Method and system for communicating service information in an advanced intelligent network

• US 6,061,729 A
• Filed: 12/31/1997
• Issued: 05/09/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel USA Sourcing L.P. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Nightingale, Peter D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Philip B.
• Application Number:
  US09/002,192
• Time in Patent Office: 860 Days
• Field of Search: 709/300, 709/203, 709/229, 709/228
• US Class Current: 709/228
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1091 Interfacing with client-server systems or between P2P systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A telecommunications network includes a client system and a server system. The client system has a service message and a client interface. The service message is of a standard format and operable to define at least one of a platform manager operation requesting information pertaining to the server system, a database operation requesting modification of information pertaining to a service in the server system and a service manager operation requesting administration of the service in the server system. The client interface is operable to transmit the service message to the server system over a network. The server system includes a platform manager, a database subsystem, a service manager and a server interface. The platform manager is operable to store and provide information pertaining to the server system. The database subsystem is operable to store, provision and provide information pertaining to the service. The service manager is operable to administer the service in the server system. The server interface is operable to receive the service message transmitted over the network by the client interface and to pass an included platform manager operation to the platform manager for execution, an included database operation to the database system for execution and an included service manager operation to the service manager for execution.

Claims

1. A method of communicating service information in a telecommunications network, comprising the steps of:

providing a client system in a telecommunications network, the client system including a client interface;

providing at least one server system connected to the client system via the telecommunications network, the server system comprising a platform manager operable to store and provide information pertaining to the server system, a database subsystem operable to store, provision and provide information pertaining to the service, a service manager operable to administer the service in the server system, and a server interface;

at the client system, placing at least one of a platform manager operation requesting information pertaining to a server system, a database operation requesting modification of information pertaining to a service in the server system and a service manager operation requesting administration of the service in the server system into a standard format to form a service message;

transmitting the service message from the client interface to the server interface;

receiving the service message at the server interface;

at the server system, determining the operation of the service message;

if the operation is a platform manager operation, passing the platform manager operation to the platform manager for execution;

if the operation is a database operation, passing the database operation to the database system for execution;

if the operation is a service manager operation, passing the service manager operation to the service manager for execution; and

receiving personal service data from a subscriber in response to the subscriber accessing the server interface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the server system is remote from the client system.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of server systems; and

transmitting the service message from the client interface to the server interface of each server system.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of placing a plurality of the platform manager, the database and the service manager operations into the standard format to form the service message.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of placing each of the platform manager, the database and the service manager operations into the standard format to form the service message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the client and server interfaces communicate via an open protocol.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the client and server interfaces communicate via a corba protocol.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the service message includes a service definition package.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the telecommunications network is an advanced intelligent network, the client system resides on a service management system of the advanced intelligent network and the server system resides on a network element selected from the group consisting of a service creation environment, a service control point, an intelligent service peripheral and a home location register.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

executing the operation in the server system;

generating a result of the operation;

transmitting the result from the server interface to the client interface; and

passing the result to a graphical user interface.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the standard format comprises at least one item having a common format for querying, provisioning, administering and downloading a service over a telecommunications network, the item including a first, a second, a third and a fourth information block, the step of placing the operation into the standard format to form the service message further comprising the steps of:

identifying in the first information block a destination system for the item;

identifying in the second information block an operation to be performed in the destination system;

identifying in the third information block a service on which the operation is to be performed; and

identifying in the fourth information block data for performing the operation.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the standard format comprises a plurality of items having a common format, for each of the items further comprising the steps of:

identifying in the first information block a destination system for the item;

identifying in the second information block an operation to be performed in the destination system;

identifying in the third information block a service on which the operation is to be performed; and

identifying in the fourth information block data for performing the operation.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of normalizing the items.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the item further includes a fifth information block, further comprising the steps of identifying in the fifth information block a type of the item.

15. A telecommunications network, comprising:

a client system comprising;

a service message having a standard format, the service message operable to define at least one of a platform manager operation requesting information pertaining to a server system, a database operation requesting modification of information pertaining to a service in the server system and a service manager operation requesting administration of the service in the server system;

a client interface operable to transmit the service message to the server system over a network;

the server system comprising;

a platform manager operable to store and provide information pertaining to the server system;

a database subsystem operable to store, provision and provide information pertaining to the service;

a service manager operable to administer the service in the server system; and

a server interface operable to receive the service message transmitted over the network by the client interface, the service interface operable to pass a platform manager operation of the service message to the platform manager for execution, a database operation of the service message to the database system for execution and a service manager operation of the service message to the service manager for execution, the server interface operable to receive personal service data from a subscriber in response to subscriber access thereto.

16. The telecommunications network of claim 15, wherein the server system is remote from the client system.

17. The telecommunications network of claim 15, further comprising a plurality of server systems, the client interface operable to transmit the service message to each of the server systems over a network.

18. The telecommunications network of claim 15, wherein the service message is operable to define a plurality of the platform manager, the database and the service manager operations.

19. The telecommunications network of claim 15, wherein the service message is operable to define the platform manager, the database and the service manager operation.

20. The telecommunications network of claim 15, wherein the client and server interfaces communicate via an open protocol.

21. The telecommunications network of claim 15, wherein the client and server interfaces communicate via a corba protocol.

22. The telecommunications network of claim 15, wherein the service message includes a service definition package.

23. The telecommunications network of claim 15, wherein the telecommunications network is an advanced intelligent network, the client system resides on a service management system of the advanced intelligent network and the server system resides on a network element selected from the group consisting of a service creation environment, a service control point, an intelligent service peripheral and a home location register.

24. The telecommunications network of claim 15, further comprising:

the server interface operable to receive a result from the platform manager, database subsystem and service manager and to transmit the result to the client system over the network; and

the client interface operable to receive the result transmitted over the network by the server interface and to pass the result to a graphical user interface.