System and method for monitoring service quality in a communications network

• US 6,359,976 B1
• Filed: 09/14/1999
• Issued: 03/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NetScout Systems Texas, LLC (NetScout Systems Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Inet Technologies, Inc. (Fortive Corp.)
• Inventors: Brehm, Grant Michael, Chan, Chunchun Jonina, Harper, Chad Daniel, Kalyanpur, Gaurang S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tieu, Binh
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRAN, QUOC DUC
• Application Number:
  US09/395,801
• Time in Patent Office: 917 Days
• Field of Search: 379/34, 379/112, 379/113, 379/114, 379/133, 379/134, 379/139, 379/140, 379/210, 379/32.01, 379/32.02, 379/111, 379/112.01, 379/112.06, 379/112.07, 379/112.08, 379/114.01, 379/114.14, 379/114.28, 379/242, 379/243, 379/244
• US Class Current: 379/134
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/41 Billing record details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure of call data record [CDR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/44 Augmented, consolidated or itemized billing statement or bill presentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/50 for cross-charging network operators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/53 using mediation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/58 based on statistics of usage or network monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/67 Transmitting arrangements for sending billing related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/68 Payment of value-added services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/745 Customizing according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. friends or family
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0104 Augmented, consolidated or itemised billing statement, e.g. additional billing information, bill presentation, layout, format, e-mail, fax, printout, itemised bill per service or per account, cumulative billing, consolidated billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0108 Customization according to wishes of subscriber, e.g. customer preferences, friends and family, selecting services or billing options, Personal Communication Systems [PCS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0164 Billing record, e.g. Call Data Record [CDR], Toll Ticket[TT], Automatic Message Accounting [AMA], Call Line Identifier [CLI], details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0168 On line or real-time flexible customization or negotiation according to wishes of subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0172 Mediation, i.e. device or program to reformat CDRS from one or more switches in order to adapt to one or more billing programs formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0188 Network monitoring; statistics on usage on called/calling number
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0196 Payment of value-added services, mainly when their charges are added on the telephone bill, e.g. payment of non-telecom services, e-commerce, on-line banking
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/48 Sending information over a non-traffic network channel or another connection than the one actually used, e.g. signalling, D-channel, data and voice
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/52 Interconnection, inter-exchange, reseller billing, billing agreements between different operators, e.g. billing identifier added on the CDR in order to cross charge the other operator, inter-operator accounting, reconciliation, bill directly resellers customers
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0087 Network testing or monitoring arrangements

Abstract

A system and method for monitoring service quality using Call Detail Records (CDR) in a communications network, such as a Signaling System No. 7 (SS7) network, is disclosed. Network monitors capture substantially all signaling units in the SS7 network generate a complete record for all calls, transactions and other communications over the network. Users configure CDR profiles that are used to filter the records. A CDR application filters the records by parsing out signaling unit components that have been selected by the user in the CDR profile. The selected message components are then formatted into a CDR record, which is sent to an external system that generates certain statistics for the message records and stores the statistics to a database. A report application recalls the statistics from the database and presents statistics in a reporting format configured by the user. The reports indicate the statistical performance of network providers for selected called or calling telephone numbers or for selected services. The CDRs and statistics are available to a user either in real-time or in response to a query of historical CDR data. The network quality monitoring system is separate and independent from the network monitoring equipment.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring the service quality in a communications network, wherein a communication monitoring system generates communication detail records for communications on said network, the method comprising the steps of:

capturing, at monitoring units, messages from one or more communication links in the communication network, wherein each message corresponds to a specific one of a plurality of calls or transactions, and wherein a plurality of messages are associated with each of said calls or transactions;

identifying a first-detected message for a particular call or transaction;

designating a monitoring unit that detected said first-detected message as an anchor monitor for the particular call or transaction;

forwarding any other messages associated with the particular call or transaction to the anchor monitor;

correlating, at the anchor monitor, all of the messages associated with the particular call or transaction into a call detail record for the particular call or transaction, wherein the call detail record comprises all of the messages associated with the particular call or transaction that have been captured by all monitors from all links in the communications network;

transmitting said call detail records directly from said anchor monitor to a quality of service application;

filtering said call detail records to generate a historical report of service quality on said network, wherein said call detail records are filtered according to a user configured profile to generate said historical reports; and

filtering said call detail records as they are received to generate real-time service quality reports.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

storing the call detail records at said anchor monitor upon a loss of communication between said anchor monitor and said quality of service application.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said call detail records are Transaction Control Application Part Call Detail Rccords (TCAP CDR).

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

allowing a user to modify said configuration profile via a global computer network.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

monitoring said real-time service quality reports for alarm conditions; and

notifying a user when an alarm condition is detected.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said real-time service quality reports are monitored using a user configured profile to detect said alarm conditions.

7. A system for monitoring service quality in a communications network having associated network monitoring equipment for monitoring communications across said network, said system comprising:

communications network monitoring devices coupled to communication links in the communication network, each of the monitoring device comprising;

means for capturing messages from said communication links, wherein each message corresponds to a specific one of a plurality of calls or transactions, and wherein a plurality of messages are associated with each of said calls or transactions;

means for identifying a first-detected message for a particular call or transaction;

means for designating one of said monitoring devices as an anchor monitor for the particular call or transaction, if that monitor detected the first-detected message;

means for forwarding other messages associated with the particular call or transaction to the anchor monitor;

means for correlating all of the messages associated with the particular call or transaction into a call detail record for the particular call or transaction, wherein the call detail record comprises all of the messages associated with the particular call or transaction that have been captured by all monitors from all links in the communications network;

means for transmitting said call detail records directly from said anchor monitor to a service quality application processor that is separate from said communications network monitoring devices;

a database associated with said processor for storing said communication detail records;

means for filtering said communication detail records using a user defined profile to identify selected ones of said communication detail records;

means for generating a report of historical network quality using said selected ones of said communication detail records; and

means for filtering said communications detail records to identify communication detail records to be displayed to a user in real-time.

8. The system of claim 7 further comprising:

means to display said historical reports to said user; and

means to display said call detail records to said user in real-time.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein said historical display means and said real-time display means are the same device.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein said display means provide a graphical user interface for said users.