Event recording in a service database system

• US 6,233,569 B1
• Filed: 02/16/1999
• Issued: 05/15/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nokia Telecommunications Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Telecommunications Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Lehtinen, Pekka
• Primary Examiner(s): Davis, George B.
• Application Number:
  US09/249,866
• Time in Patent Office: 819 Days
• Field of Search: 706/10, 707/509, 707/101, 707/200
• US Class Current: 706/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0079 involving restoration of networks, e.g. disaster recovery, self-healing networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of handling event recordings in a service database system. The database contains measurement tables (MT) which include consecutive rows (Ri). A single row contains data about a single measurement object. So that recording of a large counter group could be performed efficiently and, nonwithstanding, the measurement could be started without delay for all objects, (a) a single measurement counter is maintained copied to N copies on the row corresponding to each measurement object of the measurement table (b) time domain is divided into consecutive recording intervals so that only the values of a selected counter group located on the row are incremented during each recording interval, and (c) the recording and zeroing of the counter values is handled during a recording interval one measurement object at a time.

Claims

1. A method for performing event recordings in a service database system, the database comprising measurement tables (MT) which comprise consecutive rows (Ri), whereby a single row comprises data related to a single measurement object and the measurement objects of one measurement table are of the same type so that they form a measurement group, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving service requests (SR) into the system during whose processing it is necessary to count the number of events occurring per each measurement object;

activating a provision of the service as a response to a service request;

recording of events by incrementing measurement object-specific counters for each different event during processing of a service request for a time determined by a certain, predefined recording interval;

recording of counter values by storing a value of the measurement object-specific counters after each recording interval;

maintaining a single measurement counter copied to N copies on the row of the measurement table so that each of N counters belongs to a different counter group, whereby N counter groups are located on the row;

dividing time domain into consecutive recording intervals (TP) so that only the values of a selected counter group located on the row are incremented during each recording interval, and a counter group to be incremented is changed from one recording interval to another; and

recording and zeroing counter values of a counter group during a recording interval one measurement object at a time by processing the rows of the measurement tables one at a time using a processor and a timer, said recording and zeroing counter values performed during which the counter group is incremented.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of;

maintaining each counter on the row corresponding to the measurement object as duplicated, whereby a first counter belongs to a first counter group (CG1) and a second counter belongs to a second counter group (CG2); and

incrementing the counters of the first counter groups and recording and zeroing the counter values of the second counter groups during every other recording interval, and incrementing the counters of the second counter groups and recording and zeroing the counter values of the first counter groups during every other recording interval.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the system additionally maintains a measurement group-specific flag which, when set, indicates that all rows of the measurement table have been processed during a ongoing recording interval.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein (a) incrementing of counters and recording and zeroing of counter values is performed by using two separate processes which are phased in relation to the recording intervals so that a parameter which indicates the counter group to be incremented and the counter group to be recorded is changed at the beginning of each recording interval and (b) recording events by reading a value of said parameter during each service request thereby incrementing of the copied counters of the measurement object related to the service request the one which corresponds to the value of the parameter.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the recording and zeroing of counter values changes the value of the parameter.

6. A method according to claim 3, wherein the recording and zeroing of counter values is started repeatedly at short intervals during each recording interval and during each started execution it is checked whether the changing moment of the recording interval has already been reached, whereby the value of said parameter is changed always when the changing moment has been reached.

7. A method according to claim 3, wherein an interface between a process that handles the increment of counter values and a process that handles the recording of counter values is implemented so that a measurement group-specific activation parameter and a measurement object-specific activation parameter is maintained in the system, whereby the process that handles the increment of counter values increments the values of the counter group indicated by said parameter always, if the activation parameters indicate that both the measurement group and the measurement object are active.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the same process (CR_j) performs the recording and zeroing for counters of several different measurement groups so that during each activation of the process every measurement group is handled.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the increment of counters and the recording and zeroing of counter values are handled by a common processor.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the time domain is divided in the system into discrete time values of one minute.