Meta-service activating interface between a customer administrative system and database network elements of a communications network

• US 6,199,066 B1
• Filed: 07/20/1998
• Issued: 03/06/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Optis Wireless Technology, LLC (Brevet Capital)
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Gourraud, Christophe, Glitho, Roch
• Primary Examiner(s): Breene, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pham, Linh
• Application Number:
  US09/119,131
• Time in Patent Office: 960 Days
• Field of Search: 707/10, 707/102, 707/202, 709/302, 709/250, 709/202, 709/226, 709/317, 709/313, 709/328, 709/329, 703/27, 395/701, 395/610, 379/67, 379/142, 379/115, 705/34, 370/259, 370/249, 370/385, 455/426, 455/428
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/044 comprising hierarchical management structures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/18 Service support devices; Network management devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/02 Inter-networking arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/24 between backbone network devices

Abstract

A customer administrative system of a wireless communications system is interfaced with one or more system database network elements to support single command meta-service activation and management tasks. In this regard, a meta-service comprises a package of individual services. An agent is included in the interface to process single meta-service command for handling by the database network elements. The database network elements supporting the individual services implicated by the meta-service command are identified and are issued appropriately formatted, device specific commands for effectuating the meta-service activation or management task. In the event that each implicated database network element cannot successfully complete the requisite meta-service activation or management task, the service provision state of each implicated database network element is rolled-back to a service provision state prior to receipt of the meta-service command.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a customer administrative system operating to issue a single processing task command concerning a meta-service;

a plurality of database network elements of a communications system, the database network elements supporting individual services, certain ones of those individual services being packaged together to form the meta-service; and

an interface between the customer administrative system and each of the plurality of database network elements, the interface including an agent functionality responsive to the issued meta-service processing task command for identifying the certain individual services implicated thereby, identifying the database network elements supporting those identified certain individual services, and issuing device specific commands to each of those identified database network elements, wherein the issued device specific commands specify processing actions to be taken by the identified database network elements with respect to the identified certain individual services.

2. The system as in claim 1 wherein the communications network comprises a wireless telecommunications network and the database network elements comprise home location registers of the wireless telecommunications network.

3. The system as in claim 2 wherein the communications network further comprises an Internet data communications network and the database network elements comprise Internet service nodes of the Internet data communications network.

4. The system as in claim 1 wherein the specified processing actions to be taken by the identified database network elements comprise certain individual service activation actions.

5. The system as in claim 1 wherein the specified processing actions to be taken by the identified database network elements comprise certain individual service management actions.

6. An interface between a customer administrative system and a plurality of database network elements of a communications network, the interface including an agent functioning to:

receive a single processing task command concerning a meta-service;

identify certain individual services implicated by the meta-service single processing task command;

identify certain ones of the plurality of database network elements which support those identified certain individual services;

generate implementation commands, wherein each of the generated implementation commands is specifically tailored to be understood by one of the identified certain ones of the database network elements; and

issue the generated implementation commands to the identified certain ones of the database network elements, wherein the issued implementation commands specify processing actions to be taken by the identified certain ones of the database network elements concerning the identified certain individual services.

7. The interface as in claim 6 wherein the communications network comprises a wireless telecommunications network and the database network elements comprise home location registers of the wireless telecommunications network.

8. The interface as in claim 7 wherein the communications network further comprises an Internet data communications network and the database network elements comprise Internet service nodes of the Internet data communications network.

9. The interface as in claim 6 wherein the agent further functions to:

receive confirmation from the database network elements concerning successful completion of the specified processing actions;

determine whether a confirmation has been received from each of the identified certain ones of the database network elements; and

issue a service provision roll-back command message to each database network element from which a confirmation was received if the determination is made that a confirmation has not been received from each of the identified certain ones of the database network elements.

10. The interface as in claim 6 wherein the agent function to generate further functions to generate each implementation command in a machine dependent language for the identified certain ones of the database network elements.

11. The interface as in claim 6 wherein the agent function to generate converts the meta-service single processing task command from a machine independent language into a plurality of implementation commands each having a machine dependent language for the identified certain ones of the database network elements.

12. A method for interfacing a customer administrative system and a plurality of database network elements of a communications network, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a single processing task command from the customer administrative system concerning a meta-service;

identifying certain individual services implicated by the meta-service single processing task command;

identifying certain ones of the plurality of database network elements which support those identified certain individual services;

generating implementation commands, wherein each of the generated implementation commands is specifically tailored to be understood by one of the identified certain ones of the database network elements; and

issuing the generated implementation commands to the identified certain ones of the database network elements, wherein the issued implementation commands specify processing actions to be taken by the identified certain ones of the database network elements concerning the identified certain individual services.

13. The method as in claim 12 wherein the communications network comprises a wireless telecommunications network and the database network elements comprise home location registers of the wireless telecommunications network.

14. The method as in claim 13 wherein the communications network further comprises an Internet data communications network and the database network elements comprise Internet service nodes of the Internet data communications network.

15. The method as in claim 12 further including the steps of:

receiving confirmation from the database network elements concerning successful completion of the specified processing actions;

determining whether a confirmation has been received from each of the identified certain ones of the database network elements; and

issuing a service provision roll-back command message to each database network element from which a confirmation was received if the determination is made that a confirmation has not been received from each of the identified certain ones of the database network elements.

16. The method as in claim 12 wherein the step of generating further comprises the step of generating each implementation command in a machine dependent language for the identified certain ones of the database network elements.

17. The method as in claim 12 wherein the step of generating further comprises the step of converting the meta-service single processing task command from a machine independent language into a plurality of implementation commands each having a machine dependent language for the identified certain ones of the database network elements.