SMDR and CDR Viewer Online: Decode PBX Call Records

This free viewer shows your PBX's call records the way a call accounting program reads them: one row per call, with date, time, extension, line, number and duration in their own columns. Listen to the PBX's serial SMDR port straight from the browser, or paste lines you already have: SMDR output, or the CDR (call detail records) that many IP PBXs write instead. The records are decoded by the same parsers as Advanced PBX Data Logger, for more than 350 PBX models and record formats.

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How to see your PBX's call records

1. Choose your PBX in the first field: type part of the model name, such as KX-TDA, IP Office or HiPath, and pick it from the list. The model is required for listening and for Decode: the server loads the parser of that model. The link under the field opens the model's setup page with the SMDR settings and the record layout. If your PBX is not in the list, see all supported PBX systems.
2. Listen to the SMDR port. Connect the PBX's SMDR or printer port to the computer, click Choose a COM port, set the speed from the setup page and click Start listening. Then make a short outside call and hang up: the PBX sends the record when the call ends.
3. Or paste records you already have: SMDR lines from a terminal window or a capture file, or rows of a CDR file, then click Decode. Every line is decoded as one record, up to 20 lines per click. If you do not know which entry of the list fits, click Try to autodetect format instead: the server looks for the parser that recognises the pasted lines, and the viewer puts the format it found into the model field. Try the sample record loads the sample from the chosen model's setup page, with phone numbers and names masked.
4. Read the table. Every call is a row; point at a row to see the original line. When a record has more fields than fit, scroll the table sideways, or tick Wrap fields to show every record as a block whose fields run onto several lines. Values longer than 32 characters are shortened; point at one to see it in full. Copy table puts the records, with the whole values, on the clipboard in a form that pastes into Excel as columns. The Raw data tab shows the bytes as they came from the port, the Activity tab lines that were not recognised.

SMDR or CDR

Both are call records: one record per call with date and time, extension, line, number and duration. SMDR (station message detail recording) is the older name and usually means text lines that a PBX prints to a serial port or sends over TCP, often with fixed-width columns. CDR (call detail records) is the name most IP PBXs and call servers use; they often write CSV rows or files instead of printing lines, for example Asterisk (Master CSV), Cisco Call Manager (CSV), Avaya IP Office (CSV), 3CX, Grandstream UCM or Siemens HiPath 4000 (CDR Standard Format).

The viewer decodes both. For CDR, choose your PBX and its CDR format in the list (formats appear as separate entries, such as "Avaya IP Office 500 (CSV)"), open the CDR file in a text editor, copy a few rows and paste them. A header row, if the file has one, is reported as not recognised; that is normal. Every record must be one line of text: records that span several lines, as in some XML exports, need Advanced PBX Data Logger, which also collects CDR files from the PBX on its own.

Serial port settings

SMDR ports are plain RS232 ports that only send. The viewer needs the same settings as the PBX:

The viewer raises DTR and RTS when it opens the port, because many PBX printer ports send only while the other side is ready, and shows the state of the DSR, CTS and DCD lines coming back from the PBX. The setup pages of the PBX models list the default port, speed and the programming steps that switch SMDR output on; the default SMDR ports and logins are collected on one page.

PBX systems that send SMDR or CDR over the network

Many current systems send call records over TCP/IP instead of a serial port: the PBX either waits for a connection on its SMDR or CDR port, connects to a listener, or leaves CDR files for download by FTP. A web page cannot open network connections to a PBX, so capture a few lines with a terminal program such as PuTTY, or copy them from a downloaded CDR file, and paste them into the viewer. For continuous logging, Advanced PBX Data Logger connects to the PBX, listens for it or collects its CDR files.

When nothing or garbage arrives

To test the USB adapter and the cable on their own, use the Serial Port Tester with a loopback plug.

What is sent to our server

The viewer cuts the data from the port, or the text you paste, into records, one per line, and sends each record over an encrypted connection to the decoding server of aggsoft.com. The server loads the parser of the model you chose (or, for Try to autodetect format, looks for the parser that fits), the same as in Advanced PBX Data Logger, decodes the record on the fly, sends the fields back and stores nothing. The page records only which buttons are used, never the records themselves. Call records contain phone numbers: if your company rules do not allow them to leave your network, use Advanced PBX Data Logger, which decodes everything on your own computer.

Record every call

The viewer is for checking a connection and seeing what the PBX sends. To keep every call, use a Windows program that runs around the clock:

• Log every SMDR or CDR record from a serial port, over TCP/IP or from CDR files, to files, Excel or a SQL database with Advanced PBX Data Logger; see SMDR to SQL.
• Build call reports by extension, line or number: PBX call reports.

Frequently asked questions

What is SMDR?

SMDR (Station Message Detail Recording) is the text record a PBX prints for every call: date and time, extension, trunk or line, dialled or calling number, duration and sometimes cost. Many vendors call the same output CDR (call detail record), call record output or printer output.

Can it decode CDR records as well as SMDR?

Yes. Many IP PBXs and call servers, such as Asterisk, Cisco Call Manager, Avaya IP Office, 3CX or Siemens HiPath 4000, write CDR (call detail records) instead of printing SMDR, often as CSV rows or files. Choose the PBX and its CDR format in the list, copy a few rows from the CDR file and paste them. Every record must be one line of text; records that span several lines, as in some XML exports, need Advanced PBX Data Logger.

Does the viewer store my call records?

No. Each record goes over an encrypted connection to our decoding server, which decodes it on the fly with the parser of Advanced PBX Data Logger for your model, sends the fields back and stores nothing. If your company rules do not allow call records to leave your network, use Advanced PBX Data Logger, which decodes everything on your own computer.

Why does the viewer show no data from my PBX?

A PBX sends a record only when a call ends, so make a short outside call first. If nothing arrives, SMDR output is not switched on for that port, the speed differs, or the cable is wrong: most PBX printer ports need a null-modem cable.

Can it read a PBX that sends SMDR or CDR over the network?

Not directly: a web page cannot open network connections to a PBX. Capture a few lines with a terminal program, or copy them from the CDR file, and paste them; or use Advanced PBX Data Logger, which connects to the PBX, listens for it over TCP/IP or collects its CDR files.

Which browsers does it work in?

Listening to a COM port needs the Web Serial API of Chrome, Edge or Opera on a desktop computer. Decoding pasted lines works in any current browser, also on a phone.

Can I save the decoded records?

Copy table puts the records on the clipboard as tab-separated text, which pastes into Excel as columns. The viewer keeps the last 100 records while the page is open; to record every call into files or a database, use Advanced PBX Data Logger.