Software upgrades for offline charging systems within a network
First Claim
1. A charging system comprising:
- a controller coupled to a first offline charging system having a plurality of virtual machines implementing charging functions for offline charging, and coupled to a front-end distributor configured to distribute accounting requests to the first offline charging system;
the controller configured to provide a software upgrade by iteratively performing the following;
identify a subset of the virtual machines in the first offline charging system to remove from service;
transmit a first request to the front-end distributor to reduce distribution of the accounting requests to the first offline charging system in proportion to a number of the virtual machines removed from service in the first offline charging system;
remove the subset of virtual machines from service in the first offline charging system;
construct updated virtual machines having the software upgrade in a second offline charging system to replace the virtual machines removed from service in the first offline charging system; and
transmit a second request to the front-end distributor to increase distribution of the accounting requests to the second offline charging system in proportion to a number of the updated virtual machines constructed in the second offline charging system;
wherein the controller is configured to direct a virtual machine in the first offline charging system to store data for a first accounting session in cloud storage before being removed, wherein the first accounting session is active when the virtual machine is removed from service; and
wherein the controller is configured to direct an updated virtual machine constructed in the second offline charging system to retrieve the data for the first accounting session from the cloud storage, and to resume processing for the first accounting session based on the data.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods for performing a software upgrade for a first offline charging system (OFCS) having a plurality of virtual machines implementing charging functions for offline charging. For the upgrade, a controller identifies a subset of the virtual machines in the first OFCS to remove from service, transmits a request to a distributor to reduce the distribution of the accounting requests in proportion to the number of the virtual machines removed from service, and removes the subset of virtual machines from service in the first OFCS. The controller also constructs updated virtual machines having the software upgrade in a second OFCS to replace the virtual machines removed from the first OFCS, and transmits a request to the distributor to increase distribution of the accounting requests to the second OFCS in proportion to the number of the updated virtual machines constructed in the second OFCS.
45 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A charging system comprising:
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a controller coupled to a first offline charging system having a plurality of virtual machines implementing charging functions for offline charging, and coupled to a front-end distributor configured to distribute accounting requests to the first offline charging system; the controller configured to provide a software upgrade by iteratively performing the following; identify a subset of the virtual machines in the first offline charging system to remove from service; transmit a first request to the front-end distributor to reduce distribution of the accounting requests to the first offline charging system in proportion to a number of the virtual machines removed from service in the first offline charging system; remove the subset of virtual machines from service in the first offline charging system; construct updated virtual machines having the software upgrade in a second offline charging system to replace the virtual machines removed from service in the first offline charging system; and transmit a second request to the front-end distributor to increase distribution of the accounting requests to the second offline charging system in proportion to a number of the updated virtual machines constructed in the second offline charging system; wherein the controller is configured to direct a virtual machine in the first offline charging system to store data for a first accounting session in cloud storage before being removed, wherein the first accounting session is active when the virtual machine is removed from service; and wherein the controller is configured to direct an updated virtual machine constructed in the second offline charging system to retrieve the data for the first accounting session from the cloud storage, and to resume processing for the first accounting session based on the data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for performing a software upgrade in offline charging systems, the method comprising:
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identifying, at a controller, a first offline charging system having a plurality of virtual machines implementing charging functions for offline charging, wherein the virtual machines of the first offline charging system run software that is out of date; and iteratively performing at the controller; identifying a subset of the virtual machines in the first offline charging system to remove from service; transmitting a first request to a front-end distributor that distributes accounting requests to the first offline charging system, wherein the first request is to reduce distribution of the accounting requests to the first offline charging system in proportion to a number of the virtual machines removed from service in the first offline charging system; removing the subset of virtual machines from service in the first offline charging system; constructing updated virtual machines having the software upgrade in a second offline charging system to replace the virtual machines removed from service in the first offline charging system; and transmitting a second request to the front-end distributor to increase distribution of the accounting requests to the second offline charging system in proportion to a number of the updated virtual machines constructed in the second offline charging system; directing a virtual machine in the first offline charging system to store data for a first accounting session in cloud storage before being removed, wherein the first accounting session is active when the virtual machine is removed from service; directing an updated virtual machine constructed in the second offline charging system to retrieve the data for the first accounting session from the cloud storage; and resuming processing in the updated virtual machine for the first accounting session based on the data. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A charging system comprising:
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a controller configured to provide a software upgrade for a first offline charging system, wherein the first offline charging system includes a plurality of virtual machines implementing charging functions for offline charging; the controller is configured to iteratively perform the following; identify a subset of the virtual machines in the first offline charging system to remove from service; transmit a first Diameter Overload Control Application request to a front-end distributor that distributes accounting requests to the first offline charging system, wherein the first Diameter Overload Control Application request is to reduce the distribution of the accounting requests to the first offline charging system in proportion to a number of the virtual machines removed from service in the first offline charging system; remove the subset of virtual machines from service in the first offline charging system; construct updated virtual machines having the software upgrade in a second offline charging system to replace the virtual machines removed from service in the first offline charging system; and transmit a second Diameter Overload Control Application request to the front-end distributor to increase distribution of the accounting requests to the second offline charging system in proportion to a number of the updated virtual machines constructed in the second offline charging system; wherein the controller is configured to direct a virtual machine in the first offline charging system to store data for a first accounting session in cloud storage before being removed, wherein the first accounting session is active when the virtual machine is removed from service; and wherein the controller is configured to direct an updated virtual machine constructed in the second offline charging system to retrieve the data for the first accounting session from the cloud storage, and to resume processing for the first accounting session based on the data. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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Specification