KR100521148B1 - Billing Center Interface Apparatus and Method Thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a billing center matching device and method installed between an exchanger and an external billing center so that billing settlement is possible without changing the inside of the exchanger when the type of the billing center is changed. Receive raw data including charging information from the exchange, the exchange interface unit transmits raw data including the charging information received from the exchange to the charging information processing unit, and the charging information processing unit is transmitted from the exchange interface unit; The billing information is extracted from the received raw data, and the billing information processing unit processes the billing information extracted from the raw data according to a format required by the billing center and transmits the billing center interface to the billing center.

According to the present invention, when the type of the billing center is changed, the billing settlement is possible without replacing the software inside the exchanger.

Description

Billing Center Interface Apparatus and Method Thereof}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a billing center matching device and a method thereof, and more particularly to a billing center matching device installed between an exchanger and an external billing center to enable billing settlement without changing the inside of the exchanger when the type of the billing center is changed. And to a method thereof.

In a billing processing system of a conventional telecommunications service provider, billing processing is performed using a call detail record (CDR) generated by an exchange.

The telephone billing information (CDR) generates one telephone billing information (CDR) when one call occurs, and the conventional telecommunication service provider collects the telephone billing information (CDR) as described above. The system scans the information file for abnormalities, changes it to a format suitable for data processing at the billing center, determines which user used this call from the changed billing information, and then rates according to the services the customer subscribes to. To calculate the fee.

On the other hand, the charging processing apparatus of the conventional exchange system, as shown in the accompanying drawings, Figure 1, the call processing unit 11, the charging processing unit 12, the charging memory unit 13, the charging disk 14 and the MT ( Magnetic Tape) 15 is provided.

The call processing unit 11 transmits detailed billing information on the completed call to the billing processing unit 12 through IPC (Inter-Processor Communication), and the billing processing unit 12 from the call processing unit 11. Receive detailed billing information, process the data into a form of billable data, store it in the billing memory unit 13, store it in the billing disk 14 and the MT 15, and store billing data stored in the billing disk 14. Read and send to the charging center via TCP / IP.

The billing memory unit 13 temporarily stores billing data in units of blocks as a main memory, and serves as a temporary billing block storage for storing the billing disk 14 and the MT 15, which are actual storage media.

The accounting disk 14 stores a billing data block for transmission to the billing center as an auxiliary storage device.

The MT 15 is an auxiliary storage device and is allocated for charging in the active and standby states. The active state stores the charging history occurring at the current exchange, and the standby state is stored in the active state. When the charge storage is completed in the MT 15, the user becomes active and is in a standby state in which the charge details can be stored.

On the other hand, the billing data generated by the exchange system is collected online by the charging center through the X.25 or Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP) for quick calculation of the charge, and the exchange system collects the billing data. Since it acts as a client for the transmission, the billing data can be transmitted only when the billing data request is made by the billing center.

In addition, the charging data transmission through the online targets only the charging data stored in the charging disk 14. The charging data corresponding to the detailed charging information cannot be stored in the charging disk 14 due to the abnormality of the charging disk 14, and the charging data stored in the MT 15 is stored in the charging center in the charging center. On request of data, the MT 15 is removed directly and transported to the charging center.

On the other hand, in order for the exchange center and the exchanger according to the related art to interwork with the exchange and the charging center, a predetermined interface must exist inside the exchanger.

Such an interface may be a standard interface such as a remote authentication dial-in user service (RADIUS) or each exchange may have its own non-standard interface.

Therefore, according to the prior art, since the exchanger and the charging center are directly connected, and in this method, the exchanger and the external charging device are directly connected, an interface for interworking with an external charging device must be built in the exchanger. In order to use the device, there was a problem in that the software inside the exchange was modified to interface with the charging device.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, it is installed between the exchanger and the external billing center is processed by the raw data (Raw Data) generated as a result of the call processing in the exchange to transmit to the billing center It is an object of the present invention to provide a billing center matching device and a method for enabling a billing center to perform call processing irrespective of a billing center and to settle billing without additional software change of a switch center according to a billing center change.

Billing center matching device according to the present invention for achieving the above object, the SIP server for providing the raw data including the billing information for each event for the call call, and extracted from the raw data for each event provided from the SIP server And a billing information processing unit for generating billing data according to the billing information to be converted, converting the billing data into a data format required by the billing center, and transmitting the billing information to the billing center. The billing information processing unit according to the present invention is provided from a SIP server. A billing information extraction module for extracting billing information from the received raw data and generating billing data, a billing information extraction module for storing and managing billing data in block and file units, and billing data stored in the management module Convert the billing information into the format required by the center and convert the converted billing information to the billing center. It comprises a transmitting module for transmission.

delete

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data processing method of a billing center matching device, the method comprising: receiving raw data including billing information corresponding to each event of a call from a SIP server, and each data included in the raw data received from the SIP server. Generating charging data using the charging information extracted from the events, converting the charging data into a data format required by the charging center, and transmitting the charging data to the charging center. Referring to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

2 is a view showing a charging system with a charging center matching device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the charging system provided with a charging center matching device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an exchanger 20, a charging center matching server 30, and a charging center 40.

Here, the exchange 20 is a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) server, a server that performs a service for VoIP Call.

SIP is modeled on the basis of simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP), e-mail, hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), and the Web. Such a SIP is a client-server protocol where a server sends a response when a client sends a request.

SIP reuses HTTP's syntax and semantics in many parts, including response code architectures, message headers, and the entire operation process, making HTTP-like transactions.

Also, unlike HTTP and SMTP, SIP can run on top of TCP or UDP. SIP provides a mechanism for ensuring reliability and UDP can multicast SIP messages.

Multicasting enables group invitations and basic automatic call distribution (ACD).

Meanwhile, the exchange 20 transmits the charging information to the charging center matching server 30. Here, the switching information 20 is implemented as a SIP server so that the charging information transmitted to the charging center matching server 30 is generated at the SIP server. Event information for a call, which is for a VoIP call.

Therefore, some of the fields included in the billing information are meaningful only for VoIP calls (eg, fields such as codec types), and the basic concept may be applied to general exchanges.

Here, three types of events may be classified into start events, stop events, and service type events.

First, the data format of the start event is as follows.

   * START Event

           typedef struct {

                      U8 event_type;

                      U8 switch_id;

                      U8 call_Id [MAX_CALL_ID_LEN];

                      U8 user_Id [[USER_ID_LEN];

                      U8 codec type

                      U8 setup_hour;

                      U8 setup_min;

                      U8 setup_sec;

                      U8 conn_hour;

                      U8 conn_min;

                      U8 conn_sec;

                      U8 call_dir;

                      U8 conn_mon;

                      U8 conn_day;

                      U32 conn_year

                      U8 calling [ADDR_LEN];

                      U8 dial [ADDR_LEN];

                      U32 conn_ip;

           } sip_cdr_startEv;

Here, the U8 event_type field is a field indicating an event type, and there are three types of events: a start event, a stop event, and a service event.

In addition, U8 call_Id [MAX_CALL_ID_LEN] is a separator for distinguishing a call in the SIP protocol and has a unique value.

The U8 user_Id [[USER_ID_LEN] field indicates a user ID for requesting a call processing service. The U8 codec type field indicates a codec type for performing voice compression in a VoIP call. G.711, G.723.1, and G. There is .729.

The U8 setup_hour field is the field to indicate the start time of the horizon, U8 setup_min is the field to indicate the minute of the start time of the horizon, the U8 setup_sec field is the field to indicate the seconds of the start time of the horizon view, and the U8 conn_hour field is the field. The U8 conn_min field indicates the minute of call connection time, the U8 conn_sec field indicates the second of call connection time, and the U8 conn_mon field indicates the month of the call connection date. Field, the U8 conn_day field indicates the day of the call connection date, and the U32 conn_year field indicates the year of the call connection date.

Next, the data format of the STOP event is as follows:

* STOP Event

           typedef struct {

                      U8 event_type;

                      U8 switch_id;

                      U8 call_Id [MAX_CALL_ID_LEN];

                      U8 disc_type;

                      U8 disc_code;

                      U8 rel_hour;

                      U8 rel_min;

                      U8 rel_sec;

                      U8 call_dir;

                      U8 rel_mon;

                      U8 rel_day;

                      U32 rel_year

                      U8 cld_party_addr [ADDR_LEN];

                      U8 clg_party_addr [ADDR_LEN];

                      U32 receive_byte;

                      U32 send_byte;

           } sip_cdr_stopEv;

Here, the U8 event_type field is a field indicating an event type, and there are three types of events: a start event, a stop event, and a service event.

The U8 call_Id [MAX_CALL_ID_LEN] field is a field indicating a delimiter for distinguishing a call in the SIP protocol and has a unique value.

The U8 disc_type field indicates a call release type and indicates whether the call release reason is a normal termination or an error termination. The U8 disc_code field indicates an error code as a field indicating a call release code.

The U8 rel_hour field indicates the release time, the U8 rel_min field indicates the minute of the release time, the U8 rel_sec field indicates the seconds of the release time, and the U8 rel_mon field indicates the release time. The field indicating the month of, the U8 rel_day field indicates the day of the release time, and the U32 rel_year field indicates the year of the release time.

The U8 cld_party_addr [ADDR_LEN] field indicates a caller's IP address, and the U8 clg_party_addr [ADDR_LEN] indicates a caller's IP address.

Next, the data format of the service event is as follows.

* SERVICE Event

           typedef struct {

                      U8 event_type;

                      U8 service_type;

                      U8 service_detail;

                      U8 call_Id [MAX_CALL_ID_LEN];

           } sip_cdr_serviceEv;

Here, the U8 event_type field is a field indicating an event type, and there are three types of events: a start event, a stop event, and a service event.

U8 The service_type field indicates a service type, and includes a forward service and a transfer service.

Forward service is a call forwarding service that allows you to receive a call instead of your own phone when you call.

There are Unconditional (All Call) Forward to transfer all calls, Busy Forward to switch only when busy, No Answer Forward to automatically switch after a certain time if not answered.

The Transfer service is a call transfer service that allows A and B to make a call, then A calls C again, transfers B to BC, and then makes a call between BCs. to be.

Next, the U8 call_Id [MAX_CALL_ID_LEN] field has a unique value as a field indicating a delimiter for distinguishing a call in the SIP protocol.

Meanwhile, the charging center matching server 30 receives the raw data from the exchanger 20, transforms the data to fit the charging center 40, and transmits the data to the charging center 40.

At this time, the charging center matching server 30 should be provided with an interface device capable of communicating with the switch 20, and should be provided with an interface device capable of communicating with the charging center (40).

For example, the billing data format transmitted from the billing center matching server 30 to the billing center 40 is as follows in the form of Ascii.

* Billing data format

VOICE: OUTGOING: user1: 165.213.87.44: 8318894-2c57d5a5-1b58-3d7d5d54-a0110e-15839fe5@165.213.87.44: 0: 0: 0: 0: 9-10-2002: 11.47.48: 11.47.48: 9- 10-2002: 11.47.54: 165.213.87.44: 165.213.87.44: PSTN_PORT: CONN_IP: 0: SEND_BYTE: RECV_BYTE: END_CDR:

Here, billing data includes a Call Type field; Call Direction field; User ID field; User Domain field; Call ID field; Codec Type field; rsvd field; rsvd field; Response code field; Connection Date field; A Connection Time field; Stop Date field; Stop Time field; Calling Party Addr field; Called Party Addr field; PSTN_PORT field; CONN_IP field; rsvd field; Send Byte field; Receive Byte field; It can be seen that it consists of the END_CDR field.

Looking at the meaning of each field, the call type field has a voice value as a field indicating the type of a call, and the value specified in the U8 call_Id field is used among the charging information transmitted to the exchange 20.

The Call Direction field is a field indicating a call origination direction, and the User ID field is a field indicating a user name and uses a value specified in the U8 user_Id field of the charging information transmitted from the switch 20.

The User Domain field is a field indicating the User Domain Name and uses a value specified in the U8 clg_party_addr field among the charging information transmitted from the switch 20.

The Call ID field is a field indicating the call identifier, and uses a value specified in the U8 call_Id field among the charging information transmitted from the switch 20.

The Codec Type field indicates a voice compression format of the codec and uses a value specified in the U8 codec type field transmitted from the switch 20.

0 is specified in the rsvd field and is not supported. 0 is also specified in the rsvd field.

In addition, the Response code field is a field indicating a call termination code, and if it is normally terminated, the response code field has a value of 0 and an error code in case of an error. Use the value specified in the U8 disc_code field.

The Connection Date field is a field indicating the call connection year, month, and day, and uses U8 setup_year, U8 setup_mon, and U8 setup_day of the start event signal among the billing information transmitted from the switch 20.

The Connection Time field is a field indicating the call connection time, minute and second, and uses U8 setup_hour, U8 setup_min, and U8 setup_sec of the start event signal among the charging information transmitted from the switch 20.

The Stop Date field is a field indicating the call end year, month, and day, and uses U8 rel_year, U8 rel_mon, and U8 rel_day of the end event signal among the billing information received from the exchange 20.

The Stop Time field indicates a time, minute, and second of call termination, and uses U8 rel_hour, U8 rel_min, and U8 rel_sec of the termination event signal received from the exchange 20.

The Calling Party Addr field is a field for indicating an IP address. The next field, which is located next, is also a field for indicating an IP address as a Called Party Addr field.

Other PSTN_PORT fields are not supported because they have a value of 0. The CONN_IP field is not supported with a value of 0. The rsvd field is not supported with a value of 0. The send byte field is also not supported because a value of 0 is specified. Do not.

In addition, 0 is specified as a field value in the Receive Byte field and is not supported.

Meanwhile, the charging center 40 has a function of receiving, storing, inquiring, outputting, and deleting charging data generated from the exchanger 20.

As described above, regardless of the type of the billing center 40, the exchange always outputs only the data of a certain raw data format regardless of the type of the billing center 40, thereby changing the type of the billing center. (20) The internal interface unit need not be replaced and only the interface device with the charging center 40 of the external charging center matching server 30 needs to be modified.

In addition, when using the charging center matching server 30 defined here, even if a new version of the exchange 20 comes out, the exchanger 20 does not care about the interface of the charging center 40 at all times. You only need to implement the interface with).

3 is an internal block diagram of the exchanger of FIG. 2, as shown in the exchanger, as shown, the call processor 21, the charge processor 22, the charge memory unit 23, the charge disk 24 and the MT ( 25) and an interface unit 26 for interfacing with the charging center matching server.

Here, the interface unit 26 performs an interface function for communication with the charging center matching server 30.

When the billing information for the completed call is transmitted from the call processing unit 21 of the exchanger 20 to the billing processing unit 22 through IPC, the billing processing unit 22 receives the billing information and primarily stores the billing memory unit as the main memory. At 23, it is stored again as the secondary storage device, the charging disk 24 and the MT (25).

The charging processing unit 22 reads the charging information from the charging memory unit 23 or the charging disk 24 and the MT 25, and outputs the charging information to the interface unit 26, and the interface unit 26 matches the charging center matching server. The data format is converted into the data format suitable for 30 and transmitted to the charging center matching server 30.

4 is an internal block diagram of the charging center matching server of FIG. 2. As shown, the charging center matching server uses a work station (HP, SUN, etc.) and uses Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) / IP (Internet). Protocol) collects billing data.

The charging center matching server 30 is composed of an exchange interface unit 31, a charging information extraction module 32, a management module 33, a transmission module 34, and a charging center interface unit 40.

The exchange interface unit 31 is interlocked with the interface unit 26 on the exchange 20 side to enable communication between the exchange 20 and the charging center matching server 30.

And, the charging information extraction module 32 receives raw data (Raw Data) including the charging information of the exchange 20 from the charging center matching server 30 through the exchange interface unit 31 to extract the charging data. Will perform the action.

The management module 33 manages the billing data in block and file units so that the billing data extracted from the raw data received from the exchanger 20 can be transmitted to the billing center 40 without loss. Data is recorded in a file in block units, managed, and backed up in a predetermined time unit, and the corresponding billing data is transmitted to the billing center 40 at a time interval requested by the operator. In this case, when there is no time designated by the operator, the charging data extracted from the exchanger 20 is normally transmitted to the charging center 40 in units of about 5 minutes.

At this time, the management module 33 processes and transmits the raw data received from the exchange to be suitable for the charging center.

In addition, the transmission module 34 transmits the charging file that has been backed up from the charging center matching server 30 to the charging center 40, and performs the charging center interface unit 35 using TCP / IP. The billing information is transmitted to the billing center.

The billing center interface unit 35 provides an interface function to enable communication between the billing center and the billing center matching server.

Now, the operation of the charging center matching server will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4.

First, when the exchange handles a new call, it sends a start event message to the exchange interface 31 of the charging center matching server.

When the exchange performs a forward function or a transfer function, the exchange sends a service event message to the exchange interface unit 30 of the charging center matching server.

In addition, the exchange sends a termination event message to the exchange interface unit 30 of the charging center matching server when the new call processing ends.

On the other hand, the exchange interface unit 30 transmits each message arrived when the start event, service event, and end event messages arrive from the exchange to the charging information extraction module 32.

Then, the charging information extraction module 32 extracts the type of the event from the start event message, extracts the type of the call, extracts the user ID that requested the call processing service, extracts the call start date, and the call start hour and minute seconds. In the VoIP call, we extract the codec type to perform the voice compression.

In addition, the charging information extraction module 32 extracts the service type-whether it is Forward or Transfer-from the service event message to determine the service type.

In addition, the charging information extraction module 32 extracts a delimiter for distinguishing a call from the end event message, extracts a call release reason, and extracts an error code in case of termination by an error.

Then, the charging information extraction module 32 extracts the call release time minute and second from the call termination event message, extracts the call release date, extracts the IP address of the caller, and extracts the IP address of the caller.

Thereafter, the billing information extraction module 32 transmits the extracted billing information to the management module 33, and the management module 33 transmits the billing information to the billing center without losing the billing information so that the billing information is block and file units. Perform the management operation.

Then, the management module 33 processes the billing information according to the format required by the billing center or transmits the billing information periodically or in response to the request of the billing center.

The transmission module 34 transmits the charging information to the charging center through the charging center interface unit 35.

5 is a flowchart of a charging center matching method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, in the charging center matching method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the exchange interface unit first provides a match with the exchange to communicate with the exchange, and receives raw data including charging information from the exchange (step S110). .

In this case, the exchange may be, for example, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) server that handles Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls, and the raw data received from the exchange may be a start event, a stop. Events, service type events, and the like.

Next, the exchange interface unit transmits the raw data received from the exchange to the charging information processing unit (step S112).

The charging information processing unit which has received the raw data from the exchange interface unit extracts the charging information from the raw data to manage and store the extracted charging information (step S114).

In this case, for example, the billing information processing unit extracts the type of event from the start event message, extracts the type of call, extracts the user ID that requested the call processing service, extracts the call start date, the call start hour and minute, and the call. A codec type for performing voice compression can be extracted from a VoIP call.

In addition, the charging information processing unit may determine the service type by extracting the service type-whether it is a forward or a transfer-from the service event message.

In addition, the billing information processing unit extracts the delimiter for distinguishing the call from the end event message, extracts the reason for the call release, extracts the error code in case of termination by the error, extracts the call release time, minute and second, and releases the call. Extracts the IP address of the caller and extracts the IP address of the caller.

The billing information processing unit manages the billing information in block and file units so that the extracted billing information can be transmitted to the billing center without losing the billing information.

Next, the billing information processing unit processes the billing information in accordance with the format required by the billing center periodically or in response to the request of the billing center, and transmits the billing information to the billing center through the billing center interface unit (step S116).

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, and should be interpreted by the appended claims.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the type of the billing center is changed, there is an effect of enabling the billing process without replacing the software in the exchanger.

In addition, according to the present invention, when the exchange is updated, only the interface with the charging center matching server needs to be provided, so that the exchange can be easily updated.

1 is a block diagram of a charging apparatus of a conventional exchange system.

2 is a block diagram of a charging system having a charging center matching device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is an internal block diagram of the exchange of FIG.

4 is an internal block diagram of the charging center matching device of FIG.

5 is a flowchart of a charging center matching method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

20: switch 21: call processing unit

22: billing processing section 23: billing memory section

24: charging disk 25: MT

26: interface unit 30: billing center matching server

31: exchange interface unit 32: billing information extraction module

33: management module 34: transmission module

35: billing center interface unit 40: billing center

Claims (7)

A SIP server for providing raw data including billing information for each call on a call; And a billing information processor for generating billing data according to billing information extracted from the raw data for each event provided from the SIP server, converting billing data into a data format required by the billing center, and transmitting the billing data to the billing center. Charging center matching device. The method of claim 1, The charging information processing unit, A billing information extraction module for generating billing data by extracting billing information from the raw data received from the SIP server;  A management module for storing and managing billing data in block and file units by the billing information extraction module; And And a transmission module for converting the billing data stored in the management module into a format required by the billing center and transmitting the converted billing information to the billing center. delete The method of claim 1, wherein the raw data is A charging center matching device including at least one of a start event, a stop event, and a service type event of a call according to VoIP. Receiving raw data including charging information according to each event of a call from a SIP server; Generating charging data using the charging information extracted from each event included in the raw data received from the SIP server; And converting the billing data into a data format required by the billing center and transmitting the billing data to the billing center. delete The method of claim 5, wherein the raw data is A data processing method of a charging center matching device including at least one of a start event, a stop event, and a service type event of a call according to VoIP.