Capacity provisioning for AIN

• US 6,226,374 B1
• Filed: 11/24/1998
• Issued: 05/01/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Qwest Communications International Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Qwest Communications International Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Mitchell, Jeffrey C., Choey, Mark, Nelson, Neil K., Lu, Xiaojiang, Howell, Robert B.
• Primary Examiner(s): SMITH, CREIGHTON H
• Application Number:
  US09/198,941
• Time in Patent Office: 889 Days
• Field of Search: 379/207, 379/201, 379/219, 379/229, 379/230
• US Class Current: 379/221.08
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/12 intelligent networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/365 Load metering of control unit
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4228 in networks

Abstract

Existing and new service provisioning capacity in an AIN is determined by calculating processor utilization. Existing service demand and component usage information is automatically acquired from the AIN. ISP service data and SCP configuration descriptions are updated as needed. For each new service modeled, a call processing record is developed. A time of day usage for each service is also entered. For each city in the region covered by the AIN, demand forecasts for each new service in the city is determined. Utilization is determined for SCPs, ISPs, and SPACE systems provisioning capacity.

Claims

1. In an advanced intelligent network (AIN) comprising at least one intelligent service control point (SCP), each SCP having a configuration, a service provisioning and creation environment (SPACE) system in communication with each SCP, at least one intelligent service peripheral (ISP), each ISP in communication with one SCP, a plurality of SSPs providing connections into the AIN to users, each SSP in communication with one ISP, and a trunk and signaling network interconnecting each SCP and SSP, wherein the AIN is operative to provide at least one existing service to users, a method for determining existing service and new service provisioning capacity comprising:

automatically acquiring existing service demand and component usage information for each SCP and each SPACE system from the AIN;

specifying service demand and component usage information for each ISP;

updating a configuration description for each of the at least one SCP having a modified configuration;

specifying a call processing record for each new service if any new service exists;

specifying time of day usage for each service;

selecting a city in the region;

determining demand forecasts for each new service in the selected city if any new service exists;

repeating selecting a city and determining demand forecasts for each city in the selected region; and

determining utilization for at least one of a set including each SCP, each ISP, and each SPACE system, the utilization indicative of provisioning capacity.

2. A method for determining capacity provisioning in an AIN as in claim 1 further comprising:

selecting at least one service from a set including existing services and new services to be used in determining utilization; and

specifying a time range over which utilization will be determined.

3. A method for determining capacity provisioning in an AIN as in claim 1 wherein automatically acquiring existing service demand and component usage information from the AIN comprises:

periodically extracting and storing time usage data from each SPACE system;

periodically extracting and calls per customer data from each SCP; and

loading the stored time usage data and the stored calls per customer data.

4. A method for determining capacity provisioning in an AIN as in claim 1 wherein the AIN includes cities in more than one time zone, determining utilization comprises normalizing time in each city to compensate for time differences across the more than one time zone.

5. A method for determining capacity provisioning in an AIN as in claim 1 further comprising storing changes to service demands and to time of day usage in a change log.

6. In an advanced intelligent network (AIN) comprising at least one intelligent service control point (SCP), each SCP having a configuration, a service provisioning and creation environment (SPACE) system in communication with each SCP, at least one intelligent service peripheral (ISP), each ISP in communication with one SCP, a plurality of SSPs providing connections into the AIN to users, each SSP in communication with one ISP, and a trunk and signaling network interconnecting each SCP and SSP, wherein the AIN is operative to provide at least one existing service to users, a system for determining existing service and new service provisioning capacity comprising:

a application tool database;

an acquisition module in communication with the AIN and the application tool database, the acquisition module operative to periodically acquire existing service demand data and component usage data from the AIN and to store the service demand data and component usage data in the application tool database; and

at least one modeling station, each modeling station operative to

(a) load stored service demand data and component usage data from the application tool database,

(b) permit a configuration description to be updated for each of the at least one SCP,

(c) permit a call processing record to be specified for each new service if any new service exists,

(d) permit a time of day usage to be specified for each service,

(e) select a city in the region,

(f) determine demand forecasts for each new service in the selected city,

(g) repeat select a city and determine demand forecasts for each city in the selected region, and

(h) determine utilization for at least one of a set including each SCP, each ISP, and each SPACE system, the utilization indicative of provisioning capacity.

7. A system for determining capacity provisioning in an AIN as in claim 6 wherein each modeling station is further operable to select at least one service from a set including existing services and new services to be used in determining utilization and to specify a time range over which utilization will be determined.

8. A system for determining capacity provisioning in an AIN as in claim 6 wherein the existing service demand data and component usage data acquired by the acquisition module comprises time usage data from each SPACE system and time dependent calls per customer data from each SCP.

9. A system for determining capacity provisioning in an AIN as in claim 6 wherein the AIN comprises cities in more than one time zone, each modeling station further operable to normalize time in each city to compensate for time differences across the more than one time zone.

10. A system for determining capacity provisioning in an AIN as in claim 6 further comprising a change log in communication with each modeling station, the change log operative to store changes to service demands and to time of day usage.