Method and apparatus for storing data on application-level activity and other user information to enable real-time multi-dimensional reporting about user of a mobile data network

• US 8,195,661 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2008
• Issued: 06/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ribbon Communications Securities Corp. (Ribbon Communications, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Umber Systems Incorporated (Ribbon Communications, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kalavade, Asawaree
• Primary Examiner(s): Trujillo, James
• Assistant Examiner(s): Casanova, Jorge A
• Application Number:
  US12/324,671
• Publication Number:
  US 20090138427A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,287 Days
• Field of Search: 707/705, 707/724, 707/784, 709217-224
• US Class Current: 707/736
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0637 Strategic management or analysis, e.g. setting a goal or target of an organisation; Planning actions based on goals; Analysis or evaluation of effectiveness of goals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0205 Location or geographical consideration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/065 related to network devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/12 Network monitoring probes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals

Abstract

A method and apparatus for storing data on application-level activity and other user information to enable real-time multi-dimensional reporting about a user of a mobile data network. A data manager receives information about application-level activity from a mobile data network and stores the information to provide dynamic real-time reporting on network usage. The data manager comprises a database, data processing module, and analytics module. The database stores the application-level data for a predetermined period of time. The data processing module monitors the data to determine if it corresponds to a set of defined reports. If the data is relevant, the processing module updates the defined reports. The analytics module accesses the database to retrieve information satisfying operator queries about network usage. If the operator chooses to convert the query into a defined report, the analytics module creates a newly defined report and populates it accordingly.

Claims

1. A data manager device for receiving information from multiple collector devices about application-level data activity on a mobile data network so as to provide dynamic real-time reporting about aggregated usage of said mobile data network, said data manager device comprising:

a processor coupled to memory;

a database for storing received application-level data for a predetermined amount of time;

a data processing module for receiving communications and correlated phone numbers associated with user mobile devices from said multiple collector devices, using said phone numbers to query carrier information associated with said phone numbers, and storing said received communications and associated carrier information in said database, said data processing module determining which of said received communications and associated carrier information corresponds to a set of defined real-time reports and storing said corresponding communications and associated carrier information into data structures stored on said data manager, each defined real-time report including a combination of one or more of demographic information about users of said mobile data network, information identifying destinations for user data requests on said mobile data network, and estimated physical location information about users of said mobile data network, wherein received communications and associated carrier information that are determined to correspond to defined real-time reports are used to populate said real-time reports for viewing by an operator; and

an analytics module for accessing said database to satisfy operator queries about aggregated usage of said mobile data network, said analytics module being responsive to operator commands to modify said set of defined real-time reports to incorporate an operator query as a newly-generated defined report, said newly-generated defined report including a combination of variables that is different from said set of defined real-time reports, wherein said analytics module satisfies at least a subset of said combination of variables from said set of defined real-time reports and queries said database for data to satisfy remaining variables in said combination of variables that could not be satisfied by said set of defined real-time reports, wherein said data processing module subsequently adds said newly-generated defined report to said set of defined real-time reports.

2. The data manager device of claim 1 wherein each real-time report has a corresponding table which specifies the data to be automatically retained and continuously updated by said data manager to populate the real-time report.

3. The data manager device of claim 2 wherein, in response to said operator command to modify said set of defined real-time reports, said analytics module compares said operator query to said tables to determine whether at least one table satisfies said operator query and if not said analytics module programmatically creates a new table to satisfy said query and modifies the set of defined real-time reports to include a new real-time report corresponding to said new table.

4. The data manager device of claim 1 wherein said real-time reports specify aggregate data about all or a subset of users of said network, said aggregate reports including at least a subset combination of the following set of aggregate date:

physical location of users;

demographic information about users;

content site accessed by users;

media type used by users;

device type used by users;

network type used by users.

5. The data manager device of claim 1 wherein said data manager determines session metrics about said users and at least one real-time report uses said session metrics.

6. The data manager device of claim 5 wherein said session metrics include at least one of page views, number of sessions, number of visits to content, unique visitors to content, time spent during sessions, data consumed by a user during a session.