Telephonic communications – With usage measurement – Call traffic recording or monitoring
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-08
2001-06-19
Woo, Stella (Department: 2643)
Telephonic communications
With usage measurement
Call traffic recording or monitoring
C379S114030, C379S112030, C379S134000, C379S030000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06249572
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to generating call detail records in a signaling network, and more particularly to generating call detail records using TCAP messages in a Signaling System Seven (SS
7
) network.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Common channel signaling networks, such as the Signaling System Seven (SS
7
) based signal system, use dedicated channels to pass digital messages between systems for call setup, call control, call routing, and other functions. These dedicated signaling channels are part of a network that is separate from the network that carries the actual voice and data signals. An SS
7
network is a separate switching system which is used prior to, during, and at the end of an actual voice or data call. The SS
7
network is used to route control information. Whenever two switches or elements have to pass call control information during or prior to a phone call, they pass this data via the SS
7
signaling network.
There are three basic types of network node elements in an SS
7
network. One of them is the Service Switching Point (SSP), which may be a central office switch, a tandem switch or an end office switch. A second principal node element is the Service Control Point (SCP). An SCP acts as a database query server for the rest of the network. An SCP is used in such applications as translating ported telephone numbers, routing
800
calls, tracking roamers in a cellular network, and Alternate Billing Service/Line Identification Database services (or ABS/LIDB) which provide operator-type services. The third principal node element is the Signal Transfer point (STP). An STP is essentially a packet switch that routes the messages from SSPs and SCPs to SSPs and SCPs.
It is possible to combine these three different types of nodes into a single node. However, in North America, they are typically not combined. An SSP performs only switch functions, an SCP only control functions, and an STP only signal transfer functions. In European telecommunications systems, all of these different functions may be combined into one node.
The SS
7
network carries a great deal of information and is extremely critical to the operation of the phone system. If an SS
7
network is not functioning, or if portions of it are not operating, the phone system simply cannot deliver phone calls, even though all of the voice circuits are operating properly. The capacity and complexity of the SS
7
network is small in terms of circuitry and bandwidth utilized by an end user compared to previous voice and data networks. The circuitry of the SS
7
network is therefore much more critical. The actual elements in the SS
7
network do not provide all the information required in network operations to manage and to determine the health and state of an SS
7
network. It is therefore necessary for the telephone industry to deploy surveillance equipment to monitor the links connecting the nodes of the SS
7
network.
The topology of the network is such that STPs are typically deployed in a mated pair configuration at geographically separate locations. Connected to a mated pair of STPs will be a set of SSPs and SCPs. This conglomeration of SSPs, SCPs and mated Pair STPs is called a cluster. Clusters are then connected by D-Quad links between STP mated pairs.
When any transaction or message is sent between two different devices on the network, it is often the case that the messages going from switch A to switch B travel one route on the network while the messages going from switch B to switch A travel a different route. The network surveillance equipment that monitors the link is designed to capture and correlate as much signaling information as possible regardless of network activity. Because of the different data paths that messages may take, it is difficult to do this correlation above what is called the transport layer when monitoring links at the STP sites. An example of an application level problem would be where a subscriber has a problem getting his/her calls delivered. The telephone company may attempt to fix the problem by doing a trace of all data pertaining to that subscriber's phone number, but the data may not all be located at one point. The data may be all in one STP, or split in some fashion, partially in one STP and partially in the other STP of a mated pair, which may be in a different city many miles away.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a monitoring system that correlates calls and transactions in a communications network and generates call detail record data from call and transaction records.
It is an additional object of the present invention to use Transaction Control Application Part (TCAP) messages in an SS
7
network to generate call detail records.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These and other objects, features and technical advantages are achieved by a system and method wherein messages flowing through a communications network between the originating, intermediate, and terminating switches or end offices are captured and used to generate call detail records. A network of signal monitoring units capture and correlate all messages for a particular transaction. CDR profiles are used to determine which transaction records should be forwarded to a CDR processing application. The CDR profile comprises particular parameters that are used to identify relevant transactions. After a transaction record is selected, specific information is extracted to create a CDR record.
Users define both the CDR profile, which is used to select relevant transaction records, and the CDR format, which defines how the CDR data will be sent to the user. Typically, the CDR data is sent to the user in a formatted CDR stream which may be further processed by other applications, such as billing or fraud.
Typically, the CDR is generated when a call is completed. The CDR indicates the originating network, terminating network, and length of trunk usage for the call. Since the identity of the originating service provider is found in the CDR, along with the duration of the call, the CDR billing application is ideal for generating interconnection revenue for reciprocal compensation. The present invention does not directly generate bills or track SS
7
bandwidth use. Instead, it is solely a system for collecting the CDR data. This data is then ported to a customer's external application, where the call can be rated and a bill or invoice can be generated for the transaction or call.
The system disclosed herein comprises a number of monitors which are capable of non-intrusively monitoring all of the links in a communication network, such as an SS
7
network. CDR data is initially collected from the various SS
7
links. The monitors that are connected to the links store the data in a binary format. The binary data is then continuously sent to the central server where it is stored to disk. This application can be used in conjunction with the monitor's server, or customers may choose to deploy a dedicated CDR server, separate from the system. The server also correlates partial CDRs that have been collected from different “legs” of each individual call to formulate a complete CDR. At the server, CDRs are formatted from binary into ASCII-formatted records based on a CDR format that is selected by the user. The size and processing power of the server are scaled based on the number of CDRs, the network-wide call rate, and the bandwidth capacity of the customer's transport network. The formatted CDR binary streams are sent to the user's billing system using any standard or customized File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Additional data formatting may be performed in the customer's external billing system.
In order to generate CDRs, users create profiles that tell the monitor system how to collect SS
7
information from the signaling links. The profiles contain all of the information required to generate CDRs. Multiple profiles can be created to be used simultaneously on the system. The profiles may include parameters such as the calling party number, ca
Brockman Pierce Edward
Kalyanpur Gaurang S.
Lawson Gerald Ray
Zamir Tanveer
Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.
INET Technologies, Inc.
Tran Quoc D.
Woo Stella
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