SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A SERVICE METERING FRAMEWORK IN A NETWORK ENVIRONMENT

• US 20140032531A1
• Filed: 12/05/2012
• Published: 01/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Batra, Alok, Ravi, Gunupuree, Joglekar, Meghana S., Sharma, Sahil, Xue, Yun
• Granted Patent: US 8,983,987 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/722
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/22 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24 Querying
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/04 Processing captured monitoring data, e.g. for logfile generation
• 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 15/51 for resellers, retailers or service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/80 Rating or billing plans; Tariff determination aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/82 Criteria or parameters used for performing billing operations

Abstract

A method is provided in one example embodiment and includes causing generation of a metered record associated with a metering event of an application executed within a cloud-based computing system, the metered record including a metering attribute and a corresponding value, the corresponding value being determined substantially simultaneous to a runtime execution of the application, and facilitating searching for the metered record based on the metering attribute and the corresponding value of the metering attribute. In specific embodiments, the metered record is communicated using a REpresentational State Transfer (REST) Application Programming Interface (API). In an example embodiment, the notification of the metering event can be received by any one of a REST API, a Java Messaging Service listener, an Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) listener, or a metering plugin.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

causing generation of a metered record associated with a metering event of an application executed within a cloud-based computing system, wherein the metered record comprises a metering attribute and a corresponding value associated with the metering event, and wherein the corresponding value is determined substantially simultaneous to a runtime execution of the application; and

generating a search result for the metered record based on the metering attribute and the corresponding value.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the metered record is communicated using a REpresentational State Transfer (REST) Application Programming Interface (API).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the metered record is communicated by a selected one of a group of elements, the group consisting of:

a) a REST API;

b) a Java Messaging Service (JMS) listener;

c) an Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) listener; and

d) a metering plugin.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the metering event is associated by an event tag with a predefined meterable object having the metering attribute.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the metered record is associated with the predefined meterable object by an identifier attribute.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the metering event is detected by a metering agent of the application during the runtime.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the metered record is identified by a unique key.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the metering attribute is associated with the metering event by a service controller of the application.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

analyzing the metered record to generate a recording feed or a billing feed.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the cloud-based executable system is configured for executing a plurality of applications, and wherein each application is associated with distinct metering events and corresponding metering attributes.

11. Logic encoded in non-transitory media that includes instructions for execution and when executed by a processor, is operable to perform operations comprising:

causing generation of a metered record associated with a metering event of an application executed within a cloud-based computing system, wherein the metered record comprises a metering attribute and a corresponding value associated with the metering event, and wherein the corresponding value is determined substantially simultaneous to a runtime execution of the application; and

generating a search result for the metered record based on the metering attribute and the corresponding value.

12. The logic of claim 11, wherein the metered record is communicated using a REST API.

13. The logic of claim 11, wherein the metered record is communicated by a selected one of a group of elements, the group consisting of:

a) a REST API;

b) a Java Messaging Service (JMS) listener;

c) an Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) listener; and

d) a metering plugin.

14. The logic of claim 11, wherein the metering event is associated by an event tag with a predefined meterable object having the metering attribute.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the metered record is associated with the predefined meterable object by an identifier attribute.

16. An apparatus, comprising:

an event listener;

a memory element to store data; and

a processor to execute instructions associated with the data, wherein the event listener, the processor, and the memory element cooperate such that the apparatus is configured for;

causing generation of a metered record associated with a metering event of an application executed within a cloud-based computing system, wherein the metered record comprises a metering attribute and a corresponding value associated with the metering event, and wherein the corresponding value is determined substantially simultaneous to a runtime execution of the application; and

generating a search result for the metered record based on the metering attribute and the corresponding value.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the metered record is communicated using a REST API.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the metered record is communicated by a selected one of a group of elements, the group consisting of:

a) a REST API;

b) a Java Messaging Service (JMS) listener;

c) an Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) listener; and

d) a metering plugin.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the metering event is associated by an event tag with a predefined meterable object having the metering attribute.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the metered record is associated with the predefined meterable object by an identifier attribute.