System and method of collecting, correlating and storing telecom data as call detail records

• US 7,496,185 B1
• Filed: 12/23/2004
• Issued: 02/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mantas, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mantas, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Primavesi, Franco, Margolis, Mario
• Primary Examiner(s): Tieu; Binh K
• Application Number:
  US11/021,735
• Time in Patent Office: 1,524 Days
• Field of Search: 379/111, 379/112.01, 379/112.02, 379/121.04, 379/126, 379/133, 379/134, 379/1.01, 379/9, 379/9.04, 379/9.05, 379/32.01
• US Class Current: 379/126
• 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 15/43 Billing software details
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/70 Administration or customization aspects; Counter-checking correct charges
• 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 2215/70 Administration aspects, modify settings or limits or counter-check correct charges

Abstract

Systems and methods for collecting, correlating, and storing telecom data as call detail records (CDRs) are described. A computer system collects real-time call data from a plurality of sources and stores the data in different memory locations. A real-time buffer is used to correlate the data into a CDR. A separate process collects reference data from one or more third-party sources to supplement each CDR and stores this data in different memory locations. A reference data buffer is then used to correlate the reference data into existing CDRs. A data manager layer then inserts each enhanced CDR into a plurality of distributed database systems. CDRs may be separated among multiple database systems, may be inserted into more than one database depending on application use, and may be partitioned to optimize access and retrieval.

Claims

1. A system for collecting, correlating and storing call detail records, the system comprising:

a plurality of real-time data sources;

a plurality of reference data sources;

a mediation and correlation layer, wherein the mediation and correlation layer receives real-time data from at least one real-time data source and reference data from at least one reference data source, wherein the real-time data comprises telecommunications data used to generate one or more call detail records; and

a plurality of database systems, wherein each database system receives correlated data from the mediation and correlation layer, wherein the data comprises a call detail record correlated with reference data, wherein each database system comprises one or more databases.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein each of the real-time data sources comprises one or more of an SS7 probe, a TCP/IP probe and a switch.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein each of the reference data sources comprises one or more of a customer record information system and a line exchange routing guide.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein a database is partitioned into a plurality of subgroups, wherein the subgroups are determined based on a specified portion of the data contained in a call detail record.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein a database is partitioned into a plurality of subgroups, wherein the subgroups are determined based on a timestamp.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the mediation and correlation layer comprises:

one or more element managers, wherein each element manager receives real-time data from at least one real-time data source and stores the real-time data in a real-time data buffer;

a real-time data buffer, wherein the real-time data buffer receives real-time data from at least one element manager, and generates one or more call detail records based on at least a portion of the real-time data;

one or more conveyors, wherein at least one conveyor receives and stores a call detail record;

a file input processor that receives reference data from the reference data sources;

a database index shared access memory loader that receives reference data from the file input processor and indexes the reference data;

a reference data buffer that receives indexed reference data from the database index shared access memory loader; and

one or more data managers, wherein at least one data manager receives a call detail record from at least one conveyor, accesses the reference data buffer to retrieve and correlate a plurality of indexed reference data, associates the correlated reference data with the call detail record, and transmits the call detail record with the correlated reference data to at least one database system.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein each element manager comprises memory for temporarily storing the real-time data.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the memory is sized to store approximately 8 seconds of real-time data.

9. The system of claim 6 wherein the real-time data buffer generates the call detail record by correlating real-time data received from a plurality of element managers.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein a database system comprises one or more of the following:

a short-term database;

a profiler database; and

a long-term database.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the short-term database comprises a database in which data is stored for no more than approximately 48 hours.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein the long-term database comprises a database in which data is stored for no more than approximately 60 days.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

an application layer, wherein the application layer receives one or more call data records from at least one of the plurality of database systems and performs an application using the one or more call data records.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the application comprises one or more of the following:

a fraud analysis application;

a traffic analysis application; and

a billing automation application.

15. A method of capturing and storing a call detail record, the method comprising:

receiving, by a first element manager, real-time data from a first real-time data source;

determining, by the first element manager, whether additional real-time data is desired from one or more second real-time data sources;

if additional real-time data is desired, receiving, by one or more second element managers, the additional real-time data from the one or more second real-time data sources;

correlating, by a real-time data buffer, the real-time data with the additional real-time data into a call detail record;

storing the call detail record in a conveyor;

retrieving, by a data manager, the call detail record from the conveyor;

correlating, by a reference data buffer, reference data from one or more reference data sources;

correlating, by the data manager, the correlated reference data and the call detail record into a correlated call detail record; and

storing the correlated call detail record in one or more databases.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the element manager receives real-time data only if the element manager has sufficient free memory to store the real-time data.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the real-time data buffer selects a conveyor with sufficient free memory to store a call detail record.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein a data manager retrieves a call detail record from a conveyor only if the data manager has sufficient free memory to store the call detail record.