System and method for a service metering framework in a network environment

• US 8,983,987 B2
• Filed: 12/05/2012
• Issued: 03/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Joglekar, Meghana S., Xue, Yun, Batra, Alok, Ravi, Gunupuree, Sharma, Sahil
• Primary Examiner(s): Bullock, Joshua
• Application Number:
  US13/706,174
• Publication Number:
  US 20140032531A1
• Time in Patent Office: 832 Days
• Field of Search: 707/758
• US Class Current: 707/758
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/22 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24 Querying
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/04 Processing captured monitoring data, e.g. for logfile generation
• 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 15/51 for resellers, retailers or service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/80 Rating or billing plans; Tariff determination aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/82 Criteria or parameters used for performing billing operations

Abstract

A method is provided in one example embodiment and includes causing generation of a metered record associated with a metering event of an application executed within a cloud-based computing system, the metered record including a metering attribute and a corresponding value, the corresponding value being determined substantially simultaneous to a runtime execution of the application, and facilitating searching for the metered record based on the metering attribute and the corresponding value of the metering attribute. In specific embodiments, the metered record is communicated using a REpresentational State Transfer (REST) Application Programming Interface (API). In an example embodiment, the notification of the metering event can be received by any one of a REST API, a Java Messaging Service listener, an Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) listener, or a metering plugin.

Claims

1. A method executed at a service metering framework (SMF) engine including a processor, comprising:

providing a SMF data structure to an application executing within a cloud-based computing system, wherein the SMF data structure can include definitions of a plurality of meterable objects indicating respective metering attributes appropriate for a variety of functionalities of corresponding applications;

causing generation of a metered record for a meterable object associated with a metering event of the application according to the SMF data structure, wherein the metering event includes an action associated with the application that changes a value of at least one of the metering attributes, wherein the metered record comprises the at least one of the respective metering attributes of the meterable object and a corresponding value associated with the metering event, and wherein the corresponding value is determined substantially simultaneous to a runtime execution of the application; and

generating a search result for the metered record based on the metering attribute and the corresponding value.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the metered record is communicated using a REpresentational State Transfer (REST) Application Programming Interface (API).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the metered record is communicated by a selected one of a group of elements, the group consisting of:

a) a REST API;

b) a Java Messaging Service (JMS) listener;

c) an Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) listener; and

d) a metering plugin.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the metering event is associated by an event tag with a predefined meterable object having the metering attribute.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the metered record is associated with the predefined meterable object by an identifier attribute.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the metering event is detected by a metering agent of the application during the runtime.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the metered record is identified by a unique key.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the metering attribute is associated with the metering event by a service controller of the application.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

analyzing the metered record to generate a recording feed or a billing feed.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the cloud-based executable system is configured for executing a plurality of applications, and wherein each application is associated with distinct metering events and corresponding metering attributes.

11. Non-transitory media encoding logic that includes instructions for execution and when executed by a processor, is operable to perform operations comprising:

providing a SMF data structure to an application executing within a cloud-based computing system, wherein the SMF data structure can include definitions of a plurality of meterable objects indicating respective metering attributes appropriate for a variety of functionalities of corresponding applications;

causing generation of a metered record for a meterable object associated with a metering event of the application according to the SMF data structure, wherein the metering event includes an action associated with the application that changes a value of at least one of the metering attributes, wherein the metered record comprises the at least one of the respective metering attributes of the meterable object and a corresponding value associated with the metering event, and wherein the corresponding value is determined substantially simultaneous to a runtime execution of the application; and

generating a search result for the metered record based on the metering attribute and the corresponding value.

12. The media of claim 11, wherein the metered record is communicated using a REST API.

13. The media of claim 11, wherein the metered record is communicated by a selected one of a group of elements, the group consisting of:

a) a REST API;

b) a Java Messaging Service (JMS) listener;

c) an Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) listener; and

d) a metering plugin.

14. The media of claim 11, wherein the metering event is associated by an event tag with a predefined meterable object having the metering attribute.

15. The media of claim 14, wherein the metered record is associated with the predefined meterable object by an identifier attribute.

16. An apparatus, comprising:

a memory element to store data; and

a processor to execute instructions associated with the data, wherein the processor, and the memory element cooperate such that the apparatus is configured for;

providing a SMF data structure to an application executing within a cloud-based computing system, wherein the SMF data structure can include definitions of a plurality of meterable objects indicating respective metering attributes appropriate for a variety of functionalities of corresponding applications;

causing generation of a metered record for a meterable object associated with a metering event of the application according to the SMF data structure, wherein the metering event includes an action associated with the application that changes a value of at least one of the metering attributes, wherein the metered record comprises the at least one of the respective metering attributes of the meterable object and a corresponding value associated with the metering event, and wherein the corresponding value is determined substantially simultaneous to a runtime execution of the application; and

generating a search result for the metered record based on the metering attribute and the corresponding value.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the metered record is communicated using a REST API.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the metered record is communicated by a selected one of a group of elements, the group consisting of:

a) a REST API;

b) a Java Messaging Service (JMS) listener;

c) an Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) listener; and

d) a metering plugin.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the metering event is associated by an event tag with a predefined meterable object having the metering attribute.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the metered record is associated with the predefined meterable object by an identifier attribute.