VON@Link SoloRecord v1.2 for Windows

User Guide

Last updated: Nov. 2, 2009

1 Introduction
1.1 System requirements

2 Setup
2.1 Analog Telephone Adapter
    2.1.1 Analog Telephone Adapter with built-in router
2.2 Soft phone
2.3 Hard phone

3 Using SoloRecord
3.1 Starting
3.2 Phone tab
    3.2.1 Discover phone
    3.2.2 Specify phone
    3.2.3 Phone options
    3.2.4 Reject callers
3.3 Launch tab
    3.3.1 Pop tray balloon
    3.3.2 Overlay screen
    3.3.3 Speak
    3.3.4 Show Outlook Contact
    3.3.5 Virtual modem
    3.3.6 Custom applications
3.4 Record tab
3.5 Calls tab
    3.5.1 Click to call for Vonage
    3.5.2 Click to call for standard SIP phone
    3.5.3 Watermark
3.6 General tab
3.7 Manually starting and stopping recording
3.8 Voice mail waiting
3.9 Licensing
    3.9.1 Hardware ID
    3.9.2 Transfer license to USB drive

Appendix A Restarting Packet Monitor service

Appendix B Interfacing to custom applications
    B.1 File extensions
    B.2 Examples
    B.3 Adding an application

Appendix C Setting sound quality
    C.1 Vonage
    C.2 AT&T CallVantage

Appendix D Disabling sleep mode on Vista

Appendix E Capturing a network trace

Appendix F Installing virtual modem

1 Introduction

VONaLink is a suite of software products to enhance the functionality of your VoIP phone by integrating it with your computer.

1.1 System requirements

VoIP phone using SIP (Session Initiation Protocol)
Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2003, 2000
Ethernet network hub (not a switch)*

*A hub is not needed if VONaLink is running on the same computer as the soft phone. For hard phones or analog telephone adapters, a hub is needed.

2 Setup

To install SoloRecord::

From the downloaded zip file, extract VLsoloSetup.exe using a tool such as WinZip
Login to Windows as a user with Administrator privilege
If VONaLink ScreenPop or TeamRecord is installed, uninstall it first and reboot.
Run VLsoloSetup.exe

VONaLink works by unobtrusively monitoring network packets as they travel between your phone and VoIP provider. The network setup depends on the type of VoIP phone that you have.

If your computer has 2 network adapters, VONaLink will monitor both of them.

If you are using Vista, power saving sleep mode must be disabled.

2.1 Analog Telephone Adapter

Linksys PAP2

Analog Telephone Adapters (ATA) are usually used to provide VoIP service to residential or small business customers by companies such as Vonage.

VONaLink works by monitoring network packets. A network hub is a "dumb" device that allows computers connected to the same hub to read all packets that flow through the hub. Because of this, VONaLink running on one computer can read the network packets destined for a phone plugged into the same hub. In contrast, a network switch is a "smart" device that improves performance by allowing packets between the specified sender and receiver only, so network monitoring is not possible.

The price of a hub is less than that of a switch. Because the cost difference between a hub and switch is small, and most people prefer the performance of a switch, most computer stores stock switches. You will need to shop at a store that carry a wide range of network devices to find a hub. Some models are listed on the Support page.

An Ethernet hub is needed, not a USB hub.
Ports on a router are switched, so a hub is still needed.
Do not use the Uplink port on the hub.
Using an analog phone adapter and VONaLink on a wireless network is not supported.

2.1.1 Analog Telephone Adapter with built-in router

If your Analog Telephone Adapter has a built-in router, then you need a new broadband router, in addition to a hub, and configure as follows:

2.2 Soft phone

X-Lite

A soft phone is a software program that runs on your computer and uses the connected microphone and headset.

2.2.1 On local computer

If VONaLink and the soft phone run on the same computer, VONaLink can read the network packets flowing to and from the soft phone. It is possible to use a soft phone with VONaLink on a wireless network.

2.2.2 On remote computer

If VONaLink and the soft phone are running on separate computers, the use of a network hub is needed. A network hub is a "dumb" device that allows computers connected to the same hub to read all packets that flow through the hub. Because of this, VONaLink running on one computer can read the network packets destined for a phone plugged into the same hub. In contrast, a network switch is a "smart" device that improves performance by allowing packets between the specified sender and receiver only, so network monitoring is not possible.

An Ethernet hub is needed, not a USB hub.
Ports on a router are switched, so a hub is still needed.
Do not use the Uplink port on the hub.
Using a remote soft phone and VONaLink on a wireless network is not supported.

2.3 Hard phone

Grandstream BudgeTone 102

A hard phone resembles the typical home phone, but connects to a network.

Some phones, such as the Grandstream BudgeTone 102, have a built-in hub, so a separate hub is not necessary. Some high-end phones have built-in network switches. Again, the switch cannot be used, so a separate hub is needed.

An Ethernet hub is needed, not a USB hub.
Ports on a router are switched, so a hub is still needed.
Do not use the Uplink port on the hub.
Using a hard phone and VONaLink on a wireless network is not supported.

3. Using SoloRecord

3.1 Starting

To start SoloRecord, click on the desktop icon:

or the menu item: Start menu > All programs > VONaLink SoloRecord

If SoloRecord is already running, the icon is found in the System Tray. Click on the icon to open the window.

3.1.1 Disabling "Hide inactive icons" option

Windows Vista

1. Right click on the Windows Taskbar
2. Click on Properties and switch to the Notification Area tab
3. Verify that Hide inactive icons checkbox is not checked
4. Click OK

Windows XP/2003/2000

1. Right click on the Windows Taskbar
2. Click on Properties and switch to the Taskbar tab
3. Verify that Hide inactive icons checkbox is not checked
4. Click OK

3.1.2 First use

When SoloRecord is started for the first time, it will prompt you for your evaluation serial number. Enter the serial number and click on Activate.

3.2 Phone tab

To monitor up to 2 phone numbers, specify the phone numbers from the Phones tab.

If you are using a soft phone or a Vonage V-Phone on a wireless network, select the My phone is a soft phone on this computer checkbox and restart SoloRecord.

3.2.1 Discover phone

The exact phone identifier format used by your VoIP provider varies between providers. To assist you in determining your phone ID, click on Discover phone button from the Phone tab. Make an outgoing call and receive an incoming call to see your phone ID appear. Select the phone ID and click on This is line 1 or This is line 2.

In most cases, it should be sufficient to make an outgoing call or receive an incoming call to detect the phone ID, but VoIP provider Packet8 uses one phone ID for outgoing and another ID for incoming.

3.2.2 Specify phone

Specify the phone number of each phone by clicking on Edit Line 1 or Edit Line 2.

Enter the phone number and select the provider. If your VoIP provider is not listed, choose Other (numbers Only).

Your VoIP provider may include the country code before the phone number. For example:

AT&T CallVantage	Do not include a 1 before the 10 digit phone number
Packet8	Packet8 does not use your phone number as the phone ID in the network packets for outgoing calls. Use Discover phone to determine the IDs used.
Voip.com	VoiP,com does not use your phone number as the phone ID in the network packets. Use Discover phone to determine the IDs used.
Vonage	In North America include a 1 before the 10 digit phone number.

3.2.3 Phone options

Ignore calls with numbers shorter than ... digits	If SoloRecord is used in an office with internal extension numbers, select this checkbox and specify the phone number length so that only external calls are monitored.
Phone number display format	Format mask for display phone numbers. Each # represent a digit. Other valid characters are space, period, hyphen, and brackets. For example: # (###) ###-####

3.2.4 Reject callers

The Reject these callers list contain the phone numbers from whom you do not wish to accept. When one of these calls arrive, you will hear your phone start to ring, but VONaLink will then send a network message to cancel the call, and your phone will stop ringing. The caller may encounter one the following call treatments:

hear a busy signal
hear a message that says the number is temporary unavailable
forwarded to another phone
sent to voicemail

From the Reject these callers section, click on Add to show the Add Reject dialog. You may enter a phone number or a name. To reject based on starting digits, specify an asterisk after the starting digits. For example: 1800*. This will reject all numbers that start with 1800.

You can also add callers to the reject list from the Calls tab.

3.3 Launch

The Launch tab allows you to specify the actions to take when an incoming call rings.

If a caller dials *67 before your phone number, the caller ID does not display on your analog phone. However, at the network level, the originating phone number may be present. If the phone number is not there, the IP address of the calling network will be used.

3.3.1 Pop tray balloon

Select the Pop tray balloon checkbox to have a popup balloon appear in the system tray when a call rings. Click on Test to see how the tray balloon looks.

If the Pop tray balloon checkbox is disabled, it is because you started SoloRecord with the Hide when minimized option enabled.

3.3.2 Overlay screen

Select the Overlay screen checkbox to have the incoming phone number displayed as a screen overlay. To choose text color, size, position, and display duration, click on the Settings button.

Click on the Test buttons to see how the screen overlay looks.

3.3.3 Speak

Select the Speak checkbox to have a voice read out the phone number when a call rings. To choose a female or male voice, click on the Settings button.

Click on Test to hear how the voices sound.

3.3.4 Show Outlook Contact

Select the Show Outlook Contact checkbox to display the Microsoft Outlook Contact when a call rings. To choose which Outlook fields to search, click on the Settings button. Outlook 2000 or later is required.

Select the Create contact checkbox to create a contact if the phone number is not found in Outlook. To test, enter a phone number and click on Test to search Outlook.

3.3.5 Virtual modem

Other caller ID programs or contact manager software such as Act! use an analog modem to capture caller ID. These programs connect directly to the modem or via TAPI (Telephony Application Programming Interface). SoloRecord can trigger these programs via a virtual modem. To do this, SoloRecord uses the open source package com0com, which creates a pair of connected virtual COM ports.

See Installing virtual modem.

After the virtual modem is installed, setup the other caller ID or contact manager software to connect to Standard 9600 bps Modem whose port is CNCA0.

To test, enter a phone number and optional name.

3.3.6 Custom applications

One of the unique and powerful features of SoloRecord is the ability to launch up to 3 custom applications. For example, the applications could do a reverse lookup of the caller and connect to your customer database.

For more information on how to add your custom applications to the list, see Appendix A.

To test, enter a phone number, an optional name, and click on Test to run the specified application.

3.4 Record tab

Start and stop recording	Choose Automatic or Manual. With Automatic, no further action is required to start or stop the recording. With Manual, you click on Start recording button to start recording.
Incoming calls	Select this checkbox to record incoming calls.
Outgoing calls	Select this checkbox to record outgoing calls.
Add verification watermark to WAV	Select this checkbox to add a piece of information to the file, which can be used to verify if the file has been altered in any way. The watermark does not affect the sound quality. Click on Verify recording to select a file previously recorded with VONaLink to verify its watermark.
Format	Choose between WAV and compressed audio formats. Recordings are in stereo, with each caller on separate channels. This allows you to open the audio file in a sound editor such as Audacity and listen to the channels separately.
Maximum call duration	Specify the maximum duration of a recorded call in minutes.
Retention	Specify the number of days that recordings are to be retained. Leave blank for indefinite.
Local folder	Specify the local folder where recordings will be saved. By default, this folder is under My Documents, for security reasons. You may wish to specify a folder on another local disk drive with more free space.
Save a copy to server	Select this checkbox to have a copy of the recording saved to a server for archival purposes.

Click on Settings to specify the location of the server.

Network folder or File Transfer Protocol	Select Network folder to copy the recording to a network shared folder. Select File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to copy the file to a FTP server.
Network folder	Specify the network shared folder where recordings will be copied.
Server domain or IP address	Specify the FTP server address.
Port	Specify the FTP port. The standard port is 21.
SSL	Select this checkbox to use Secure Socket Layer encryption. This requires that the FTP server support SSL also.
Login	Specify the FTP server login.
Password	Specify the FTP server password.

Click on Test to check access to the server.

3.5 Calls tab

The Calls tab shows a list of calls for each day.

	Go to previous folder
	Go to next folder
	Listen to the recording by opening your default media player
	Attach a note to the selected recording. After editing the note, click on to refresh .
	Open Windows Explorer with the file selected. You might use this to select the file for attaching to an e-mail, or to open the file in a sound editor.
	Find remote party in Outlook
	Select all rows (Ctrl+A)
	Delete the selected row(s). If there are no rows, the folder is deleted.
	Add caller to the reject list
	Refresh the list of folders and calls
	Copy selected recordings to the server

You can also click on the right mouse button to show a popup menu. The menu item Click to call is enabled only if the provider of the local number is Vonage or a standard SIP phone.

3.5.1 Click to call for Vonage

From the Calls tab, right click on a call and select the menu item Click to call. If the Click to call menu item is disabled, wait 1-2 minutes so the VONaLink can detect the IP address of your phone. If you make an outgoing call, VONaLink will detect the IP address right away. Once the IP address is detected, the Click to call menu item will be enabled.

Enter the username and password for your account at the Vonage web site.

Click on OK. When your Vonage phone rings, pick up the handset, and Vonage will connect you to the target phone number.

3.5.2 Click to call for standard SIP phone

For Click to call to work on a standard SIP phone, your phone must accept calls using direct IP addressing. Phones or phone adapters that are locked to a specific provider may not work using direct IP addressing.

Click on OK. When your phone rings, pick up the handset, and your phone will transfer to the target phone number.

3.5.3 Watermark

If the watermark option was enabled, an icon is displayed in the time column showing the status of file.

	File is unchanged
	File has been changed

3.6 General tab

Run automatically upon Windows login	Select this checkbox to automatically start SoloRecord when you login to Windows.
Minimize on start	Select this checkbox to start SoloRecord as a minimized window.
Hide when minimized	Select this checkbox to hide the application from the System Tray when minimized. Once hidden, click on the SoloRecord desktop icon or Start menu > All programs > VONaLink SoloRecord to make it visible again.
Confirm exit	Select this checkbox and SoloRecord will ask before exiting.

3.7 Manually starting and stop recording

If Start and stop recording is set to Manual on the Record tab, a Start recording button is displayed above the status bar.

When a call is connected, the duration display on the left hand side and the Start recording button both flash green. This indicates that SoloRecord is not recording yet, but waiting for your command.

If you decide to record to call, click on the Start recording button.

The duration display on the left hand side turns red, indicating that the call is being recorded.

If you decide to stop recording before the end of the call, click on the Stop recording button. To record until the end of the call, do nothing. SoloRecord will automatically stop recording at the end of the call.

If you stop recording before the end of the call, you will not be able to start recording again.
In other words, you can only start recording once and stop recording once per call.

3.8 Voice mail waiting

If there are messages in your voice mailbox, an envelope icon will appear on the bottom right corner of SoloRecord.

The limitation of the voice mail indicator is that if SoloRecord is closed and opened again, the indicator is cleared.

3.9 Licensing

Click on the menu: Help > License.

To see the number of days remaining in the evaluation, click on Help > About.

3.9.1 Hardware ID

A license is in the form of a unique serial number. If you plan on using SoloRecord on more than 1 computer, buy a USB flash drive, plug it in and let SoloRecord reads its ID, then use the ID of the USB drive when buying SoloRecord. In other words, if your license is associated with the USB flash drive, you always need to have it plugged into the computer in order to use SoloRecord on that computer. Any size of USB flash drive will do.

To purchase a license, click on the menu: Help > License. Click on Buy Now. It will take you to the Buy page of www.vonalink.com

When purchasing a license, you will be asked for the Hardware ID generated by VONaLink. By default, the license will be associated with your computer.

It is also possible to associate the license with any removable USB drive, or Vonage V-Phone. This allows you to move the VONaLink license from computer to computer.

Choose the device which the license will be associated with, and copy the Hardware ID by clicking on Copy to clipboard. Paste the Hardware ID in the web order form.

After purchasing, you will be given a permanent serial number that is unique to your computer hardware. Replace the evaluation serial number with the permanent one.

3.9.2 Transfer license to USB drive

If your license is associated with your computer and your find the need to use SoloRecord on another computer, you can request a transfer of your license to a USB flash drive. Insert a USB drive in your computer and click on the menu Help > Transfer license to USB drive. Select the USB device, and click on Copy to clipboard to save the Hardware ID. Paste the Hardware ID in a message along with your original order details to Technical Support. Once your receive the new serial number, paste it into the Serial # field and click on Activate.

Appendix A Restarting Packet Monitor service

SoloRecord works together with VONaLink Packet Monitor service. When your computer boots up, the service is automatically started. The service will look for a network adapter with an IP address. If none is found after a number of retries, the service will stop. SoloRecord will indicate the status area that the Packet Monitor service has stopped. To start it manually:

Go to Windows Control Panel
Go to Administrative Tools
Go to Services
Right click on VONaLink Packet Monitor and select Start

Appendix B Interfacing to custom applications

B.1 File extensions

The list of allowed file extensions are saved in \vonalink\app\ext. The extension file specify how to launch the application and how the parameters are passed. VONaLink defines 5 variables:

Variable

Description

%app%

Application file name

%local%

Phone number of local party

%remote%

Phone number of remote party

%name%

Name of remote party if present

%status%

Call status:

The possible values of status are:

"ring"	Incoming call ringing
"in"	Incoming call answered
"out"	Outgoing call answered
"end"	Call ended
"file"	Audio file is ready

To specify how to launch a VB script, the \vonalink\app\vbs file contains:

cscript "%app%" local=%local% remote=%remote% "name=%name%" status=%status%

To specify how to launch a Perl application, the \vonalink\app\pl file contains:

perl "%app%" --local=%local% --remote=%remote% "--name=%name%" --status=%status%

For status "file", additional variables are passed.

%path%
%file% 
%in%
%duration%

See the example \vonalink\app\examples\CopyRecording.vbs

B.2 Examples

Example applications are found in \vonalink\app\examples

Reverse lookup of phone number using the web
Use the free YAC (Yet another Caller ID) program to send messages YAC listeners on the network
Log to a file
Copy the recording and give it a new file name
Use DDE to interface with TimeMatters

B.3 Adding an application

To add an application so that it appears in the Custom applications window, place the file in \vonalink\app. The file extension of the application must be in \vonalink\app\ext.

Appendix C Setting sound quality

C.1 Vonage

Analog Telephone Adapter

1. Login to your Vonage web account
2. Click on Features
3. Locate Bandwidth Saver, click on Configure
4. Select 90 Kbps - Highest Sound Quality and click on Submit
5. You may need to reboot your Vonage box for the setting to take effect.

If the Highest Sound Quality is not set at the Vonage web site (above screenshot), you can set an outgoing call to the Highest Sound Quality by
adding *99 before the phone number.

Softphone

Click on G711u until it is enabled. Click on G729 until it is disabled.

C.2 AT&T CallVantage

Turn fax and modem support on. See:

http://www.usa.att.com/callvantage/faqs/using_service.jsp#fax_support

Appendix D Disabling sleep mode on Vista

If your computer goes into sleep mode to save power, this interferes with network packet reading. To disable sleep mode, go to Windows Control Panel > Power Options. Select High performance.

Click on High performance Change plan settings to verify that Put the computer to sleep is set to Never.

Appendix E Capturing a network trace

The procedure is performed only if requested by VONaLink technical support.

1. Open up a Command Prompt window (Start menu > Accessories > Command Prompt)
2. Type: cd \vonalink\bin

3. Type: vonapkt trace on

4. To get current trace state, type:

vonapkt trace

5. Wait 15 seconds. Talk on your VoIP phone for one call. Hang up.
6. Type: vonapkt trace off

7. A file with the pcap extension is saved in \vonalink\log\trace. If the file is large, compress it using 7-zip or Winzip.
8. Send the file to Technical Support

Appendix F Installing virtual modem

This is required only if you wish to use the Virtual modem feature.

SoloRecord uses the open source package com0com to create a pair of connected virtual COM ports.

1. Run C:\vonalink\vmodem\com0comSetup.exe
2. After the setup, the Windows Device Manager shows the virtual ports.

3. From the Windows Control Panel, click on Phone and Modem Options. Switch to Modems tab. Click on Add.

4. Select the checkbox: Don't detect my modem; I will select it from a list. Click on Next.

5. Under [Standard Modem Types], select Standard 9600 bps Modem. Click on Next.

6. Select CNCA0 as the port. Click on Next.

7. Click on Finish.

8. The modem is added.

9. Run C:\vonalink\vmodem\UpdateTAPIModem.exe
10. Restart the computer

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