Self service gateway

• US 6,546,392 B1
• Filed: 06/25/1999
• Issued: 04/08/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Comcast MO Group Incorporated (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: MediaOne Group Inc. (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Bahlmann, Bruce F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Coby, Frantz
• Assistant Examiner(s): LE, UYEN T
• Application Number:
  US09/344,715
• Time in Patent Office: 1,383 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/9, 707/10, 707/104.1, 709/100, 709/310, 709/328, 709/220, 380/255
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access

Abstract

A self service gateway and method of operation that allows a user on a network to interface with the provisioning and billing systems of the network. The self service gateway is controlled by a user interface program that interfaces the user with the provisioning and billing systems. User identifications, passwords, and other user related data are stored in a record database. A tool database holds a set of tools used to instruct or enable the user interface program to invoke, present, and process information provided to and received from the users. Web pages are stored in another database. A web server program provides a standard set of protocols for communicating on the network. In operation, the user logs into the self service gateway and provides commands and inputs that may result in changes in the provisioning and billing systems and the record database.

Claims

1. A self service gateway system that allows a user on a network to interact with a provisioning system and a billing system for the network, the self service gateway system comprising:

at least one user interface program in communication with the billing system, the provisioning system, and the user;

a server program interposed between the user and the at least one user interface program and operative to provide a set of protocols that facilitate communications between the user and the at least one user interface program;

a page layout database having a plurality of display pages, the page layout database being in communication with the at least one user interface program for displaying information to the user;

at least one directory database having a plurality of records associated with the user, and in communication with the at least one user interface program; and

a tool database having a plurality of tools, wherein the plurality of records of the at least one directory database includes a plurality of user levels accessible to the plurality of tools, the tool database being in communication with the at least one user interface program, the plurality of tools being operative to instruct the at least one user interface program how to change at least one account in the billing system, at least one service parameter in the provisioning system, and at least one record of the plurality of records as necessary in response to a plurality of inputs from the user, wherein to change includes to add, to delete, to modify, and to replace, wherein at least one tool of the plurality of tools is responsive to the plurality of user access levels to restrict changes initiated by the plurality of inputs from the user.

2. The self service gateway system of claim 1 wherein the at least one user interface program includes a customer interface program and an employee interface program, the at least one directory database includes a customer directory database and an employee database, and the customer directory database and the employee database are in communication with the customer interface program and the employee interface program respectively.

3. The self service gateway system of claim 1 wherein the network further includes at least one user premise equipment, the system further comprising at least one network management protocol program operative to provide communications between the at least one user interface program and the at least one user premise equipment.

4. The self service gateway system of claim 3 wherein the plurality of tools in the tool database are further operative to instruct the at least one user interface program how to activate, deactivate, and modify at least one filter in the at least one user premise equipment.

5. The self service gateway system of claim 3 further comprising at least one application program interface program disposed between the at least one user interface program and the at least one network management protocol program and operative to facilitate communications between the at least one user interface program and the at least one network management protocol program.

6. The self service gateway system of claim 1 further comprising an application program interface program between the at least one user interface program and the provisioning system and operative to facilitate communications between the at least one user interface program and the provisioning system.

7. The self service gateway system of claim 1 further comprising an application program interface program disposed between the at least one user interface program and the billing system and operative to facilitate communications between the at least one user interface program and the billing system.

8. The self service gateway system of claim 1 further comprising an application program interface program disposed between the at least one user interface program and the at least one directory database and operative to facilitate communications between the at least one user interface program and the at least one directory database.

9. The self service gateway system of claim 1 further comprising at least one shell script program disposed between the at least one user interface program and the server program to facilitate communications between the at least one user interface program and the server program.

10. The self service gateway system of claim 1 further comprising a logging database in communication with the at least one user interface program and operative to record information provided by the at least one user interface program.

11. The self service gateway system of claim 10 further comprising an application program interface program disposed between the at least one user interface program and the logging database and operative to facilitate communications between the at least one user interface program and the logging database.

12. The self service gateway system of claim 1 further comprising a build tool program operative to add, delete, modify, and replace the plurality of tools in the tool database and the plurality of display pages in the page layout database.

13. The self service gateway system of claim 1 further comprising a browser program associated with each user and operative to provide the set of protocols that facilitate communications between the user and the at least one user interface program.

14. The self service gateway system of claim 13 wherein the server program and the browser programs communicate through a secure socket.

15. The self service gateway system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of records includes a plurality of user identifications and a plurality of passwords, and

wherein at least one tool of the plurality of tools is further operative to instruct the at least one user interface program how to authenticate a user identification input and a password input from the user against the plurality of user identifications and the plurality of passwords respectively.

16. The self service gateway system of claim 15 wherein at least one tool of the plurality of tools is responsive to an Internet Protocol address of the user received from the user to restrict changes initiated by the plurality of inputs from the user.

17. The self service gateway system of claim 15 wherein at least one tool of the plurality of tools is further operative to instruct the at least one user interface program how to replace a first password of the plurality of passwords with a new password input from the user.

18. The self service gateway system of claim 1 wherein at least one tool of the plurality of tools is operative to instruct the at least one user interface program how to validate additions, deletions, modifications and replacements made to the provisioning system, the billing system, and the plurality of records.

19. The self service gateway system of claim 1 wherein at least one tool of the plurality of tools is operative to instruct the at least one user interface program how to provide viewable information to the user from the provisioning system, the billing system, and the plurality of records.

20. The self service gateway system of claim 1 wherein at least one tool of the plurality of tools is operative to instruct the at least one user interface program how to register and de-register with the provisioning system a selected medium access control address input from the user.

21. The self service gateway system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of records includes a plurality of alternate passwords,

wherein the at least one user interface program receives a user identification input, a password input and an Internet Protocol address from the user,

wherein at least one tool of the plurality of tools is operative to instruct the at least one user interface program how to determine a provisioned medium access control address based upon the Internet Protocol address, and authenticate the user identification input, the password input, and the provisioned medium access control address against the plurality of user identifications, the plurality of alternative passwords, and the plurality of medium access control addresses respectively.

22. The self service gateway system of claim 21, wherein at least one tool of the plurality of tools is operative to instruct the at least one user interface program how to replace a selected alternate password of the plurality of alternate passwords with a new alternate password input from the user.

23. The self service gateway system of claim 1 wherein at least one tool of the plurality of tools is operative to instruct the at least one user interface program how to add, delete, and modify a plurality of e-mail accounts and at least one associated e-mail account parameter in the provisioning system.

24. The self service gateway system of claim 1 wherein at least one tool of the plurality of tools is operative to instruct the at least one user interface program how to replace a selected domain name system hostname with a new domain name system hostname in the provisioning system.

25. The self service gateway system of claim 1 wherein at least one tool of the plurality of tools is operative to instruct the at least one user interface program how to modify at least one service level parameter in the provisioning system.

26. The self service gateway system of claim 1 wherein the at least one user interface program is in communication with a customer service system, and at least one tool of the plurality of tools is operative to instruct the at least one user interface program how to provide a list of service tasks to the user, receive at least one selected service task input from the list of service tasks as chosen by the user, and provide the at least one selected service task input to the customer service system.

27. The self service gateway system of claim 1 wherein at least one tool of the plurality of tools is operative to instruct the at least one user interface program how to change at least one billing parameter in the billing system associated with the at least one service parameter changed in the provisioning system.

28. A method to allow a user on a network to interact with a provisioning system and a billing system for the network, the method comprising:

providing a plurality of records that store a plurality of user identifications, a plurality of passwords, and a plurality of user access levels;

receiving an Internet Protocol address of the user along with a user identification input and a password input from the user;

comparing the user identification input to the plurality of user identifications to find a matching user identification of the plurality of user identifications, in response to receiving the user identification input;

comparing the password input to a first password of the plurality of passwords associated with the matching user identification in response to finding the matching user identification;

determining a first user access level of the plurality of user access levels associated with the first user identification after matching the password input to the first password associated with the first user identification;

receiving a plurality of inputs from the user after matching the password input to the first password;

changing at least one account in the billing system, at least one service parameter in the provisioning system, and at least one record of the plurality of records in accordance with the plurality of inputs received from the user, wherein changing includes adding, deleting, modifying, and replacing, wherein changing includes restricting changes initiated by the plurality of inputs received from the user based upon the first user access level; and

restricting changes initiated by the plurality of inputs received from the user based upon the Internet Protocol address of the user.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein the network includes at least one user premise equipment having at least one filter, the method further comprising:

activating a selected filter of the at least one filter in a selected user premise equipment of the at least one user premise equipment in response to receiving from the user an activate filter command, a filter identification input for the selected filter, and a user premise equipment identification input for the selected user equipment;

deactivating the selected filter of the at least one filter in the selected user premise equipment of the at least one user premise equipment in response to receiving from the user a deactivate filter command, the filter identification input for the selected filter, and the user premise equipment identification input for the selected user identification equipment; and

modifying the selected filter of the at least one filter in the selected user premise equipment of the at least one user premise equipment in response to receiving from the user a modify filter command, the filter identification input for the selected filter, the user premise equipment identification input for the selected user identification equipment, and at least one modified filter parameter input.

30. The method of claim 28 further comprising logging completed changes to the at least one account in the billing system, changes to the at least one service parameter in the provisioning system, and changes to the at least one record of the plurality of records.

31. The method of claim 28 further comprising replacing the first password of the plurality of passwords with a new password in response to receiving the first password input and the new password input from the user.

32. The method of claim 28 further comprising validating additions, deletions, modifications and replacements made to the provisioning system, the billing system, and the plurality of records in response to the plurality of inputs received from the user.

33. The method of claim 28 further comprising providing viewable information to the user from the provisioning system, the billing system and the plurality of records in response to the plurality inputs received from the user.

34. The method of claim 28 wherein the plurality of records stores a plurality of medium access control addresses, the method further comprising:

requesting the provisioning system to de-register a selected medium access control address in response to receiving the selected medium access control address input and a de-register command from the user;

removing the selected medium access control address from the plurality of medium access control addresses stored in the plurality of records in response to receiving the selected medium access control address input and a de-register command from the user;

requesting the provisioning system to register the selected medium access control address in response to receiving the selected medium access control address input and a register command from the user; and

adding the selected medium access control address to the plurality of medium access control addresses stored in the plurality of records in response to receiving the selected medium access control address input and the register command from the user.

35. The method of claim 28 wherein the plurality of records store a plurality of alternate passwords and a plurality of medium access control addresses, the method further comprising:

receiving an Internet Protocol address of the user along with the user identification input and the password input;

determining a provisioned medium access control address based upon the Internet Protocol address of the user in response to receiving the Internet Protocol address of the user;

comparing the password input with the plurality of alternate passwords in response to not matching the password input with the first password associated with the matching user identification; and

comparing the provisioned medium access control address with a first medium access control address of the plurality of medium access control addresses associated with the matching user identification in response to matching the password input to the first password associated with the matching user identification,

wherein receiving the plurality of inputs from the user is allowed in response to matching the provisioned medium access control address with the first medium access control address associated with the matching user identification.

36. The method of claim 28 wherein the plurality of records store a plurality of alternate passwords, the method further comprising replacing a selected alternate password of the plurality of passwords with the new alternate password input in response to receiving the new alternate password input from the user.

37. The method of claim 28 further comprising:

requesting the provisioning system add a new e-mail account in response to receiving an add e-mail account command and the new e-mail account input from the user;

requesting the provisioning system delete a selected e-mail account in response to receiving a delete e-mail account command and the selected e-mail account input from the user; and

requesting the provisioning system modify the selected e-mail account in response to receiving a modify e-mail account command, the selected e-mail account input, and at least one new e-mail account parameter input from the user.

38. The method of claim 28 further comprising requesting the provisioning system replace the selected domain name system hostname with a new domain name system hostname in response to receiving the selected domain name system hostname input and the new domain name system hostname input from the user.

39. The method of claim 28 further comprising requesting the provisioning system modify at least one service level parameter in response to receiving the at least one service level parameter input from the user.

40. The method of claim 28 further comprising:

providing a list of service tasks to the user;

receiving at least one selected service task input form the list of service tasks as chosen by the user; and

providing the at least one selected service task input to a customer service system.

41. The method of claim 28 further comprising requesting the billing system to change at least one billing parameter associated with the at least one service parameter in response to changing the at least one service parameter in the provisioning system.