EP1252594A2 - Programmation et planification anticipee, et gestion proactive au cours de la maintenance et de l'entretien d'un environnement du type chaine d'approvisionnement reseautee - Google Patents

Programmation et planification anticipee, et gestion proactive au cours de la maintenance et de l'entretien d'un environnement du type chaine d'approvisionnement reseautee

Info

Publication number
EP1252594A2
EP1252594A2 EP00983764A EP00983764A EP1252594A2 EP 1252594 A2 EP1252594 A2 EP 1252594A2 EP 00983764 A EP00983764 A EP 00983764A EP 00983764 A EP00983764 A EP 00983764A EP 1252594 A2 EP1252594 A2 EP 1252594A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
network
service
call
supply chain
switch
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP00983764A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Michael G. Mikurak
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Accenture LLP
Original Assignee
Accenture LLP
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US09/444,889 external-priority patent/US7716077B1/en
Application filed by Accenture LLP filed Critical Accenture LLP
Publication of EP1252594A2 publication Critical patent/EP1252594A2/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/06—Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
    • Y02P90/00—Enabling technologies with a potential contribution to greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions mitigation
    • Y02P90/80—Management or planning

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to e-Commerce networks and more particularly to proactive management during maintenance and service in a network-based supply chain environment.
  • a telephone switch When a telephone switch is accompanied by other telecommunications equipment, such as voice messaging systems, call accounting systems, CTI devices, wireless communication servers, or
  • each discrete change to one component of a telecommunications system often requires additional, similar changes to several other components.
  • these additional changes typically must be done in a specific order and, since the operating system design of each of the telecommunications devices often changes from manufacturer to manufacturer and from device to device, by using an entirely different command structure for each different component. Therefore, when done manually, a technician must remember different command structures for each of the devices that require programming and also must remember the order in which the changes should be made and further may require different terminals, passwords, procedures, software, etc.
  • a highly skilled technician having familiarity with all of the various types of equipment that make up the telecommunications system must perform these changes, or as is more common, multiple technicians are required.
  • the likelihood of an error is greatly increased.
  • a system, method and article of manufacturer are provided for proactive management during maintenance and service in a network-based supply chain environment.
  • Telephone calls, data and other multimedia information are routed through a network which includes transfer of information across the internet utilizing telephony routing information and internet protocol address information.
  • the network includes a Proactive Threshold Manager which forewarns service providers of an impending breach of contract.
  • the Proactive Threshold Manager sends an alarm to the service provider when the current level of service will miss a service level agreement to maintain a certain level of service.
  • Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a hardware implementation of one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 2 illustrates an embodiment of a system for combined industry supply management between one or multiple manufacturers and one or many service providers and/or vendors and/or resellers;
  • Figure 3 is a flowchart for a process for affording a network-based supply chain framework in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 4 is a chart illustrating the relations between benefit areas and components of the e- Commerce Market Space in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 5 is a schematic illustration of the relationship between areas of core competence of both operators and manufacturers for creating an environment for new business relationships in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 6 illustrates some of the components in the eCommerce Market Space and illustrative capabilities of the components
  • Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating a methodology for installation management utilizing a network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 8 is a flowchart depicting a process for demand and supply planning utilizing a network
  • Figure 9 illustrates a flowchart for a methodology for managing orders in a network-based supply chain in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 10 illustrates a flowchart for a process for managing assets in a network-based supply chain in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 11 illustrates a flowchart for a methodology 1100 for providing maintenance and service in a network-based supply chain in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 12 is a block diagram of an exemplary telecommunications system in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 13 shows a block diagram of the Network Data Management in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 14 is a flowchart illustrating a Network Data Management process in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 15 shows a block diagram of the Customer Interface Management Process in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 16 is a flowchart illustrating a Customer Interface Management Process in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 17 shows a block diagram of the Customer Quality of Service Management Process in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 18 is a flowchart illustrating a Customer Quality of Service Management Process in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 19 shows a block diagram of the Service Quality Management in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 20 is a flowchart illustrating a Service Quality Management Process in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 21 shows a block diagram of the Problem Handling Process in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 22 is a flowchart illustrating a Problem Handling Management Process in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 23 shows a block diagram of the Rating and Discounting Process in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 24 is a flowchart illustrating Rating and Discounting Process in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 25 shows a block diagram of the Invoice and Collections Process in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 26 is a flowchart illustrating an Invoice and Collections Process in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 27 is a flowchart showing illustrating media communication over a hybrid network in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 28 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer system in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 29 illustrates the CDR and PNR call record formats in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figures 30 and 31 collectively illustrate the ECDR and EPNR call record formats in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 32 illustrates the OSR and POSR call record formats in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figures 33 and 34 collectively illustrate the EOSR and EPOSR call record formats in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 35 illustrates the SER call record format in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figures 36 and 37 are control flow diagrams illustrating the conditions under which a switch uses the expanded record format in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 38 is a control flow diagram illustrating the Change Time command in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 39 is a control flow diagram illustrating the Change Daylight Savings Time command in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 40 is a control flow diagram illustrating the Network Call Identifier (NCID) switch call processing in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 41 is a control flow diagram illustrating the processing of a received Network Call
  • Figure 42 is a control flow diagram illustrating the generation of a Network Call Identifier in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 43 is a control flow diagram illustrating the addition of a Network Call Identifier to a call record in accordance with a preferred embodiment.
  • Figure 44 is a control flow diagram illustrating the transport of a call in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 45 is a flowchart showing a Fault Management Process in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 46 is a block diagram showing a Fault Management component in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 47 is a flowchart showing a Proactive Threshold Management Process in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 48 is a flowchart showing a Network Sensing Process in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 49 is a flowchart showing an Element Management Process in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 50 is a flowchart showing a three tiered customer support process in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 51 is a flowchart showing an integrated IP telephony process in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 52 is a flowchart showing a Data Mining Process in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 53 is a block diagram of a Web Architecture Framework in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 54 is a flowchart illustrating the commerce-related web application services in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 55 is an illustration of one embodiment of the present invention for facilitating a virtual shopping transaction
  • Figure 56 is an illustration of one embodiment of the present invention for facilitating a virtual shopping transaction by comparing different products and services
  • Figure 57 is an illustration of one embodiment of the present invention for creating a hierarchy of the features of the items selected in accordance with the customer's profile
  • Figure 58 is an illustration of one embodiment of the present invention for facilitating a virtual shopping transaction by ascertaining needs of a user
  • Figure 59 is an illustration of one embodiment of the present invention for facilitating a virtual shopping transaction by generating a solution based on the requirements of the user
  • Figure 60 is an illustration of one embodiment of the present invention for allowing a user to customize an item for purchase in a virtual shopping environment
  • Figure 61 is an illustration of one embodiment of the present invention for advertising in a virtual shopping environment
  • Figure 62 is an illustration of one embodiment of the present invention for advertising in a virtual shopping environment
  • Figure 63 is an illustration of yet another embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 64 is an illustration of one embodiment of the present invention for automatically generating a contract between an owner of software and a user of the software;
  • Figure 65 is an illustration of one embodiment of the present invention for automatically generating a contract between an owner of software and a user of the software
  • Figure 66 is a flowchart illustrating the content channels-related web application services in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 67 is a flowchart illustrating the customer relationship management-related web application services in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 68 is a flowchart illustrating a profile management service of the customer relationship management-related web application services in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 69 is a flowchart illustrating a profile management service of the customer relationship management-related web application services in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 70 is a flowchart illustrating the content management and publishing-related web application services in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 71 is a flowchart illustrating the education-related web application services in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 72 is a flowchart illustrating one manner of generating an educational curriculum in the education-related web application services in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 73 is a flowchart illustrating one manner of generating an educational curriculum in the education-related web application services in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 74 is a flowchart illustrating the web customer-related web application services in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 75 is a flowchart illustrating one component of the web customer-related web application services in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 76 is a flowchart illustrating the security services in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 77 is a flowchart illustrating the network services in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 78 is a flowchart illustrating the internet services in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 79 is a flowchart illustrating the client services in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 80 is a flowchart illustrating the data services in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 81 is a flowchart illustrating the integration capabilities in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 82 is a flowchart illustrating the miscellaneous services in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 83 is a flowchart illustrating the directory services in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 84 is a flowchart illustrating the management and operations services in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 85 is a flowchart illustrating the web developer services in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 86 is a flow diagram depicting considerations to be taken into consideration when identifying the core technologies to be used in an architecture
  • Figure 87 is a chart that can be utilized to determine whether to use Netcentric technology
  • Figure 88 is a chart that can be utilized to determine whether to use Client Server technology
  • Figure 89 is a chart that can be utilized to determine whether to use Host technology
  • Figure 90 illustrates an eCommerce Application Framework in a Development Architecture
  • Figure 91 illustrates the relationship between the eCommerce Application Framework, possible eCommerce Selling Models, enabling technology, and enabling eCommerce Software Packages;
  • Figure 92 illustrates a flowchart for a method for automated performance of services on a network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 93 shows an agent of the eCommerce Application Framework in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 94 illustrates a flowchart for a method for suggesting products over a network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 95 illustrates the merchandising component of the eCommerce Application Framework of the present invention
  • Figure 96 illustrates a flowchart for a method for interacting with a user over a network for personalizing a website in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 97 depicts the Relationship Management section of the eCommerce Application Framework in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 98 illustrates a conceptual personalization architecture for implementing the Relationship
  • Figure 99 illustrates a simple personalization process
  • Figure 100 is a graphical depiction of extents of personalization
  • Figure 101 illustrates a content catalog that can be used to manage an enterprise's content
  • Figure 102 illustrates an exemplary template with three Dynamic Content Areas (DC As) embedded within the template in accordance with a method of associating a rule and content to an interaction;
  • DC As Dynamic Content Areas
  • Figure 103 depicts a ShARE (Selection, Acquisition, Retention, and Extension) customer relationship model which addresses the changes in a shift to interactive marketing;
  • Figure 104 illustrates a flowchart for a method for administrating an e-Commerce system on a network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 105 illustrates components of the maintenance and administration portion of the of the eCommerce Application Framework in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 106 illustrates the Order Processing portion of the eCommerce Application Framework of the present invention
  • Figure 107 illustrates a flowchart for a method for completing a transaction over a network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 108 depicts an example flow of business capabilities needed for complete order processing on an eCommerce implementation
  • Figure 109 illustrates a flowchart for a method for electronically serving a customer over a network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 110 illustrates key customer services of the Customer Services portion of the eCommerce Application Framework
  • Figure 111 illustrates the Security component of the eCommerce Application Framework in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 112 illustrates a flowchart for a method for ensuring security of an e-Commerce system on a network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 113 shows a sample architecture in an online advertising scenario
  • Figure 114 illustrates an exemplary security architecture in an online advertising scenario
  • Figure 115 depicts a sample architecture providing direct network access to several of customers in order to share specifications, distribute engineering designs, and collaborate on works in progress;
  • Figure 116 depicts another exemplary Security Architecture in the scenario of Figure 115;
  • Figure 117 shows a sample architecture in an interactive customer support scenario;
  • Figure 118 illustrates an exemplary security architecture in a customer support scenario
  • Figure 119 depicts a sample architecture in an online banking scenario
  • Figure 120 shows an exemplary security architecture in an online banking scenario
  • Figure 121 illustrates a sample architecture in an online shopping scenario
  • Figure 122 shows an exemplary security architecture in an online shopping scenario
  • Figure 123 illustrates a flowchart for a method for manipulating data about a customer in an e- Commerce environment in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 124 illustrates the Decision Support component of the eCommerce Application Framework in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention
  • Figure 125 illustrates the Integration component of the eCommerce Application Framework in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 126 illustrates a flowchart for a method for integrating an e-Commerce component into an existing framework of an enterprise in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 127 is a representation of a bandwidth market in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 128 is a flowchart illustrating a contract negotiation in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 129 is a flowchart depicting a method for automatically identifying an amount of unused bandwidth of a user
  • Figure 130 is a flowchart illustrating another method of identifying the amount of bandwidth of a user
  • Figure 131 is a flowchart illustrating a method for exchanging money for bandwidth
  • Figure 132 is an illustration a summary of a contract negotiation process
  • Figure 133 is an illustration of a more detailed contract negotiation process
  • Figure 134 is a flow chart illustrating a method of performing clearing and settlement functions in a bandwidth market environment
  • Figure 135 illustrates in overview a system arrangement for implementing the over the counter (or other) bandwidth market system of the instant invention
  • Figure 136 is a flow chart of data processing for qualifying for execution of an order communicated from a branch order entry clerk or account executive;
  • Figure 137 illustrates data processing for executing and accounting for orders that have been qualified for execution by the order qualifying data processing of Figure 136;
  • Figure 138 is the left portion of a flow chart for the data processing of block 13714 of Figure 137 for updating the inventory cost (average price per unit of bandwidth AVCST(BWTH)) of the bandwidth BWTH and the running profit PR(BWTH) realized from the execution of each trade;
  • Figure 139 is the right portion of a flow chart for the data processing of block 13714 of Figure
  • Figure 140 is a flow chart illustrating data processing upon receipt of a new market maker quotation from the bandwidth market system
  • Figure 141 is a block diagram of a bill pay system relying on postal mailed payments
  • Figure 142 is a block diagram of a bill pay system wherein consumers pay bills using a bill pay service bureau which has the consumers as customers;
  • Figure 143 is a block diagram of a bill pay system where billers initiate automatic debits from consumers' bank accounts.
  • Figure 144 is a flow chart illustrating an open market environment for electronic content.
  • Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of one possible hardware implementation by which the present invention may be carried out. As shown, the present invention may be practiced in the context of a personal computer such as an IBM compatible personal computer, Apple Macintosh computer or
  • FIG. 1 A representative hardware environment is depicted in Figure 1, which illustrates a typical hardware configuration of a workstation in accordance with one embodiment having a central processing unit 110, such as a microprocessor, and a number of other units interconnected via a system bus 112.
  • a central processing unit 110 such as a microprocessor
  • the workstation shown in Figure 1 includes a Random Access Memory (RAM) 114, Read Only Memory (ROM) 116, an I/O adapter 118 for connecting peripheral devices such as disk storage units 120 to the bus 112, a user interface adapter 122 for connecting a keyboard 124, a mouse 126, a speaker 128, a microphone 132, and/or other user interface devices such as a touch screen (not shown) to the bus 112, communication adapter 134 for connecting the workstation to a communication network 135 (e.g., a data processing network) and a display adapter 136 for connecting the bus 112 to a display device 138.
  • a communication network 135 e.g., a data processing network
  • display adapter 136 for connecting the bus 112 to a display device 138.
  • the workstation typically has resident thereon an operating system such as the Microsoft Windows NT or Windows/95 Operating System (OS), the IBM OS/2 operating system, the MAC OS, or
  • OS Microsoft Windows NT or Windows/95 Operating System
  • IBM OS/2 operating system the IBM OS/2 operating system
  • MAC OS the MAC OS
  • OOP Object oriented programming
  • An object is a software package that contains both data and a collection of related structures and procedures. Since it contains both data and a collection of structures and procedures, it can be visualized as a self-sufficient component that does not require other additional structures, procedures or data to perform its specific task.
  • OOP therefore, views a computer program as a collection of largely autonomous components, called objects, each of which is responsible for a specific task. This concept of packaging data, structures, and procedures together in one component or module is called encapsulation.
  • OOP components are reusable software modules which present an interface that conforms to an object model and which are accessed at run-time through a component integration architecture.
  • a component integration architecture is a set of architecture mechanisms which allow software modules in different process spaces to utilize each others capabilities or functions. This is generally done by assuming a common component object model on which to build the architecture. It is worthwhile to differentiate between an object and a class of objects at this point.
  • An object is a single instance of the class of objects, which is often just called a class.
  • a class of objects can be viewed as a blueprint, from which many objects can be formed.
  • OOP allows the programmer to create an object that is a part of another object.
  • the object representing a piston engine is said to have a composition-relationship with the object representing a piston.
  • a piston engine comprises a piston, valves and many other components; the fact that a piston is an element of a piston engine can be logically and semantically represented in OOP by, two objects.
  • OOP also allows creation of an object that "depends from” another object. If there are two objects, one representing a piston engine and the other representing a piston engine wherein the piston is made of ceramic, then the relationship between the two objects is not that of composition.
  • a ceramic piston engine does not make up a piston engine. Rather it is merely one kind of piston engine that has one more limitation than the piston engine; its piston is made of ceramic.
  • the object representing the ceramic piston engine is called a derived object, and it inherits all of the aspects of the object representing the piston engine and adds further limitation or detail to it.
  • the object representing the ceramic piston engine "depends from" the object representing the piston engine. The relationship between these objects is called inheritance.
  • the object or class representing the ceramic piston engine inherits all of the aspects of the objects representing the piston engine, it inherits the thermal characteristics of a standard piston defined in the piston engine class.
  • the ceramic piston engine object overrides these ceramic specific thermal characteristics, which are typically different from those associated with a metal piston. It skips over the original and uses new functions related to ceramic pistons.
  • Different kinds of piston engines have different characteristics, but may have the same underlying functions associated with it (e.g., how many pistons in the engine, ignition sequences, lubrication, etc.).
  • a programmer would call the same functions with the same names, but each type of piston engine may have different/overriding implementations of functions behind the same name. This ability to hide different implementations of a function behind the same name is called polymorphism and it greatly simplifies communication among obj ects.
  • composition-relationship With the concepts of composition-relationship, encapsulation, inheritance and polymo ⁇ hism, an object can represent just about anything in the real world. In fact, our logical perception of the reality is the only limit on determining the kinds of things that can become objects in object- oriented software. Some typical categories are as follows:
  • Objects can represent physical objects, such as automobiles in a traffic-flow simulation, electrical components in a circuit-design program, countries in an economics model, or aircraft in an air-traffic-control system.
  • Objects can represent elements of the computer-user environment such as windows, menus or graphics objects.
  • An object can represent an inventory, such as a personnel file or a table of the latitudes and longitudes of cities.
  • An object can represent user-defined data types such as time, angles, and complex numbers, or points on the plane.
  • OOP allows the software developer to design and implement a computer program that is a model of some aspects of reality, whether that reality is a physical entity, a process, a system, or a composition of matter. Since the object can represent anything, the software developer can create an object which can be used as a component in a larger software project in the future.
  • OOP enables software developers to build objects out of other, previously built objects.
  • C++ is an OOP language that offers a fast, machine-executable code.
  • C++ is suitable for both commercial-application and systems-programming projects.
  • C++ appears to be the most popular choice among many OOP programmers, but there is a host of other OOP languages, such as Smalltalk, Common Lisp Object System (CLOS), and Eiffel. Additionally, OOP capabilities are being added to more traditional popular computer programming languages such as Pascal.
  • Encapsulation enforces data abstraction through the organization of data into small, independent objects that can communicate with each other. Encapsulation protects the data in an object from accidental damage, but allows other objects to interact with that data by calling the object's member functions and structures.
  • Class libraries are very flexible. As programs grow more complex, more programmers are forced to adopt basic solutions to basic problems over and over again.
  • a relatively new extension of the class library concept is to have a framework of class libraries. This framework is more complex and consists of significant collections of collaborating classes that capture both the small scale patterns and major mechanisms that implement the common requirements and design in a specific application domain. They were first developed to free application programmers from the chores involved in displaying menus, windows, dialog boxes, and other standard user interface elements for personal computers.
  • Frameworks also represent a change in the way programmers think about the interaction between the code they write and code written by others.
  • the programmer called libraries provided by the operating system to perform certain tasks, but basically the program executed down the page from start to finish, and the programmer was solely responsible for the flow of control. This was appropriate for printing out paychecks, calculating a mathematical table, or solving other problems with a program that executed in just one way.
  • event loop programs require programmers to write a lot of code that should not need to be written separately for every application.
  • the concept of an application framework carries the event loop concept further. Instead of dealing with all the nuts and bolts of constructing basic menus, windows, and dialog boxes and then making these things all work together, programmers using application frameworks start with working application code and basic user interface elements in place. Subsequently, they build from there by replacing some of the generic capabilities of the framework with the specific capabilities of the intended application.
  • Application frameworks reduce the total amount of code that a programmer has to write from scratch.
  • the framework is really a generic application that displays windows, supports copy and paste, and so on, the programmer can also relinquish control to a greater degree than event loop programs permit.
  • the framework code takes care of almost all event handling and flow of control, and the programmer's code is called only when the framework needs it (e.g., to create or manipulate a proprietary data structure).
  • a programmer writing a framework program not only relinquishes control to the user (as is also true for event loop programs), but also relinquishes the detailed flow of control within the program to the framework. This approach allows the creation of more complex systems that work together in interesting ways, as opposed to isolated programs, having custom code, being created over and over again for similar problems.
  • a framework basically is a collection of cooperating classes that make up a reusable design solution for a given problem domain. It typically includes objects that provide default behavior (e.g., for menus and windows), and programmers use it by inheriting some of that default behavior and overriding other behavior so that the framework calls application code at the appropriate times.
  • default behavior e.g., for menus and windows
  • Behavior versus protocol Class libraries are essentially collections of behaviors that one can call when one wants those individual behaviors in a program.
  • a framework provides not only behavior but also the protocol or set of rules that govern the ways in which behaviors can be combined, including rules for what a programmer is supposed to provide versus what the framework provides.
  • a framework embodies the way a family of related programs or pieces of software work. It represents a generic design solution that can be adapted to a variety of specific problems in a given domain. For example, a single framework can embody the way a user interface works, even though two different user interfaces created with the same framework might solve quite different interface problems.
  • a preferred embodiment of the invention utilizes HyperText Markup Language (HTML) to implement documents on the Internet together with a general-purpose secure communication protocol for a transport medium between the client and the Newco. HTTP or other protocols could be readily substituted for HTML without undue experimentation.
  • HTML HyperText Markup Language
  • HTML Hypertext Markup Language - 2.0
  • RFC 1866 Hypertext Markup Language - 2.0
  • H Frystyk
  • T. Berners-Lee J. Gettys
  • J.C. Mogul "Hypertext Transfer Protocol - HTTP/1.1: HTTP Working Group Internet Draft” (May 2, 1996).
  • HTML is a simple data format used to create hypertext documents that are portable from one platform to another.
  • HTML documents are SGML documents with generic semantics that are appropriate for representing information from a wide range of domains. HTML has been in use by the World-Wide Web global information initiative since 1990. HTML is an application of ISO Standard 8879; 1986 Information Processing Text and Office Systems; Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML).
  • HTML has been the dominant technology used in development of Web-based solutions.
  • HTML has proven to be inadequate in the following areas: • Poor performance;
  • UI User Interface
  • Custom “widgets” e.g., real-time stock tickers, animated icons, etc.
  • client-side performance is improved.
  • Java supports the notion of client-side validation, offloading appropriate processing onto the client for improved performance.
  • Dynamic, real-time Web pages can be created. Using the above-mentioned custom UI components, dynamic Web pages can also be created.
  • Sun's Java language has emerged as an industry-recognized language for "programming the Internet.”
  • Sun defines Java as: "a simple, object-oriented, distributed, inte ⁇ reted, robust, secure, architecture-neutral, portable, high-performance, multithreaded, dynamic, buzzword- compliant, general-pu ⁇ ose programming language.
  • Java supports programming for the Internet in the form of platform-independent Java applets.”
  • Java applets are small, specialized applications that comply with Sun's Java Application Programming Interface (API) allowing developers to add "interactive content” to Web documents (e.g., simple animations, page adornments, basic games, etc.).
  • API Java Application Programming Interface
  • Applets execute within a Java-compatible browser (e.g., Netscape Navigator) by copying code from the server to client. From a language standpoint, Java's core feature set is based on C++. Sun's Java literature states that Java is basically, "C++ with extensions from Objective C for more dynamic method resolution.”
  • ActiveX includes tools for developing animation, 3-D virtual reality, video and other multimedia content.
  • the tools use Internet standards, work on multiple platforms, and are being supported by over 100 companies.
  • the group's building blocks are called ActiveX Controls, small, fast components that enable developers to embed parts of software in hypertext markup language (HTML) pages.
  • ActiveX Controls work with a variety of programming languages including Microsoft Visual C++, Borland Delphi, Microsoft Visual Basic programming system and, in the future, Microsoft's development tool for Java, code named "Jakarta.”
  • ActiveX Technologies also includes ActiveX
  • Server Framework allowing developers to create server applications.
  • ActiveX could be substituted for JAVA without undue experimentation to practice the invention.
  • Figure 2 illustrates an illustrative embodiment of a system 200 for combined industry supply management between one or multiple manufacturers 202 and one or many service providers 204 and/or vendors and/or resellers, etc.
  • service providers for combined industry supply management between one or multiple manufacturers 202 and one or many service providers 204 and/or vendors and/or resellers, etc.
  • service providers for clarity, the majority of the following discussion will discuss service providers, but it should be kept in mind that the present invention will operate equally well with vendors, resellers, etc.
  • the present invention manages the supply chain between the manufacturer(s) and service provider(s).
  • the industry supply management is centralized in an eCommerce Market Space 206, which includes components that manage end-to-end supply chain information such as demand planning, order fulfillment, scheduling, inventory, etc.
  • some of the benefits of the present invention include: economies of scale are enabled, rationalization of procurement and inventory, rationalization of distribution and logistics facilities, and facilitation of the development of an industry-wide standard. More benefits will be set forth below in the discussion of Figure 4.
  • the group of manufacturers of such a system each has a common logistics profile and limitations.
  • the manufacturers may focus on production core competence and would also be responsible for strategic and tactical optimization of network assets.
  • the group of service providers have common network profiles.
  • the service providers may focus on customers, new businesses and channels, etc. Further, under the system of the present invention, the service providers would be allowed to migrate from operations focus to strategic technology and market management.
  • the components may include some or all of an installation management component 208, a demand and supply component 210, an order management component 212, a network asset management component 214, a maintenance and service component 216, a procurement and recovered inventory component 218, and/or a distribution and logistics component 220.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart for a process 300 for affording a network-based supply chain framework in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • Installation of a service is managed utilizing a network in operation 302.
  • Demand and supply of manufacturer offerings are planned utilizing the network in operation 304 and orders for the manufacturer offerings are also managed utilizing the network in operation 306.
  • the network is also utilized to manage network assets including providing maintenance and service for the network assets utilizing the network (see operations 308 and 310).
  • Figure 4 is a chart 400 illustrating the relations between benefit areas and components of the e-
  • the benefit areas include a revenue enhancement benefit area 402, a cost reduction benefit area 404, and a capital reduction benefit area 406.
  • Each benefit area includes a number of associated benefits.
  • Illustrative benefits associated with revenue enhancement 402 include: (a) faster time to site integration; (b) better on-line network performance; (c) rapid integration of acquisition; and (d) faster order to cash.
  • Illustrative benefits associated with cost reduction 404 include: (a) duplication reduction; (b) distribution facility rationalization; (c) procurement rationalization; (d) simplified processes; and (e) transportation rationalization.
  • Illustrative benefits associated with capital reduction 406 include:
  • Figure 4 also includes a plurality of columns for various components of the present invention. These columns may include an Installation Management component column 408, a Demand and Supply Planning component column 410, an Order Management component column 412, a
  • Network Asset Management component column 414 and a Maintenance and Service component column 416.
  • the Installation Management component may include the following benefits to the service provider by looking at Figure 4 in closer detail: faster time to site integration, rapid integration of acquisition, duplication reduction, procurement rationalization, transportation rationalization, and reduced inventories.
  • the Installation Management component may also include the following benefits to the manufacturer: duplication reduction, procurement rationalization, transportation rationalization, and reduced inventories.
  • benefits for the service provider under the Demand and Supply Planning component may include the following: rapid integration of acquisition, duplication reduction, distribution facility rationalization, procurement rationalization, reduced inventories, and manufacturing capacity utilization.
  • benefits for the manufacturer under the Demand and Supply Planning component in this illustrative embodiment of the present invention may include the following: duplication reduction, distribution facility rationalization, reduced inventories, and manufacturing capacity utilization.
  • benefits for the service provider may include the following (as illustrated in Figure 4): duplication reduction, and procurement rationalization.
  • Benefits for the manufacturer under the Order Management component in this illustrative embodiment of the present invention may include: faster order to cash, duplication reduction, simplified processes, and manufacturing capacity utilization.
  • benefits for the service provider for the Network Asset Management component may include: better on-line network performance, rapid integration of acquisition, and simplified processes.
  • benefits for the service provider under the Maintenance and Service component may include: better on-line network performance, and distribution facility rationalization.
  • Benefits for the manufacturer under the Maintenance and Service component may include: duplication reduction, and distribution facility rationalization.
  • Figure 5 is a schematic illustration of the relationship between areas of core competence of both operators and manufacturers for creating an environment for new business relationships in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • core competencies of a service provider 502 may include: new customer acquisitions, new customer segmentation strategy, technology life cycle management, and new service offerings.
  • Core competencies of a manufacturer 504 may include: focus on managing the customer relationship, focus on managing production capacity, focus on research and development ("R&D"), and focus on market coverage roll out.
  • the network may be planned based on a capability, such as capacity and features. Availability of sites may be synchronized with the network roll out and network assets may be jointly optimized.
  • the creating of an environment for new business relationships with respect to the service provider 506 provides an open access channel for new service offerings from the manufacturer so that focus may be moved on a platform release strategy in line with service offerings.
  • the environment for new business relationships with respect to the manufacturer 508 may allows for the gaining of the potential to reposition the network as a platform for their solutions pipeline where the ability for the manufacturer to build strategic alliances with solution integrators becomes a critical differentiator.
  • Figure 6 illustrates some of the components in the eCommerce Market Space and illustrative capabilities of the components.
  • Figure 7 illustrates a flowchart for a methodology 700 for installation management utilizing a network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • information is received from at least one service provider utilizing a network. This information includes information relating to the service provided by the service provider. Also received utilizing the network is information from at least one manufacturer in operation 704. This information includes information relating to manufacturer offerings. The service is matched in operation 706 to the manufacturer offerings and the service and manufacturer offerings information are utilized to manage installations in operation 708.
  • collaboration between the matched service provider and the manufacturer may also be managed.
  • the management of collaboration may include facilitating the transmitting of information between the matched service provider and the manufacturer utilizing the network.
  • a collaborative planning tool may be provided for managing the collaboration between the matched service provider and the manufacturer.
  • milestone based project planning may be facilitated between the matched service provider and the manufacturer.
  • the manufacturer offerings of the matched manufacturer may be displayed to the matched service provider and services provided by the matched service provider may be displayed to the matched manufacturer utilizing the network.
  • the information of the manufacturer may include information relating to the availability of the manufacturer offerings.
  • the service provider may be notified of the availability of the manufacturer offerings that match the service installation information.
  • a method for use in cooperation with a computer having memory in a Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) for generating an optimized transition plan for the placement of Self-Healing Rings (SHR) and the routing of point-to-point demand in accordance with projected customer demand over a selected multi-period time interval.
  • SONET Synchronous Optical Network
  • SONET is both a standard and a set of specifications for building high speed, digital communications networks that run over fiberoptic cables while interfacing with existing electrical protocols and asynchronous transmission equipment.
  • Fiberoptics has revolutionized telecommunications in view of the large bandwidth availability (currently estimated in the hundreds of gigabits per second) which continues to increase with technological advances such as wave-division multiplexing and similar developments in light polarization and dispersion- shifted fibers.
  • SONET specifies a digital hierarchy based on Optical Carrier (OC) rather than electrical levels.
  • SONET does define Synchronous Transport Signals (STS), however, which are electrical interfaces used as the multiplexing mechanisms within SONET Network Elements (NE).
  • STS Synchronous Transport Signals
  • NE SONET Network Elements
  • STS-ls are electrical interfaces used as the multiplexing mechanisms within SONET Network Elements (NE).
  • Network elements combine STS-ls as needed up to STS-N where N is the number of STS-ls, then convert the total electrical multiplex to an optical carrier and transmit it over optical fiber.
  • SONET is multiplexed at the byte level, allowing services to be dynamically placed into the broadband STS for transport.
  • the basic SONET of 64 Kbps per byte is the same speed as the conceptual voice channel DSO allowing SONET to easily integrate all currently used digital services into the optical hierarchy.
  • SONET allows for the direct multiplexing of current network services, such as DSl, DSIC, DS2, and DS3 into the synchronous payload of STS- 1.
  • current network services such as DSl, DSIC, DS2, and DS3
  • DSl and DS2 signal rates were developed based on existing transmission systems. For example, the DSl and DS2 signal rates
  • the asynchronous DS3 multiplexing standard was implemented in the days when most networks utilized analog technology and the few digital systems in existence generated their own clocking systems.
  • the transmission specifications for DS 1 signals specify that the bit rate is 1.544 million bits per second, plus or minus 75 bps. To compensate for this range, additional bits must therefore be "stuffed" into each DSl signal before they are multiplexed to a higher rate.
  • bit stuffing supports independently clocked input signals
  • it also makes it nearly impossible to locate individual DSl or DSO channels within a DS3 bit stream.
  • a DS3 signal would need to first be demultiplexed through Ml 3 components into twenty-eight DSls before the channels could be switched or rearranged.
  • the process of adding or deleting channels is expensive.
  • the SONET standard defines a viable alternative which supports greater capacity and efficiency.
  • the basic signal transmission rate— STS-1-- operates at 51.84 million bits per second.
  • AN STS-1 can carry 28 DSl signals or one asynchronous DS3. STS-1 signals are then multiplexed to produce higher bit rates-
  • the other term used to define the SONET signal levels is optical carrier.
  • the bit rates are the same in each case, so the bit rate of the STS-1 equals the bit rate of the OC-1.
  • the only difference is the type of signal that is being referenced. For example, if the signal is in an electrical format, it is referred to as an STS. Similarly, if the signal is in an optical format—compatible with a fiber medium— it is referred to as an OC.
  • the SONET standards define an alternative to asynchronous DS3 multiplexing, which describes how to divided STS signals into lower speed increments, i.e. virtual tributaries.
  • the major advantage of synchronous multiplexing is that when DSl and other low-speed channels are multiplexed directly into the STS format, the lower speed channels can be identified and reconfigured for drop-and-insert. As a result, the drop-and-insert process can be done simpler with less expense of hardware then the back-to-back Ml 3 multiplexers used in asynchronous multiplexing.
  • a unidirectional ring routes service traffic in only one direction of the ring.
  • a bidirectional ring routes the components of a duplex circuit in opposite directions on the ring.
  • traffic is protected on a per path basis, and the switching is based on the health of each individual path where it exits the ring.
  • switching is based on the health of the line between each pair of nodes.
  • the method and system of this example of the present invention utilizes selected mixed-integer programs to efficiently model the information obtained during the iterative steps of the present invention in cooperation with a computer having sufficient memory.
  • Such steps include the determination of nodes within the SONET under review, identification of the number of periods within the selected time interval, the determination of demand between nodes over this time period, preferably in units of DS3, and the determination of discounted add-drop costs for a plurality of selected Add/Drop Multiplexers (ADM's) and related components based upon projected availability. If the number of nodes under review is small, once this information is determined, then the optimized discounted fixed and interconnection costs for this plurality of ADM's may be determined in accordance with a first selected mixed integer program. An electrical signal may thereafter be generated for receipt by the computer memory corresponding to a set of logical self-healing rings with preliminary, albeit detailed, routing information. In contrast, when the number of nodes under review is large, a heuristic approach is required.
  • the user is required to load traffic to existing rings by repetitively identifying the smallest point-to-point demand between nodes on existing rings and assigning this demand to the rings until no demand left may be routed. Thereafter, a proposed ring is created by identifying the greatest unsatisfied point-to-point demand between two adjacent nodes and assigning the nodes to the ring.
  • new proposed rings may either be randomly generated until all demand has been satisfied or, in the alternative, existing rings may be expanded. If the latter step is selected, expansion is carried out by repetitively calculating the largest unsatisfied demand of neighbor nodes for each of the proposed rings and identifying a plurality of neighbor nodes having the greatest unsatisfied demand. At that point, a determination may be made regarding the deficit of each of the proposed rings as well as the identification of a plurality of proposed rings with the greatest deficit.
  • one of the rings with the greatest deficit may be assigned to one of the neighbor nodes and inter-ring traffic may be loaded until all demand has been routed. Traffic is loaded through a process of repetitively identifying demand that can be routed the greatest distance through the smallest number of proposed rings and assigning that demand accordingly.
  • an electrical signal is summarily generated also for receipt by said computer memory and corresponding to a set of logical self-healing rings with preliminary routing information.
  • the placement of physical self- healing rings and optimal traffic routing may thereafter be determined by retrieving the logical SHR and preliminary routing information from memory and maximizing the percentage of demand covered and minimizing the total inter-ring traffic cost. This is accomplished through modeling the same in accordance with yet another mixed integer program and generating a corresponding electrical signal for receipt by said computer memory.
  • Figure 8 illustrates a flowchart for a process 800 for demand and supply planning utilizing a network where information from one or more service providers relating to demand of the service providers is received utilizing the network in operation 802. Received in operation 804 utilizing the network is information from one or more manufacturers relating to the available supply of manufacturer offerings. The supply and demand for manufacturer offerings are compared to one another in operation 806 and this comparison is used in operation 808 to plan future supply and demand for the manufacturer offerings.
  • collaborative forecasting may also be facilitated between service providers and manufacturers utilizing the network.
  • collaborative network roll-out and planning utilizing the network may be facilitated between service providers and manufacturers.
  • a roll-out planning tool may be provided for facilitating collaborative network roll-out and planning between the service providers and the manufacturers utilizing the network.
  • the supply of manufacturer offerings between manufacturers and service providers may be coordinated utilizing the network.
  • a supply chain planning tool may be provided for coordinating the supply of manufacturer offerings between the manufacturers and the service providers utilizing the network.
  • collaborative capacity planning may also be facilitated between service providers and manufacturers utilizing the network.
  • a production planning tool may be provided for facilitating the collaborative capacity planning.
  • reverse inventory management may be conducted between the at least one service provider and the at least one manufacturer utilizing the network. Also, the sharing of technology between service providers and manufacturers may be facilitated utilizing the network.
  • One exemplary embodiment of the present invention is adapted primarily for monitoring and controlling customer power demand in a utility such as electric, gas, and water.
  • this embodiment of the present invention is designed for the collection and transmission of user demand requirements and the control of user demand for utility services.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,434 discloses a remote condition reporting system including a microprocessor with memory and a firmware program, telephone dialing equipment, a clock, and a plurality of inputs from meter readings and the outputs of sensors. The system initiates telephone calls to the utility company central offices at predetermined intervals to report utility usage including time of day power usage metering.
  • This embodiment of the present invention includes a monitoring and control system in which communication occurs through a fully distributed digital telecommunications switch without a centralized routing and handling facility.
  • the distribution network is deployable to large numbers of residential and commercial customers for bi-directional real-time communication. While initially designed for use with an electric power utility, the invention is applicable in monitoring and controlling demand for other utilities such as gas or water, as well as for data services.
  • a controlled load management and feedback system includes a power company central computer facility, a plurality of home monitoring and control networks, and one or more wide band distribution networks interconnecting home monitoring and control networks and the central computer facility.
  • the distribution networks connect to one or more central computer systems through substation gateways via high-speed digital lines.
  • the home monitoring and control network is located and operated within the power utility customer's home and includes electrical control, monitoring, and measurement devices which allow the utility to monitor electrical consumption in real time, assist the customer in optimizing electrical power consumption, and communicate real-time consumption and changes in consumption to the power utility via the distribution network. Further, the home network permits automatic meter reading and remote service disconnect and reconnect.
  • the distribution network includes a wire-based (hybrid fiber/coaxial cable) distribution system and an intelligent utility unit (IUU), which interfaces with the home network.
  • the IUU controls, communicates, and configures devices within the home network, and communicates information from the home network back to the utility central computer via the distribution system.
  • the distribution network is configured in cells or small hubs which support 250-2,000 users at a time.
  • the utility central computer includes a T-based communication digital backbone network which communicates with a distribution network through gateways typically located within a power substation.
  • the backbone network consolidates traffic from different substations and routes the traffic to the utility host computer, thus providing access to every user on the system.
  • the host computer is able to forecast trends and predict when demand will exceed supply, thus allowing corrective action to be taken.
  • the computer can also generate reports for utility management and consumers showing usage and savings through demand management.
  • Figure 9 illustrates a flowchart for a methodology 900 for managing orders in a network-based supply chain in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • a request for an order is received from a service provider in operation 902
  • the request is subsequently transmitted to one or more manufacturers in operation 904.
  • a network is utilized in operation
  • the order request may be received from the service provider utilizing the network.
  • the requested order may be transmitted to the at least one manufacture utilizing the network.
  • an order tracking tool may be provided from tracking the completion of the order.
  • the network may also be utilized to receive information from suppliers of the manufacturer relating to the status of delivering supplies to the manufacturer as well as to track the progress in supplying the manufacturer based on the information received from the at least one supplier.
  • the periodic progress reports may also include information relating to the tracking of the at least one supplier.
  • a network operations link may be provided for linking to the at least one service provider and the at least one manufacturer.
  • An illustrative embodiment of the present invention unitarily and automatically manages ordering processes based on order information supplied by a particular department or section.
  • an order management system for automatically placing an order with one of a plurality of suppliers when order information is input by one of a plurality of orderers.
  • this embodiment of the present invention includes a terminal unit provided to each of the orderers.
  • the terminal unit includes means for inputting the order information, which is then transmitted to a communication network.
  • a central management unit receives the order information from the terminal unit through the communication network.
  • the central management unit includes collection processing means for managing order history information and section information with respect to each orderer.
  • the collection processing means calculates a total cost of previous orders based on the order history information of one of the orderers sending the order information and order information sent from the one of the orderers.
  • the central management unit also includes order permission means for permitting an execution of an ordering process when the calculated total of the previously ordered costs is within a budget of the orderer.
  • the budget may be included in the section information.
  • each department or section placing an order can be prevented from exceeding their budget.
  • the central management unit may further include a supplier selecting process for calculating a total cost of previously received order for each of the suppliers based on the order history information and the order information, and for selecting one of the suppliers whose total cost of previously received orders is within an order limit. Thus, exceeding the order limit previously set to each of the suppliers is prevented.
  • the supplier selecting process may select one of the suppliers based on the order history information so that each of the suppliers equally receives orders.
  • the supplier selecting process manages supplier information including an order prohibition flag which represents a prohibition of placing an order with a supplier indicated by the order prohibition flag.
  • the supplier selecting process selects one of the suppliers offering the lowest price when an item to be ordered is supplied by a plurality of suppliers.
  • the order management system may further comprise an ordering process for placing an order through the communication network with the suppliers based on the order information.
  • an order management process automatically places an order with one of a plurality of suppliers when order information is input by one of a plurality of orderers.
  • the order management process is performed in an order management system which has a plurality of terminal units provided to the respective orderers and a central management unit connected to each of the terminal units.
  • order information from one of the terminal units us sent to the central management unit.
  • a total cost of previous orders is calculated based on order history information of one of the orderers sending the order information and order information sent from the one of orderers by managing the order history information and section information with respect to each of the orderers.
  • An execution of an ordering process is permitted when the calculated total cost of previous orders is within a budget of the orderer. The budget may be included in the section information.
  • the order management process may include calculating a total cost of previously received orders for each of the suppliers based on the order history information and the order information as well as selecting one of the suppliers whose calculated total cost of previously received orders is within an order limit.
  • exceeding the order limit previously set to each of the suppliers can be prevented.
  • the order management process may further include selecting the one of the suppliers based on the order history information so that each of the suppliers equally receives orders.
  • an order to be placed with a supplier may be prohibited by indication by an order prohibition flag included in supplier information.
  • one of the suppliers offering the lowest price may be selected when an item to be ordered is supplied by a plurality of suppliers.
  • the order management process may further include automatically placing an order with the suppliers based on the order information through a communication network connecting the central management unit to each of the suppliers. It should be noted that the order management process may be performed by a combination of a general pu ⁇ ose computer and a processor readable medium such as a memory provided in the computer or a CD-ROM, disk, tape, etc. which stores program information used by the computer.
  • Figure 10 illustrates a flowchart for a process 1000 for managing assets in a network-based supply chain in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • information is received information from at least one service provider in operation 1002. This information includes information relating to present network assets of the service provider. Information is also received utilizing the network from at least one manufacturer in operation
  • the information from the manufacturers includes information relating to present network assets of the manufacturers.
  • a determination is made for optimal network assets needed for the service provider and manufacturer based on the present network assets of service provider and the manufacturer. Based on this determination, the optimizing of the network assets is managed in operation 1008.
  • the life cycle of network assets of the service providers and the manufacturers may also be managed utilizing the network.
  • a life cycle management model may be utilized for managing the life cycle of the network assets.
  • the sharing of technology between the service providers and the manufacturers may be facilitated utilizing the network utilizing the network.
  • network assets of the service providers and the manufacturers may be tracked utilizing the network.
  • the network assets may be tracked according to: growth of the network asset, capacity of the network asset, technological level of the network asset, and/or amount of the network asset.
  • an asset tracking tool may be utilized for tracking the network assets.
  • the roll-out of services provided by the service providers and manufacturer offerings provided by the manufacturers may be managed utilizing the network based on the received present network asset information.
  • a roll-out planning tool may be utilized for managing the roll-out of services provided by the service providers and manufacturer offerings provided by the manufacturers.
  • Figure 11 illustrates a flowchart for a methodology 1100 for providing maintenance and service in a network-based supply chain in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
  • operation 1102 one or more notices recommended maintenance and service are received utilizing a network from at one or more manufacturers.
  • operation 1104 one or more requests for maintenance and service are received utilizing the network from one or more service providers.
  • Maintenance and service is scheduled in operation 1106 utilizing the notices and the requests. The schedule is transmitted to the manufacturers and the service providers utilizing the network in operation 1108.
  • the availability of the manufacturers to perform maintenance and service may be monitored utilizing the network.
  • the manufacturers are scheduled to perform maintenance and service based on their availability.
  • the progress of the manufacturers in completing scheduled maintenance and service may be monitored utilizing the network.
  • the schedule may then be adjusted according to the progress of the manufacturers.
  • the adjusted schedule is then transmitted utilizing the network to the manufacturers and the service providers.
  • a scheduling and planning tool may be provided for scheduling maintenance and service.
  • a network tracking interface may be provided for monitoring the progress of the manufacturers in completing scheduled maintenance and service.
  • the network may comprise a wide-area network.
  • AAA Authentication, Authorization, Addressing
  • ADSL Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line AIN Advanced Intelligent Networks
  • AMA Automatic Message Accounting
  • ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode
  • BIM Business Integration Methodology BSS Business Support System
  • CDR Call Detail Record
  • DTMF Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency
  • GSM Global System for Mobile Communications
  • IP Internet Protocol
  • IP Internet Protocol
  • DECNET DECNET
  • AppleTALK OSI
  • SNA SNA
  • next generation networks should also have the ability to dynamically reconfigure the network so that it can guarantee a predetermined amount of bandwidth for the requested quality of service (QOS).
  • QOS quality of service
  • the concept is to provide network managers with complete “command and control” over the entire network's infrastructure— not just tell them when a failure has occurred.
  • ATM asynchronous transfer mode
  • Text files and images can be sent over existing packet-based networks because the delivery of this information is not time critical.
  • the new traffic (voice and video) is delivery time sensitive- variable or excessive latency will degrade the quality of service and can render this information worthless.
  • Such networks are generally point- to-point in nature in that a packet from a single source is directed to a single destination by an address attached to the packet. The network responds to the packet address by connecting the packet to the appropriate destination.
  • Packet switching networks are also used which combine burst type data with the more continuous types of information such as voice, high quality audio, and motion video.
  • Commercialization of voice, video and audio transmission makes it desirable to be able to connect packets to multiple destinations, called packet broadcasting.
  • a broadcast video service such as pay-per-view television involves a single source of video packets, each of which is directed to multiple video receivers.
  • conferencing capabilities for voice communication also require single source to multiple destination transmission.
  • One prior packet broadcast arrangement comprises a network consisting of a packet duplication arrangement followed by a packet routing arrangement. As a broadcast packet enters this network, packet copies are made in the packet duplicating arrangement until as many copies exist as there are destinations for the packet. A translation table look up is then performed at the duplication arrangement outputs for each of the packet copies to provide a different, single destination address for each copy. All of the packet copies with their new packet addresses are then applied to the packet routing arrangement, which connects them to the appropriate network output ports.
  • packets in the form of units of data are transmitted from a source—such as a user terminal, computer, application program within a computer, or other data handling or data communication device—to a destination, which may be simply another data handling or data communication device of the same character.
  • the devices themselves typically are referred to as users, in the context of the network.
  • Blocks or frames of data are transmitted over a link along a path between nodes of the network.
  • Each block consists of a packet together with control information in the form of a header and a trailer which are added to the packet as it exits the respective node.
  • the header typically contains, in addition to the destination address field, a number of subfields such as operation code, source address, sequence number, and length code.
  • the trailer is typically a technique for generating redundancy checks, such as a cyclic redundancy code for detecting errors.
  • the receiving node strips off the control information, performs the required synchronization and error detection, and reinserts the control information onto the departing packet.
  • Packet switching arose, in part, to fulfill the need for low cost data communications in networks developed to allow access to host computers.
  • Special pu ⁇ ose computers designated as communication processors have been developed to offload the communication handling tasks which were formerly required of the host.
  • the communication processor is adapted to interface with the host and to route packets along the network; consequently, such a processor is often simply called a packet switch.
  • Data concentrators have also been developed to interface with hosts and to route packets along the network. In essence, data concentrators serve to switch a number of lightly used links onto a smaller number of more heavily used links. They are often used in conjunction with, and ahead of, the packet switch.
  • packet-switched data transmission is accomplished via predetermined end-to-end paths through the network, in which user packets associated with a great number of users share link and switch facilities as the packets travel over the network.
  • the packets may require storage at nodes between transmission links of the network until they may be forwarded along the respective outgoing link for the overall path.
  • connectionless transmission another mode of packet-switched data transmission, no initial connection is required for a data path through the network. In this mode, individual datagrams carrying a destination address are routed through the network from source to destination via intermediate nodes, and do not necessarily arrive in the order in which they were transmitted.
  • the widely-used Telenet public packet switching network routes data using a two-level hierarchy.
  • the hierarchy comprises a long distance-spanning backbone network with a multiplicity of nodes or hubs, each of which utilizes a cluster of backbone switches; and smaller geographic area networks with backbone trunks, access lines and clustered lower level switches connected to each hub.
  • Packet-switched data is transmitted through the network via VCs, using CCITT (International Consultative Committee of the International Telecommunications Union) X.75 protocol, which is a compatible enhancement of X.25 protocol.
  • CCITT International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee of the International Telecommunications Union
  • X.25 is an interface organized as a three-layered architecture for connecting data terminals, computers, and other user systems or devices, generally refereed to as data terminal equipment (DTE), to a packet-switched network through data circuit terminating equipment (DCE) utilized to control the DTE's access to the network.
  • DTE data terminal equipment
  • DCE data circuit terminating equipment
  • DCEs of the network is routinely handled by the network operator typically using techniques other than X.25, communication between the individual user system and the respective DCE with which it interfaces to the network is governed by the X.25 or similar protocol.
  • X.25 establishes procedures for congestion control among users, as well as call setup (or connect) and call clearing (or disconnect) for individual users, handling of enors, and various other packet transmission services within the DTE-DCE interface.
  • X.25 is employed for virtual circuit (VC) connections, including the call setup, data transfer, and call clearing phases.
  • Call setup between DTEs connected to the network is established by one DTE issuing an X.25 call-request packet to the related DCE, the packet containing the channel number for the logical connections, the calling and called DTE addresses, parameters specifying the call characteristics, and the data.
  • the destination DCE issues an incoming call packet, which is of the same general format as the call-request packet, to the destination DTE, the latter replying with a call-accepted packet.
  • the calling DCE issues a call-connected packet to its related DTE.
  • the data transfer phase may begin by delivery of data packets.
  • Prospective routing paths in the network are initially determined by a network control center, which then transmits these predetermined paths to the backbone switches as routing tables consisting of primary and secondary choices of available links from each hub.
  • the secondary choices are viable only in the event of primary link failures, and the specific secondary link selection is a local decision at the respective hub based principally on current or recent traffic congestion patterns.
  • the unavailability of an outgoing link from a hub at the time of the call setup effects a clearing back of the VC for the sought call to the preceding hub.
  • An alternative link is then selected by that hub, or, if none is available there, the VC circuit is again cleared back to the next preceding hub, and so forth, until an available path is uncovered from the routing tables.
  • Messages concerning link and/or hub failures are communicated immediately to the network control center, and that information is dispatched to the rest of the network by the center.
  • the data processing devices reside in a plurality of cards or boards containing printed circuits or integrated circuits for performing the various functions of the respective device in combination with the system software.
  • the cards are inserted into designated slots in cages within a console, with backplane access to a data bus for communication with one another or to other devices in the network.
  • the VME bus is presently the most popular 16/32-bit backplane bus. References from time to time herein to cards or boards will be understood to mean the various devices embodied in such cards or boards.
  • PDNs public data networks
  • Many public data networks offer little or no security for communications between users and hosts or other data processing devices within the network, in keeping with the "public pu ⁇ ose" of the network and the desire for accessibility by a large number of actual and prospective users. Where restrictions on access are necessary or desirable, it is customary to assign each authorized user an identification (ID) number or a password, or both, which must be used to gain access to the host. More elaborate security measures are necessary where access may be had to highly confidential data.
  • ID identification
  • Some data communication networks involve a variety of different customers each of whom makes available a host and one or more databases to its users, and may place a level of security on its database which differs from the level placed by other customers on their respective hosts and databases. In those instances, it is customary to make the host responsible for security and access to itself and its associated database. Thus, a user might have access to certain destinations in the network without restriction, but no access to other destinations.
  • MNS Managed Networked Services
  • the present invention's overall approach to implementing the NM/MNS market offering is two fold.
  • the current opportunity that presents itself is MNS. While this market opportunity for clients is large, they need assistance in understanding data network management - for years they have been solely focused on voice. Additionally, they need to move into this market quickly in order to maintain and grow revenue.
  • the present invention includes a set of assets consisting primarily of job aids and software that can greatly reduce our clients lead time for service implementation.
  • the present invention assists service providers by providing them the tools to better manage their carrier data networks - the packet switched networks of the future.
  • the present invention significantly enhances and scales MNS assets to address carrier network management in a data networking world.
  • This solution template enables the convergence of circuit and packet switching network control centers and workforces.
  • the present invention's market offering suggests companies take a graduated approach to delivering MNS.
  • One end of the continuum consists of MNS for cunent network services, including leased lines, frame relay, and X.25. On the far end is outsourced MNS characterized by long-term contracts, involving hundreds of millions of dollars.
  • the NM/MNS market offering is proposing our clients go beyond the management of the router and the WAN, and into the world of the local area network (LAN), even as far as the desktop and business applications. Service providers have been intimidated by these propositions in the past, since management of the LAN and its equipment and applications has clearly not been their forte.
  • Business Strategy - Companies may look to the present invention for assistance in creating a business strategy for entering the MNS market.
  • this type of engagement will defines a company's target market for MNS (small, mid-market, large) and defines the service offerings that are best suited for the company to offer.
  • Design and Implementation - Companies may be ready to move to the design and implementation phases of creating an MNS capability.
  • the present invention will confirm that their network meets the requirements to provide the service, then assist the client in the designing and implementing an appropriate solution suite.
  • NM/MNS In an effort to clearly communicate exactly how we define NM/MNS we have created an online catalog of services.
  • the present invention's solution is a continuous cycle that begins with the four major processes associated with NM/MNS. These processes drive the technology and the people components of the solution. Within each of these processes are a number of core functions and sub-functions.
  • the MNS Online Catalog contains all of this information, including the supporting process, technology and organizational solutions for each function.
  • MNSIS Managed Networked Services Integrated Solution
  • each process should be performed in order to provide a complete NM/MNS solution.
  • each process has a number of associated functions and sub-functions that provide the complete picture of the process.
  • the major functions associated with each process are as follows.
  • the main goal of the technology solution is to provide access to network information to make informed decisions.
  • the present invention includes three layers of management: element management, information services management and presentation management. Every action starts with an incident. Processing is tailored to handling the incident with technology that responds to the unique characteristics of each incident.
  • the element manager communicates with the network elements to receive alarms and alerts through trapping and polling techniques.
  • the element manager is the layer where the primary data reduction functions reside. At this layer, events received at the element manager will be filtered, aggregated and correlated to further isolate problems within the network. Information that is deemed critical to monitor and manage the network is translated into a standard object format and forwarded to the Information Services Manager.
  • An element manager can be, but is not necessarily, software which adheres to open standards such as the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and the Object Management Group's (OMG) Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA).
  • SNMP Simple Network Management Protocol
  • OMG Object Management Group's
  • CORBA Common Object Request Broker Architecture
  • the information services manager provides the data management and data communications between element managers and presentation managers. All information forwarded from the element managers is utilized by the information services manager to provide information to the network operators.
  • the information services manager adheres to CORBA standards to provide ubiquitous information access via an Object Request Broker (ORB).
  • ORB allows the information services manager to share management information stored in distributed databases.
  • the information services manager stores critical management information into operational (real-time) and analytical (historical) distributed databases. These databases provide common data storage so that new products can be easily inserted into the management environment. For example, if an event is received at an element manager that is deemed critical to display to a network user, the information services manager will store a copy of the alarm in the operational database and then forward the alarm to the appropriate network operator.
  • the databases includes online manuals for administrative pmposes, as well as for the maintenance specialists to access element specific information.
  • the databases also provide procedures, policies and computer based training to network users.
  • the information services manager provides requested information (real-time and historical) to the network users via the presentation manager.
  • the presentation manager performs the function its name implies: the presentation of the information to an end user. Because different locations and job functions require access to different types of information, there are at least two types of display methods. The first is for graphic intensive presentations and the second is for nomadic use, such as field technicians. The first environment requires a graphic intensive display, such as those provided by X-Windows/MOTIF. The second environment is potentially bandwidth poor where dial-up or wireless access may be used along with more traditional LAN access. This is also where browser technology is employed.
  • the people vision for the NM/MNS include an organization model for customer service support, the corresponding roles and responsibilities for this organization model and a conceptual design for workforce transformation to packet switching.
  • Customer service support provides a single point of contact that is customer focused. This single point of contact provides technical expertise in resolving customer incidents, troubles and requests. Generally a three tiered support structure is optimal for satisfying customer service needs. Each tier, or level, possesses an increasing level of skill, with tasks and responsibilities distributed accordingly. Such a structure is as follows:
  • Tier 1 - typically has a broad set of technical skills and is the first level of support to the customer. Typically this group is responsible for resolving 60-70 percent of the opened problems.
  • Tier 2 - are technical experts and field support personnel who may specialize in specific areas. Typically this group is responsible for resolving 30-40 percent of the opened problems.
  • Tier 3 - are considered solution experts and often consist of hardware vendors, software vendors or custom application development / maintenance teams (in- depth skills needed to investigate and resolve difficult problems within their area of expertise). They are the last resort for solving the most difficult problems.
  • this group is responsible for resolving 5 percent or fewer of the opened problems.
  • the above model is generally referred to as the Skilled Model because personnel at all three tiers are highly skilled. This model generally creates a high percentage of calls resolved on the first call.
  • Other approaches include:
  • Tier 1 only logs calls, they do not resolve calls.
  • One advantage of this model is that skilled resources don't have to waste time logging calls.
  • the integrated network management solution template consists of a suite of best of breed third party software products that automate problem diagnosis, notification, custom-developed reporting, and IP services monitoring. This solution template is a great first step in realizing our technology solution vision.
  • Web-Based SLA Reporting Tool - is a browser based tool that provides the personalized SLA reports to customers in both a template and ad-hoc format.
  • Data Mining Demonstration Provides the capability to analyze network management data looking for patterns and correlations across multiple dimensions. Build models of the behavior of the data in order to predict future growth or problems and facilitate managing the network in a proactive, yet cost-effective manner.
  • Customer to Event Mapping Module Add-on module to the Managed Networked Services Integrated Solution which maps network element events, to service offerings, to customers. This tool allows the Customer Service Representative to proactively address network outages with customers.
  • Service Planning includes both the strategic and tactical planning required to manage distributed environments effectively. Although most planning typically occurs during rollout of the system, certain planning activities must otherwise take place. Service Planning ensures that change can be successfully controlled and implemented.
  • Systems Management consists of the day-to-day operational functions required to maintain the system (e.g. fault detection / correction, security management and performance management).
  • Service Management controls the overall service to the users of the system. It isolates users from how the system is managed, and ensures that users receive the quality support services they need to carry out their daily business activities.
  • the present invention includes a system, method, and article of manufacture for providing a hybrid circuit switched/packet switched network.
  • This hybrid network is used as a transitioning network to transition from old "Core” network architectures to "New Core” networks.
  • the details of the NGN transitioning network will first be set forth after which details relating to specific billing aspects of the present invention will be described.
  • PSTN, wireless, and cable networks have continued to grow at their organic rates determined by the growth of the vertical services they were providing.
  • the data networks used a small portion of the backbone SONET bandwidth, while PSTN was still the dominant bandwidth user.
  • IP traffic Due to the exponential growth in IP traffic, the IP based data networks are soon slated to utilize more bandwidth than the PSTN.
  • huge technical advances in packet technologies have made it possible to carry traditional voice over IP networks. This has started a move towards the "Next Generation Network (NGN)" where there will be more sharing of common network infrastructure to provide services, and these services will start to become more interoperable.
  • NTN Next Generation Network
  • the "NGN” is a transition network which will exist during the transformation from the current "Core” to the "New Core".
  • the present invention maps a course for the network evolution from circuit to packet switched technology using a migratory approach in which the network becomes a hybrid circuit and packet topology over a 3 to 7 year period.
  • the current wire-line "Core” network consists of parallel PSTN, SMDS, ATM, Frame-Relay, B/PRI and IP networks.
  • the PSTN network has been evolving over the last century and is a mix of old and new circuit switched technologies.
  • the PSTN network mainly provides point-to-point interactive two-way voice communication services.
  • the service set has evolved to include many intelligent network (IN) service features.
  • IN intelligent network
  • AIN Advanced Intelligent Networks
  • the major IN requirements include session establishment, advanced call processing, call routing and call treatment (network messages and call termination).
  • Examples of applications and features are the CLASS family of services (Call waiting, Call forwarding, Conference calling, Call rejection), enhanced call routing, Number Portability, Calling Card Services, and Audio delivered Information Services (e.g. travel, stocks and weather).
  • SCE Service Creation Environment
  • the PSTN was growing in feature functionality as well as traffic demand, new data networks have been created to support the inter-networking of computing devices. These data networks provide interconnection to geographically dispersed computing devices at varying levels of transmission bandwidth (e.g. 56/64K, T-l/E-1, T-3/E-3, OC-3/STM-1).
  • the data networks consist of many technologies e.g. SMDS, ATM, frame-relay and IP.
  • these data networks themselves are parallel networks, in other cases, they share a common technology in the backbone (e.g. ATM can be the backbone for frame relay and IP data networks). These data networks share the same SONET based backbone with the PSTN network.
  • the services on the PSTN and the data networks are very distinct and non-interoperable (example: voice versus web access).
  • IP and other data services Due to the high growth in IP and other data services, many new service providers have emerged that are building only IP based data networks, and provide only IP based data services. Their business strategy is to continue to ride the technological innovation of IP and packet based technologies and build complete suites of services on a packet based infrastructure. Because they are investing in only one form of network (as opposed to many parallel networks ), their unit cost of services is low, they are not encumbered by legacy networks and systems, and they can provide cheaper and better services to customers; hence they pose a significant threat to incumbent telecom service providers.
  • New IP based services in the "NGN” While there are components in the NGN that ensure interoperability between "NGN” and PSTN, there are also a huge new set of new services that are built entirely on the NGN components which is provide feature rich multimedia (voice, video, data) based communication services as well as enabling many E-Commerce services enabled by IP technologies. These components (described later in detail) include directories, policies, user authentication, registration, and encryption. These components enable services like integrated messaging, multimedia conversations, on-demand multi-point conference, enhanced security & authentication, various classes of media transport services, numerous automations in electronic internet commerce activities e.g. banking, shopping, customer care, education, etc. As the NGN matures third party value added service providers will develop IP based services that will combine applications such as electronic commerce (procurement, warehousing, distribution and fulfillment) as well as online banking to present the consumer with an integrated boundless shopping experience.
  • electronic commerce program, warehousing, distribution and fulfillment
  • the NGN also employs the use of new wire-line broadband access technologies, notably xDSL.
  • Traditional wire-line access technologies will continue to be deployed at higher and higher speeds; wire-line access will move from predominantly T-l speeds to T-3 and OC-n speeds.
  • These new broadband access technologies will increase the need for higher bandwidth in "NGN” core.
  • the "NGN” core continues to use a SONET backbone, but will gradually move to using (D)WDM technologies to provide the bandwidth required to support broadband access.
  • New and emerging technologies such as Giga-Bit Ethernet and Wire Speed IP may find their way to the network backbone, but not until Giga-bit Ethernet technology matures to handle a wide array of network services such as connection oriented circuit emulation.
  • the use of Wire Speed IP technology is suitable for an ente ⁇ rise network but lacks the robustness and scalability needed for carrier grade backbones. For this reason, there will always be a need for ATM in the backbone.
  • the architecture in the "NGN” provides seamless interoperability of services between the packet based network and the traditional PSTN.
  • New “NGN” packet based capabilities will be developed to support AIN type features, while inter-operating with legacy PSTN/SS7/AIN.
  • Large scale innovation in the IP based IN type capabilities e.g. global number transparency, utilization of web based information, rich media communications
  • Innovations on the PSTN will occur slowly, and may be restricted to maintaining interoperability of legacy PSTN with "NGN”.
  • legacy PSTN components e.g. SSP, SCP
  • SCP IP, TCP
  • UDP circuit switched technologies
  • NTN Next Generation Network
  • NGN Network-to-Network Interface
  • IP/PSTN Gateways IP/PSTN address translators
  • IP/SS7 Gateways IP enabled SSP's
  • IP based Intelligent Peripherals IP based Intelligent Peripherals.
  • new components (as will be describe later) with features like directories, policies, user authentication, registration, session encryption, etc. will also be developed to enhance the IN capabilities.
  • the NGN- IN enablers will provide the next level of intelligence in order to address communication over mixed media types, control of multiple session characteristics, collaborative communications needs, ubiquitous network access, "any to any” communications, and multimedia delivered information services. Note that these "NGN” components will continue to evolve to provide similar and enhanced capabilities in the "New Core”.
  • the Intelligent IP (I 2 P) Network enablers are categorized as follows:
  • the components for the "NGN" are described as individual functional units but may be combined for practicality on individual network devices as the requirements dictate. These components have been designed to operate in a distributed network environment to increase the flexibility of the NGN and New Core.
  • the architecture provides a robust, secure and isolated messaging infrastructure for delivering control plane information to these devices.
  • This infrastructure includes a well defined message set for accessing the functions that are provided by these components and data that resides in the rules database.
  • the control plane architecture is efficient and has a unique mechanism for sharing service, user and control data without duplication. This permits mobile NGN service users to maintain the same experience and have access to the same information regardless of where or how they access the network.
  • the user may access the network from Europe and be automatically granted access to the specific services and features that normally would be available during his US service experience.
  • the remote session controller in Europe would communicate with the cross network location register and rules database server to identify the subscriber's "home" rules database in order to collect the policies and profile of the subscriber for use in Europe; this is done by using the inter device message sets (command and control ) over the control plane sub network. Unlike other mechanisms often employed, this mechanism does not replicate this information onto the local (European) rules database, making long term control data management predictable.
  • the design is CORBA compliant and therefore can be interconnected with other standards based networks.
  • Session requirements such as Bandwidth, Quality Of Service, Class Of Service
  • - Provides services such as DTMF parsing, Voice prompting, Messaging, Speech recognition, Text to Speech, Text to Fax, etc.
  • Session Manager / Event Logger (Session Control)
  • This process or application is critical since it is the "glue" between the end user application and the communications network. It is responsible for collection and distribution of end-user session preferences, application requirements, access device capability and accounting policy information to the required "IN enabling" components. In summary its main functions are to:
  • IP based access methods As the PSTN based access methods go away, entirely IP based access methods will emerge in the "New Core", where all end devices connected to the "New Core" are IP enabled. All existing methods of wire-line based access (xDSL, T-l, T-3, fiber) will continue to provide access to IP based services over the "New Core”. New access technologies (e.g. power-line) will emerge, but will still use the same packet based capabilities in the "New Core".
  • wire-line based access xDSL, T-l, T-3, fiber
  • the current wireless "Core” network consists of wireless based access and roaming capabilities that inter-operate with wire-line PSTN "Core” infrastructure to provide interoperable PSTN services.
  • the wireless PSTN access infrastructure will also migrate to connect to "NGN” and “New Core” to provide wireless PSTN access services while utilizing new capabilities in the "NGN” and the “New Core”.
  • There will also be innovations in the wireless end-devices such that they will become IP enabled, and will thus allow a broad range of innovations by allowing mobility to the wire-line IP based service capabilities (e.g. web browsing, e-mail etc.).
  • LMDS is an emerging technology in the local high speed wire-less access, which utilizes the 25- 35 GHz microwave spectrum for point to point and point to multi -point communications.
  • the end users either share an antenna connected to a digital receiver which is connected to a channel bank .
  • the application server be it voice (PBX), video (CODEC), or Data (Router or Switch) interfaces with the NGN via the channel bank.
  • PBX voice
  • CDEC video
  • Router or Switch Data
  • a session originates from the application which interacts with the server to request authentication (AAA), then a session is established between originator and destination application by routing the call through the NGN components such as
  • Gateways and Switches are Gateways and Switches.
  • LEO low earth orbiting satellites
  • New Core A satellite based broadband access mechanism will also be very suitable for multipoint services that will be developed on the "New Core”.
  • Cable networks were developed for mainly broadband broadcast of analog video entertainment services.
  • the current "Core” cable infrastructure is suitable to serve one way video broadcast. Cable service providers are now upgrading their cable infrastructure to support high speed internet access.
  • cable will provide a new access mechanism for IP services, while simultaneously transport video content using the current video broadcast technology.
  • the IP enabled devices attached to the "NGN” cable infrastructure can take advantage of all the new components and capabilities described in the wire-line “NGN”. This will enable seam-less services between devices that are accessing the "NGN' via a wire-line or cable infrastructures.
  • This "NGN” cable infrastructure can provide IP based telephony services using the same components of the wire-line "NGN” that provide IP telephony to wireline IP devices.
  • the digital network segment that interfaces with the "NGN" comprises of a coaxial cable local loop which is connected to a cable data modulator running QAM/DPSK protocols.
  • the coaxial loop is terminated at the customer premise by an Ethernet cable modem which delivers the BP
  • Tone to the applications (Voice, Video, Data) that may reside on a PC or application server.
  • the cable modems used provide users and applications with a wide range of bandwidth options from 2 to lOMbits per second depending on configuration and choice of equipment vendor.
  • the cable will continue to provide another broadband access mechanism for DP based services.
  • the "New Core” matures and enhances in capabilities (probably 10 years away), such that it can provide high speed real-time video content (to provide same quality as cable), it can be envisaged that the cable will becomes an entirely IP access mechanism (just like all wire-line access becomes an IP access mechanism).
  • the broadcast video content will be delivered to IP enabled cable attached devices just like any other rich media will be delivered over the IP network.
  • video encoding technologies such as MPEG2 and motion JPEG will be further improved to deliver higher resolution digital media over the cable infrastructure using NGN and CORE delivery mechanisms.
  • the network becomes transparent and the applications and content drive the creativity of the service creation process.
  • the PSTN like services will be delivered to devices connected via cable access just like they are delivered to other wire-line connected devices on the "New Core".
  • NGN Creation Strategy The network transformation plan comprises of the following phases
  • the network creation processes provides the program management tools to ensure that the launch is successfully executed. These include entry and exit criteria for network creation, KPIs for quality management, program planning and management tool-kits.
  • the network creation process provides tools to assist the client into improving efficiencies of these parallel journeys. These optimization efforts will include organizational, process and technology driven changes to create efficiency based on consolidation of processes, as well as measurement tools to determine the success of such consolidation.
  • the network architecture roadmap and business blueprint will act as the foundation to ensure that during the consolidation phase the "NGN" maintains the required architecture framework to sustain it for the long term.
  • a typical telecommunication network comprises multiple telecommunication switches located throughout a geographical area. When a user makes a call, the call may be routed through one or more switches before reaching its destination.
  • Figure 12 illustrates an exemplary telecommunications system 1200 across the United States.
  • a caller 1202 places a call from Los Angeles, California to a party 112 located in New York City, New York.
  • Such a call is typically transmitted across three (3) switches: the Los Angeles, California switch 1206; the Chicago, Illinois switch 1208; and the
  • New York City, New York switch 1210 In this scenario, the originating switch is the Los Angeles, California switch 1206, and the terminating switch is the New York City, New York switch 1210.
  • Each of the switches, 1206-1210 is connected to two (2) or more Data Access Points (DAP)
  • a DAP 1212-1216 is a facility that receives requests for information from the switches 12166-1210, processes the requests, and returns the requested information back to the requesting switch 1206- 1210.
  • the switches 1206-1210 use information from the DAPs 1212-1216 to process calls through the network.
  • each switch 1206-1210 When a call passes through one of the switches, 1206-1210, that switch creates a call record.
  • the call record contains information on the call, including but not limited to: routing, billing, call features, and trouble shooting information.
  • each switch 1206-1210 that processed the call completes the associated call record.
  • the switches 1206-1210 combine multiple call records into a billing block.
  • the switch 1206-1210 When a switch 1206-1210 fills the billing block, the switch 1206-1210 sends the billing block to a billing center 1218.
  • the billing center 1218 receives one billing block from each switch 1206-1210 that handled the call, which in this case would be three billing blocks.
  • the billing center 1218 searches each billing block and retrieves the call record associated with the call, thereby retrieving one call record per switch 1206-1210 that handled the call.
  • the billing center 1218 then uses one or more of the retrieved call records to generate a billing entry.
  • the billing center 1218 is also connected to each DAP 1212-1216 to retrieve information regarding a switch
  • billing in the present invention is increased because the hybrid network also contains proxy intelligence.
  • FIG. 13 shows a block diagram of the Network Data Management 1300 in accordance with a prefened embodiment of the present invention.
  • Network Data Management 1300 encompasses the collection of usage data and events for the pu ⁇ ose of network performance and traffic analysis. This data may also be an input to Billing (Rating and Discounting) processes at the Service Management Layer, depending on the service and its architecture.
  • the process provides sufficient and relevant information to verify compliance/ non-compliance to Service Level Agreements (SLA).
  • SLA Service Level Agreements
  • This process ensures that the Network Performance goals are tracked, and that notification is provided when they are not met (threshold exceeded, performance degradation). This also includes thresholds and specific requirements for billing. This includes information on capacity, utilization, traffic and usage collection. In some cases, changes in traffic conditions may trigger changes to the network for the p pose of traffic control. Reduced levels of network capacity can result in requests to Network Planning for more resources.
  • FIG 14 is a flowchart illustrating a network data management process in accordance with a preferred embodiment.
  • step 1400 data is collected relating to usage and events occurring over a hybrid network.
  • step 1402 the data is analyzed to determine a status of the hybrid network which in turn, in step 1404, is utilized during management of the hybrid network. Further, in step 1406, billing rates and discounts are determined based on the status of the hybrid network.
  • the present invention also uses a Customer Interface Management process 132, as shown in Figure 15, to directly interact with customers and translate customer requests and inquiries into appropriate "events" such as, the creation of an order or trouble ticket or the adjustment of a bill.
  • This process logs customer contacts, directs inquiries to the appropriate party, and tracks the status to completion.
  • this process assures consistency of image across systems, and security to prevent a customer from harming their network or those of other customers. The aim is to provide meaningful and timely customer contact experiences as frequently as the customer requires.
  • FIG 16 is a flowchart illustrating a Customer Interface Management Process in accordance with a preferred embodiment.
  • a service level agreement is received for a hybrid network customer.
  • the service level agreement is stored after which, in step 1604, inquiries are received from network customers reflecting occurrences related to the hybrid network. Thereafter, in step 1606, events are generated based on the customer inquiries and the service level agreement.
  • the Network Data Management 1300 and Customer Interface Management process 1500 are used to give information to the Customer Quality of Service Management Process 1302, as shown in Figure 17.
  • the Customer Quality of Service Management Process 1302 encompasses monitoring, managing and reporting of quality of service as defined in Service Descriptions, Service Level Agreements (SLA), and other service-related documents. It includes network performance, but also performance across all of service parameters, e.g., Orders Completed On Time. Outputs of this process are standard (predefined) and exception reports, including; dashboards, performance of a service against an SLA, reports of any developing capacity problems, reports of customer usage patterns, etc. In addition, this process responds to performance inquiries from the customer. For SLA violations, the process supports notifying
  • the aim is to provide effective monitoring. Monitoring and reporting must provide SP management and customers meaningful and timely performance information across the parameters of the services provided. The aim is also to manage service levels that meet specific SLA commitments and standard service commitments.
  • FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a Customer Quality of Service Management Process in accordance with a preferred embodiment.
  • a hybrid network event is received which may include customer inquiries, required reports, completion notification, quality of service terms, service level agreement terms, service problem data, quality data, network performance data, and or network configuration data.
  • the system determines customer reports to be generated and, in step 1804, generates the customer reports accordingly based on the event received.
  • FIG 19 shows a block diagram of the Service Quality Management 1304 in accordance with a prefened embodiment of the present invention.
  • the Service Quality Management Process 1304 supports monitoring service or product quality on a service class basis in order to determine:
  • This process also encompasses taking appropriate action to keep service levels within agreed targets for each service class and to either keep ahead of demand or alert the sales process to slow sales.
  • the aim is to provide effective service specific monitoring, management and customers meaningful and timely performance information across the parameters of the specific service.
  • the aim is also to manage service levels to meet SLA commitments and standard commitments for the specific service.
  • FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a Service Quality Management Process in accordance with a. prefened embodiment.
  • a hybrid network event is received that may include forecasts, quality objectives, available capacity, service problem data, quality of service violations, performance trends, usage trends, problem trends, maintenance activity, maintenance progress, and/or credit violations.
  • quality management network data is determined and, in step 2004, the quality management network data is generated.
  • Such quality management network data may include constraint data, capacity data, service class quality data, service modification recommendations, additional capacity requirements, performance requests, and/or usage requests.
  • a network process to which to send the generated data is identified.
  • Figure 21 shows a block diagram of the Problem Handling Process 1502.
  • the Problem Handling Process receives information from the Customer Interface Management Process 1500 and the Customer Quality of service Management Process 1302. It is responsible for receiving service complaints from customers, resolve them to the customer's satisfaction and provide meaningful status on repair or restoration activity. This process is also responsible for any service-affecting problems, including:
  • This proactive management also includes planned maintenance outages.
  • the aim is to have the largest percentage of problems proactively identified and communicated to the customer, to provide meaningful status and to resolve in the shortest timeframe.
  • Figure 22 is a flowchart illustrating a Problem Handling Management Process in accordance with a preferred embodiment.
  • a notification of a problem within a hybrid network is received by the system.
  • a resolution for the problem within the hybrid network is determined.
  • the resolution may include a status report, resolution notification, problem reports, service reconfiguration, trouble notification, service level agreement violations, and or outage notification.
  • the progress of the implementation of the resolution is tracked.
  • This process applies the conect rating rules to usage data on a customer-by-customer basis, as required. It also applies any discounts agreed to as part of the Ordering Process, for promotional discounts and charges, and for outages. In addition, the Rating and Discounting Process 1306 applies any rebates due because service level agreements were not met. The aim is to correctly rate usage and to conectly apply discounts, promotions and credits.
  • FIG. 24 is a flowchart illustrating Rating and Discounting Process in accordance with a prefened embodiment.
  • step 2400 hybrid network customer usage information is received.
  • step 2400 hybrid network customer usage information is received.
  • step 2402 network service level agreement violations are collected, and, in step 2404, network quality of service violations are received by the Rating and Discounting system.
  • step 2406 rating rules are applied to the network customer usage information.
  • step 2408 negotiated discounts are determined based on the network quality of service violations and, in step 2410, rebates are determined based on the network service level agreement violations.
  • billing data reflecting the usage information, the negotiated discounts, and the rebates is provided to generate a customer invoice.
  • Process 1504 creates correct billing information.
  • This process encompasses sending invoices to customers, processing their payments and performing payment collections.
  • this process handles customer inquiries about bills, and is responsible to resolve billing problems to the customer's satisfaction.
  • the aim is to provide a conect bill and, if there is a billing problem, resolve it quickly with appropriate status to the customer.
  • An additional aim is to collect money due the service provider in a professional and customer supportive manner.
  • FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating an Invoice and Collections Process in accordance with a prefened embodiment.
  • customer account inquiries and customer payment information is received by the system.
  • billing data including discounts due to quality of service violations and rebates due to service level agreement violations, is collected and processed.
  • customer account invoices are created for distribution based on the customer payment information and the billing data.
  • Mediation and activity tracking are provided by the event logger and event manager.
  • the event logger and event manager feed the rating and billing information for degraded service using the personally customized rules database.
  • the event driver, collector and manager Utilizing an expert system for the tailored capabilities of each customer, the event driver, collector and manager analyze notification events generated by the system. When a notification event is received the system analyzes the event and uses it to identify the customer. The notification event is also used to credit the customer if they experience a non-impacting event that breaches the customer's contract. In addition to the system itself generating the notification event, the customer is also able to notify the provider directly should such an event occur.
  • Figure 27 is a flowchart illustrating media communication over the hybrid network of the present invention.
  • the hybrid network in a first step 2700, transfers the media over the network using IP information to route it to the appropriate destination.
  • the media transfened over the network may be telephony data, image data, or any other data capable of packet switched transmission.
  • events are generated based on the quality of service of the media transfer. As discussed above with reference to Figure 17 and Figure 19, these events include performance notifications due to SLA violations, and customer generated events from the Customer Interface
  • a third step 2704 the events generated in step 2702 are utilized to generate a bill for the customer.
  • the bill is modified based on events generated during the media transfer. For example, events representing
  • the Problem Handling Process 1502 is responsible for receiving service complaints and other service-affecting problems. Together with the Network Data Management 1300, the Problem Handling Process feeds data to the Discounting Process 1306.
  • the Discounting Process 1306 applies the correct rating rules on a customer-by-customer basis, and applies discounts for events, such as outages and other SLA violations.
  • the Invoice and Collections Process 1504 utilizes the information from the Discounting Process 1306 to create customer billing information.
  • a telephone call comes into a switch on a transmission line refened to as the originating port, or trunk.
  • the originating port is one of many transmission lines coming into the switch from the same location of origin. This group of ports is the originating trunk group.
  • the switch After processing an incoming call, the switch transmits the call to a destination location, which may be another switch, a local exchange carrier, or a private branch exchange.
  • the call is transmitted over a transmission line referred to as the terminating port, or trunk.
  • the terminating port is one of a group of ports going from the switch to the same destination. This group of ports is the terminating trunk group.
  • Contemporary telecommunication networks provide customers with the capability of using the general public network as well as the capability of defining a custom virtual network (VNet).
  • VNet virtual network
  • a VNet customer defines a private dialing plan, including plan telephone numbers.
  • a VNet customer is not limited to the default telephone numbers allocated to a public telecommunication system dedicated to a specific geographic region, but can define custom telephone numbers.
  • a switch Upon processing a telephone call, a switch must generate a call record large enough to contain all of the needed information on a call.
  • the call record must not be so large that the typical call results in the majority of the record fields in the call record to be unused. In such a case, storing such call records results in large amounts of wasted storage, and transmitting such a call record causes unnecessary transmissions.
  • a fixed length call record format such as a 32-word call record.
  • a word is two (2) bytes, or sixteen (16) bits.
  • a fixed length record format cannot expand when new call features are implemented. More importantly, fixed call record formats cannot handle expanded data fields as the telecommunications network becomes more complex with new features and telephone numbers.
  • Epoch time is the number of one (1) second increments since a particular date and time in history. For example, the billing center requires epoch time for its billing records whereas switch reports and enor logs require local switch time.
  • each subsystem may require a finer granularity of precision than the cunent three (3) second increments.
  • the switches have passed the burden of translating the time into a usable format to the network subsystems.
  • the fixed record format cannot accommodate the various time period requirements because it only contains the time periods in local switch time at a low level of precision. Because of its fixed nature, the fixed record format cannot expand to include different time formats, nor to include a finer granularity of precision, such as a one (1) second increment.
  • An embodiment solves the problem of providing a flexible and expandable call record format by implementing both a small and a large call record format.
  • the embodiment implements a default 32-word call record format, plus an expanded 64-word call record format.
  • An embodiment uses a 32-word call record format for the typical telephone call, which comprises the majority of all telephone calls, and uses a 64-word call record format when additional information is needed regarding the call.
  • This implementation provides the flexibility needed to efficiently manage varying data requirements of a given call record. New call features can be developed and easily inco ⁇ orated into the variable call record format of the present invention.
  • This embodiment also records timepoints in the epoch time format.
  • the embodiment records the origination time of a call in epoch time format, and the remaining timepoints are offsets, or the number of seconds, from that origination time.
  • This embodiment solves the problems associated with converting to and from daylight savings time because daylight savings time is a local time offset and does not affect the epoch time.
  • the timepoints in epoch time format require less space in the call record than they do in local switch time format.
  • the epoch time format may represent coordinated universal time (UTC), as determined at Greenwich, England, which has a time zone of zero (0) local switch time, or any other time.
  • UTC coordinated universal time
  • Epoch time is only a format and does not dictate that UTC must be used.
  • the billing time and the local switch time may be in UTC or local time, and the local switch time may not necessarily be the same time that is used for billing. Therefore, the switch must keep billing time and local switch time separate in order to prevent the problems that occur during daylight savings time changes.
  • This embodiment solves the problem of uniquely identifying each telephone call and all of the call records associated with a specific telephone call by providing a unique identifier to each call record. It generates a network call identifier (NCID) that is assigned to each call record at the point of call origination, that is, the originating switch generates an NCID for each telephone call.
  • NCID accompanies the associated telephone call through the telecommunications network to the termination point at the terminating switch. Therefore, at any point of a telephone call in the network, the associated NCID identifies the point and time of origin of the telephone call.
  • Each switch through which the telephone call passes records the NCID in the call record associated with the call.
  • the NCID is small enough to fit in a 32-word call record, thereby reducing the data throughput and storage.
  • the NCID provides the billing center and other network subsystems with the ability to match originating and terminating call records for a specific telephone call.
  • This embodiment also provides the switch capability of discarding a received NCID and generating a new NCID.
  • a switch discards a received NCID if the NCID format is invalid or unreliable, thereby ensuring a valid unique identifier to be associated with each call going through the network. For instance, an NCID may be unreliable if generated by third party switches in the telecommunications network.
  • This embodiment relates to switches of a telecommunication network that generate call records using a flexible and expandable record format.
  • the call record formats include a small
  • the embodiment also relates to switches of a telecommunication network that generate a unique NCID for each telephone call traversing the network.
  • the NCID provides a mechanism for matching all of the call records associated with a specific telephone call. It would be readily apparent to one skilled in the relevant art to implement a call record identifier of a different format.
  • the chosen embodiment is computer software executing within a computer system.
  • Figure 28 shows an exemplary computer system.
  • the computer system 2800 includes one or more processors, such as a processor 2801.
  • the processor 2801 is connected to a communication bus 2802.
  • the computer system 2800 also includes a main memory 2804, preferably random access memory (RAM), and a secondary memory 2806.
  • the secondary memory 2806 includes, for example, a hard disk drive 2808 and/or a removable storage drive 2810, representing a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, a compact disk drive, etc.
  • the removable storage drive 2810 reads from and/or writes to a removable storage unit 2812 in a well known manner.
  • Removable storage unit 2812 also called a program storage device or a computer program product, represents a floppy disk, magnetic tape, compact disk, etc.
  • the removable storage unit 2812 includes a computer usable storage medium having therein stored computer software and/or data.
  • Computer programs are stored in main memory 2804 and/or the secondary memory 2806. Such computer programs, when executed, enable the computer system 2800 to perform the functions of the present invention as discussed herein. In particular, the computer programs, when executed, enable the processor 2801 to perform the functions of the present invention. Accordingly, such computer programs represent controllers of the computer system 2800.
  • Another embodiment is directed to a computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having control logic (computer software) stored therein.
  • the control logic when executed by the processor 2801, causes the processor 2801 to perform the functions as described herein.
  • Another embodiment is implemented primarily in hardware using, for example, a hardware state machine.
  • Implementation of the hardware state machine so as to perform the functions described herein will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant arts.
  • This embodiment provides the switches of a telecommunication network with nine (9) different record formats. These records include : Call Detail Record (CDR), Expanded Call Detail Record
  • EDR Private Network Record
  • EPNR Expanded Private Network Record
  • Each record is 32 words in length, and the expanded version of each record is 64 words in length.
  • Example embodiments of the nine (9) call record formats discussed herein are further described in Figures 29-35.
  • the embodiments of the call records of the present invention comprise both
  • Figure 29 shows a graphical representation of the CDR and PNR call record formats.
  • Figures 30 and 31 show a graphical representation of the ECDR and EPNR call record formats.
  • Figure 32 shows a graphical representation of the OSR and POSR call record format.
  • Figures 33 and 34 show a graphical representation of the EOSR and EPOSR call record formats.
  • Figure 35 shows a graphical representation of the SER record format.
  • the CDR and PNR and thereby the ECDR and EPNR, are standard call record formats and contain information regarding a typical telephone call as it passes through a switch.
  • the CDR is used for a non- VNET customer
  • the PNR is used for a VNET customer and is generated at switches that originate VNET calls.
  • the fields of these two records are identical except for some field-specific information described below.
  • the OSR and POSR contain information regarding a telephone call requiring operator assistance and are generated at switches or systems actually equipped with operator positions.
  • a switch completes an OSR for a non- VNET customer and completes a POSR for a private VNET customer.
  • These records are only generated at switches or systems that have the capability of performing operator services or network audio response system (NARS) functions.
  • NARS network audio response system
  • a SER is reserved for special events such as the passage of each hour mark, time changes, system recoveries, and at the end of a billing block.
  • the SER record format is also described in more detail below.
  • FIGS 36 and 37 collectively illustrate the logic that a switch uses to determine when to use an expanded version of a record format.
  • a call 3602 comes into a switch 1206-1210 (called the cunent switch for reference pu ⁇ oses; the cunent switch is the switch that is cunently processing the call), at which time that switch 1206-1210 determines what call record and what call record format (small/default or large/expanded) to use for the call's 3602 call record.
  • the switch 1206-1210 makes nine (9) checks for each call 3602 that it receives.
  • the switch 1206- 1210 uses an expanded record for a call 3602 that passes any check as well as for a call 3602 that passes any combination of checks.
  • the first check 3604 determines if the call is involved in a direct termination overflow (DTO) at the cunent switch 1206-1210.
  • DTO direct termination overflow
  • a DTO occurs when a customer makes a telephone call 3602 to an 800 number and the original destination of the 800 number is busy. If the original destination is busy, the switch overflows the telephone call 3602 to a new destination. In this case, the switch must record the originally attempted destination, the final destination of the telephone call 3602, and the number of times of overflow. Therefore, if the call 3602 is involved in a DTO, the switch 1206-1210 must complete an expanded record (ECDR, EPNR, EOSR, EPOSR) 3616.
  • ECDR expanded record
  • the second check 3606 made on a call 3602 by a switch 1206-1210 determines if the calling location of the call 3602 is greater than ten (10) digits.
  • the calling location is the telephone number of the location from where the call 3602 originated. Such an example is an international call which comprises at least eleven (11) digits. If the calling location is greater than ten (10) digits, the switch records the telephone number of the calling location in an expanded record (ECDR, EPNR, EOSR, EPOSR) 3616.
  • a switch 1206-1210 makes a third check 3608 on a call 3602 to determine if the destination address is greater than seventeen (17) digits.
  • the destination address is the number of the called location and may be a telephone number or trunk group. If the destination is greater than seventeen (17) digits, the switch records the destination in an expanded record (ECDR, EPNR, EOSR, EPOSR) 3616.
  • a switch 1206-1210 makes a fourth check 3610 on a call 3602 to determine if the pre-translated digits field is used with an operated assisted service call.
  • the pre-translated digits are the numbers of the call 3602 as dialed by a caller if the call 202 must be translated to another number within the network. Therefore, when a caller uses an operator service, the switch 1206- 1210 records the dialed numbers in expanded record (EOSR, EPOSR) 3616.
  • EOSR expanded record
  • a switch 1206-1210 determines if the pre-translated digits of a call 3602 as dialed by a caller without operator assistance has more than ten (10) digits. If there are more than ten (10) pre-translated digits, the switch 1206-1210 records the dialed numbers in expanded record (ECDR, EPNR) 3616.
  • a switch 1206-1210 determines if more than twenty-two (22) digits, including supplemental data, are recorded in the Authorization Code field of the call record.
  • the Authorization Code field indicates a party who gets billed for the call, such as the calling location or a credit card call. If the data entry requires more than twenty-two (22) digits, the switch 1206-1210 records the billing information in an expanded record (ECDR, EPNR, EOSR, EPOSR) 3616.
  • a switch 1206-1210 determines if the call 3602 is a wideband call.
  • a wideband call is one that requires multiple transmission lines, or channels. For example, a typical video call requires six (6) transmission channels : one (1) for voice and five (5) for the video transmission. The more transmission channels used during a wideband call results in a better quality of reception. Contemporary telecommunication systems cunently provide up to twenty- four (24) channels. Therefore, to indicate which, and how many, of the twenty- four channels is used during a wideband call, the switch records the channel information in an expanded record (ECDR, EPNR) 3708.
  • ECDR expanded record
  • a switch 1206-1210 determines if the time and charges feature was used by an operator.
  • the time and charges feature is typically used in a hotel scenario when a hotel guest makes a telephone call using the operator's assistance and charges the call 3602 to her room. After the call 3602 has completed, the operator informs the hotel guest of the charge, or cost, of the call 3602. If the time and charges feature was used with a call 3602, the switch 1206-1210 records the hotel guest's name and room number in an expanded record (EOSR, EPOSR) 3712.
  • EOSR expanded record
  • the ninth, and final, check 3704 made on a call 3602 by a switch 1206-1210 determines if the call 3602 is an enhanced voice service/network audio response system (EVS/NARS) call.
  • EVS/NARS enhanced voice service/network audio response system
  • EVS/NARS is an audio menu system in which a customer makes selections in response to an automated menu via her telephone key pad.
  • Such a system includes a NARS switch on which the audio menu system resides. Therefore, during an EVS/NARS call 3602, the NARS switch 1206-1210 records the customer's menu selections in an expanded record (EOSR, EPOSR) 3712.
  • EOSR expanded record
  • the switch 1206-1210 uses the default record format (OSR, POSR) 3710.
  • TBCD Telephone Binary Coded Decimal
  • the valid field values are the digits 2-9.
  • Each call record except SER, contains call specific timepoint fields.
  • the timepoint fields are recorded in epoch time format.
  • Epoch time is the number of one second increments from a particular date/time in history.
  • the embodiment of the present invention uses a date/time of midnight (00:00 am UTC) on January 1, 1976, but this serves as an example and is not a limitation. It would be readily apparent to one skilled in the relevant art to implement an epoch time based on another date/time.
  • Timepoint 1 represents the epoch time that is the origination time of the call 3602.
  • the other timepoint stored in the records are the number of seconds after Timepoint 1 , that is, they are offsets from Timepoint 1 that a particular timepoint occuned.
  • timepoint fields must be filled in with "0's" prior to any data being recorded. Therefore, if a timepoint occurs, its count is one (1) or greater. Additionally, timepoint counters, not including Timepoint 1, do not rollover their counts, but stay at the maximum count if the time exceeds the limits.
  • the switch clock reflects local switch time and is used for all times except billing. Billing information is recorded in epoch time, which in this embodiment is UTC.
  • the Time offset is a number reflecting the switch time relative to the UTC, that is, the offset due to time zones and, if appropriate, daylight savings time changes. There are three factors to consider when evaluating time change relative to UTC. First, there are time zones on both sides of UTC, and therefore there may be both negative and positive offsets. Second, the time zone offsets count down from zero (in Greenwich, England) in an Eastward direction until the International Dateline is reached. At the Dateline, the date changes to the next day, such that the offset becomes positive and starts counting down until the zero offset is reached again at Greenwich.
  • Figure 38 illustrates the control flow of the Change Time command, which changes the Local Switch Time and the Time Offset.
  • step 3802 after a switch operator enters the Change Time command, the switch enters step 3802 and prompts the switch operator for the Local Switch Time and Time Offset from UTC.
  • step 3802 the switch operator enters a new Local Switch Time and Time Offset.
  • step 3804 the new time and Time Offset are displayed back to the switch operator.
  • step 3806 the switch operator must verify the entered time and Time Offset before the actual time and offset are changed on the switch. If in step 3806 the switch operator verifies the changes, the switch proceeds to step 3808 and generates a SER with an Event Qualifier equal to two which identifies that the change was made to the Local Switch Time and Time Offset of the switch.
  • the billing center uses the SER for its bill processing.
  • step 3810 The switch proceeds to step 3810 and exits the command.
  • step 3806 if the switch operator does not verify the changes, the switch proceeds to step 3810 and exits the command without updating the Local Switch Time and Time Offset. For more information on SER, see Figure 35.
  • FIG 39 illustrates the control flow for the Change Daylight Savings Time command which is the second command for changing time.
  • the switch enters step 3902 and prompts the switch operator to select either a Forward or Backward time change.
  • the switch operator makes a selection.
  • step 3904 if the switch operator selects the Forward option, the switch enters step 3906.
  • step 3906 the switch sets the Local Switch Time forward one hour and adds one hour (count of 60) to the Time Offset.
  • the switch then proceeds to step 3910.
  • the switch operator selects the Backward option the switch sets the Local Switch Time back one hour and subtract one hour (count of 60) from the Time Offset.
  • the switch then proceeds to step 3910.
  • step 3910 the switch operator must verify the forward or backward option and the new Local Switch Time and Time Offset before the actual time change takes place. If in step 3910, the switch operator verifies the new time and Time Offset, the switch proceeds to step 3912 and generates a SER with an Event Qualifier equal to nine which changes the Local Switch Time and Time Offset of the switch. The switch proceeds to step 3914 and exits the command. Referring back to step 3910, if the switch operator does not verify the changes, the switch proceeds to step 3914 and exits the command without updating the Local Switch Time and Time Offset.
  • the billing records are affected by the new Time Offset.
  • This embodiment allows the epoch time, used as the billing time, to increment normally through the daylight savings time change procedure, and not to be affected by the change of Local Switch Time and Time Offset.
  • NCID is a discrete identifier among all network calls.
  • the NCID is transported and recorded at each switch that is involved with the telephone call.
  • the originating switch of a telephone call generates the NCID.
  • the chosen embodiment of the NCID of the present invention is an eighty-two (82) bit identifier that is comprised of the following subfields:
  • Originating Switch ID 14 bits
  • This field represents the NCS Switch ED as defined in the Office Engineering table at each switch.
  • the SER call record contains an alpha numeric representation of the Switch ID.
  • a switch uses the alphanumeric Switch ID as an index into a database for retrieving the conesponding NCS Switch ID.
  • Originating Trunk Group (14 bits) : This field represents the originating trunk group as defined in the 32/64-word call record format described above.
  • Originating Port Number (19 bits) This field represents the originating port number as defined in the 32/64-word call record format described above.
  • Timepoint 1 (32 bits) : This field represents the Timepoint 1 value as defined in the 32/64-word call record format described above.
  • Each switch records the NCID in either the 32 or 64-word call record format.
  • intermediate and terminating switches will record the NCID in the AuthCode field of the 32-word call record if the AuthCode filed is not used to record other information.
  • the Originating Switch ID is the NCS Switch ID, not the alphanumeric Switch ID as recorded in the SER call record. If the AuthCode is used for other information, the intermediate and terminating switches record the NCID in the 64-word call record format. In contrast, originating switches do not use the AuthCode field when storing an NCID in a 32-word call record.
  • Originating switches record the subfields of the NCID in the conesponding separate fields of the 32-word call record. That is, the Originating Switch ID is stored as an alphanumeric Switch ID in the Switch ID field of the SER call record; the Originating Trunk Group is stored in the Originating Trunk Group field of the 32-word call record; the Originating Port Number is stored in the Originating Port field of the 32-word call record; the Timepoint 1 is stored in the Timepoint 1 field of the 32-word call record; the Sequence Number is stored in the NCID Sequence Number field of the 32-word call record.
  • the 32-word call record also includes an NCID Location (NCIDLOC) field to identify when the NCID is recorded in the AuthCode field of the call record.
  • NCIDLOC NCID Location
  • the NCID Location field contains a ' 1,' then the AuthCode field contains the NCID. If the NCID Location field contains a '0,' then the NCID is stored in its separate sub- fields in the call record. Only intermediate and terminating switches set the NCID Location field to a ' 1' because originating switches store the NCID in the separate fields of the 32-word call record.
  • the expanded call record includes a separate field, call the NCID field, to store the 82 bits of the NCID. This call record is handled the same regardless of whether an originating, intermediate, or terminating switch stores the NCID.
  • the Originating Switch ID is the NCS Switch ID, not the alphanumeric Switch
  • FIG 40 illustrates the control flow of the Network Call Identifier switch call processing.
  • a call 3602 comes into a switch 1206-1210 (called the cunent switch for reference pu ⁇ oses; the current switch is the switch that is cunently processing the call) at step 4004.
  • the current switch receives the call 3602 and proceeds to step 4006.
  • the cunent switch accesses a local database and gets the trunk group parameters associated with the originating trunk group of the call 3602. After getting the parameters, the cunent switch proceeds to step 4008.
  • the cunent switch determines if it received an NCID with the call 3602. If the cunent switch did not receive an NCID with the call 3602, the switch continues to step 4012.
  • step 4012 the switch analyzes the originating trunk group parameters to determine the originating trunk group type. If the originating trunk group type is an InterMachine Trunk (IMT) or a release link trunk (RLT), then the switch proceeds to step 4016.
  • IMT InterMachine Trunk
  • RLT release link trunk
  • An IMT is a trunk connecting two normal telecommunication switches
  • a RLT is a trunk connecting an intelligent services network (ISN) platform to a normal telecommunication switch.
  • the cunent switch knows that it is not an originating switch and that it has not received an NCID.
  • the cunent switch analyzes the originating trunk group parameters to determine whether it is authorized to create an NCID for the call 3602.
  • step 4016 if the cunent switch is not authorized to create an NCID for the call 3602, the cunent switch proceeds to step 4018.
  • the cunent switch knows that it is not an originating switch, it did not receive an NCID for the call 3602, but is not authorized to generate an NCID. Therefore, in step 4018, the cunent switch writes the call record associated with the call 3602 to the local switch database and proceeds to step 4020.
  • the cunent switch transports the call 3602 out through the network with its associated NCID. Step 4020 is described below in more detail.
  • step 4016 if the cunent switch is authorized to create an NCID for the call 3602, the cunent switch proceeds to step 4014.
  • step 4014 the cunent switch generates a new
  • step 4036 the cunent switch writes the call record, including the NCID, associated with the call 3602 to the local switch database and proceeds to step 4020.
  • step 4020 the cunent switch transports the call 3602 out through the network with its associated NCID. Step 4020 is described below in more detail.
  • step 4014 the cunent switch determines that the originating trunk group type is not an IMT or RLT.
  • the cunent switch proceeds to step 4014.
  • the cunent switch knows that it is an originating switch and, therefore, must generate a NCID for the call 3602.
  • Step 4014 is described below in more detail.
  • the cunent switch proceeds to step 4036 to write the call record, including the NCID, associated with the call 3602 to the local database.
  • step 4020 the cunent switch proceeds to step 4020 to transport the call out through the network with its associated NCID. Step 4020 is also described below in more detail.
  • step 4010 the cunent switch processes the received NCID.
  • the cunent switch may decide not to keep the received NCID thereby proceeding from step 4010 to step 4014 to generate a new NCID. Step 4010 is described below in more detail.
  • step 4014 the cunent switch may generate a new NCID for the call 3602 before continuing to step 4036. Step 4014 is also described below in more detail.
  • step 4036 the cunent switch writes the call record associated with the call 3602 to the local database.
  • step 4020 transports the call 3602 out through the network with its associated NCID.
  • step 4020 is also described below in more detail.
  • the cunent switch may decide to keep the received NCID thereby proceeding from step 4010 to step 4015.
  • step 4015 the cunent switch adds the received NCID to the call record associated with the call 3602. Steps 4010 and 4015 are described below in more detail.
  • step 4036 the cunent switch continues to step 4036 where it writes the call record associated with the call 3602 to the local database.
  • the cunent switch then proceeds to step 4020 and transports the call 3602 out through the network with its associated NCID. Step 4020 is also described below in more detail.
  • Figure 41 illustrates the control logic for step 4010 which processes a received NCID.
  • the cunent switch enters step 4102 of step 4010 when it determines that an NCID was received with the call 3602.
  • the cunent switch analyzes the originating trunk group parameters to determine the originating trunk group type. If the originating trunk group type is an IMT or RLT, then the cunent switch proceeds to step 4112. When in step 4112, the cunent switch knows that it is not an originating switch and that it received an NCID for the call 3602.
  • step 4112 the cunent switch keeps the received NCID and exits step 4010, thereby continuing to step 4015 in Figure 40, after which the cunent switch will store the received NCID in the call record and transport the call.
  • the cunent switch determines if the originating trunk group type is an Integrated Services User Parts Direct Access Line (ISUP DAL) or an Integrated Services Digital Network Primary Rate Interface (ISDN PRI).
  • ISUP is a signaling protocol which allows information to be sent from switch to switch as information parameters.
  • An ISUP DAL is a trunk group that primarily is shared by multiple customers of the network, but can also be dedicated to a single network customer.
  • an ISDN PRI is a trunk group that primarily is dedicated to a single network customer, but can also be shared by multiple network customers.
  • a network customer is an entity that leases network resources.
  • step 4104 if the cunent switch determines that the trunk group type is not an ISUP DAL or ISDN PRI, the cunent switch proceeds to step 4106.
  • the cunent switch knows that it received an NCID that was not generated by a switch that is part of the telecommunication network or by a switch that is a customer of the network. Therefore, in step 4106, the current switch discards the received NCID because it is an unreliable NCID. From step 4106, the cunent switch exits step 4010, thereby continuing to step 4014 in Figure 40 where the cunent switch will create a new NCID and transport that NCID with the call 3602.
  • step 4104 if the cunent switch determines that the originating trunk group type is an ISUP DAL or ISDN PRI, the cunent switch continues to step 4108.
  • step 4108 the cunent switch knows that it received an NCID from a customer trunk group.
  • the cunent switch analyzes the originating trunk group parameters to determine whether it is authorized to create a new NCID for the call 3602.
  • the cunent switch may be authorized to create a new NCID and overwrite the NCID provided by the customer to ensure that a valid NCID corresponds to the call 3602 and is sent through the network.
  • the cunent switch proceeds to step 4110.
  • the cunent switch checks the validity of the received NCID, for example, the NCID length. If the received NCID is invalid, the cunent switch proceeds to step 4106.
  • step 4106 the cunent switch discards the invalid NCED. From step 4106, the cunent switch exits step 4010, thereby continuing to step 4014 in Figure 40 where the cunent switch will create a new NCID and transport that NCID with the call 3602.
  • step 4112 the cunent switch keeps the received NCID and exits step 4010, thereby continuing to step 4015 in Figure 40 where the cunent switch will store the received NCID in the call record and transport the call.
  • Figure 42 illustrates the control logic for step 4014 which generates an NCID.
  • the cunent switch enters step 4202 when an NCED must be created.
  • the cunent switch will calculate a sequence number.
  • the sequence number represents the number of calls which have occuned on the same port number with the same Timepoint 1 value.
  • the first call has a sequence number value of '0,' after which the sequence number will increase incrementally for each successive call that originates on the same port number with the same Timepoint 1 value.
  • the cunent switch proceeds to step 4204.
  • the cunent switch creates a call record for the call 3602, including in it the call's 3602 newly created NCID.
  • the cunent switch exits step 4014 and proceeds to step 4036 in Figure 40 where the cunent switch writes the call record to the local switch database.
  • Figure 43 illustrates the control logic for step 4015 which adds a received NCID to the call record associated with the call 3602.
  • the cunent switch Upon entering step 4015, the cunent switch enters step 4302.
  • the cunent switch knows that it has received a valid NCID from an intermediate or terminating switch, or from a customer switch.
  • the cunent switch determines if the AuthCode field of the 32-word call record is available for storing the NCID. If the AuthCode field is available, the cunent switch proceeds to step 4306.
  • step 4306 the cunent switch stores the NCID in the AuthCode field of the 32-word call record.
  • the cunent switch must also set the NCID Location field to the value ' 1 ' which indicates that the NCID is stored in the AuthCode field. After step 4306, the cunent switch exits step 4015 and continues to step 4036 in Figure 40 where the cunent switch writes the call record to the local switch database.
  • step 4304 the cunent switch stores the NCED in the NCID field of the 64-word call record. After step 4304, the cunent switch exits step 4015 and continues to step 4036 in Figure 40 where the cunent switch writes the call record to the local switch database.
  • Figure 44 illustrates the control logic for step 4020 which transports the call from the current switch.
  • steps 4402 and 4412. Upon entering step 4402 from step 4036 on Figure 40, the cunent switch knows that it has created an NCID or has received a valid NCID.
  • the cunent switch accesses a local database and gets the trunk group parameters associated with the terminating trunk group for transporting the call 3602. After getting the parameters, the cunent switch proceeds to step 4404.
  • step 4404 the cunent switch determines the terminating trunk group type. If the terminating trunk is an ISUP trunk, the cunent switch proceeds to step 4408.
  • the cunent switch analyzes the parameters associated with the ISUP trunk type to determine whether or not to deliver the NCID to the next switch. If the cunent switch is authorized to deliver the NCED, the cunent switch proceeds to step 4416. In step 4416, the cunent switch transports the call to the next switch along with a SS7 initial address message (IAM). The NCID is transported as part of the generic digits parameter of the IAM. The IAM contains setup information for the next switch which prepares the next switch to accept and complete the call 3602. The format of the generic digits parameter is shown below in Table 44A :
  • the cunent switch After transporting the call 3602 and the IAM, the cunent switch proceeds to step 4418, thereby exiting the switch processing.
  • step 4412 the current switch transports the call 3602 to the next switch under normal procedures which consists of sending an IAM message to the next switch without the NCED recorded as part of the generic digits parameter. After transporting the call 3602, the current switch proceeds to step
  • step 4406 the cunent switch determines if the terminating trunk group is an ISDN trunk (the terminating trunk group is dedicated to one network customer). If the terminating trunk group is an ISDN, the cunent switch proceeds to step 4410. In step 4410, the cunent switch analyzes the parameters associated with the ISDN trunk group type to determine whether or not to deliver the NCID to the next switch. If the cunent switch is authorized to deliver the NCID, the cunent switch proceeds to step 4114. In step 4114, the cunent switch transports the call to the next switch along with a setup message.
  • the setup message contains setup information for the next switch which prepares the next switch to accept and complete the call 3602.
  • the NCID is transported as part of the locking shift codeset 6 parameter of the setup message.
  • the format of the locking shift codeset 6 parameter is shown below in Table 41B:
  • step 4412 the cunent switch transports the call 3602 to the next switch under normal procedures which consists of sending a setup message to the next switch without the NCID recorded as part of the locking shift codeset 6 parameter. After transporting the call 3602, the cunent switch proceeds to step 4418, thereby exiting the switch processing.
  • step 4412 this step is also entered from step 4018 on Figure 40 when the cunent switch did not receive an NCID, is an intermediate or terminating switch, and is not authorized to create an NCID.
  • the cunent switch also transports the call 3602 to the next switch under normal procedures which consists of sending an IAM or setup message to the next switch without the NCED recorded as part of the parameter. After transporting the call 3602, the cunent switch proceeds to step 4418, thereby exiting the switch processing.
  • a system and method for the switches of a telecommunications network to generate call records for telephone calls using a flexible and expandable record format Upon receipt of a telephone call, a switc in the network analyzes the telephone call to determine whether the default call record is sufficiently large to store call record information pertaining to the telephone call, or whether the expanded call record must be used to store the call information pertaining to the telephone call. After determining which call record to use, the switch generates the default or expanded call record. The switch sends a billing block, comprised of completed call records, to a billing center upon filling an entire billing blocl.
  • a caller In today's telephony environment, a caller must contact an operator to initiate a conference call and/or have all parties dial a common number to connect into a conference call. This requires the cost of a human operator and the inconvenience of dialing a predefined number to be carried as overhead of each conference call. It also makes it very inefficient to schedule a conference call and assure that all parties are available to participate. It also requires a dedicated number for all the parties to access to facilitate the call.
  • a callback system is facilitated by a caller accessing a display from a computer and filling out information describing the parameters of a call.
  • Information such as the date and time the call should be initiated, billing information, and telephone numbers of parties to participate in the call could be captured. Then, based on the information entered, a central or distributed computing facility with access to the hybrid network transmits e-mail in a note to each party required for the call copying the other parties to verify participation and calendar the event.
  • the e-mad would include any particulars, such as the password associated with the call and time the call would be commenced.
  • the necessary network facilities would also be reserved to assure the appropriate Quality of Service (QOS) would be available, and when the date and time requested arrived, the call is initiated by contacting each of the participants whether they be utilizing a telephone attached to a PSTN or a voice capable apparatus (such as a computer or intelligent television) attached to the hybrid network.
  • QOS Quality of Service
  • any party could request operator assistance by selecting that service from the display associated with the call.
  • a completely automated callback system is provided for call setup and control.
  • a custom profile is provided as an extension to the users existing profile information.
  • the custom profile allows a user to store frequent conference call participants information.
  • the profile contains participant's telephone numbers (which could be DDD, EDDD, IP Address or Cellular phone number), E-mail address, paging service, fax number, secretary phone number, location, time zone, working hours and other pertinent information that will be useful for initiating a call.
  • Default profiles based on company or organization needs are also enabled and can be tailored to meet the needs of a particular user based on more global information.
  • Billing information would also be provided online.
  • a user could enter a pre-arranged billing number or the ability to bill to a credit card or telephone number. If billing to a telephone number, the system treats the call like a collect or third party call to verify billing.
  • profile information were predefined for a particular call scenario, then another option would allow an immediate connection of a conference call or single call at the press of a button, much as speed dialing is performed today except that more than one caller could be joined without intervention of the calling party, Internet callers are supported and an operator can be joined as required.
  • the Internet is a method of interconnecting physical networks and a set of conventions for using networks that allow the computers they reach to interact. Physically, the Internet is a huge, global network spanning over 92 countries and comprising 59,000 academic, commercial, government, and military networks, according to the Government Accounting Office (GAO), with these numbers expected to double each year. Furthermore, there are about 10 million host computers, 50 million users, and 76,000 World-Wide Web servers connected to the Internet.
  • the backbone of the Internet consists of a series of high-speed communication links between major supercomputer sites and educational and research institutions within the U.S. and throughout the world.
  • TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
  • RRCs Requests for Comments
  • ITU- T The International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication Standardization Sector
  • ITU G.711 Recommendation for Pulse Code Modulation of 3kHz Audio Channels.
  • ITU G.722 Recommendation for 7kHz Audio Coding within a 64kbit/s channel.
  • ITU G.723 Recommendation for dual rate speech coder for multimedia communication transmitting at 5.3 and 6.3 kbits.
  • ITU H.221 Frame Structure for a 64 to 1920 kbit/s Channel in Audiovisual Teleservices
  • ITU H.225 ITU Recommendation for Media Stream Packetization and Synchronization on non- guaranteed quality of service LANs.
  • ITU H.242 System for Establishing Communication Between Audiovisual Terminals Using
  • ITU H.243 System for Establishing Communication Between Three or More Audiovisual
  • ITU H.261 Recommendation for Video Coder-Decoder for audiovisual services supporting video resolutions of 352x288 pixels and 176x144 pixels.
  • ITU H.263 Recommendation for Video Coder-Decoder for audiovisual services supporting video resolutions of 128x96 pixels, 176x144 pixels, 352x288 pixels, 704x576 pixels and 1408x1152 pixels.
  • ITU H.323 ITU Recommendation for Visual Telephone Systems and Equipment for Local Area Networks which provide a non-guaranteed quality of service.
  • ITU H.324 Recommendation for Terminals and Systems for low bitrate(28.8 Kbps) multimedia communication on dial-up telephone lines.
  • ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network the digital communication standard for transmission of voice, video and data on a single communications link.
  • RTP Real-Time Transport Protocol an Internet Standard Protocol for transmission of real-time data like voice and video over unicast and multicast networks.
  • IP Internet Protocol an Internet Standard Protocol for transmission and delivery of data packets on a packet switched network of interconnected computer systems.
  • MPEG Motion Pictures Expert Group a standards body under the International Standards Organization(ISO), Recommendations for compression of digital Video and Audio including the bit stream but not the compression algorithms.
  • ISO International Standards Organization
  • TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/IP Protocol
  • TCP/IP can be used over an Ethernet, a token ring, a dial-up line, or virtually any other kinds of physical transmission media.
  • the traditional type of communication network is circuit switched.
  • the U.S. telephone system uses such circuit switching techniques.
  • the switching equipment within the telephone system seeks out a physical path from the originating telephone to the receiver's telephone.
  • a circuit-switched network attempts to form a dedicated connection, or circuit, between these two points by first establishing a circuit from the originating phone through the local switching office, then across trunk lines, to a remote switching office, and finally to the destination telephone. This dedicated connection exists until the call terminates.
  • the establishment of a completed path is a prerequisite to the transmission of data for circuit switched networks.
  • the microphone captures analog signals, and the signals are transmitted to the Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) Central Office (CO) in analog form over an analog loop.
  • LEC Local Exchange Carrier
  • CO Central Office
  • the analog signal is not converted to digital form until it reaches the LEC Co, and even then only if the equipment is modern enough to support digital information.
  • the analog signals are converted to digital at the device and transmitted to the LEC as digital information.
  • the circuit guarantees that the samples can be delivered and reproduced by maintaining a data path of 64 Kbps (thousand bits per second). This rate is not the rate required to send digitized voice per se. Rather, 64Kbps is the rate required to send voice digitized with the Pulse Code Modulated (PCM) technique. Many other methods for digitizing voice exist, including ADPCM (32Kbps), GSM (13 Kbps), TrueSpeech 8.5 (8.5 Kbps), G.723 (6.4 Kbps or 5.3 Kbps) and Voxware RT29HQ (2.9 Kbps). Furthermore, the 64 Kbps path is maintained from LEC Central Office (CO) Switch to LEC CO, but not from end to end. The analog local loop transmits an analog signal, not 64 Kbps digitized audio. One of these analog local loops typically exists as the "last mile" of each of the telephone network circuits to attach the local telephone of the calling party.
  • PCM Pulse Code Modulated
  • circuit switching has two significant drawbacks.
  • circuit switching infrastructure is built around 64 Kbps circuits.
  • the infrastructure assumes the use of PCM encoding techniques for voice.
  • very high quality codecs are available that can encode voice using less than one-tenth of the bandwidth of PCM.
  • the circuit switched network blindly allocates 64 Kbps of bandwidth for a call, end-to-end, even if only one-tenth of the bandwidth is utilized.
  • each circuit generally only connects two parties. Without the assistance of conference bridging equipment, an entire circuit to a phone is occupied in connecting one party to another party. Circuit switching has no multicast or multipoint communication capabilities, except when used in combination with conference bridging equipment.
  • connection-oriented virtual or physical circuit setup such as circuit switching, requires more time at connection setup time than comparable connectionless techniques due to the end-to-end handshaking required between the conversing parties.
  • Message switching is another switching strategy that has been considered. With this form of switching, no physical path is established in advance between the sender and receiver; instead, whenever the sender has a block of data to be sent, it is stored at the first switching office and retransmitted to the next switching point after enor inspection. Message switching places no limit on block size, thus requiring that switching stations must have disks to buffer long blocks of data; also, a single block may tie up a line for many minutes, rendering message switching useless for interactive traffic.
  • Packet switched networks which predominate the computer network industry, divide data into small pieces called packets that are multiplexed onto high capacity intermachine connections.
  • a packet is a block of data with a strict upper limit on block size that carries with it sufficient identification necessary for delivery to its destination.
  • Such packets usually contain several hundred bytes of data and occupy a given transmission line for only a few tens of milliseconds. Delivery of a larger file via packet switching requires that it be broken into many small packets and sent one at a time from one machine to the other.
  • the network hardware delivers these packets to the specified destination, where the software reassembles them into a single file.
  • Packet switching is used by virtually all computer interconnections because of its efficiency in data transmissions. Packet switched networks use bandwidth on a circuit as needed, allowing other transmissions to pass through the lines in the interim. Furthermore, throughput is increased by the fact that a router or switching office can quickly forward to the next stop any given packet, or portion of a large file, that it receives, long before the other packets of the file have arrived. In message switching, the intermediate router would have to wait until the entire block was delivered before forwarding. Today, message switching is no longer used in computer networks because of the superiority of packet switching.
  • the public switched telephone network was designed with the goal of transmitting human voice, in a more or less recognizable form. Their suitability has been improved for computer-to-computer communications but remains far from optimal.
  • a cable running between two computers can transfer data at speeds in the hundreds of megabits, and even gigabits per second. A poor error rate at these speeds would be only one enor per day.
  • a dial-up line using standard telephone lines, has a maximum data rate in the thousands of bits per second, and a much higher enor rate.
  • the combined bit rate times enor rate performance of a local cable could be 11 orders of magnitude better than a voice-grade telephone line.
  • New technology has been improving the performance of these lines.
  • the Internet is composed of a great number of individual networks, together forming a global connection of thousands of computer systems. After understanding that machines are connected to the individual networks, we can investigate how the networks are connected together to form an internetwork, or an intemet. At this point, internet gateways and internet routers come into play.
  • gateways and routers provide those links necessary to send packets between networks and thus make connections possible. Without these links, data communication through the Internet would not be possible, as the information either would not reach its destination or would be incomprehensible upon arrival.
  • a gateway may be thought of as an entrance to a communications network that performs code and protocol conversion between two otherwise incompatible networks. For instance, gateways transfer electronic mail and data files between networks over the internet.
  • IP Routers are also computers that connect networks and is a newer term prefened by vendors. These routers must make decisions as to how to send the data packets it receives to its destination through the use of continually updated routing tables. By analyzing the destination network address of the packets, routers make these decisions. Importantly, a router does not generally need to decide which host or end user will receive a packet; instead, a router seeks only the destination network and thus keeps track of information sufficient to get to the appropriate network, not necessarily the appropriate end user. Therefore, routers do not need to be huge supercomputing systems and are often just machines with small main memories and little disk storage. The distinction between gateways and routers is slight, and cunent usage blurs the line to the extent that the two terms are often used interchangeably. In cunent terminology, a gateway moves data between different protocols and a router moves data between different networks. So a system that moves mail between TCP/IP and OSI is a gateway, but a traditional IP gateway (that connects different networks) is a router.
  • the telephone system is organized as a highly redundant, multilevel hierarchy. Each telephone has two copper wires coming out of it that go directly to the telephone company's nearest end office, also called a local central office. The distance is typically less than 10 km; in the U.S. alone, there are approximately 20,000 end offices.
  • the concatenation of the area code and the first three digits of the telephone number uniquely specify an end office and help dictate the rate and billing structure.
  • the two-wire connections between each subscriber's telephone and the end office are called local loops. If a subscriber attached to a given end office calls another subscriber attached to the same end office, the switching mechanism within the office sets up a direct electrical connection between the two local loops. This connection remains intact for the duration of the call, due to the circuit switching techniques discussed earlier.
  • each end office has a number of outgoing lines to one or more nearby switching centers, called toll offices. These lines are called toll connecting trunks. If both the caller's and the receiver's end offices happen to have a toll connecting trunk to the same toll office, the connection may be established within the toll office. If the caller and the recipient of the call do not share a toll office, then the path will have to be established somewhere higher up in the hierarchy.
  • TCP/IP In addition to the data transfer functionality of the Internet, TCP/IP also seeks to convince users that the Internet is a solitary, virtual network. TCP/IP accomplishes this by providing a universal interconnection among machines, independent of the specific networks to which hosts and end users attach. Besides router interconnection of physical networks, software is required on each host to allow application programs to use the Internet as if it were a single, real physical network.
  • IP Internet Protocol
  • routing is the process of choosing a path over which to send packets.
  • routers are the computers that make such choices. For the routing of information from one host within a network to another host on the same network, the datagrams that are sent do not actually reach the Internet backbone. This is an example of internal routing, which is completely self-contained within the network. The machines outside of the network do not participate in these internal routing decisions.
  • Direct delivery is the transmission of a datagram from one machine across a single physical network to another machine on the same physical network. Such deliveries do not involve routers. Instead, the sender encapsulates the datagram in a physical frame, addresses it, and then sends the frame directly to the destination machine.
  • Indirect delivery is necessary when more than one physical network is involved, in particular when a machine on one network wishes to communicate with a machine on another network. This type of communication is what we think of when we speak of routing information across the Internet backbone.
  • routers are required. To send a datagram, the sender must identify a router to which the datagram can be sent, and the router then forwards the datagram towards the destination network. Recall that routers generally do not keep track of the individual host addresses (of which there are millions), but rather just keeps track of physical networks (of which there are thousands). Essentially, routers in the Internet form a cooperative, interconnected structure, and datagrams pass from router to router across the backbone until they reach a router that can deliver the datagram directly.
  • ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode
  • ATM networks require mode hardware including:
  • High speed switches that can operate at gigabit (trillion bit) per second speeds to handle the traffic from many computers.
  • Optical fibers (versus copper wires) that provide high data transfer rates, with host-to- ATM switch connections running at 100 or 155 Mbps (million bits per second).
  • ATM inco ⁇ orates features of both packet switching and circuit switching, as it is designed to cany voice, video, and television signals in addition to data. Pure packet switching technology is not conducive to canying voice transmissions because such transfers demand more stable bandwidth.
  • Frame relay systems use packet switching techniques, but are more efficient than traditional systems. This efficiency is partly due to the fact that they perform less error checking than traditional X.25 packet-switching services. In fact, many intermediate nodes do little or no enor checking at all and only deal with routing, leaving the enor checking to the higher layers of the system. With the greater reliability of today's transmissions, much of the enor checking previously performed has become unnecessary. Thus, frame relay offers increased performance compared to traditional systems.
  • An Integrated Services Digital Network is an "international telecommunications standard for transmitting voice, video, and data over digital lines," most commonly running at 64 kilobits per second. The traditional phone network runs voice at only 4 kilobits per second.
  • an end user or company must upgrade to ISDN terminal equipment, central office hardware, and central office software. The ostensible goals of ISDN include the following:
  • An ISP is composed of several disparate systems. As ISP integration proceeds, formerly independent systems now become part of one larger whole with concomitant increases in the level of analysis, testing, scheduling, and training in all disciplines of the ISP.
  • Real-time view of the status of each conference call participant, ANI and an alphanumeric representation to identify each participant entered by the initiator when a call is "reserved" can be displayed on screen as participants connect to conference. This information is captured as part of the call record set forth earlier and detailed in the appendix.
  • a conference call without callback leg is enabled.
  • a callback customer participates through a Voice Over Network (VON) application utilizing a computer with voice capability, and can initiate a video screen popup on the computer display for manual operator assistance as detailed above in the description of a video operator.
  • VON Voice Over Network
  • An expert system monitors each call in accordance with a prefened embodiment.
  • the system includes rules that define what logic to execute when an exception occurs.
  • the rules include specialized processing based on whether the call is routed via a PSTN or the internet.
  • the system includes a default connection to a manual operator if no other correction of the connection is available. For example, if a caller hangs up during a teleconference and other callers are still connected, an exception message is sent to each of the still connected callers informing them of the status change.
  • Another aspect of the expert system is to ensure quality of service (QOS) and produce reports indicating both integrity and exceptions.
  • QOS quality of service
  • Scheduling of resources is tied to this expert system, which regulates whether calls can be scheduled based on available or projected resources at the time of the proposed c;dl. For example, since all calls used by this system are initiated by the callback switch, if there are insufficient outgoing trunk ports during the period of time that a callback subscriber requests, then the callback subscriber is prompted to select another time or denied access to the resources for that time. This is utilized to predict when additional ports and/or resources are required.
  • the NGN operations architecture specifies the points of insertion and collections for network wide events that feed the Fault Management systems. Since the components of the packet portion of the hybrid NGN infrastructure are in most cases manageable by SNMP or some other standard management protocol the major challenges are the following:
  • the network management components of the NGN provide comprehensive solutions to address these challenges. Conelation is provided by the use of rules based inference engines. Event gathering and inte ⁇ retation is typically performed by custom development of software interfaces which communicate directly with the network elements, process raw events and sort them by context prior to storing them. For example, alarms versus command responses. The mediation and standardization challenge is addressed by using a comprehensive library of all possible message types and network events categorize the numerous messages that the NGN generates.
  • FIG. 45 is a flowchart showing a Fault Management Process 4500 in accordance with a prefened embodiment of the present invention.
  • the Fault Management Process 4500 begins with a transmitting step 4502.
  • step 4502 data is transmitted over the hybrid network, including video and mixed audio information.
  • the data transmission generally makes full use of the hybrid networks mixed circuit-switched an packet-switched components.
  • the hybrid network includes approximately all the advantages of a packet based network while still making use of the older circuit-switched components already in place. The system is able to do this by conelating events raised by both the circuit-switched and packet-switch network elements, as discussed later in relation to event and conelating steps 4504 and 4506.
  • a circuit-switched event gathering step 4504 an event is obtained from a circuit-switched based network element.
  • event gathering and inte ⁇ retation is typically performed by custom developed software interfaces which communicate directly with the network elements, process raw network events, and sort the events by context prior to storing them. After obtaining the events, the events are correlated in a conelation step 4506.
  • a conelation step 4506 the event gathered in step 4504 is conelated with a second event obtained from a packet-switched network element.
  • packet-switched event gathering and inte ⁇ retation is typically performed by custom developed software interfaces which communicate directly with the network elements, process raw network events, and sort the events by context prior to storing them.
  • the conelation is preferably provided by a rules based inference engine. After the events are conelated, a fault message is created in a fault message step 4508.
  • a fault message is created based on the conelated first and second events obtained in steps 4504 and 4506.
  • the fault message is created utilizing a comprehensive library of all possible message types and network events which categorizes the numerous messages that the hybrid network generates.
  • FIG. 46 is a block diagram showing a Fault Management component 4600 in accordance with a prefened embodiment of the present invention.
  • the Fault Management component 4600 records failures and exceptions in network devices (e.g. network routers or UNIX servers) and performs the following operations:
  • the Fault Management component 4600 includes the following elements:
  • SNMP Devices 4606 Any SNMP manageable device.
  • HP OV Network Node Manager (Collector Component) 4608 - HP OpenView Network Node
  • Manager is one product which performs several functions. In this context it is it is responsible for receiving performance information from BMC Patrol clients via BMC Patrol View.
  • Seagate NerveCenter 4610 - In a fault management context, Seagate NerveCenter performs root- cause conelation of faults and events across the network.
  • HP OV Network Node Manager Network Map 4612 - HP OpenView Network Node Manager is one product which performs several functions. In this context it is responsible for maintaining and displaying the node level network map of the network the MNSIS architecture monitors.
  • HP OV Network Node Manager 4614 - HP OpenView Network Node Manager is one product which performs several functions. In this context it is it is responsible for receiving and displaying all events, regardless of their source.
  • Netcool HP OV NNM Probe 4616 An Omnibus Netcool probe which is installed on the same system as HP OV Network Node Manager and forwards events to the Omnibus Netcool Object Server.
  • RADIUS Remote Authentication Dial Determination
  • the Omnibus Netcool Object Server is a real-time memory
  • Notification Spooler 4622 - A custom provided sub-component which spools job-files that specify which events have occuned for possible notifications.
  • Each spooled job represents a specific event that was received by the Netcool Object Server and may need to result in one or more notification actions.
  • Each job is stored as a file in a special notification spool directory.
  • Notification Actor 4626 A custom provided sub-component which determines the alert time, source node, and alert type from the loaded spooled job and initiates notification actions based as specified in the configuration file.
  • Notification actions include alphanumeric pages, trouble tickets, email, and resolution scripts. Multiple notification actions can be specified in the configuration files such that different actions are taken for different alert times, source nodes, and/or alert types. Default actions are also supported.
  • Alphanumeric Page 4628 An alphanumeric page sent using Telamon TelAlert via modem dialing the relevant paging provider.
  • the alphanumeric page message provides contextual notification of actions to be performed.
  • Context can include any information but frequently contains information such as the device name, problem description, and priority.
  • Electronic Mail Message 4630 An internet mail message send using the UNIX mail utility.
  • the mail message is frequently used to provide non-urgent notification of situations or actions automatically performed by the MNSIS architecture along with detailed context.
  • Local Script Execution 4632 Initiates any local script on the machine, which may initiate scripts or applications on other machines.
  • Remedy Gateway 4634 The Omnibus Netcool Remedy Gateway automatically reads alerts in the Netcool Object Server and opens tickets within Remedy as customized by the user.
  • the Remedy trouble ticket ID is returned to the Omnibus and can be viewed as further reference.
  • Remedy 4636 Remedy Action Request System, a trouble ticketing system.
  • Oracle Gateway 4638 The Omnibus Netcool Oracle Gateway automatically reads alerts in the Netcool Object Server and logs records within Oracle as customized by the user.
  • Oracle 4640 - Oracle is a relational database management system.
  • SQL Loader Script 4646 - A custom script which automatically loads records into Oracle via SQL Loader Direct Load.
  • the Proactive Threshold Manager is an automated network manager that forewarns service providers of a chance that a service level agreement to maintain a certain level of service is in danger of being breached.
  • the Proactive Threshold Manager provides real-time threshold analysis (that is, it continuously monitors for plan thresholds that have been exceeded) using algorithms. It receives call detail records from the Server and returns alarms which may be retrieved and examined using an NGN workstation.
  • the threshold manager resides on an NGN hybrid network computer.
  • a threshold generally is a number which, when exceeded, generates an alarm in the Proactive Threshold Manager indicating possible breach of a service level agreement. Thresholds may be specified for the time of day and/or the day of the week. Furthermore, a threshold may be applied to each category for which the Proactive threshold manager keeps counts, including the number of short-duration calls, long-duration calls, and cumulative minutes.
  • the priority is a multiple of the number of times a threshold has been exceeded. For example, if the threshold was 10 and the relevant count has reached 50, then the priority of the alarm is 5 (50.div.10).
  • Each alarm is available to an NGN hybrid network analyst via an NGN Workstation.
  • the workstation is a PC with access to a Server and retrieves the next available alarm of the highest priority.
  • the analyst investigates the alarm data and, if a service level agreement breach is suspected, notifies the provider and suggests appropriate actions to stop the breach.
  • FIG. 47 is a flowchart showing a Proactive Threshold Management Process 4700 in accordance with a prefened embodiment of the present invention.
  • the process begins with a monitoring step 4702.
  • the Proactive Threshold Manager monitors the NGN hybrid network.
  • the Proactive Threshold Manager generally monitors the network at all times to ensure proper service is provided to subscribers of the network, by assisting service providers in maintaining a proper level of service.
  • the Proactive Threshold Manager determines the minimum level of service needed to avoid breaching subscriber service level agreements.
  • Service level agreement information is generally provided to the Proactive Threshold Manager by the rules database which contains most pertinent subscriber information.
  • the Proactive Threshold Manager senses the cunent level of service which is being provided to customers.
  • Protocol converters assist the Proactive Threshold Manager in communicating with various components of the system. Protocol converters are able to translate information between the packet-switched an circuit-switched system components, thus allowing the Proactive Threshold Manager to communicate with all the components of the hybrid system.
  • the Proactive Threshold Manager compares the cunent level of service, sensed in step 4706, with the minimum level of service, determined in step 4704, to determine where the cunent level of service is in relation to the minimum level service which needs to be provided to subscribers.
  • the Proactive Threshold Manager provides an indication or alarm to the service provider if the cunent level of service is within a predetermined range with respect to the minimum level of service.
  • the threshold is preferably chosen such that the service provider is allowed enough time to cure the service level problem before the minimum service level is reached and the subscriber's service level agreement breached.
  • FIG. 48 is a flowchart showing a Network Sensing Process 4800 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • the Network Sensing Process 4800 begins with an element monitoring step 4802.
  • custom developed element software monitors the individual network elements and generates events based on hardware occunences, such as switch failures.
  • hardware occunences such as switch failures.
  • the various elements that make up the hybrid network are very different from one another.
  • custom software is generally needed for each network element or group of related network elements.
  • the custom developed software communicates directly with the hardware and generates events when various occunences related to the individual hardware happens. For example, when a hardware element fails, the related element software senses the failure and generates an event indicating the hardware failure and the general nature of the failure. The events are then routed to an element manger to processed.
  • events generated in step 4802 are filtered, aggregated, and conelated by an element manager.
  • the element manager is where the primary data reduction functions reside.
  • the element manager filters, aggregates, and conelates the events to further isolate problems within the network. Any information that is deemed critical to monitor and manage the network is translated into standard object format in a translation step 4806.
  • a translation step 4806 information from step 4804 that is deemed critical to monitor and manage the network is translated into a standard object format. Generally, typical operational events are only logged and not translated into standard object format. However, critical information, such as hardware failure, is translated and forwarded to the Information Services Manager in an information provisioning step 4808.
  • step 4808 information from step 4806 is received by the
  • the Information Services Manager provides the data management and data communications between the element manager and other system components.
  • the Information Services Manager adheres to CORBA standards to provide universal information access by an object request broker.
  • the object request broker allows the Information Services Manager to share management information stored in distributed databases.
  • the Proactive Threshold Manager uses the information provided by the Information Services Manger to determine a cunent level of service and compare the cunent level of services with the minimum level of service that the service provider can provide without violating SLAs.
  • the element manager works with the Information Services Manager and the Presentation Manager to assist in the management of the hybrid network system.
  • the three components are briefly described below to provide context for the detailed discussion of the element manager that follows.
  • the element manager communicates with the network elements to receive alarms and alerts through trapping and polling techniques.
  • the element manager is the layer where the primary data reduction functions reside. At this layer, events received at the element manager will be filtered, aggregated and conelated to further isolate problems within the network. Information that is deemed critical to monitor and manage the network is translated into a standard object format and forwarded to the Information Services Manager.
  • An element manager can be, but is not necessarily, software which adheres to open standards such as the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and the Object Management Group's (OMG) Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA).
  • SNMP Simple Network Management Protocol
  • OMG Object Management Group's
  • CORBA Common Object Request Broker Architecture
  • the information services manager provides the data management and data communications between element managers and presentation managers. All information forwarded from the element managers is utilized by the information services manager to provide information to the network operators.
  • the information services manager adheres to CORBA standards to provide ubiquitous information access via an object request broker (ORB).
  • ORB allows the information services manager to share management information stored in distributed databases.
  • the information services manager stores critical management information into operational (real-time) and analytical (historical) distributed databases. These databases provide common data storage so that new products can be easily inserted into the management environment. For example, if an event is received at an element manager that is deemed critical to display to a network user, the information services manager will store a copy of the alarm in the operational database and then forward the alarm to the appropriate network operator.
  • the databases includes online manuals for administrative pu ⁇ oses, as well as for the maintenance specialists to access element specific information.
  • the databases also provide procedures, policies and computer based training to network users.
  • the information services manager provides requested information (real-time and historical) to the network users via the presentation manager.
  • the presentation manager performs the function its name implies: the presentation of the information to an end user. Because different locations and job functions require access to different types of information, there are at least two types of display methods. The first is for graphic intensive presentations and the second is for nomadic use, such as field technicians. The first environment requires a graphic intensive display, such as those provided by X- Windows/MOT F. The second environment is potentially bandwidth poor where dial-up or wireless access may be used along with more traditional LAN access. This is also where browser technology is employed.
  • the Element Management Aspect of the present invention works in conjunction with other components of the system, such as Fault Management, to provide communication between the various network elements of the system.
  • FIG. 49 is a flowchart showing an Element Management Process 4900 in accordance with a prefened embodiment of the present invention.
  • the Element Management Process 4900 begins with a monitoring step 4902.
  • the Element Manager monitors the system for events generated by network elements.
  • the Element Manager continuously monitors the system to translate events for other system components, such as the Fault Management Component.
  • the Element Manager receives events from various network elements.
  • the events are provided by custom software interfaces which communicate directly with network elements.
  • the software interfaces preferably process the raw network events and sort them by context prior to providing the events to the Element Manager.
  • a filtering and conelating step 4906 the Element Manager filters and conelates the events received in step 4904.
  • the conelation is provided by a rules based inference engine.
  • the Element Manager After collecting and conelating the events, the Element Manager performs a translation step 4908.
  • the events conelated in step 4906 are translated into standard object format.
  • the organization model for customer service support in the NGN network provides a single point of contact that is customer focused. This single point of contact provides technical expertise in resolving customer incidents, troubles and requests. Generally a three tiered support structure is greatly increases customer satisfaction in service needs. Each tier, or level, possess an increased level of skill, with tasks and responsibilities distributed accordingly.
  • Figure 50 is a flowchart showing a Three Tiered Customer Support Process 5000 in accordance with a prefened embodiment of the present invention.
  • Process 5000 begins with a First Tier step 5002.
  • a customer with a hybrid network problem is provided access to customer support personnel having a broad set of technical skills.
  • the broad set of technical skills allows this group to solve about 60-70% of all hybrid network problems. If the customers network problem is solved at this stage, the process ends. However, if the customers network problem is not solved at this stage, the process continues to a Second Tier step 5002.
  • the customer is provided access to technical experts and field support personnel who may specialize in specific areas. The greater specialized nature of this group allows it to solve many problems the group in step 5002 could not solve. This group is generally responsible for solving 30-40% of all hybrid network problems. If the customers network problem is solved at this stage, the process ends. However, if the customers network problem is not solved at this stage, the process continues to a Third Tier step 5006.
  • the customer is provided access to solution experts who are often hardware vendors, software vendors, or customer application development and maintenance teems.
  • Solution experts who are often hardware vendors, software vendors, or customer application development and maintenance teems.
  • Customer network problems that get this far in the customer support process 5000 need individuals possessing in-depth skills to investigate and resolve the difficult problems with there area of expertise.
  • Solution experts are the last resort for solving the most difficult problems.
  • the above model is generally refened to as the Skilled Model because personnel at all three tiers are highly skilled. This model generally creates a high percentage of calls resolved on the first call.
  • Other approaches include a Functional Model, and a Bypass Model. In the Functional
  • Model users are requested to contact different areas depending on the nature of the incident. Calls are routed to the customer support representative best able to handle the call. This model can easily be coupled with the Skill Model above. In the Bypass Model First Tier only logs calls, they do not resolve calls.
  • One advantage of this model is that skilled resources don't have to waste time logging calls.
  • a customer calling a customer support center in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention is first asked a series of questions by an interactive voice response (IVR) system or an live operator.
  • the customer uses Touch-Tone keys on the telephone to respond to these queries from the IVR, or responds normally to a live operator.
  • IVR interactive voice response
  • the previously gathered information (both from the IVR query responses and the diagnostic information solicited from the system problem handlers and element managers) is available to the product support engineer.
  • the product support engineer can query the customer's computer via support agents for additional information, if necessary.
  • the customer spends less time interacting with a product support engineer, and is relieved of many of the responsibilities in diagnosing and resolving problems. Automated diagnoses and shorter customer interactions save the product support center time, resources, and money. At the same time, the customer receives a better diagnosis and resolution of the problem than could usually be achieved with prior art product support techniques.
  • one embodiment of the present invention makes the Internet a viable alternative to telephone calls as a tool for providing consumer product support.
  • Many on-line computer services such as Prodigy and America On-Line, provide, for a fee as a part of their on-line service, software for connecting to and accessing the Internet.
  • the Internet access software accesses and "handshakes" with an "Internet Entry Server", which verifies the PIN number, provides the access and times the user's access time.
  • the Internet Entry Server is programmed to recognize the PIN number as entitling the user to a limited prepaid or "free" Internet access time for on-line help services. Such a time period could be for a total time period such as 1 hour or more, or access to on-line help services can be unlimited for 90 days, 6 months, etc., for example, with the access time paid for by the sponsor/vendor.
  • the first time a customer uses the on-line help service the Internet Entry Server performs a registration process which includes a number of personal questions and custom data gathering in the form of queries provided by the sponsor/vendor for response by the user.
  • the Internet Entry Server then "hot-links" the customer to the sponsor/vendor's Internet domain or Home Page for a mandatory "guided tour" where the user is exposed to any cunent product promotion by the sponsor/vendor and can download promotional coupons, product information, etc. After this mandatory guided tour is completed, the customer is allowed to enter queries for help in installing or using the sponsor/vendor's product. As an optional promotional service, upon termination of the on-line help session, access to other information on the Internet can be provided. Once the "free" on-line help service time or time period is up, the Internet Entry Server prompts the user with one or more of a plurality of options for extending the availability of online help.
  • the user can be prompted to enter a credit card number to which on-line help charges can be charged; he or she can be given the opportunity to answer additional survey information in return for additional "free" on-line help; or a 900 subscriber paid telephone access number can be provided through which additional on-line help will be billed via the normal telephone company 900 billing cycles.
  • One embodiment of the present invention allows a user of a web application to communicate in an audio fashion in-band without having to pick up another telephone. Users can click a button and go to a call center through a hybrid network using IP telephony. The system invokes an IP telephony session simultaneously with the data session, and uses an active directory lookup whenever a person uses the system.
  • FIG 51 is a flowchart showing an integrated IP telephony process 5100 in accordance with a prefened embodiment of the present invention.
  • the IP telephony process 5100 begins with a transmitting step 5102.
  • step 5102 data is transmitted over the hybrid network during a data session.
  • This data session is typically a normal Internet browsing session, and is generally initiated by a web browser.
  • users Utilizing a web browser, users begin the data session by performing actions such as searching for web sites or downloading data from Internet sites.
  • the present invention allows users the option to initiate phone calls without the need to use another telephone.
  • a telephony step 5104 the present invention allows users to initiate and continue telephonic communication.
  • the telephonic is routed by a user action in step 5106, when a user selects a phone number to call.
  • Telephone numbers are typically included in a telephone directory accessible on screen by the user.
  • the directory may include icons which provide a highly recognizable visual mnemonic to allow users to easily recall the information included in a particular directory entry.
  • the present invention utilizes the routing information to direct the call. Since both the original data from the data session and the new IP telephony data use Internet protocol, the present invention can provide a seamless integration of the two, to provide virtually simultaneous telephonic and non-telephonic data communication. The availability of packet switching elements in the hybrid network facilitate this process.
  • packets in the form of units of data are transmitted from a source- such as a user terminal, computer, application program within a computer, or other data handling or data communication device— to a destination, which may be simply another data handling or data communication device of the same character.
  • the devices themselves typically are refened to as users, in the context of the network.
  • Blocks or frames of data are transmitted over a link along a path between nodes of the network.
  • Each block consists of a packet together with control information in the form of a header and a trailer which are added to the packet as it exits the respective node.
  • the header typically contains, in addition to the destination address field, a number of subfields such as operation code, source address, sequence number, and length code.
  • the trailer is typically a technique for generating redundancy checks, such as a cyclic redundancy code for detecting enors.
  • the receiving node strips off the control information, performs the required synchronization and enor detection, and reinserts the control information onto the departing packet.
  • Packet switching arose, in part, to fulfill the need for low cost data communications in networks developed to allow access to host computers.
  • Special p pose computers designated as communication processors have been developed to offload the communication handling tasks which were formerly required of the host.
  • the communication processor is adapted to interface with the host and to route packets along the network; consequently, such a processor is often simply called a packet switch.
  • Data concentrators have also been developed to interface with hosts and to route packets along the network. In essence, data concentrators serve to switch a number of lightly used links onto a smaller number of more heavily used links. They are often used in conjunction with, and ahead of, the packet switch.
  • packet-switched data transmission is accomplished via predetermined end-to-end paths through the network, in which user packets associated with a great number of users share link and switch facilities as the packets travel over the network.
  • the packets may require storage at nodes between transmission links of the network until they may be forwarded along the respective outgoing link for the overall path.
  • connectionless transmission another mode of packet-switched data transmission, no initial connection is required for a data path through the network. In this mode, individual datagrams canying a destination address are routed through the network from source to destination via intermediate nodes, and do not necessarily arrive in the order in which they were transmitted.
  • the telephonic communication over the hybrid network is limited bases on a user profile.
  • the user profile is included in a rules database.
  • the rules database can provide seamless cross-location registration without the need for duplicate databases located on different networks.
  • the computer used to interface with the Internet includes multimedia equipment such as speakers and a microphone. Utilizing a multimedia equipped computer allows a user to use telephonic communication with little or no disruption while interfacing with the Internet. Multimedia computer speakers are used to receive the telephony audio from the network and the microphone is used to transmit the telephony data to the network.
  • the present invention includes data mining capability that provides the capability to analyze network management data looking for patterns and conelations across multiple dimensions.
  • the system also constructs models of the behavior of the data in order to predict future growth or problems and facilitate managing the network in a proactive, yet cost-effective manner.
  • a technique called data mining allows a user to search large databases and to discover hidden patterns in that data.
  • Data mining is thus the efficient discovery of valuable, non-obvious information from a large collection of data and centers on the automated discovery of new facts and underlying relationships in the data.
  • the term "data mining” comes from the idea that the raw material is the business data, and the data mining algorithm is the excavator, shifting through the vast quantities of raw data looking for the valuable nuggets of business information.
  • Accurate forecasting relies heavily upon the ability to analyze large amounts of data. This task is extremely difficult because of the sheer quantity of data involved and the complexity of the analyses that must be performed. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the data often resides in multiple databases, each database having different internal file structures.
  • FIG 52 is a flowchart showing a Data Mining Process 5200 in accordance with a prefened embodiment of the present invention.
  • the Data Mining Process 5200 begins with an identifying step 5202.
  • the system identifies patterns and conelations in the system data over the hybrid communication system.
  • the system data is analyzed across multiple dimensions to provide better future system behavior prediction.
  • a model building step 5204 the system builds a model of the network behavior based on the patterns and conelations identified in step 5202.
  • Data mining is a process that uses specific techniques to find patterns in data, allowing a user to conduct a relatively broad search of large databases for relevant information that may not be explicitly stored in the databases.
  • a user initially specifies a search phrase or strategy and the system then extracts patterns and relations conesponding to that strategy from the stored data.
  • Such a search system permits searching across multiple databases.
  • the extracted patterns and relations can be: (1) used by the user, or data analyst, to form a prediction model; (2) used to refine an existing model; and/or (3) organized into a summary of the target database, as in predicting step 5206.
  • a predicting step 5206 the system predicts future behavior of the network based on the model generated in step 5204.
  • data mining There are two existing forms of data mining: top-down; and bottom-up. Both forms are separately available on existing systems. Top-down systems are also refened to as "pattern validation,” “verification-driven data mining” and “confirmatory analysis.” This is a type of analysis that allows an analyst to express a piece of knowledge, validate or validate that knowledge, and obtain the reasons for the validation or invalidation. The validation step in a top- down analysis requires that data refuting the knowledge as well as data supporting the knowledge be considered.
  • Bottom-up systems are also refened to as “data exploration .” Bottom- up systems discover knowledge, generally in the form of patterns, in data.
  • the network is managed based on the future behavior of the network.
  • Data mining involves the development of tools that analyze large databases to extract useful information from them.
  • customer purchasing patterns may be derived from a large customer transaction database by analyzing its transaction records.
  • Such purchasing habits can provide invaluable marketing information. For example, retailers can create more effective store displays and more effective control inventory than otherwise would be possible if they know consumer purchase patterns.
  • catalog companies can conduct more effective mass mailings if they know that, given that a consumer has purchased a first item, the same consumer can be expected, with some degree of probability, to purchase a particular second item within a defined time period after the first purchase.
  • Classification of the data records to extract useful information is an essential part of data mining. Of importance to the present invention is the construction of a classifier, from records of known classes, for use in classifying other records whose classes are unknown.
  • a classifier is generated from input data, also called a training set, which consist of multiple records. Each record is identified with a class label. The input data is analyzed to develop an accurate description, or model, for each class of the records. Based on the class descriptions, the classifier can then classify future records, refened to as test data, for which the class labels are unknown.
  • a credit card company which has a large database on its card holders and wants to develop a profile for each customer class that will be used for accepting or rejecting future credit applicants. Assuming that the card holders have been divided into two classes, good and bad customers, based on their credit history. The problem can be solved using classification.
  • a training set consisting of customer data with the assigned classes are provided to a classifier as input.
  • the output from the classifier is a description of each class, i.e., good and bad, which then can be used to process future credit card applicants.
  • Similar applications of classification are also found in other fields such as target marketing, medical diagnosis, treatment effectiveness, and store location search.
  • Another data mining classifier technique solves the memory constraint problem and simultaneously improve execution time by partitioning the data into subsets that fit in the memory and developing classifiers for the subsets in parallel. The output of the classifiers are then combined using various algorithms to obtain the final classification. This approach reduces running time significantly. Another method classifies data in batches.
  • Internet architecture framework like the one shown in Figure 53 to support various features such as an electronic commerce component 5300, a content channels component 5302, an administrative component 5304, a customer relationship management component 5306, a content management and publishing services component 5308, an education related services component 5310, or a web customer service component 5312.
  • the present invention provides a new kind of web architecture framework (called “WAF” in this document) that secures, administers, and audits electronic information use.
  • WAF also features fundamentally important capabilities for managing content that travels "across" the "information highway.” These capabilities comprise a rights protection solution that serves all electronic community members. These members include content creators and distributors, financial service providers, end-users, and others.
  • WAF is the first general pu ⁇ ose, configurable, transaction control/rights protection solution for users of computers, other electronic appliances, networks, and the information highway.
  • the Internet is a method of interconnecting physical networks and a set of conventions for using networks that allow the computers they reach to interact.
  • the Internet is a huge, global network spanning over 92 countries and comprising 59,000 academic, commercial, government, and military networks, according to the Government Accounting Office (GAO), with these numbers expected to double each year. Furthermore, there are about 10 million host computers, 50 million users, and 76,000 World-Wide Web servers connected to the Internet.
  • the backbone of the Internet consists of a series of high-speed communication links between major supercomputer sites and educational and research institutions within the U.S. and throughout the world.
  • TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
  • RRCs Requests for Comments
  • ITU- T The International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication Standardization Sector
  • ITU G.711 Recommendation for Pulse Code Modulation of 3kHz Audio Channels.
  • ITU G.722 Recommendation for 7kHz Audio Coding within a 64 kbit/s channel.
  • ITU G.723 Recommendation for dual rate speech coder for multimedia communication transmitting at 5.3 and 6.3 kbits.
  • ITU G.728 Recommendation for coding of speech at 16 kbit/s using low-delay code excited linear prediction (LD-CELP)
  • ITU H.221 Frame Structure for a 64 to 1920 kbit/s Channel in Audiovisual Teleservices
  • ITU H.225 ITU Recommendation for Media Stream Packetization and Synchronization on non- guaranteed quality of service LANs.
  • ITU H.243 System for Establishing Communication Between Three or More Audiovisual
  • ITU H.245 Recommendation for a control protocol for multimedia communication
  • ITU H.261 Recommendation for Video Coder-Decoder for audiovisual services supporting video resolutions of 352x288 pixels and 176x144 pixels.
  • ITU H.263 Recommendation for Video Coder-Decoder for audiovisual services supporting video resolutions of 128x96 pixels, 176x144 pixels, 352x288 pixels, 704x576 pixels and
  • ITU H.323 ITU Recommendation for Visual Telephone Systems and Equipment for Local Area
  • ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network the digital communication standard for transmission of voice, video and data on a single communications link.
  • RTP Real-Time Transport Protocol an Internet Standard Protocol for transmission of real-time data like voice and video over unicast and multicast networks.
  • EP Internet Protocol an Internet Standard Protocol for transmission and delivery of data packets on a packet switched network of interconnected computer systems.
  • TCP/IP Open protocol standards, freely available and developed independently of any hardware or operating system. Thus, TCP/IP is capable of being used with different hardware and software, even if Internet communication is not required.
  • TCP/IP can be used over an Ethernet, a token ring, a dial-up line, or virtually any other kinds of physical transmission media.
  • the traditional type of communication network is circuit switched.
  • the U.S. telephone system uses such circuit switching techniques.
  • the switching equipment within the telephone system seeks out a physical path from the originating telephone to the receiver's telephone.
  • a circuit-switched network attempts to form a dedicated connection, or circuit, between these two points by first establishing a circuit from the originating phone through the local switching office, then across trunk lines, to a remote switching office, and finally to the destination telephone. This dedicated connection exists until the call terminates.
  • the establishment of a completed path is a prerequisite to the transmission of data for circuit switched networks.
  • the microphone captures analog signals, and the signals are transmitted to the Local Exchange Canier (LEC) Central Office (CO) in analog form over an analog loop.
  • LEC Local Exchange Canier
  • CO Central Office
  • the analog signal is not converted to digital form until it reaches the LEC Co, and even then only if the equipment is modem enough to support digital information.
  • the analog signals are converted to digital at the device and transmitted to the LEC as digital information.
  • the circuit guarantees that the samples can be delivered and reproduced by maintaining a data path of 64 Kbps (thousand bits per second). This rate is not the rate required to send digitized voice per se. Rather, 64 Kbps is the rate required to send voice digitized with the Pulse Code Modulated (PCM) technique. Many other methods for digitizing voice exist, including ADPCM (32 Kbps), GSM (13 Kbps), TrueSpeech 8.5 (8.5 Kbps), G.723 (6.4 Kbps or 5.3 Kbps) and Voxware RT29HQ (2.9 Kbps). Furthermore, the 64 Kbps path is maintained from LEC Central Office (CO) Switch to LEC CO, but not from end to end. The analog local loop transmits an analog signal, not 64 Kbps digitized audio. One of these analog local loops typically exists as the "last mile" of each of the telephone network circuits to attach the local telephone of the calling party.
  • PCM Pulse Code Modulated
  • circuit switching has two significant drawbacks.
  • circuit switching infrastructure is built around 64 Kbps circuits.
  • the infrastructure assumes the use of PCM encoding techniques for voice.
  • very high quality codecs are available that can encode voice using less than one-tenth of the bandwidth of
  • circuit switched network blindly allocates 64 Kbps of bandwidth for a call, end-to-end, even if only one-tenth of the bandwidth is utilized.
  • each circuit generally only connects two parties. Without the assistance of conference bridging equipment, an entire circuit to a phone is occupied in connecting one party to another party. Circuit switching has no multicast or multipoint communication capabilities, except when used in combination with conference bridging equipment.
  • connection-oriented virtual or physical circuit setup such as circuit switching, requires more time at connection setup time than comparable connectionless techniques due to the end-to-end handshaking required between the conversing parties.
  • Message switching is another switching strategy that has been considered. With this form of switching, no physical path is established in advance between the sender and receiver; instead, whenever the sender has a block of data to be sent, it is stored at the first switching office and retransmitted to the next switching point after enor inspection. Message switching places no limit on block size, thus requiring that switching stations must have disks to buffer long blocks of data; also, a single block may tie up a line for many minutes, rendering message switching useless for interactive traffic.
  • Packet switched networks which predominate the computer network industry, divide data into small pieces called packets that are multiplexed onto high capacity intermachine connections.
  • a packet is a block of data with a strict upper limit on block size that carries with it sufficient identification necessary for delivery to its destination.
  • Such packets usually contain several hundred bytes of data and occupy a given transmission line for only a few tens of milliseconds. Delivery of a larger file via packet switching requires that it be broken into many small packets and sent one at a time from one machine to the other.
  • the network hardware delivers these packets to the specified destination, where the software reassembles them into a single file.
  • Packet switching is used by virtually all computer interconnections because of its efficiency in data transmissions. Packet switched networks use bandwidth on a circuit as needed, allowing other transmissions to pass through the lines in the interim. Furthermore, throughput is increased by the fact that a router or switching office can quickly forward to the next stop any given packet, or portion of a large file, that it receives, long before the other packets of the file have arrived. In message switching, the intermediate router would have to wait until the entire block was delivered before forwarding. Today, message switching is no longer used in computer networks because of the superiority of packet switching. To better understand the Internet, a comparison to the telephone system is helpful. The public switched telephone network was designed with the goal of transmitting human voice, in a more or less recognizable form.
  • the Internet is composed of a great number of individual networks, together forming a global connection of thousands of computer systems. After understanding that machines are connected to the individual networks, we can investigate how the networks are connected together to form an internetwork, or an internet. At this point, intemet gateways and internet routers come into play.
  • gateways and routers provide those links necessary to send packets between networks and thus make connections possible. Without these links, data communication through the Internet would not be possible, as the information either would not reach its destination or would be incomprehensible upon arrival.
  • a gateway may be thought of as an entrance to a communications network that performs code and protocol conversion between two otherwise incompatible networks. For instance, gateways transfer electronic mail and data files between networks over the internet.
  • IP Routers are also computers that connect networks and is a newer term prefened by vendors. These routers must make decisions as to how to send the data packets it receives to its destination through the use of continually updated routing tables. By analyzing the destination network address of the packets, routers make these decisions. Importantly, a router does not generally need to decide which host or end user will receive a packet; instead, a router seeks only the destination network and thus keeps track of information sufficient to get to the appropriate network, not necessarily the appropriate end user. Therefore, routers do not need to be huge supercomputing systems and are often just machines with small main memories and little disk storage. The distinction between gateways and routers is slight, and cunent usage blurs the line to the extent that the two terms are often used interchangeably. In cunent terminology, a gateway moves data between different protocols and a router moves data between different networks. So a system that moves mail between TCP/IP and OSI is a gateway, but a traditional
  • EP gateway that connects different networks
  • a router that connects different networks
  • the telephone system is organized as a highly redundant, multilevel hierarchy. Each telephone has two copper wires coming out of it that go directly to the telephone company's nearest end office, also called a local central office. The distance is typically less than 10 km; in the U.S. alone, there are approximately 20,000 end offices.
  • the concatenation of the area code and the first three digits of the telephone number uniquely specify an end office and help dictate the rate and billing structure.
  • the two-wire connections between each subscriber's telephone and the end office are called local loops. If a subscriber attached to a given end office calls another subscriber attached to the same end office, the switching mechanism within the office sets up a direct electrical connection between the two local loops. This connection remains intact for the duration of the call, due to the circuit switching techniques discussed earlier.
  • each end office has a number of outgoing lines to one or more nearby switching centers, called toll offices. These lines are called toll connecting trunks. If both the caller's and the receiver's end offices happen to have a toll connecting trunk to the same toll office, the connection may be established within the toll office. If the caller and the recipient of the call do not share a toll office, then the path will have to be established somewhere higher up in the hierarchy.
  • TCP/IP Using Network Level Communication for Smooth User Connection
  • TCP/IP accomplishes this by providing a universal interconnection among machines, independent of the specific networks to which hosts and end users attach. Besides router interconnection of physical networks, software is required on each host to allow application programs to use the Internet as if it were a single, real physical network.
  • IP Internet Protocol/IP
  • datagrams The basis of Internet service is an underlying, connectionless packet delivery system run by routers, with the basic unit of transfer being the packet.
  • TCP/IP such as the Internet backbone
  • these packets are called datagrams. This section will briefly discuss how these datagrams are routed through the Internet.
  • routing is the process of choosing a path over which to send packets.
  • routers are the computers that make such choices. For the routing of information from one host within a network to another host on the same network, the datagrams that are sent do not actually reach the Internet backbone. This is an example of internal routing, which is completely self-contained within the network. The machines outside of the network do not participate in these internal routing decisions.
  • Direct delivery is the transmission of a datagram from one machine across a single physical network to another machine on the same physical network. Such deliveries do not involve routers. Instead, the sender encapsulates the datagram in a physical frame, addresses it, and then sends the frame directly to the destination machine.
  • Indirect delivery is necessary when more than one physical network is involved, in particular when a machine on one network wishes to communicate with a machine on another network. This type of communication is what we think of when we speak of routing information across the Internet backbone.
  • routers are required. To send a datagram, the sender must identify a router to which the datagram can be sent, and the router then forwards the datagram towards the destination network. Recall that routers generally do not keep track of the individual host addresses (of which there are millions), but rather just keeps track of physical networks (of which there are thousands). Essentially, routers in the Internet form a cooperative, interconnected structure, and datagrams pass from router to router across the backbone until they reach a router that can deliver the datagram directly.
  • the changing face of the internet world causes a steady inflow of new systems and technology. The following three developments, each likely to become more prevalent in the near future, serve as an introduction to the technological arena.
  • ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode
  • ATM networks require modem hardware including:
  • High speed switches that can operate at gigabit (trillion bit) per second speeds to handle the traffic from many computers.
  • Optical fibers (versus copper wires) that provide high data transfer rates, with host-to-ATM switch connections running at 100 or 155 Mbps (million bits per second). 3) Fixed size cells, each of which includes 53 bytes.
  • ATM inco ⁇ orates features of both packet switching and circuit switching, as it is designed to cany voice, video, and television signals in addition to data. Pure packet switching technology is not conducive to canying voice transmissions because such transfers demand more stable bandwidth.
  • Frame relay systems use packet switching techniques, but are more efficient than traditional systems. This efficiency is partly due to the fact that they perform less enor checking than traditional X.25 packet-switching services. In fact, many intermediate nodes do little or no enor checking at all and only deal with routing, leaving the enor checking to the higher layers of the system. With the greater reliability of today's transmissions, much of the enor checking previously performed has become unnecessary. Thus, frame relay offers increased performance compared to traditional systems.
  • An Integrated Services Digital Network is an "international telecommunications standard for transmitting voice, video, and data over digital lines," most commonly running at 64 kilobits per second. The traditional phone network runs voice at only 4 kilobits per second.
  • an end user or company must upgrade to ISDN terminal equipment, central office hardware, and central office software. The ostensible goals of ISDN include the following:
  • An ISP is composed of several disparate systems. As ISP integration proceeds, formerly independent systems now become part of one larger whole with concomitant increases in the level of analysis, testing, scheduling, and training in all disciplines of the ISP.
  • ATM asynchronous transfer mode pushes network control to the periphery of the network, obviating the trunk and switching models of traditional, circuit-based telephony. It is expected to be deployed widely to accommodate these high bandwidth services.
  • WAF supports a general pu ⁇ ose foundation for secure transaction management, including usage control, auditing, reporting, and/or payment.
  • This general pu ⁇ ose foundation is called “WAF Functions” (“WAFFs”).
  • WAF also supports a collection of "atomic” application elements (e.g., load modules) that can be selectively aggregated together to form various WAFF capabilities called control methods and which serve as WAFF applications and operating system functions.
  • ROS Lights Operating System
  • WAFF load modules, associated data, and methods form a body of information that for the pmposes of the present invention are called "control information."
  • WAFF control information may be specifically associated with one or more pieces of electronic content and/or it may be employed as a general component of the operating system capabilities of a WAF installation.
  • WAFF transaction control elements reflect and enact content specific and/or more generalized administrative (for example, general operating system) control information.
  • WAFF capabilities which can generally take the form of applications (application models) that have more or less configurability which can be shaped by WAF participants, through the use, for example, of WAF templates, to employ specific capabilities, along, for example, with capability parameter data to reflect the elements of one or more express electronic agreements between WAF participants in regards to the use of electronic content such as commercially distributed products.
  • These control capabilities manage the use of, and/or auditing of use of, electronic content, as well as reporting information based upon content use, and any payment for said use.
  • WAFF capabilities may "evolve" to reflect the requirements of one or more successive parties who receive or otherwise contribute to a given set of control information.
  • a WAF application for a given content model (such as distribution of entertainment on CD-ROM, content delivery from an Internet repository, or electronic catalog shopping and advertising, or some combination of the above) participants would be able to securely select from amongst available, alternative control methods and apply related parameter data, wherein such selection of control method and/or submission of data would constitute their "contribution" of control information.
  • certain control methods that have been expressly certified as securely interoperable and compatible with said application may be independently submitted by a participant as part of such a contribution.
  • a generally certified load module (certified for a given WAF arrangement and/or content class) may be used with many or any WAF application that operates in nodes of said arrangement.
  • a WAF content container is an object that contains both content (for example, commercially distributed electronic information products such as computer software programs, movies, electronic publications or reference materials, etc.) and certain control information related to the use of the object's content.
  • a creating party may make a WAF container available to other parties.
  • Control information delivered by, and/or otherwise available for use with, WAF content containers comprise (for commercial content distribution pu ⁇ oses) WAFF control capabilities (and any associated parameter data) for electronic content.
  • These capabilities may constitute one or more "proposed" electronic agreements (and/or agreement functions available for selection and/or use with parameter data) that manage the use and/or the consequences of use of such content and which can enact the terms and conditions of agreements involving multiple parties and their various rights and obligations.
  • a WAF electronic agreement may be explicit, through a user interface acceptance by one or more parties, for example by a "junior” party who has received control information from a "senior” party, or it may be a process amongst equal parties who individually assert their agreement. Agreement may also result from an automated electronic process during which terms and conditions are "evaluated” by certain WAF participant control information that assesses whether certain other electronic terms and conditions attached to content and/or submitted by another party are acceptable (do not violate acceptable control information criteria).
  • Such an evaluation process may be quite simple, for example a comparison to ensure compatibility between a portion of, or all senior, control terms and conditions in a table of terms and conditions and the submitted control information of a subsequent participant in a pathway of content control information handling, or it may be a more elaborate process that evaluates the potential outcome of, and/or implements a negotiation process between, two or more sets of control information submitted by two or more parties.
  • WAF also accommodates a semi- automated process during which one or more WAF participants directly, through user interface means, resolve "disagreements" between control information sets by accepting and/or proposing certain control information that may be acceptable to control information representing one or more other parties interests and/or responds to certain user interface queries for selection of certain alternative choices and/or for certain parameter information, the responses being adopted if acceptable to applicable senior control information.
  • WAFF capabilities may be employed, and a WAF agreement may be entered into, by a plurality of parties without the WAFF capabilities being directly associated with the controlling of certain, specific electronic information.
  • certain one or more WAFF capabilities may be present at a WAF installation, and certain WAF agreements may have been entered into during the registration process for a content distribution application, to be used by such installation for securely controlling WAF content usage, auditing, reporting and/or payment.
  • a specific WAF participant may enter into a WAF user agreement with a WAF content or electronic appliance provider when the user and/or her appliance register with such provider as a WAF installation and/or user.
  • WAFF in place control information available to the user WAF installation may require that certain WAFF methods are employed, for example in a certain sequence, in order to be able to use all and/or certain classes, of electronic content and/or WAF applications.
  • WAF ensures that certain prerequisites necessary for a given transaction to occur are met. This includes the secure execution of any required load modules and the availability of any required, associated data. For example, required load modules and data (e.g. in the form of a method) might specify that sufficient credit from an authorized source must be confirmed as available. It might further require certain one or more load modules execute as processes at an appropriate time to ensure that such credit will be used in order to pay for user use of the content.
  • a certain content provider might, for example, require metering the number of copies made for distribution to employees of a given software program (a portion of the program might be maintained in encrypted form and require the presence of a WAF installation to run). This would require the execution of a metering method for copying of the property each time a copy was made for another employee.
  • This same provider might also charge fees based on the total number of different properties licensed from them by the user and a metering history of their licensing of properties might be required to maintain this information.
  • FIG. 54 One embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Figure 54, is provided for affording a combination of commerce-related web application services.
  • Various features are included such as allowing purchase of products and services via a displayed catalog in operation 5400.
  • a virtual shopping cart environment may be provided. Further, in operations 5402 and
  • data i.e. specifications, details, etc.
  • data relating to needs of a user may also be received for the pu ⁇ ose of outputting a recommendation of the products and services based on the inputted needs. See operation 5406.
  • features of the products and services may be selected in operation 5408 based on user profile in order to configure a specifically tailored product or service.
  • features of the products and services may be listed in order to allow the user to configure a specifically tailored product or service.
  • Operation 5410 allows one or more of the products or services to be advertised.
  • Yet another aspect of the present invention includes outputting an estimate relating to a price and/or availability of the products and services. Note operation 5412. Further, in operations 5414 and
  • an order for the products and services may be received and processed, after which a tax and a shipping fee are calculated.
  • a status of delivery for one or more of the ordered products and services may be provided in operation 5418.
  • the displayed catalog may be customized based upon the user profile.
  • the data relating to at least one of the products and services may include a link to related data.
  • the comparison between different products and services could include a comparison to a competitor's product.
  • the comparison between different products and services could include identification of at least one advantage of the at least one of products and services.
  • the recommendation of at least one of the products and services includes a financial analysis of at least one of the products and services.
  • the features of at least one of the products and services may be generated by a product configuration.
  • the advertising could include customized advertising based upon the user profile.
  • the step of calculating at least one of the tax and the shipping fee may further include calculating a plurality of taxes and shipping fees applicable to international transactions.
  • WAF Through use of WAF's control system, traditional content providers and users can create electronic relationships that reflect traditional, non-electronic relationships. They can shape and modify commercial relationships to accommodate the evolving needs of, and agreements among, themselves. WAF does not require electronic content providers and users to modify their business practices and personal preferences to conform to a metering and control application program that supports limited, largely fixed functionality. Furthermore, WAF permits participants to develop business models not feasible with non-electronic commerce, for example, involving detailed reporting of content usage information, large numbers of distinct transactions at hitherto infeasibly low price points, "pass-along" control information that is enforced without involvement or advance knowledge of the participants, etc.
  • the present invention allows content providers and users to formulate their transaction environment to accommodate:
  • WAF's transaction management capabilities can enforce:
  • WAF can support "real" commerce in an electronic form, that is the progressive creation of commercial relationships that form, over time, a network of intenelated agreements representing a value chain business model. This is achieved in part by enabling content control information to develop through the interaction of (negotiation between) securely created and independently submitted sets of content and/or appliance control information. Different sets of content and/or appliance control information can be submitted by different parties in an electronic business value chain enabled by the present invention. These parties create control information sets through the use of their respective WAF installations. Independently, securely deliverable, component based control information allows efficient interaction among control information sets supplied by different parties.
  • WAF permits multiple, separate electronic anangements to be formed between subsets of parties in a WAF supported electronic value chain model. These multiple agreements together comprise a WAF value chain "extended" agreement.
  • WAF allows such constituent electronic agreements, and therefore overall WAF extended agreements, to evolve and reshape over time as additional WAF participants become involved in WAF content and/or appliance control information handling.
  • WAF electronic agreements may also be extended as new control information is submitted by existing participants.
  • WAF electronic commerce participants are free to structure and restructure their electronic commerce business activities and relationships.
  • the present invention allows a competitive electronic commerce marketplace to develop since the use of WAF enables different, widely varying business models using the same or shared content.
  • a significant facet of the present invention's ability to broadly support electronic commerce is its ability to securely manage independently delivered WAF component objects containing control information (normally in the form of WAF objects containing one or more methods, data, or load module WAF components).
  • This independently delivered control information can be integrated with senior and other pre-existing content control information to securely form derived control information using the negotiation mechanisms of the present invention. All requirements specified by this derived control information must be satisfied before WAF controlled content can be accessed or otherwise used. This means that, for example, all load modules and any mediating data which are listed by the derived control information as required must be available and securely perform their required function.
  • securely, independently delivered control components allow electronic commerce participants to freely stipulate their business requirements and trade offs. As a result, much as with traditional, non-electronic commerce, the present invention allows electronic commerce (through a progressive stipulation of various control requirements by WAF participants) to evolve into forms of business that are the most efficient, competitive and useful.
  • WAF provides capabilities that rationalize the support of electronic commerce and electronic transaction management. This rationalization stems from the reusability of control structures and user interfaces for a wide variety of transaction management related activities. As a result, content usage control, data security, information auditing, and electronic financial activities, can be supported with tools that are reusable, convenient, consistent, and familiar.
  • a rational approach a transaction/distribution control standard— allows all participants in WAF the same foundation set of hardware control and security, authoring, administration, and management tools to support widely varying types of information, business market model, and/or personal objectives.
  • WAF as a general pu ⁇ ose electronic transaction/distribution control system allows users to maintain a single transaction management control anangement on each of their computers, networks, communication nodes, and/or other electronic appliances.
  • Such a general pu ⁇ ose system can serve the needs of many electronic transaction management applications without requiring distinct, different installations for different pu ⁇ oses.
  • users of WAF can avoid the confusion and expense and other inefficiencies of different, limited pu ⁇ ose transaction control applications for each different content and/or business model. For example,
  • WAF allows content creators to use the same WAF foundation control anangement for both content authoring and for licensing content from other content creators for inclusion into their products or for other use.
  • Clearinghouses, distributors, content creators, and other WAF users can all interact, both with the applications running on their WAF installations, and with each other, in an entirely consistent manner, using and reusing (largely transparently) the same distributed tools, mechanisms, and consistent user interfaces, regardless of the type of WAF activity.
  • WAF participants in a commercial value chain can be "commercially” confident (that is, sufficiently confident for commercial pu ⁇ oses) that the direct (constituent) and/or "extended” electronic agreements they entered into through the use of WAF can be enforced reliably.
  • These agreements may have both "dynamic" transaction management related aspects, such as content usage control information enforced through budgeting, metering, and/or reporting of electronic information and/or appliance use, and/or they may include "static" electronic assertions, such as an end-user using the system to assert his or her agreement to pay for services, not to pass to unauthorized parties electronic information derived from usage of content or systems, and/or agreeing to observe copyright laws.
  • payment may be automated by the passing of payment tokens through a pathway of payment (which may or may not be the same as a pathway for reporting).
  • a pathway of payment which may or may not be the same as a pathway for reporting.
  • Such payment can be contained within a WAF container created automatically by a WAF installation in response to control information (located, in the prefened embodiment, in one or more permissions records) stipulating the "withdrawal" of credit or electronic currency (such as tokens) from an electronic account (for example, an account securely maintained by a user's WAF installation secure subsystem) based upon usage of WAF controlled electronic content and/or appliances (such as governments, financial credit providers, and users).
  • WAF allows the needs of electronic commerce participants to be served and it can bind such participants together in a universe wide, trusted commercial network that can be secure enough to support very large amounts of commerce.
  • WAF's security and metering secure subsystem core will be present at all physical locations where WAF related content is (a) assigned usage related control information (rules and mediating data), and/or (b) used.
  • This core can perform security and auditing functions (including metering) that operate within a "virtual black box," a collection of distributed, very secure WAF related hardware instances that are interconnected by secured information exchange (for example, telecommunication) processes and distributed database means.
  • WAF further includes highly configurable transaction operating system technology, one or more associated libraries of load modules along with affiliated data, WAF related administration, data preparation, and analysis applications, as well as system software designed to enable WAF integration into host environments and applications.
  • WAF's usage control information for example, provide for property content and/or appliance related: usage authorization, usage auditing (which may include audit reduction), usage billing, usage payment, privacy filtering, reporting, and security related communication and encryption techniques.
  • WAF's fundamental configurability will allow a broad range of competitive electronic commerce business models to flourish. It allows business models to be shaped to maximize revenues sources, end-user product value, and operating efficiencies. WAF can be employed to support multiple, differing models, take advantage of new revenue opportunities, and deliver product configurations most desired by users. Electronic commerce technologies that do not, as the present invention does:
  • the display catalog may display linkable pictures, such as visual representations of products for sale.
  • the display catalog may also display linkable text which could represent a product or family of products, as well as services offered. Other linkable text or pictures could be implemented to provide multiple ways to traverse the display catalog to ease navigation along a page or between various pages.
  • An exemplary link would include at least one textual or picture link displayed on each page of the display catalog that would permit a user to purchase the good or service shown on that page or associated with a particular good or service displayed on the page. Such link may resemble a shopping cart.
  • the default setting of the display catalog would be preset, but the display format of the display catalog would be customizable based on user preference or automatically based on user profile.
  • the user may be permitted to customize the format of the display catalog for his or her particular session, or the customizations may be saved so that the user's personalized settings are used each time the display catalog is opened by that particular user.
  • the display format may also be customized to display localized content, such as by being based on the location of the user. Text may also be displayed in a language selected by the viewer.
  • operation 5402 outputs data relating to at least one of the products and services.
  • data may include details of the products or services as well as specifications.
  • the data and comparisons may be accessed through linking of pages containing the data with linkable pictures and text. For example, a more detailed picture of a particular product illustrating its most salient features may be linked to a smaller or more generic picture of the product on a page displaying various similar products. More links may be used on the page displaying the data to obtain additional detail.
  • the data may be integrated to centralized publishing for integrity.
  • updated data would be downloaded to ensure the conectness and cunentness of the information.
  • a proactive notification could also be made near the time of download, such as when updates to a specification are sent or received.
  • one embodiment of the electronic commerce component of the present invention is provided for facilitating a virtual shopping transaction.
  • a plurality of items i.e. products or services
  • the items are displayed in an electronic catalog format.
  • a user is allowed to select a predetermined set of the items for purchase.
  • each of the items could include a liked picture or text, which a user would then simply click on with a mouse pointer to select the items. Other options include scrollable menus, etc.
  • a payment is then accepted in exchange for the predetermined set of items.
  • Such predetermined set of items is then stored in operation 5506, thereby allowing the user to collectively select the predetermined set of items at a later time without having to select each of the items individually.
  • the selected items are preferably stored in a database unique to the user.
  • the set of items selected during each shopping session should be stored in a separate listing or file so that the user can individually select particular sets of items.
  • the user may be allowed to name each stored set of items for easier identification later.
  • the user may also be permitted to rate or rank the items of a selected set for pu ⁇ oses of refreshing the user's memory when the user later retrieves the set.
  • a quantity and a price of each of the items that is selected is displayed during use of the present invention. Also displayed is a total price of the items that are selected along with shipping information.
  • the user is allowed to modify the predetermined set of items that are selected. Further, several sets of items may be separately stored for later review and modification. Retrieval of the set or sets of items should be easily accessible throughout the display catalog, such as through links.
  • multiple languages may be inco ⁇ orated into the present invention and payment for the predetermined set of items may be accepted in any one of a plurality of cunencies such as electronic and foreign.
  • a time required to purchase may be substantially saved. Further, the consumer may prevent the failure of shopping and stop the purchase of unnecessary items by checking the list once before the purchase. Further, because of feel of easiness that the items once added on the purchase list may be finally changed in any way before the purchase, there is a psychological effect that the consumer may proceed shopping readily.
  • the elements which constitute the shopping basket are a shopping basket main body (purchase list) and a function for taking in and out items for the shopping basket.
  • functions associated with the shopping basket there are a function to take the items into the shopping basket (add to the purchase list), a function to check the contents of the shopping basket (display the purchase list), a function to return the item in the shopping basket (change the purchase list) and a function to purchase the items in the shopping basket.
  • the function to purchase the items only the order is accepted because the delivery of the items is made later except a portion of items which can be downloaded as digital data and the shopping is not completed until the items are received and the account is settled.
  • a main stage of the online shopping is an item catalog screen on which information on the items is provided.
  • the consumer examines the item on the screen and if he or she likes it, he or she takes it into the shopping basket.
  • he or she examines the content of the shopping basket as required to check the item scheduled to purchase and the pay amount of the items. Accordingly, it is not necessary to always display the purchase list on the screen, but the functions to access to the shopping basket for taking in the items and to display the contents should be available to the consumer any time during the shopping.
  • the button for the shopping basket when the button for the shopping basket is on the same page as the item catalog, the entire length of the page changes depending on the amount of item data described on the catalog, the page may not be accommodated on the display screen. In such a case, it is necessary for the consumer to scroll the page to press the button to display the button for the shopping basket in order to display the button. The same is true when the button is located at the top end of the page, and when the item of interest is at a lower portion of the page, the screen must be scrolled upward in order to take the item into the shopping basket after the confirmation.
  • the method of dividing the screen and sharing the roles by the respective sub-areas restricts the method for preparing the contents. It may be good that the user interface is uniform in one online shop but when it is applied across a plurality of online shops of various items and scales, free design cannot be conducted. This forces to the user a specific environment such as to watch the window of the browser at a specified size and hence it does not conform to the Internet.
  • an interface for providing the shopping basket function is provided as a separate shopping basket window from a catalog window on which online shop item data is displayed.
  • the shopping basket window is displayed on the catalog window and a display position is moved in linkage with the movement of a mouse pointer.
  • the shopping basket includes a list of items to be purchased which is a main body of the shopping basket, a function to add the item data to the list, and a function to change the item data registered in the list.
  • the shopping basket main body is not always displayed. Instead, an interface function to display the shopping basket contents on the screen is provided on the shopping basket window.
  • One embodiment of the present invention provides for comparison shopping by utilizing the customer's profile to prioritize the features of a group of similar, competing products, as shown in operation 5404 of Figure 54.
  • the competing products may or may not have been manufactured by competing business entities. More detail is provided in Figure 56.
  • a customer's profile is developed. This profile may be developed from many sources including customer input, customer buying habits, customer income level, customer searching habits, customer profession, customer education level, customer's pu ⁇ ose of the pending sale, customer's shopping habits, etc. Such information may be input directly by the user, captured as a user uses the network, and may be downloaded periodically from a user's system.
  • operation 5601 a plurality of items for purchase are displayed, from which the customer is allowed to select multiple, similar items, i.e. products or services to compare in operation 5602. Then, after a set of features of each item is determined in operation 5603, operation 5604 creates a hierarchy of the features of the items selected in accordance with the customer's profile. For example, as shown in Figure 57, a comparison of features based on keywords taken from the customer's profile may be performed in operation 5701. The features would be preassociated with feature keywords in operation 5700. When a keyword input by the user matches a feature keyword, the feature is given priority in operation 5702. Features with feature keywords having multiple matches are given highest priority and ranked according to the number of matches in operation 5703.
  • a comparison table is presented with the features organized in a prioritized manner in accordance with the hierarchy.
  • a particular item may be chosen, and similar competing items would be compared to it.
  • the prices of a service may be compared to the prices of other similar services.
  • the advantages of selected items could also be highlighted against similar competing and noncompeting items.
  • FIG. 54 Another embodiment of the electronic commerce component of the present invention is provided for facilitating a virtual shopping transaction by ascertaining needs of a user. A more detailed description is shown in Figure 58.
  • the solution includes either a product or a service, or both.
  • the solution may be stored for allowing the purchase of the solution at a later time. Further, the solution may be grouped with a plurality of items selected for being purchased together.
  • the needs of the user may refer to parameters including either capacity, performance, or cost. It should be noted that the needs of the user are assessed by receiving input from the user.
  • a method, system, and article of manufacture is provided for allowing a user to customize an item for purchase in a virtual shopping environment, as shown in Figure 54, operation 5408.
  • Figure 60 provides more detail. Referring to Figure 60, a plurality of items for purchase are first displayed in operation 6002, as discussed above. Each of the items includes a plurality of available features which are displayed in operation 6003, preferably with the price of each feature, including cost for adding the feature and cost savings for removing the feature. Next, a user is permitted to select the available features of each of the items to be purchased, as indicated in operation 6004. For example, a user may indicate which features of the item the user wants to be included with the item and which items the user wishes absent or removed.
  • the item is a product
  • an illustration or picture of the product with only the selected features should be made available so that the user can see the product in various configurations.
  • a total price and availability may be determined with respect to the selected items and the selected features thereof for display pu ⁇ oses in operation 6006. Further, in operation 6008, payment is accepted in exchange for the selected items and the selected features thereof.
  • the items each include either a product or a service or both, and may also include third party products and services.
  • the selected features are stored for allowing the user to collectively select the selected features at a later time without having to select each of the features individually.
  • the present invention provides a system and method for conducting commerce via an electronic means, such as a computer network, cable television network, or direct dial modem.
  • an electronic means such as a computer network, cable television network, or direct dial modem.
  • Netscape Communications uses its Navigator/Netsite World Wide Web (WWW) browser/server pair.
  • a buyer uses a Navigator to select a seller's Netsite server (sort of an electronic storefront), which is in turn coupled to standard application servers (back-end subsystems), e.g., a credit server or a member server for collecting demographic information on customers.
  • These servers contain the business rules defined by the seller, e.g., what credit cards are accepted and what customer information is tracked during each sale.
  • Some of these servers are connected to external, third-party services, e.g., the credit server to an external credit card processing network or the member server to an external demographics processing module.
  • the actual applications e.g., on-line publishing or catalog sales, are represented as extensions of the application servers. Equivalently, the application servers are said to be instantiated in the applications.
  • the net result of this approach is that the business rules (from the application servers) are embedded into the applications along with the application logic or presentation.
  • HTML HyperText Markup Language
  • Storebuilder a server
  • WebServer a server
  • TransactionLink integrated back-end commerce system
  • Any of the foregoing types of browsers may employed to access various databases via the Internet in order to conduct electronic commerce-related business.
  • Typical database or file-based shopping cart systems require that the user be uniquely identified in order to associate particular data stored on the server with a particular user. This requires the user to log-in or create an account, which is then stored in the server. Each subsequent request from the user must reference the unique identifier, either in the uniform resource locator (URL) or as hidden data passed back through a form submission.
  • URL uniform resource locator
  • Either of these approaches require that the account or ED information of the user be stored on the remote server in the network for some definite period of time.
  • the user must keep track of the account identifier in order that the prior session information can be retrieved.
  • NCR hardware suitable for this pu ⁇ ose is sold by NCR.
  • This equipment a self-service terminal system identified as model NCR 5682, inco ⁇ orates the data gathering and transaction processing capabilities of conventional automated teller machines with video, graphics, audio and printer operations.
  • Interactivity with the customer is governed by a software system through the use, for example, of a keyboard or an infrared touch screen using prompts.
  • Transactions may be completed through the use of a credit card reader and a PIN number entering means.
  • insurance agents at remote office on-line terminals communicate with a central processor which includes a data bank, storing data as to risks to be insured, client information, insurance premium information and predetermined text data for inco ⁇ oration into insurance contracts.
  • An agent at a terminal keys in information regarding a risk and other data needed to write insurance for that risk.
  • a "form" is displayed on his terminal by the central processor, and he merely enters the pertinent information in the blanks provided.
  • the information is conelated in the central processor, from which a premium quotation is transmitted back and displayed at the agent's terminal and in which a client data base is established with the information from the form. Enors or omissions are detected and the agent or client is notified.
  • a formal contract is printed under the control of the central processor and electronically stored and displayed to underwriter personnel. Concunently the insurance contract is mailed to the client. The underwriter can decide to cancel or alter the contract. Alternatively, the underwriting function is carried out before the contract is printed and mailed.
  • the terminals operate on-line, underwriting is performed by a human underwriter, and the insurance contract is printed remotely from the client and mailed to him.
  • the on-line terminals are not automatic self-service vending machines; the client must deal with the company through agents.
  • a terminal in another example of a related system, includes a CPU and is coupled to a memory unit which has data bases storing information. Certain elements are assigned weights.
  • the system is used by underwriters to assist them in performing their underwriting functions.
  • Still yet another system is adapted for automatically dispensing information, goods and services to a customer on a self-service basis including a central data processing center in which information on services offered is stored.
  • Self-service information sales terminals are remotely linked on-line to the central data processing center and are programmed to gather information from prospective customers on goods and services desired, to transmit to customers information on the desired goods or services from the central data processing center, to take orders for goods or services from customers and transmit them for processing to the central data processing center, to accept payment, and to deliver goods or services in the form of documents to the customer when orders are completed.
  • the central data processing center is also remotely linked to institutions, such as insurance companies, serviced by the system to keep the institution updated on completed sales of services offered by that institution.
  • the terminals in this system are on-line with the central data processing center.
  • the self-service terminals include a processor, printer, dispenser, data sources including a mass storage unit, a card reader, a coin box, and a communication device for communicating with a remote service center.
  • the mass storage unit stores transitory information, such as flight schedules, ticket prices, weather information and other information useful in the planning of a business trip or vacation which is periodically updated via a communication link with the remote control center.
  • the self-service terminal normally operates off-line.
  • checks may be written for any specific amount up to the amount available in the account, checks have very limited transferability and must be supplied from a physical inventory. Paper-based checking systems do not offer sufficient relief from the limitations of cash transactions, sharing many of the inconveniences of handling cunency while adding the inherent delays associated with processing checks. To this end, economic exchange has striven for greater convenience at a lower cost, while also seeking improved security.
  • EFT electronic funds transfer
  • Electronic funds transfer is essentially a process of value exchange achieved through the banking system's centralized computer transactions.
  • EFT services are a transfer of payments utilizing electronic "checks,” which are used primarily by large commercial organizations.
  • ACH Automated Clearing House
  • POS Point Of Sale
  • Home Banking bill payment services are examples of an EFT system used by individuals to make payments from a home computer. Cunently, home banking initiatives have found few customers. Of the banks that have offered services for payments, account transfers and information over the telephone lines using personal computers, less than one percent of the bank's customers are using the service. One reason that Home Banking has not been a successful product is because the customer cannot deposit and withdraw money as needed in this type of system. Cunent EFT systems, credit cards, or debit cards, which are used in conjunction with an on-line system to transfer money between accounts, such as between the account of a merchant and that of a customer, cannot satisfy the need for an automated transaction system providing an ergonomic interface.
  • the more well known techniques include magnetic stripe cards purchased for a given amount and from which a prepaid value can be deducted for specific pu ⁇ oses. Upon exhaustion of the economic value, the cards are thrown away.
  • Other examples include memory cards or so called smart cards which are capable of repetitively storing information representing value that is likewise deducted for specific pu ⁇ oses.
  • a computer operated under the control of a merchant it is desirable for a computer operated under the control of a merchant to obtain information offered by a customer and transmitted by a computer operating under the control of the customer over a publicly accessible packet-switched network (e.g., the Internet) to the computer operating under the control of the merchant, without risking the exposure of the information to interception by third parties that have access to the network, and to assure that the information is from an authentic source. It is further desirable for the merchant to transmit information, including a subset of the information provided by the customer, over such a network to a payment gateway computer system that is designated, by a bank or other financial institution that has the responsibility of providing payment on behalf of the customer, to authorize a commercial transaction on behalf of such a financial institution, without the risk of exposing that information to interception by third parties.
  • Such institutions include, for example, financial institutions offering credit or debit card services.
  • Such secure payment technologies include Secure Transaction Technology (“STT”), Secure
  • SEPP Electronic Payments Protocol
  • iKP Internet Keyed Payments
  • Net Trust Net Trust
  • Cybercash Credit Payment Protocol a secure payment technology that can be substituted for the SET protocol without undue experimentation.
  • Such secure payment technologies require the customer to operate software that is compliant with the secure payment technology, interacting with third-party certification authorities, thereby allowing the customer to transmit encoded information to a merchant, some of which may be decoded by the merchant, and some which can be decoded only by a payment gateway specified by the customer.
  • SSL Secure Sockets Layer
  • Frazier Freier, Karlton & Kocher
  • SSL Protocol Version 3.0, March 1996 The SSL Protocol Version 3.0, March 1996, and hereby inco ⁇ orated by reference.
  • SSL provides a means for secure transmission between two computers.
  • SSL has the advantage that it does not require special- pu ⁇ ose software to be installed on the customer's computer because it is already inco ⁇ orated into widely available software that many people utilize as their standard Internet access medium, and does not require that the customer interact with any third-party certification authority.
  • the support for SSL may be inco ⁇ orated into software already in use by the customer, e.g., the Netscape Navigator World Wide Web browsing tool.
  • a computer on an SSL connection may initiate a second SSL connection to another computer
  • a drawback to the SSL approach is each SSL connection supports only a two-computer connection. Therefore, SSL does not provide a mechanism for transmitting encoded information to a merchant for retransmission to a payment gateway such that a subset of the information is readable to. the payment gateway but not to the merchant.
  • SSL allows for robustly secure two-party data transmission, it does not meet the ultimate need of the electronic commerce market for robustly secure three-party data transmission.
  • general-pu ⁇ ose secure communication protocols include Private Communications Technology (“PCT”) from Microsoft, Inc., Secure Hyper-Text Transport Protocol (“SHTTP”) from Terisa Systems, Shen, Kerberos, Photuris, Pretty Good Privacy (“PGP”) which meets the IPSEC criteria.
  • PCT Private Communications Technology
  • SHTTP Secure Hyper-Text Transport Protocol
  • PGP Pretty Good Privacy
  • Banks desire an Internet payment solution that emulates existing Point of Sale (POS) applications that are cunently installed on their host computers, and require minimal changes to their host systems. This is a critical requirement since any downtime for a banks host computer system represents an enormous expense.
  • VeriFone supports over fourteen hundred different payment-related applications. The large number of applications is necessary to accommodate a wide variety of host message formats, diverse methods for communicating to a variety of hosts with different dial-up and direct-connect schemes, and different certification around the world.
  • POS Point of Sale
  • Banks are unwilling to converge on "standards" since convergence would facilitate switching from one acquiring bank to another by merchants.
  • banks desire to increase the cost that a merchant incurs in switching from one acquiring bank to another acquiring bank. This is accomplished by supplying a merchant with a terminal that only communicates utilizing the bank's proprietary protocol, and by providing other value-added services that a merchant may not be able to obtain at another bank.
  • Internet-based payment solutions require additional security measures that are not found in conventional POS terminals. This additional requirement is necessitated because Internet communication is done over publicly-accessible, unsecured communication line in stark contrast to the private, secure, dedicated phone or leased line service utilized between a traditional merchant and an acquiring bank. Thus, it is critical that any solution utilizing the Intemet for a communication backbone, employ some form of cryptography.
  • SET the cunent state-of-the-art in Internet based payment processing is a protocol refened to as SET. Since the SET messages are uniform across all implementations, banks cannot differentiate themselves in any reasonable way. Also, since SET is not a proper superset of all protocols utilized today, there are bank protocols which cannot be mapped or translated into SET because they require data elements for which SET has no placeholder. Further, SET only handles the message types directly related to authorizing and capturing credit card transactions and adjustments to these authorizations or captures. In a typical POS terminal in the physical world, these messages comprise almost the entire volume of the total number of messages between the merchant and the authorizing bank, but only half of the total number of different message types.
  • the global Internet is a network of computer networks that links together millions of computer systems using the well defined TCP/IP protocol.
  • the World-Wide Web is a collection of servers connected to the Internet that provide multi-media information to users that request the information. The users access the information using client programs called "browsers" to display the multi-media information.
  • World-Wide Web servers store multi-media information in a document format known as HyperText Markup Language (HTML).
  • HTML HyperText Markup Language
  • the World-Wide Web servers distribute the HTML formatted documents using a specific communication protocol known as the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
  • HTTP HyperText Transfer Protocol
  • a user runs a client browser program that accesses the HTML formatted documents stored on the HTTP servers connected to the global Internet.
  • the client browser program retrieves the formatted information and provides the information in an appropriate manner to the user.
  • the client browser program displays graphical image information as images on the user's graphical display screen; plays video information as video animation on the user's graphical display screen; displays text information as text on the user's screen; and plays sound samples using the speakers on the user's computer system.
  • "Mosaic" one popular client browser program, is widely available to the users of the global Internet.
  • World-Wide Web Server For a company that wishes to develop an online presence, creating a World-Wide Web Server would provide a feature rich online service available to customers and clients.
  • a World-Wide Web Server can store images, text, animation, and sounds that provide information about the company.
  • World-Wide Web Servers can be implemented on relatively simple computer systems, including personal computers.
  • World-Wide Web Servers are coupled to the global Internet.
  • a company would create online service that is accessible to the millions of global Internet users.
  • a company can deploy a HTTP server that is available to customers through dial- up phone service.
  • a dial-up HTTP server would be accessible to customers and clients that do not have Internet access.
  • any organization or co ⁇ oration can create an online presence.
  • HTTP server software without any additional programming, is very limited.
  • an HTTP server cannot accommodate complex transactions between a user and the HTTP server or integrate a database system into an online service.
  • custom extensions are difficult to write except by experienced programmers.
  • IEF Information Exchange Facility
  • COBOL high level programming language
  • IEF is an example of what will be refened to herein as a "general pu ⁇ ose development tool" because it allows development of programs for essentially any pmpose or application dependent on the input provided by the programmer.
  • Paradox.TM. database allows end users to develop sophisticated database applications which would have been developed by professional programmers a few years ago.
  • the Paradox.TM. database is but one example of a special pu ⁇ ose development tool.
  • Lotus Notes.TM which is available from Lotus Development Co ⁇ oration of Cambridge, Mass.
  • the Application Development Environment of Lotus Notes provides features which are said to allow for rapid development of workgroup applications such as sharing of documents between users over a network.
  • Lotus Notes and, thus, its Application Development Environment is directed at sharing of documents among persons in an authorized work group.
  • the Lotus Notes Application Development Environment provides for such features as (i) application design templates which are said to allow sophisticated applications to be built by customizing pre-built applications such as document libraries, form-based approval systems, project tracking applications and status reporting systems; (ii) security; (iii) database access; and (iv) discussion groups.
  • a user may be charged for the right to access all or parts of a useful publicly accessible online system.
  • the online service may pay the user for performing some type of action such as winning a contest or completing a marketing survey.
  • an online service may charge a content provider for placing certain information on the online service. For example, a content provider can be charged for placing an advertisement on the online service.
  • a content provider can be paid by the online service for providing information that users may wish to access, can be can be provided on a for-fee basis.
  • an online service provider may wish to pay third party content providers for placing useful material on the online service.
  • cross-selling and up-selling based on on a product/service Provides cross-selling and up-selling based on on a user Provides advertisements or promotions based on a product/service Provides advertisements or promotions based on a user Links all cross-selling, up-selling, advertisements, promotions to further detail or purchasing ability
  • One embodiment of the electronic commerce component of the present invention is adapted for advertising in a virtual shopping environment in operation 5410 of Figure 54.
  • Figure 61 illustrates the operation in more detail.
  • a plurality of items i.e. products or services
  • advertisement information which relates to at least one of the items displayed for purchase are displayed in operation 6103.
  • Figure 62 provides more detail of operation 6103.
  • the advertisements are preferably preassociated with individual items or may be associated with an entire classes of items in operation 6200. When the items are selected for display, one or more of the advertisements is automatically displayed as well in operation 6202.
  • the advertisements are rotated so that each gets an equal amount of display time, or according to the premium paid by the advertiser.
  • a user is permitted to select the items for purchase, as indicated by operation 6104. Payment is then accepted in exchange for the selected items in operation 6105.
  • advertisement information may be displayed which relates to at least one of the items for purchase and also relates to the user based on the profile of the user. This is particularly useful where the advertisements are being rotated. Then the advertiser would be billed based upon the number of times its advertisement was shown Note that the items each include at least one of a product and a service.
  • the advertisement information may further include promotion information or advertise another item separate from the item to which the advertisement information is related.
  • the advertisement information is specifically tailored for the user based on a profile of the user.
  • cross-selling and up-selling based on a product or service, as well as of the user may be provided. Ideally, all cross-selling, up-selling, advertisements, and promotions are linked to pages containing greater detail or to a purchasing area.
  • the use of advertising revenues to pay for information dissemination is well established in domains such as television and radio in which end users are tuned to a continuous signal over a lengthy period of time. In such systems, due to the continuous nature of the signal being monitored by the end users, the end users are sufficiently similar to a "captive audience" that many or most end users remain tuned to the same signal even when the main program to which they are listening or viewing is interrupted by advertisements.
  • Another example of advertising mixed with information dissemination is the use of scrolled text at the bottom of a television of computer screen, where the main program occupies most of the end user's visual field and a smaller portion is occupied by advertisements and the like on a "scroll bar" or similar visual device along the periphery of the screen.
  • the information portion of the screen occupies a small part of the screen, such as horizontally scrolling image region at the top or bottom of the display and the remainder of the screen is occupied by advertisements, "infomercials" and the like.
  • Yet another example of mixing advertisements with information dissemination are newspapers and magazines.

Abstract

L'invention concerne un système, un procédé, et un article manufacturé de gestion proactive mis en oeuvre au cours de la maintenance et de l'entretien d'un environnement du type chaîne d'approvisionnement réseautée. Les appels téléphoniques, les données et autres informations multimédia sont routés via un réseau assurant le transfert des informations via Internet au moyen d'informations de routage téléphonique et d'informations d'adresse de protocole Internet. Ledit réseau comprend un gestionnaire de seuil proactif qui avertit à l'avance les fournisseurs d'une rupture de contrat imminente. Ledit gestionnaire de seuil proactif envoie une alarme au fournisseur de services lorsque le niveau de service du moment n'atteint plus le niveau de service déterminé dans le contrat en termes de maintien d'un certain niveau de service.
EP00983764A 1999-11-22 2000-11-22 Programmation et planification anticipee, et gestion proactive au cours de la maintenance et de l'entretien d'un environnement du type chaine d'approvisionnement reseautee Withdrawn EP1252594A2 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (5)

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US44762599A 1999-11-22 1999-11-22
US444889 1999-11-22
US447625 1999-11-22
US09/444,889 US7716077B1 (en) 1999-11-22 1999-11-22 Scheduling and planning maintenance and service in a network-based supply chain environment
PCT/US2000/032228 WO2001039082A2 (fr) 1999-11-22 2000-11-22 Programmation et planification anticipee, et gestion proactive au cours de la maintenance et de l'entretien d'un environnement du type chaine d'approvisionnement reseautee

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US8379830B1 (en) 2006-05-22 2013-02-19 Convergys Customer Management Delaware Llc System and method for automated customer service with contingent live interaction
US10055792B2 (en) 2009-11-04 2018-08-21 Michael Price System and method for automated risk management appraisal
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