ENHANCEMENT OF NETWORK ACCOUNTING RECORDS

• US 20080059346A1
• Filed: 09/05/2007
• Published: 03/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amdocs Development Limited (Amdocs Ltd.), Amdocs Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Amdocs Ltd.
• Inventors: Wagner, Eran, Givoly, Tal, Schweitzer, Limor
• Granted Patent: US 8,165,932 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/258 Data format conversion from or to a database
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• 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 41/5025 by proactively reacting to service quality change, e.g. by reconfiguration after service quality degradation or upgrade
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5067 Customer-centric QoS measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/022 by sampling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/026 using flow identification
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• 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 15/31 Distributed metering or calculation of charges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/41 Billing record details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure of call data record [CDR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/43 Billing software details
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/44 Augmented, consolidated or itemized billing statement or bill presentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/53 using mediation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/55 for hybrid networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/56 for VoIP communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/80 Rating or billing plans; Tariff determination aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8214 : Data or packet based
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0104 : Augmented, consolidated or itemised billing statement, e.g. additional billing information, bill presentation, layout, format, e-mail, fax, printout, itemised bill per service or per account, cumulative billing, consolidated billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0152 : General billing plans, rate plans, e.g. charge rates, numbering plans, rate centers, customer accounts
• 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 2215/0172 : Mediation, i.e. device or program to reformat CDRS from one or more switches in order to adapt to one or more billing programs formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/2013 : Fixed data network, e.g. PDN, ATM, B-ISDN
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/202 : VoIP; Packet switched telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/22 : Bandwidth or usage-sensitve billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/44 : Charging/billing arrangements for connection made over different networks, e.g. wireless and PSTN, ISDN, etc.
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/782 : Data or packet based
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/96 : Distributed calculation of charges, e.g. in different nodes like for mobiles between HLR and VLR, or between the terminal and the billing function
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 : in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

A system and method are provided for processing network accounting information. A first network accounting record is received from a first source. Thereafter, the first network accounting record is correlated with accounting information available from a second source. The accounting information with which the first network accounting record is correlated is then used to enhance the first network accounting record.

Claims

1. A method of processing network accounting information comprising:

receiving from a first source a first network accounting record;

correlating the first network accounting record with accounting information available from a second source; and

using the accounting information with which the first network accounting record is correlated to enhance the first network accounting record.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the enhancement is based on a policy.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the accounting information includes parameters and wherein the using comprises adding at least one parameter from the accounting information to the first network accounting record.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the accounting information is in the form of a second network accounting record.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the second source is a network source, further comprising:

receiving the second network accounting record from the second source.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the second source is a memory, further comprising:

providing the accounting information to the memory for storage.

7. A system for collecting data from network entities for a data consuming application, comprising:

a plurality of data collectors to receive information from the network entities and to produce records based on the information, each data collector in the plurality of data collectors being associated with and coupled to a different one of the network entities; and

an enhancement component that augments data in one of the records produced by one of the plurality of data collectors with data from a different one of the records produced by another of the plurality of data collectors.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the plurality of data collectors receive the records and correlate a first of the records with accounting information available from a second source and use the accounting information to enhance the first record.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the enhancement is based on a policy.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the accounting information includes parameters and the enhancement component adds at least one parameter from the accounting information to the first record.

11. The system of claim 7, further comprising:

a module coupled to the plurality of data collectors, the module receives the records produced by the plurality of data collectors for aggregation purposes, and wherein the enhancement component resides in the module.

12. A computer program product for processing network accounting information comprising:

computer code for receiving from a first source a first network accounting record;

computer code for correlating the first network accounting record with accounting information available from a second source; and

computer code for using the accounting information with which the first network accounting record is correlated to enhance the first network accounting record.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the enhancement is based on a policy.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the accounting information includes parameters and wherein the using comprises adding at least one parameter from the accounting information to the first network accounting record.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the accounting information is in the form of a second network accounting record.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the second source is a network source, further comprising:

computer code for receiving the second network accounting record from the second source.

17. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the second source is a memory, further comprising:

computer code for providing the accounting information to the memory for storage.

18. A method for collecting data from network entities for a data consuming application having a policy, comprising:

receiving a first network record and a second network record, each associated with a different network entity and including data parameters of the associated different network entity;

determining that the first and the second network records are related;

determining from the policy that the first network activity is to be enhanced with one of the data parameters from the second network record; and

adding the one of the data parameters from the second network record to the first network record.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein adding is performed by an enhancement component that resides in a module capable of aggregation.

20. An apparatus for enhancing network accounting data records for an accounting data consuming application having a policy, the apparatus coupled to a plurality of data collectors, each data collector collecting data from a different network entity, comprising;

a memory device for storing accounting data records received from the plurality of data collectors;

wherein a new accounting data record is correlated with one of the stored accounting data records; and

an enhancement device, responsive to the policy, for augmenting the new accounting data record with data from one of the stored accounting data records with which the new accounting data record is correlated.