Event recording in a service database system

• US 6,236,998 B1
• Filed: 02/16/1999
• Issued: 05/22/2001
• 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): Breene, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pham, Linh M
• Application Number:
  US09/251,277
• Time in Patent Office: 826 Days
• Field of Search: 707/9, 707/10, 707/102, 707/103, 707/204, 707/509, 707/530, 708/108, 708/109, 708/518, 709/204
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/12 Counting circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4228 in networks

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of handling the event recordings in a service database system. The database comprises measurement tables (MT) which include consecutive rows (Ri). So that the length of the recording interval can be changed at any time without interrupting the measurement, the system (a) maintains a time value which corresponds to the following expected changing moment of the recording interval and compares the current clock time value to the value of the expected changing moment to detect the changing moment of the recording interval, and (b) updates the time value of the expected changing moment and the length of the current recording interval according to the new time value of the changing moment as a response to the change in the length of the recording interval.

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 the provision of the service as a response to the service request,

performing the recording of events by incrementing the measurement object-specific counters for each different event during the processing of the service request for a time determined by a certain, predefined recording interval, said interval being user-specifiable, and

performing the recording of counter values by storing the measurement object-specific counter values after each recording interval, characterized in that the method further comprises the steps of

maintaining a time value which corresponds to the following expected changing moment of the recording interval and comparing the current clock time value to the value of the expected changing moment to detect the changing moment of the recording interval, and

updating the time value of the expected changing moment and the length of the current recording interval according to the new time value of the changing moment as a response to the change in the length of the recording interval.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the update is delayed in case of the activation of the measurement group, until the initial value assigned to the expected changing moment during the activation of the measurement group has been passed.

3. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the recording and zeroing of counter values is performed in each recording interval one measurement object at a time, and said updating and comparing is performed by using the process which handles the recording and zeroing of counter values.

4. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that each measurement counter on the row of the measurement table corresponding to a measurement object is maintained as a duplicate, in which case the first counter belongs to the first counter group (CG1), and the second counter to the second counter group (CG2), and time domain is divided into consecutive recording intervals (TP) in such a manner that the counter values of the first counter groups are incremented and the counter values of the second counter groups are recorded and zeroed during every second recording interval, and the counters of the second counter groups are incremented and the counter values of the first counter groups are recorded and zeroed during every other recording interval.

5. A method according to claim 4, characterized in that said process is started during a recording interval repeatedly at short intervals so that said comparison is performed during each startup.

6. A method according to claim 5, characterized in that the value of the following expected changing moment is updated, additionally, when the process which handles the recording and zeroing of counter values detects that the expected changing moment of the recording interval has already been reached.

7. A method according to claim 6, characterized in that the expected changing moment of the recording interval is defined by using the current clock time and the length of the recording interval.

8. A method according to claim 6, characterized in that a measurement group-specific flag is maintained in the system which indicates when all objects of the measurement table have been processed during the current recording interval, whereby the new recording interval length is introduced only when said flag indicates that all objects have been processed.

9. A method according to claim 2, characterized in that the time value which corresponds to the following full minute is defined as the initial value of the expected changing moment of the recording interval when it is detected that a deactivated measurement group has been activated.