Method for determining concurrrent voice over IP calls

• US 6,954,520 B1
• Filed: 03/28/2003
• Issued: 10/11/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Rakuten Group, Inc.
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lang, Howard L., Voets, Jaap, Woerner, Eric M.
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, QUOC DUC
• Application Number:
  US10/403,178
• Time in Patent Office: 928 Days
• Field of Search: 379/112.01, 379/112.06, 379/112.07, 379/114.01, 379/126, 379/133, 379/134, 379/137, 379/139, 370/493, 370/495, 370/496
• US Class Current: 379/137
• 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 15/34 Charging, billing or metering arrangements for private branch exchanges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/41 Billing record details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure of call data record [CDR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/43 Billing software details
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/56 for VoIP communications
• 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 2215/202 VoIP; Packet switched telephony

Abstract

A method employs call detail records for developing a report on the usage of VoIP calling along a network path or through a network location. By utilizing, for example, a call-beginning record and a call-ending record for each connection, a report is created of the number of concurrent VoIP calls that a specified equipment or network path carries at any given instance by retrieving batches of stored call detail records, culling the records that are relevant to the specified equipment or network path, considering the culled records in a time sorted manner, and incrementing or decrementing a counter based on whether a considered record is a call-beginning record or a call-ending record, respectively. The state of the counter is reported, illustratively, as a line entry each time the counter'"'"'s state is modified.

Claims

1. A method for developing a report relative to a specified piece of equipment of a network, or network path of said network, comprising the steps of:

collecting call detail records (CDRs) having an identifier that permits segregating call detail records based on said specified piece of equipment or network path, which call detail records are adapted to yield call-beginning information, or call-ending information or both;

conditioning said collected CDR by employing a process of culling CDRs that pertain to said specified piece of equipment or network path, and a process for permitting said CDRs to be considered in time-ordered manner, said conditioning executing said processes in any chosen order; and

employing the conditioned CDR, considered in time-ordered manner, to update a count state;

where said step of employing increments a counter when a considered CDR provides call-beginning information, and decrements said counter when said considered CDR provides call-ending information.

2. The method according to claim 1 where said step of employing further comprises a step of entering count value of said counter in a report.

3. The method according to claim 2 further comprising a step of analyzing data presented by said report.

4. The method according to claim 3 further comprising a step of analyzing delivering results of said step of analyzing.