Fax board incompatibility detection and circumvention

1. A method of increasing the success of a facsimile transmission, comprising:

monitoring an incoming facsimile number transmitting a fax image by a carrier;

storing records indicating a selected configuration of a fax server during a failed attempt at transmitting the fax image;

responding to the failed attempt at transmitting the fax image by the fax server by writing and storing a record that indicates the selected configuration of the fax server during the failed attempt;

receiving each of a new fax image to be transmitted to a recipient, a specified fax sender, and also at least a portion of a phone number;

retrieving a current selected configuration stored for the specified fax sender;

querying to determine whether the retrieved current selected configuration of the specified fax sender matches a record in the database, and

on condition that a match is found, establish that a prior facsimile transmitted by the specified fax sender was unsuccessful, but on condition that no match is found, transmit the new fax image by the fax server; and,

on condition that a threshold failure rate is met or exceeded for the carrier transmitting the fax image on the incoming facsimile number, adjusting the carrier to a new carrier by changing a record to indicate the new carrier in a database storing records correlating the carrier to the incoming facsimile number.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein a determination that the threshold failure rate is met or exceeded comprises:

determining that a number of received transmissions over a time period for the incoming facsimile number is less than an average number of received transmissions for the incoming facsimile number over the time period.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein a determination that the threshold failure rate is met or exceeded comprises:

monitoring additional incoming facsimile numbers; and,

determining that a number of received transmissions over a time period for the incoming facsimile number is less than an average number of received transmissions for the additional incoming facsimile numbers over the time period.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a determination that the threshold failure rate is met or exceeded comprises:

determining that a number of successful transmissions for the incoming facsimile number over a time period is less than an average number of successful transmissions for the incoming facsimile number for the time period.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein a determination that the threshold failure rate is met or exceeded comprises:

monitoring additional incoming facsimile numbers; and,

determining that a number of successful transmissions for the incoming facsimile number over a time period is less than an average number of successful transmissions for the additional incoming facsimile numbers over the time period.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein adjusting the carrier to the new carrier by changing the record to indicate the new carrier in the database storing records correlating the carrier to the incoming facsimile number comprises first selecting the new carrier.

7. A facsimile management system comprising:

a server coupled to a database storing records correlating a carrier to an incoming facsimile number and a fax server coupled to a database storing records indicating a selected configuration of the fax server during a failed attempt at transmitting the fax image; and,

a carrier monitor module executing in a memory of the server, the carrier monitor module server comprising program code which when executed by a processor of the server enables to the server to:

monitor the incoming facsimile number transmitting a fax image by the carrier and on condition that a threshold failure rate is met or exceeded for the carrier transmitting the fax image on the incoming facsimile number, adjust the carrier to a new carrier by changing a record to indicate the new carrier in the database;

a fax server module executing in a memory of the fax server, the fax server module comprising program code which when executed by a processor of the fax server enables the fax server to:

respond to the failed attempt at transmitting the fax image by the fax server by writing a record to the database that indicates the selected configuration of the fax server during the failed attempt;

receive, in a memory of the fax server, each of a new fax image to be transmitted to a recipient, a specified fax sender, and also at least a portion of a phone number,

retrieve, into the memory of the fax server, a current selected configuration stored for the specified fax sender,

query the database to determine whether the retrieved current selected configuration of the specified fax sender matches a record in the database, and

on condition that a match is found, establish that a prior facsimile transmitted by the specified fax sender was unsuccessful, but on condition that no match is found, transmit the new fax image by the fax server.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the program code which when executed by the processor of the server enables the server to determine that the threshold failure rate is met or exceeded comprises determining that a number of received transmissions over a time period for the incoming facsimile number is less than an average number of received transmissions for the incoming facsimile number over the time period.

9. The system of claim 7 , wherein the program code which when executed by the processor of the server enables the server to determine that the threshold failure rate is met or exceeded comprises:

monitoring additional incoming facsimile numbers; and,

determining that a number of received transmissions over a time period for the incoming facsimile number is less than an average number of received transmissions for the additional incoming facsimile numbers over the time period.

10. The system of claim 7 , wherein the program code which when executed by the processor of the server enables the server to determine that the threshold failure rate is met or exceeded comprises determining that a number of successful transmissions for the incoming facsimile number over a time period is less than an average number of successful transmissions for the incoming facsimile number for the time period.

11. The system of claim 7 , wherein the program code which when executed by the processor of the server enables the server to determine that the threshold failure rate is met or exceeded comprises:

monitoring additional incoming facsimile numbers; and,

determining that a number of successful transmissions for the incoming facsimile number over a time period is less than an average number of successful transmissions for the additional incoming facsimile numbers over the time period.

12. The system of claim 7 , wherein the program code which when executed by the processor of the server enables the server to adjust the carrier to the new carrier by changing the record to indicate the new carrier in the database storing records correlating the carrier to the incoming facsimile number comprises first selecting the new carrier.

13. The system of claim 7 , wherein the program code which when executed by the processor of the server further enables the server to forward the new carrier to the fax server.

14. A computer program product for increasing the success of facsimile transmission, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, which, when executed by a server, causes the server to:

monitor an incoming facsimile number transmitting a fax image by a carrier;

storing records indicating a selected configuration of a fax server during a failed attempt at transmitting the fax image;

responding to the failed attempt at transmitting the fax image by the fax server by writing and storing a record that indicates the selected configuration of the fax server during the failed attempt;

receiving each of a new fax image to be transmitted to a recipient, a specified fax sender, and also at least a portion of a phone number;

retrieving a current selected configuration stored for the specified fax sender;

querying to determine whether the retrieved current selected configuration of the specified fax sender matches a record in the database, and

on condition that a match is found, establish that a prior facsimile transmitted by the specified fax sender was unsuccessful, but on condition that no match is found, transmit the new fax image by the fax server; and,

on condition that that a threshold failure rate is met or exceeded for the carrier transmitting the fax image on the incoming facsimile number, adjust the carrier to a new carrier by changing a record to indicate the new carrier in the database.

15. The computer program product of claim 14 , wherein the computer readable program code, which, when executed by the server causes the server to determine that the threshold failure rate is met or exceeded comprises determining that a number of received transmissions over a time period for the incoming facsimile number is less than an average number of received transmissions for the incoming facsimile number over the time period.

16. The computer program product of claim 14 , wherein the computer readable program code, which, when executed by the server causes the server to determine that the threshold failure rate is met or exceeded comprises:

monitoring additional incoming facsimile numbers; and,

determining that a number of received transmissions over a time period for the incoming facsimile number is less than an average number of received transmissions for the additional incoming facsimile numbers over the time period.

17. The computer program product of claim 14 , wherein the computer readable program code, which, when executed by the server causes the server to determine that the threshold failure rate is met or exceeded comprises determining that a number of successful transmissions for the incoming facsimile number over a time period is less than an average number of successful transmissions for the incoming facsimile number for the time period.

18. The computer program product of claim 14 , wherein the computer readable program code, which, when executed by the server causes the server to determine that the threshold failure rate is met or exceeded comprises:

monitoring additional incoming facsimile numbers; and,

determining that a number of successful transmissions for the incoming facsimile number over a time period is less than an average number of successful transmissions for the additional incoming facsimile numbers over the time period.

19. The computer program product of claim 14 , wherein the computer readable program code, which, when executed by the server causes the server to adjust the carrier to the new carrier by changing the record to indicate the new carrier in the database storing records correlating the carrier to the incoming facsimile number comprises first selecting the new carrier.