CONFIGURATION TRACKING SYSTEM

• US 20010043690A1
• Filed: 05/03/1999
• Published: 11/22/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: BAKSHI, KAPILDEEP SINGH, CHOCKALINGAM, ALAMU, BARNES, ALETHA JYNN, KRENZ, RANDOPH ALEXANDER
• Granted Patent: US 6,373,932 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/133
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/41 Billing record details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure of call data record [CDR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/58 based on statistics of usage or network monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0164 Billing record, e.g. Call Data Record [CDR], Toll Ticket[TT], Automatic Message Accounting [AMA], Call Line Identifier [CLI], details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0188 Network monitoring; statistics on usage on called/calling number
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2218 Call detail recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks

Abstract

A configuration tracking system for a call detail record (CDR) filtering system keeps track of the contexts under which CDRs are collected and filtered. The configuration tracking system is useful in a multiple concurrent filtering paradigm, in which several CDR filters may be active at any given time and the filter criteria are dynamically altered. Filter criteria for multiple filters are recorded in a dynamically changing table. The configuration tracking system maintains a historical record of the filter criteria in the dynamically changing table. The configuration tracking system updates its historical record by detecting changes in the dynamically changing filter table, comparing earlier and later versions of the table, and opening and/or closing timestamped filter records in response.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

(a) determining a first configuration for a set of CDR filters;

(b) determining a second configuration for the set of CDR filters; and

(c) comparing the first configuration and the second configuration.

2. The method of

claim 1

wherein the second configuration is earlier in time than the first configuration.

3. The method of

claim 1

further comprising:

(d) generating CDRs;

(e) filtering the CDRs according to the first configuration for the set of CDR filters; and

(f) filtering the CDRs according to the second configuration for the set of CDR filters.

4. The method of

claim 3

wherein generating CDRs comprises probing signaling links.

5. The method of

claim 4

wherein the signaling links are SS7 links.

6. The method of

claim 3

further comprising storing the filtered CDRs.

7. The method of

claim 3

further comprising processing the filtered CDRs.

8. The method of

claim 1

wherein the set of CDR filters is 64 filters.

9. The method of

claim 1

wherein the first configuration for the set of CDR filters is described by a first table containing a set of filter criteria, the second configuration for the set of CDR filters is described by a second table containing a set of filter criteria, and the step of comparing comprises comparing the first table and the second table.

10. The method of

claim 9

further comprising:

constructing a third table, wherein each record of the third table comprises a filter criterion, a start time, and a stop time that is possibly blank; and

modifying the third table in response to the comparing step as follows;

if the second table contains a filter definition not present in the second table, then creating a new entry in the third table, said entry having the same filter definition, a start time, and a blank stop time;

if the third table contains a filter definition not present in the first table and a stop time corresponding to said filter definition is blank, then overwriting the blank stop time with a stop time value; and

if the first table and the second table contain the same filter definition, then not modifying a record having the same filter definition in the third table.

11. The method of

claim 1

wherein determining a first configuration for a set of CDR filters comprises:

(a) receiving a change notification signal; and

(b) extracting the first configuration in response to the change notification signal;

12. The method of

claim 1

wherein determining a first configuration for a set of CDR filters comprises:

(a) transmitting a polling signal; and

(b) receiving the first configuration in response to the polling signal;

13. The method of

claim 1

further comprising:

storing the first configuration and wherein determining a second configuration comprises retrieving the first configuration.

14. A system comprising:

(a) at least one table containing N CDR filtering criteria, wherein the filtering criteria may be dynamically modified;

(b) a study table containing a historical record of filter criteria, including a start time and a stop time for each filter criteria;

(c) a configuration tracking module that produces the study table on the basis of the at least one table containing N CDR filter criteria.

15. The system of

claim 14

further comprising:

(d) one or more signaling link probes that gather CDRs;

(e) N CDR filters; and

(f) a database containing selected gathered CDRs, wherein the selected CDRs are selected by the CDR filters.

16. The system of

claim 15

wherein the signaling link probes are SS7 link probes.

17. The system of

claim 14

wherein N=64.

18. The system of

claim 14

further comprising:

one or more application modules that access the study table.