Apparatus, methods and computer programs for metering and accounting for services accessed over a network

• US 20040117311A1
• Filed: 12/16/2002
• Published: 06/17/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kumar, Arun, Agarwal, Vikas, Karnik, Neeran M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,526,452 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/52
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/34 Recording or statistical evaluation of computer activity, e.g. of down time, of input/output operation ; Recording or statistical evaluation of user activity, e.g. usability assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1428 Invoice generation, e.g. customization, lay-out, database processing, algorithms for calculating the bill or formatting invoices as WWW pages invoicing in general G06Q30/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1432 Metric aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/00 Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00; network architectures or network communication protocols for wireless network security H04W12/00; security arrangements for protecting computers or computer systems against unauthorised activity G06F21/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1096 Supplementary features, e.g. call forwarding or call holding systems providing special services or facilities to telephony subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• 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 15/44 Augmented, consolidated or itemized billing statement or bill presentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/61 based on the service used
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/68 Payment of value-added services

Abstract

Apparatus, methods and computer programs provided for metering and accounting in a commercial e-services infrastructure address the requirement for handling composite services in which higher-level services are built using simpler underlying services, each of which may be autonomously owned and operated. Metering records for each service underlying a composite service are correlated by a process associated with the composite service, and then sent to an accounting service where they can be aggregated. The correlation is performed in a distributed manner with correlated usage data provided on a per-request basis. Accounting services can take account of the usage and charges associated with the underlying services to provide accounting and billing on a per-request basis or per customer-provider pair for a billing period.

Claims

1. A method for metering usage of services accessed via a network in which requested composite services can invoke underlying component services in order to satisfy a request, the method comprising the following steps:

a requested composite service invoking a set of component services as required to satisfy the request, and recording identifiers of the set of invocations;

each invoked component service returning to its requester composite service measured service usage data corresponding to the invocation from the requester composite service, together with the respective invocation identifier;

the requester composite service correlating the measured service usage data received from its respective set of component services by reference to the set of invocation identifiers, and outputting the correlated measured usage data.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the correlated measured usage data is output in response to a positive determination that measured service usage data has been successfully correlated for the complete set of requested component services.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein an invoked component service invokes a set of additional component services as required to satisfy the request, and records identifiers of the set of invocations;

each additional invoked component service returns to its requester service measured service usage data corresponding to the invocation from the respective requester service, together with the respective invocation identifier;

each requester service correlating the measured service usage data received from its respective set of component services by reference to the set of invocation identifiers, and outputting the correlated measured usage data.

4. A method for metering usage of services which are accessed via a network, the method comprising the steps of:

in response to a request for a composite service which requires one or more component services to satisfy the request, sending requests to the one or more component services which requests contain information for enabling measured usage data for the component services to be provided to a correlator associated with the composite service, and providing the correlator with an identification of the requests sent to component services;

in response to the correlator receiving measured usage data for the composite service and the one or more component services, using the identification of the requests to component services to correlate the measured usage data for the set of services corresponding to said request for the composite service.

5. A method according to claim 4, further comprising the step of:

outputting per-request correlated measured usage data generated by said correlator for the set of services corresponding to said request.

6. A method according to claim 4, implemented in a network in which a plurality of composite services are each associated with a respective correlator, each correlator generating per-request correlated measured usage data, for the set of services comprising the respective composite service and the component services requested by said respective composite service, for each request processed by the respective composite service.

7. A method according to claim 4, further comprising the steps of:

forwarding the correlated measured usage data to an accounting service;

wherein the accounting service generates service usage accounting data for the set of services corresponding to said request using the correlated measured usage data.

8. A method according to claim 7, further comprising the step of:

aggregating the service usage accounting data on a per customer, per provider basis to generate aggregate accounting records for a billing period.

9. A method according to claim 4, wherein said correlating step comprises a step of determining, by reference to said set of request identifiers for the requested composite service, whether measured usage data is available for all of said set of requested component services, said method comprising outputting said correlated measured usage data in response to a positive said determination and deferring said outputting in response to a negative said determination.

10. A method according to claim 9, further comprising the step of marking records of measured usage data as complete if any of the following conditions is satisfied:

the request is for a transactional operation;

the set of requested component services is empty;

or

measured usage data is available for all of the set of requested component services and has been successfully correlated to generate composite service usage data; and

wherein the method further comprises the step of sending the complete records to an accounting component for generating accounting data for the requested composite service.

11. A method according to claim 9, further comprising the steps of:

forwarding the correlated measured usage data to an accounting service in response to the positive determination;

the accounting component aggregating received correlated service usage data on a per customer, per provider basis to generate accounting records.

12. A method according to claim 4 including the step of registering said composite service with a respective accounting service, the step of registering comprising providing to the accounting service an identification of at least one charging model supported by the composite service.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the accounting service comprises means for determining a charging model for the composite service in accordance with a charging policy and the charging models supported by the composite service and any other registered ones of the set of invoked component services.

14. A method according to claim 13, further comprising the step of generating charging data from said composite service usage data and said determined charging model.

15. An apparatus for metering usage of services which are accessed via a network, comprising:

a plurality of metering components, each associated with specific services, for measuring usage of their respective services and outputting measured usage data;

means associated with a component service, responsive to a request for the component service from a composite service, for sending the measured usage data for the component service to the requester composite service;

a correlator associated with the composite service, for receiving measured usage data from the set of component services requested by the composite service and for using an identification of the requests sent to the component services to correlate the measured usage data for the set of component services and outputting the correlated measured usage data for the composite service and the set of component services it requests.

16. A data processing system in which a plurality of requested composite services is can invoke underlying component services in order to satisfy a request for the respective composite service, comprising:

a plurality of metering components, each associated with specific services, for measuring usage of their respective services and outputting measured usage data;

means associated with each component service, responsive to a request for the component service from a composite service, for sending the measured usage data for the component service to the requester composite service;

a correlator associated with each composite service, for receiving measured usage data from the set of component services requested by the composite service and for using an identification of the requests sent to the component services to correlate the measured usage data for the set of component services and outputting the correlated measured usage data for the composite service and the set of component services it requests.

17. A computer program product comprising program code recorded on a recording medium for controlling the operation of a data processing apparatus on which the program code executes, to perform a method for metering usage of services which are accessed via a network in which requested composite services can invoke underlying component services in order to satisfy a request, the method comprising the following steps:

each requested composite service invoking a set of component services as required to satisfy the request, and recording identifiers of the set of invocations;

each invoked component service returning to its requester composite service measured service usage data corresponding to the invocation from the respective requester composite service, together with the respective invocation identifier;

each requester composite service correlating the measured service usage data received from its respective set of component services by reference to the set of invocation identifiers, and outputting the correlated measured usage data.

18. A computer program product comprising program code recorded on a recording medium for controlling the operation of a data processing apparatus on which the program code executes, to perform a method for metering usage of services which are accessed via a network, the method comprising the steps of:

in response to a request for a composite service which requires one or more component services to satisfy the request, sending requests to the one or more component services which requests contain information for enabling measured usage data for the component services to be provided to a correlator associated with the composite service, and providing the correlator with an identification of the requests sent to component services;

in response to the correlator receiving measured usage data for the composite service and the one or more component services, using the identification of the requests to component services to correlate the measured usage data for the set of services corresponding to said request for the composite service.