WO1997003407A1 - Method and system for correlating usage data in a distributed architecture - Google Patents
Method and system for correlating usage data in a distributed architecture Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO1997003407A1 WO1997003407A1 PCT/US1996/010943 US9610943W WO9703407A1 WO 1997003407 A1 WO1997003407 A1 WO 1997003407A1 US 9610943 W US9610943 W US 9610943W WO 9703407 A1 WO9703407 A1 WO 9703407A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- key
- component
- correlation
- components
- invoked
- Prior art date
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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
- G06Q30/00—Commerce
- G06Q30/04—Billing or invoicing
-
- 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
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10S707/00—Data processing: database and file management or data structures
- Y10S707/99941—Database schema or data structure
- Y10S707/99943—Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
Definitions
- This invention relates to the methods and systems used to correlate usage data in a distributed computer network.
- Broadband services, multimedia services and personnel communications services (PCS) are some of the services that are soon to be introduced. These services will be provided to customers from a plurality of service providers using a distributed service platforms over a communications infrastructure.
- PCS personnel communications services
- service control, resource control and management components are invoked in order to provide the customer with the requested services.
- the customer in using the requested service, places different usage requirements on these components. Collecting data on such usage of the different components and correlating this usage to the customer is necessary to accomplish such basic business functions as billing, marketing and/or fraud detection.
- Implicit key correlation another is “static key correlation” .
- Implicit key correlation is a concept whereby the key that is used correlate data is information that is normally part of the usage record (such as date and time or phone number) . This is the method currently used in telephony billing.
- Static key correlation is a method whereby a constant key is used by all service components whenever a service is activated and this key is inserted into all usage records regardless of who invoked the component.
- a problem with static key correlation methods is that it does not provide a capability for capturing the sequence of invocation for the different components of the service that generated the records.
- the sequence of invocation of differing service components is important because in the future, pricing policies of services may be sensitive to the invocation context.
- My invention overcomes the limitations in the prior art methods and systems by providing a capability for capturing the sequence in invocation of the various network components used as a result of the service request and the network providing the service.
- My invention is method and system for providing a dynamic key in usage records.
- the dynamic key is a composite structure which captures and reflects the control flow between the service components.
- Figure 1 illustrates a network for providing video service.
- Figure 2 depicts one embodiment of a dynamic key in accordance with my invention.
- Figure 3 illustrates a network for providing a video service including a software object in accordance with my invention.
- Fig.l My invention is easiest understood when it is described in the context of a simple illustration of a problem.
- the customer 10 requests a video service. That request is made by sending a service request 11 to the gateway network 12 which in turn makes a subsequent video service request 14 to the video service provider's service platform 16.
- the requested video service is then transmitted by the video service platform 16 over the gateway network 12 to the customer 10.
- a usage record 17 is generated for the gateway network 12 (and in fact may be generated by multiple components of the gateway network) and another usage record 18 is generated by the video services platform 16.
- the problem presented is the need to correlate between these usage records.
- My invention is a system and method whereby included within each network component in gateway network 12 and within each network component in the video service provider platform 16 are processes for inserting within the usage records a correlation key which is generated in accordance with a correlation function having a set number of characteristics.
- the requirements of the correlation function are threefold: (l)it must uniquely identify the service component invocation event; (2) it must contain information regarding the invoking component key; (3) it must contain information from which can be derived the total number of usage records that have been generated by the service components of a given service.
- a correlation key is generated having three fields. The first two fields are provided by the first network component invoked by the customer. The first of these fields would be populated by a session ID generated by the correlation process.
- this session ID could be something as simple as the phone number of the customer.
- the second field of these two fields would be populated by a unique number that is unique to the current invocation of that component.
- the combination of the first two fields provides a unique identifier for the current service session.
- the third field (which is optional) is populated by data from subsequently invoked networked components to identify the number of records that can be expected as a result of the components that were invoked.
- Figure 2 illustrates an example of one implementation of my inventive method.
- Figure 2 depicts a tree 20 where every node in the tree is an invoked service component.
- Node 21 depicts the network component that interacts with the customer.
- N 0 21 would be invoked a usage record would be generated by a process embodied within N 0 21 that would include a key, generated by the process, having the form [session-id, sequence in the number of nodes invoked by the predecessor node, number of nodes successfully invoked in total] .
- the item labeled 22 depicts the key for the usage records generated by node N 0 21.
- the session-id field 23 is depicted as a random number generated by N 0 21, which would be unique across the whole service platform, N 0 is the first node invoked so there aren't any predecessor nodes, hence 0 as shown in field 24, and the number of nodes successfully invoked by N 0 21 which is 3 as shown in field 25, representing the three nodes 26, N 27 and N 3 28 invoked by N 0 21. Accordingly, when N ⁇ 26 is invoked, a usage record would be generated by a process embodied in which would produce the key depicted as item 29.
- the session-id field 30 in this key 29 is comprised of the first two fields generated in key 22 and communicated to it by node N 0 21.
- a field 31 having the number 1 representing that was the first node invoked by N 0 .
- the third field is the number of nodes successfully invoked by , in this instance one node, N 33, is successfully invoked.
- a key for a usage record generated by N 33 would be as shown as item 34.
- the unique identifier field in key 34 is the first two fields in key 29, labeled as 35 in Fig. 2. For each of the other nodes depicted in Fig. 2, usage records with keys constructed in accordance with my inventive method would be generated. These keys are shown as the items labeled 36 in Fig. 2.
- the usage records generated by each of the nodes i.e. components
- the usage data server would correlate the usage records using procedures well known in the art.
- the keys generated by my inventive method embody sufficient information to not only correlate the usage of each component but also the service context under which each component was used.
- My inventive method and system has recently been embodied in a software system designed to be a controller for broadband services (BSC) .
- BSC controller for broadband services
- my correlation key management system and method has been implemented using software objects (in the object oriented programming paradigm) which are resident in each network component.
- Figure 3 depicts an example of a broadband network for providing video service using my invention. Specifically, this network is the same network depicted in Figure 1, however within each component of the network is resident the software object 61 that accomplishes the functions in accordance with my invention.
- the correlation key generated in this embodiment is of the form sesID.requestlD.1.1.l.etc.
- the sesID is derived from a Session ID object using datatype DCEUuid which is defined to be globally unique by the Open Software Foundation's Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) .
- the DCE is defined in a document produced by the Open Software Foundation entitled “OSF DCE Application Development Reference", Revision 1.0.3 published by Prentice Hall in Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
- SA Signalling Adapter
- a session may by the establishment of communications channel to the video services platform, and the request ID may represent individual services of functional features requested within the session established.
- the Correlation Key object in this embodiment is composed of at least two constructors, two methods, and two variables.
- the two constructors are defined as CorrelationKey(sessionID, requestID) and xbsCorrelationKey(uniqueKey) .
- the methods are defined as getNextKey method, and the get RootKey method.
- the two variables are the rootKey and cKey.
- the SA makes a request for service from another building block and the Correlation Key object within the SA would use the getNextKey method to increment the cKey variable and place the information in the cKey variable in the header information of the request to the next building block.
- This is accomplished by a call to a private function CorrelationEngine which increments the contents of the cKey variable and then the getNextKey method places the information in the header. Since this is the initial session request and therefore the cKey variable is null, the
- CorrelationEngine will append a .1 to the string stored in the rootKey variable and then set it to cKey. If the cKey was not null it would increment the last number after the last period in the key.
- this second building block receives the request message, it would extract from the header information the value of the cKey variable received from the SA and its Correlation Key object would invoke constructor xbsCorrelationKey (uniqueKey) , with uniqueKey being a parameter the value of which is initially the value of the received cKey.
- the xbsCorrelationKey would use its getRootKey method to create its own correlation key from the information received.
- the keys generated by my method and system would be included, using any one of the many methods known in the art, in usage data records generated for each of the building blocks used to provide a service to a customer.
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- Strategic Management (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
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Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP96923467A EP0846300A4 (en) | 1995-07-07 | 1996-06-26 | Method and system for correlating usage data in a distributed architecture |
AU63969/96A AU701655B2 (en) | 1995-07-07 | 1996-06-26 | Method and system for correlating usage data in a distributed architecture |
JP9505843A JPH10510650A (en) | 1995-07-07 | 1996-06-26 | Method and system for correlating usage data in a distributed architecture |
NZ312438A NZ312438A (en) | 1995-07-07 | 1996-07-12 | Dynamic key insertion into usage records for distributed networks |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US08/499,334 | 1995-07-07 | ||
US08/499,334 US5615351A (en) | 1995-07-07 | 1995-07-07 | Method and system for correlating usage data in a distributed architecture |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO1997003407A1 true WO1997003407A1 (en) | 1997-01-30 |
Family
ID=23984868
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US1996/010943 WO1997003407A1 (en) | 1995-07-07 | 1996-06-26 | Method and system for correlating usage data in a distributed architecture |
Country Status (8)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US5615351A (en) |
EP (1) | EP0846300A4 (en) |
JP (1) | JPH10510650A (en) |
AU (1) | AU701655B2 (en) |
CA (1) | CA2226251A1 (en) |
NZ (1) | NZ312438A (en) |
WO (1) | WO1997003407A1 (en) |
ZA (1) | ZA965651B (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
KR19980080985A (en) * | 1997-04-10 | 1998-11-25 | 이데이노브유끼 | Data communication method |
Families Citing this family (18)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US7266686B1 (en) | 1996-05-09 | 2007-09-04 | Two-Way Media Llc | Multicasting method and apparatus |
US5898780A (en) | 1996-05-21 | 1999-04-27 | Gric Communications, Inc. | Method and apparatus for authorizing remote internet access |
NO971605L (en) | 1997-04-08 | 1998-10-09 | Ericsson Telefon Ab L M | Device for improving accessibility of services in a communication system |
WO1999027556A2 (en) * | 1997-11-20 | 1999-06-03 | Xacct Technologies, Inc. | Network accounting and billing system and method |
US6963912B1 (en) | 1999-06-28 | 2005-11-08 | Xacct Technologies, Ltd. | Method and apparatus for session reconstruction |
US6957255B1 (en) | 1999-06-28 | 2005-10-18 | Amdocs (Israel) Ltd. | Method and apparatus for session reconstruction and accounting involving VoIP calls |
US6931444B2 (en) * | 2000-06-12 | 2005-08-16 | Amdocs (Israel) Ltd. | System, method and computer program product for reading, correlating, processing, categorizing and aggregating events of any type |
US7054939B2 (en) * | 2001-06-28 | 2006-05-30 | Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corportion | Simultaneous visual and telephonic access to interactive information delivery |
US8001594B2 (en) * | 2001-07-30 | 2011-08-16 | Ipass, Inc. | Monitoring computer network security enforcement |
US7743150B1 (en) * | 2004-05-19 | 2010-06-22 | Oracle International Corporation | Apparatus and method for web service message correlation |
US7941339B2 (en) * | 2004-12-23 | 2011-05-10 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and system for managing customer network value |
US8601443B2 (en) * | 2008-02-12 | 2013-12-03 | International Business Machines Corporation | Method and system for correlating trace data |
US8838487B1 (en) * | 2008-04-16 | 2014-09-16 | Sprint Communications Company L.P. | Maintaining a common identifier for a user session on a communication network |
US8838488B1 (en) * | 2008-04-16 | 2014-09-16 | Sprint Communication Company L.P. | Maintaining a common identifier for a user session on a communication network |
US8091016B2 (en) * | 2008-12-18 | 2012-01-03 | Microsoft Corporation | Visually manipulating instance collections |
US8230357B2 (en) * | 2008-12-18 | 2012-07-24 | Microsoft Corporation | Visually processing instance data |
US8214487B2 (en) | 2009-06-10 | 2012-07-03 | At&T Intellectual Property I, L.P. | System and method to determine network usage |
US9189206B2 (en) * | 2013-05-21 | 2015-11-17 | Red Hat, Inc. | System and method for managing immutable objects |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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US5008929A (en) * | 1990-01-18 | 1991-04-16 | U.S. Intelco Networks, Inc. | Billing system for telephone signaling network |
US5223699A (en) * | 1990-11-05 | 1993-06-29 | At&T Bell Laboratories | Recording and billing system |
US5325290A (en) * | 1989-08-14 | 1994-06-28 | Compucom Communications Corp. | Billing system with data indexing |
-
1995
- 1995-07-07 US US08/499,334 patent/US5615351A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1996
- 1996-06-26 JP JP9505843A patent/JPH10510650A/en active Pending
- 1996-06-26 EP EP96923467A patent/EP0846300A4/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1996-06-26 AU AU63969/96A patent/AU701655B2/en not_active Ceased
- 1996-06-26 WO PCT/US1996/010943 patent/WO1997003407A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1996-06-26 CA CA002226251A patent/CA2226251A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 1996-07-03 ZA ZA965651A patent/ZA965651B/en unknown
- 1996-07-12 NZ NZ312438A patent/NZ312438A/en unknown
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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US5325290A (en) * | 1989-08-14 | 1994-06-28 | Compucom Communications Corp. | Billing system with data indexing |
US5008929A (en) * | 1990-01-18 | 1991-04-16 | U.S. Intelco Networks, Inc. | Billing system for telephone signaling network |
US5223699A (en) * | 1990-11-05 | 1993-06-29 | At&T Bell Laboratories | Recording and billing system |
Non-Patent Citations (1)
Title |
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See also references of EP0846300A4 * |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
KR19980080985A (en) * | 1997-04-10 | 1998-11-25 | 이데이노브유끼 | Data communication method |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
ZA965651B (en) | 1997-01-27 |
NZ312438A (en) | 1998-06-26 |
CA2226251A1 (en) | 1997-01-30 |
AU701655B2 (en) | 1999-02-04 |
EP0846300A1 (en) | 1998-06-10 |
AU6396996A (en) | 1997-02-10 |
JPH10510650A (en) | 1998-10-13 |
US5615351A (en) | 1997-03-25 |
EP0846300A4 (en) | 2001-12-05 |
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