CAR Configuration

The configuration of CAR is done through a web-based interface that uses the same look and feel as the Cisco CallManager Administration and Serviceability windows. After you have installed the CDR application on the publisher server, a new CDR Analysis and Reporting menu item appears under the Tools menu of the Cisco CallManager in a similar fashion to the Bulk Administration Tool. The following sections walk you through the configuration and use of the CAR utility.

Initial Configuration

You must initially access the CAR web interface through the CallManager Serviceability window by using the Tools > CDR Analysis and Reportingoption. This menu option will only exist after you have installed the CDR application on the publisher server through the Install Plug-ins window. When initially accessing the CAR web interface, the authentication settings will be in a strange state. Even if you have enabled Multilevel Administration (MLA) for Cisco CallManager, you must use a default login to CAR of a username of admin and a password of admin.

Note

After you have initially configured the CAR utility, users (and managers) will be able to access the utility at https://<Publisher IP Address>/ART.

After you have authenticated, the only available option is the Admin Rights menu. Selecting this option takes you to the window illustrated in Figure 33-3.

Figure 33-3. Initial CDR Admin Rights Window

From here, you must add the initial CDR user from the CallManager database (or Windows database if you have not enabled MLA). CDR Analysis and Reporting immediately places this initial user into the CDR Administrators group, giving this user full administrative privileges to the web interface.

Note

Following the addition of the first user, CallManager disables the default username and password of admin.

 

CAR System Parameter Menu Configuration

After you have added the initial administrator to the CAR system, you must log in as the new user. After a successful authentication, you will be able to see all CAR menu options. As part of the initial setup, most administrators will configure the System > Service Parameters menu option, shown in Figure 33-4.

Figure 33-4. Configuring CDR Service Parameters

You can configure additional CAR administrators by using the CAR tool itself. Choose System > System Parameters > Admin Rights to assign administrative rights to any user in the Cisco CallManager user database. The manager and user levels are not configured in the CAR tool. These roles are based on the user configuration in the global directory. In Cisco CallManager Administration, choose User > Global Directory to edit users in the global directory. For each user, you can configure the user ID of the manager of the user in the Manager User ID field. CAR assigns users who you have configured as managers to the manager level in CAR. CAR assigns all other users to the user level in CAR.

You can configure the additional Service Parameters menu items as follows:

• The Mail Parameters option allows you to configure an SMTP server allowing the CDR Analysis and Reporting tool to send alarms and e-mails to administrators directly.
• Cisco has configured CAR to categorize calls using the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). If your organization uses additional dial plans (such as interoffice dialing), you can add them to CAR using the Dial Plan Configuration menu item. This gives CAR the ability to classify call types correctly on reports. CAR classifies external calls based on the outside number.
• In the Gateway Configuration menu item, you can provide the maximum number of ports information for each gateway to enable CAR to generate accurate utilization reports.
• Use the System Preferences menu item to specify generic parameters, such as the company name, that CAR will insert in every report.

These items are discussed further in the following sections.

Administration Rights and Mail Parameters

Choose System Parameters > Admin Rights to grant or revoke administrative rights to users from the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory. You can search for users in the LDAP directory or directly enter the user ID. As stated earlier, access rights for managers and users are not granted in the CAR tool but are derived from the roles configured in Cisco CallManager Administration.

CAR can send reports by e-mail. To enable this feature, choose System Parameters > Mail Parameters and configure the e-mail account information. Enter the mail ID and the password that CAR will use, as shown in Figure 33-5. This e-mail account must exist on the mail server. You also need to specify the mail domain and the mail server name. The mail domain is added automatically when a user enters only the name of the recipient without the mail domain. Every time a report is sent with the CAR tool, this account will be used.

Figure 33-5. Configuring CDR Mail Parameters

 

Dial Plan Configuration

The default dial plan in CAR specifies the NANP, as shown in Figure 33-6. To configure the dial plan, define the parameters for outgoing call classifications. Call classifications include International, Local, Long Distance, On Net, and Others. For example, if local calls in the area are six digits in length, specify a row in the dial plan as follows:

• Condition =
• No of Digits 6
• Pattern !
• Call Type Local

Figure 33-6. Configuring CDR Dial Plan Parameters

Table 33-2 describes the parameters in the Dial Plan Configuration window and lists their possible values.

Table 33-2. Explanation of CAR Dial Plan Parameters

Parameter	Possible Values	Description
Condition	> < =	Condition of the rulegreater than (>), less than (<), or equal to (=) the specified value in the No of Digits field.
No of Digits	NA A digit	Number of digits in the directory number (DN) to which this rule should be applied. If the number of digits does not affect the rule, specify NA.
Pattern	G T ! X	Used for the call classification: G means that the call is classified as specified in the rule (that is, G is a wildcard for the gateway area codes specified in the "Gateway Configuration" section). T retrieves toll-free numbers. ! signifies multiple digits. X signifies a single-digit number.
Call Type	International Local Long Distance On Net Others	Choose this call type if the condition is satisfied.
Toll-free Numbers	Digits	Numbers in the dial plan that can be placed without a charge.

 

Gateway and System Preferences

Configure the gateways in CAR before using the CAR gateway reports, and update the gateway configuration every time you add a new gateway to the Cisco CallManager Administration. When you delete gateways in Cisco CallManager Administration, CAR automatically deletes them from its tracking. CAR uses the area code information, shown in Figure 33-7, to determine whether calls are local or long distance. Provide the maximum number of ports information for each gateway to enable CAR to generate the utilization reports. Remember, G is a wildcard for the gateway area codes used in dial plan configuration.

Figure 33-7. Configuring CDR Gateway Parameters

CAR uses the values you configured for the gateway when you added the gateway in Cisco CallManager Administration. Therefore, some gateways might already have an area code setting or have a maximum number of ports.

CAR provides default system preferences, shown in Figure 33-8.

Figure 33-8. Configuring CDR System Preferences Parameters

The following list provides a brief description of each of these fields:

• COMPANY_NAME The company name is used as header information in reports.
• ERRORLOGFILESIZE The maximum size of the error log file in kilobytes, with a range from 1 to 9999. The default value is 100.
• SESSIONTIMEOUT The time in seconds that must pass without any activity before a user is logged out of CAR, with a range from 60 to 86,400 (1 minute to 24 hours). The default value is 1800 (30 minutes).

Report Scheduling