400 systems) started life running Windows NT Embedded. However, starting from firmware version 4 and onwards, Nortel changed to a Linux based firmware for their devices. All newer BCM models (such as the BCM50) come with the Linux based firmware version 4 (or greater) by default. Older models may have either the NT based firmware (version 3 or older) or the newer Linux based firmware (version 4 onwards) depending on when the system was last repaired or serviced.

If you are unsure which firmware version you have then the best guide is which tool you use to configure your BCM. If you use the browser-based configuration program called Configuration Manager then you probably have firmware 3 or older. If you use the Element Manager software to configure your BCM then you have firmware version 4 or newer.

If you have firmware prior to version 4

You can use Configuration Manager to set up what is known as CDR Pull or CDR Push. We recommend CDR Push - in short you can configure your BCM to automatically 'push' call logs on a scheduled basis to an FTP server. You can find this option within Configuration Manager. Expand the Services option, then expand Call Detail Recording.

In the Report Params section, set the format to Norstar and the type to All (best) or CLID (next best). If it is currently RealTime or Standard then you may only be able to get historical log data for incoming calls. Changing it to All will enable logging of both incoming and outgoing calls from now on.

In the Data File Transfer section set the transfer type to Push-Daily and fill in your FTP server details. Once you've done this click the Configuration menu at the top and choose 'Transfer Immediately' to start FTPing all existing log data to the FTP server.

Alternatively, on some older BCMs you can access the individual log files from a hidden web page. Assuming your BCM has an IP address of 1.2.3.4 then you can go to http://1.2.3.4/download.html in your web browser. Log in (if your usual login doesn't work then try username ee_admin and password PlsChgMe! which seems to be a default on many BCM systems) . About half way down the page you will find a section called Call Detail Recording Files. The files you want are called Record.yyyymmddhhmmss and can be opened or downloaded directly from this page. You do not need the files that start Record.ccr.yyyymmdd or Record.mbx.yyyymmdd . You can also access other BCM system log files from here.

If you have firmware 4 or newer

The process is similar to that for older firmware, but you use Element Manager to configure the CDR Push information. Log on to Element Manager, then expand Configuration, then Telephony, then Call Detail Recording. Make sure the following are set:

Report Format - Norstar Report Type - Norstar All (best option) or Norstar CLID (next best)

Then click the Data File Transfer tab - on this screen you can configure the actual transfer options. I suggest you choose Push - Daily as the transfer type, then fill in your FTP server details. I would suggest you leave the Compress Files before Transfer option unticked as that way you won't have to manually unzip any log files.

Once you have set all this up, you can click the 'Push Now' button to start the transfer of any existing log files to the FTP server. Once you've got log files on the FTP server you can then use BCM Call Logger to process them.

There does not appear to be any equivalent hidden log download webpage for version 4 firmware that I have been able to find - if you know of one then please let us know.