Pipelined method and apparatus for processing communication metering data

• US 6,377,939 B1
• Filed: 05/04/1999
• Issued: 04/23/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: MetraTech
• Inventors: Young, Derek M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Heckler, Thomas M.
• Application Number:
  US09/304,924
• Time in Patent Office: 1,085 Days
• Field of Search: 713/1, 709/100-102, 709/104, 709/105, 709/201, 712/28, 712/50, 705/34, 705/412
• US Class Current: 705/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing

Abstract

For communication services, a metering and processing system for processing metered information incorporates configurable processing modules and a configuration manager. The system can by readily and flexibly configured, responsive to operator directions, to process metered information to meet the needs of data consumers, such as NSPs and ISPs. Each processing module performs a specific sub-part of a computation on the metered information, and the configuration manager generates a configuration file for specifying the order of operation, computation sub-part, and other operational parameters for the individual processing modules.

Claims

1. A system for processing metered information, the system comprising:

A) a mechanism for converting the metered information into session data; and

B) a processing unit for performing calculations on the session data to generate processed session data, the processing unit comprising an execution management framework, and a plurality of processing modules for processing the session data as directed by the framework to perform the calculations.

2. The system in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a configuration manager for generating a configuration file for specifying at least one operational parameter for the processing modules.

3. The system in accordance with claim 2, wherein the configuration file specifies at least one operational parameter including an order of operation of the processing modules.

4. The system in accordance with claim 2, wherein the configuration file specifies at least one operational parameter including a computational operation for each of the processing modules.

5. The system in accordance with claim 2, wherein the configuration manager includes a user interface for receiving operator-specified configuration parameters, including an order of operation for the processing modules in accordance with data consumer requirements.

6. The system in accordance with claim 2, wherein the configuration files specify a configuration for the processing unit, the configuration including an identification of processing modules and an order for execution of the processing modules.

7. The system in accordance with claim 6, wherein the session data includes a time stamp, and the configuration manager provides a configuration to the processing unit responsive to the time stamp.

8. The system in accordance with claim 7, wherein the configuration manager provides a first configuration to the processing unit responsive to the time stamp indicating a time prior to a specified time, and provides a second configuration to the processing unit responsive to the time stamp indicating a time after the specified time.

9. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the processing unit includes a pipeline for performing calculations on the session data to generate processed session data, the pipeline comprising a plurality of stages, each of the stages by including an execution management framework and a plurality of processing modules for processing the session data as directed by an associated one of the execution management frameworks to perform the calculations.

10. The system in accordance with claim 9, further comprising a configuration manager for generating a configuration file for specifying at least one operation parameter for the processing modules, wherein the configuration files includes stage configuration files for defining computational dependencies between the stages.

11. The system in accordance with claim 9, further comprising queues interposed between the stages, and wherein the stages execute the processing modules non-synchronously.

12. The system in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a presentation apparatus for providing processed session data to data consumer.

13. The system in accordance with claim 1, in combination with a metering apparatus for collecting the metered user information.

14. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the session data includes property name/value pairs, and the processing modules perform operations including mathematical operations, on the property name/value pairs to obtain a set of processed session data.

15. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the processing modules comprise modular, computer-executable computer programs that specify a specific computational operation with respect to the session data.

16. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the processing modules can operate in an operator-specified order within the pipeline.

17. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the processing modules can be added, removed, and replaced for modifying the calculation performed by the pipeline in generating processed session data.

18. The system in accordance with claim 1, further comprising an operational order determining mechanism for tracking an order of operation of the processing modules.

19. The system in accordance with claim 18, wherein the operational order determining mechanism includes a dependency counter associated with each processing order for determining a operational sequence position for operation of the associated processing module.

20. The system in accordance with claim 18, wherein each processing unit includes a dependency counter, and commences operation when the counter reaches a predetermined count.

21. The system in accordance with claim 20, further comprising means for decrementing the counter included in one of the processing units in response to operation another of the processing units.

22. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the processing modules include a set processing module for operating on a set of the session data from a number of transactions as a batch.

23. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the processing modules include a fork processing module for changing the order of processing of the session data.

24. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the processing modules include an aggregation processing module for aggregating session data.

25. A method for processing metered information pertaining to a communication service, the method comprising:

A) converting the metered information into session data; and

B) performing calculations on the session data to generate processed session data using a processing unit, the performing step comprising using a framework for managing processing, and using a plurality of processing modules for processing the session data as directed by the framework to perform the calculations.

26. The method in accordance with claim 25, further comprising a configuration manager generating a configuration file for specifying a plurality of operational parameters for the processing modules including an order of operation of the processing modules and a computational operation for each of the processing modules.

27. The method in accordance with claim 26, wherein the configuration manager includes a user interface for receiving operator-specified configuration parameters, including an order of operation for the processing modules in accordance with data consumer requirements.