This chapter describes how to set up the Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management (BRM) Pipeline Manager for rating interconnect events.
You should be familiar with how roaming events are rated by Pipeline Manager. See "About Rating Roaming Events".
For information about pipeline rating, see "About Pipeline Rating" in BRM Configuring Pipeline Rating and Discounting.
Interconnection means the process of handling events over physical lines between two or more network operators. The following types of network can be involved in an interconnect process:
Originating network: where a call originates
Transit network: network which passes the call on
Terminating network: where a call terminates
An interconnect process always involves an originating and terminating network; a transit network is optional.
The cost added for handling an interconnect event is called the interconnect charge. An interconnect charge is calculated according to a service agreement between interconnect partners.
For information about processing settlements for rated interconnect events, see "About Managing Settlement for Interconnect Charges".
To set up interconnect rating, do the following:
Use Pricing Center to create network operators, network models, and interconnect products. When you set up interconnect rating, you also define the following:
The calculation mode to define which EDR data to rate for the network model, for example, inroute, outroute, or transit data. See the discussion of defining a network model in BRM Pricing Center Online Help.
Network elements to find the zone for interconnect calls.
Map points of interconnection (POIs) to area codes or logical point codes.
Assign switches to network operators.
Assign trunks to network operators.
See the discussion of defining network elements in BRM Pricing Center Online Help.
Configure the FCT_CarrierICRating module. See "About FCT_CarrierICRating Module".
Configure the DAT_InterConnect module. See "About the DAT_InterConnect Module".
Define aggregation scenarios. See "About Aggregation Scenarios for Roaming".
Define network operator bill cycles. See "About Network Operator Bill Cycles".
The FCT_CarrierIcRating module uses the interconnect products to identify the network operator and which rate plan to use.
The FCT_CarrierIcRating module creates associated charge breakdown records and charge packets that contain data used for rating roaming events, for example, the network operator and event timestamp. This data is used by the FCT_PreRating and FCT_MainRating modules to determine the impact category and calculate the charges for the event. The roaming data is used for both incollect and outcollect processing.
FCT_CarrierIcRating creates ratable charge packets for each valid roaming rate (IFW_ICPRODUCT_RATE) entry for the IC product.
When you configure the FCT_CarrierIcRating module:
Use the EdrNetworkModel entry to specify the network model, which identifies the home network to use for the pipeline. Use the code you entered in the Code field in Pricing Center when defining network models. See the discussion of defining a network model in BRM Pricing Center Online Help.
Use the IcProductGroup entry to specify the network model, which identifies the home network to use for the pipeline. Use the code you entered in the Interconnect Product Group field in Pricing Center when defining network models. See the discussion of defining an interconnect product group in BRM Pricing Center Online Help.
See "FCT_CarrierIcRating" in BRM Configuring Pipeline Rating and Discounting.
To provide roaming configuration data to pipeline function modules, you must configure the DAT_Interconnect module. This module caches interconnect and roaming related configuration data. This information is used by FCT_CarrierIcRating module.
To configure this module, see "DAT_InterConnect" in BRM Configuring Pipeline Rating and Discounting.
You can use the Reload semaphore to reload interconnect data. See "Reloading Data Into a Pipeline Manager Module" in BRM System Administrator's Guide.
You use aggregation scenarios to do the following:
Aggregate charges for outcollect rating to send to network operators.
Aggregate charges for incollect processing to compare with the charges in the invoice sent to you from network operators.
Pipeline Manager aggregates settlement information for each network operator and stores it in the Pipeline Manager database. You can use this settlement information to bill your interconnect partners or verify interconnect charges.
To compare aggregated charges to those from network operators, you extract the aggregated settlement data from the Pipeline Manager database. This gives you a text file containing charge information. To bill network operators for interconnect charges, you load the extracted aggregation data into the BRM database and run billing. For more information, see "About Processing Outcollect Settlement Data".
You can also set up your own aggregation scenarios. See "Setting Up Pipeline Aggregation" in BRM Configuring Pipeline Rating and Discounting.
Note:
You only define network operator bill cycles when you use the settlement_extract utility to load aggregated settlement data into the BRM database.You define bill cycles in Pricing Center for your interconnect partners. A bill cycle is defined as a billrun. Billruns are used to determine whether you have billed the network operator for roaming usage during a specified period.
When you define billruns, you enter the bill cycle period, and the begin and end dates of the bill cycle. All events generated within this period apply to the specified billrun.
To define billruns in Pricing Center, see Defining network operator bill cycles in BRM Pricing Center Online Help.
Prior to extracting aggregated roaming settlement data from the Pipeline Manager database, you must close the bill cycle for the network operator. This ensures that only unbilled events are extracted for loading into the BRM database.
See the discussion of closing a network operator bill cycle in BRM Pricing Center Online Help.
To set up network operator accounts, you use Pricing Center to configure the following elements in the Pipeline Manager database:
Use Pricing Center to create a network operator account in the Pipeline Manager database for every roaming partner.
Note:
When creating network operator accounts for roaming, the roaming partner account for that network operator must be created in the BRM database before creating a network operator account.When you set up network operators, you include the following data:
Network operator name.
Network operator type, for example, interconnect partner or service provider partner. (This information is for your reference, not for processing.)
How to identify the network operator; for example, by the carrier access code or by the PLMN ID.
Whether to apply taxes for roaming charges.
(Roaming) The network operator's roaming partner account in the BRM database.
(Roaming) Fraud or high-usage limits.
To define network operators in Pricing Center, see the discussion of defining a network operator in BRM Pricing Center Online Help.
A network model identifies your roaming agreements and is associated with your home network. Each network operator representing a roaming partner is linked to the network model.
When you set up a roaming network model, you include the following data:
Model type. For roaming, this is always Reseller Roaming.
The network operator that represents your network.
Your home currency.
To define network models in Pricing Center, see the discussion of defining a network model in BRM Pricing Center Online Help.
An IC product specifies the network data that identifies a network operator and type of service. You create one or more IC products for each network operator and link them to rate plans. You create IC products to select the rate plan to use for the network operator's services. For example, to use a rate plan that includes mailbox inquiries, you include a mailbox inquiry usage class in the IC product configuration. You identify the network operator by specifying the source and destination of the call.
You configure IC products in the IC product group in Pricing Center. When you configure an IC product, you specify the following information:
Validity dates
To identify the network operator:
Source and destination area codes
Source and destination networks
Transit area code
To identify the type of service:
Record type
Service code, service class, and usage class
Roaming events with data that matches an interconnect product belong to the associated network operator and are rated by using the associated rate plan. See "About Linking Rate Plans to Network Operators and IC Products".
To define interconnect products in Pricing Center, see the discussion of defining interconnect products in BRM Pricing Center Online Help.
An interconnect product group is a collection of interconnect product configurations. You create an interconnect product group to define the set of interconnect products available to each network model. You can create multiple interconnect product groups, but you use only one interconnect product group in a pipeline.
When you create interconnect product groups, you specify the following:
The network model that uses the interconnect product group.
The ranking of interconnect products in the interconnect product group. The first configuration that matches an event attribute will be used for rating.
An interconnect product can be in several interconnect product groups.
To create interconnect product groups in Pricing Center, see the discussion of defining an interconnect product group in BRM Pricing Center Online Help.
To rate a call and perform settlements, you must link the call attributes defined by the interconnect product to a network operator and rate plan. You can link each interconnect product to multiple network operators and rate plans. This allows you to:
Use a different rate plan for the same network operator. For example, you might use different rate plans for different types of services such as telephony and SMS, or for different types of usage such as mailbox inquiries and friends-and-family calls.
Use the same rate plan for different network operators. For example, you might have roaming agreements with two network operators that provide the same services.
To link the call attributes defined by the interconnect product to a network operator and rate plan:
Use Pricing Center to link network operators to IC products and rate plans by configuring the following:
Validity dates.
The network model.
The rate plan.
The IC product.
Zone direction. For roaming, this is always Standard Zoning (A#->B#).
See the discussion of linking an IC product to a network operator and a rate plan in BRM Pricing Center Online Help.
Configure the FCT_CarrierIcRating module. See "About FCT_CarrierICRating Module".
Note:
To install Roaming Settlement Package, see "Installing Roaming Settlement Package" in BRM Installation Guide.To manage settlement for interconnect charges, you do the following:
For outcollect processing, you process settlement data for visiting customers. You send this data to your roaming partners. To process this data, you do the following:
Set up accounts for roaming partners in BRM. See "About Creating Accounts for Interconnect Partners".
Extract settlement data from the Pipeline Manager database.
Load settlement data into the BRM database. You can then create an invoice to send to your roaming partners.
For incollect processing, you process settlement data from your roaming partners. This data is from calls made by your customers on other networks.
Validate the interconnect charges you receive from your roaming partners.
You create BRM accounts for each network operator by using Customer Center. For each network operator, create one parent account with a paying bill unit and two child accounts with nonpaying bill units.
Network operator accounts store the following information:
The parent account is responsible for the accounts receivable.
One child account is responsible for incoming roaming charges.
Incoming roaming charges are fees that you owe your roaming partner for calls made by your subscribers. These fees are aggregated into a single amount. Incoming charges are represented as accounts receivable in the parent account.
The second child account is responsible for outgoing roaming charges.
Outgoing roaming charges are fees that your roaming partner owes you for calls made by their subscribers. These fees are aggregated into a single amount. Outgoing charges are represented as bill items in the parent account.
When you rate usage by a visiting customer, you bill the visiting customer's network operator for that usage. Pipeline Manager aggregates charges for each network operator on a daily basis. When you load the aggregated settlement information and bill the accounts, the amount due is the difference between what you owe your partners and what they owe you. Amounts owed to you are included in the bill. The net roaming charges are stored in the balance impact of your roaming partner's parent account.
If there are any disputed items, you can use Customer Center to enter and clear the dispute.
To support roaming settlements, the GSM sample price list includes a Settlement price plan. You apply this price plan to the network operator accounts that you create.
For information on creating price lists, see "About Creating a Price List" in BRM Setting Up Pricing and Rating.
Note:
Before you can use the sample Settlement price plan, you need to load the GSM Manager sample price list. See "About the Sample GSM Pricing Configuration" in BRM Telco Integration.The Settlement price plan includes a Settlement deal and product. The Settlement product includes a rate plan as a placeholder for the settlement service. You define a rate plan for each network operator when you set up roaming in Pipeline Manager. See "About Setting Up Network Operator Accounts".
When Pipeline Manager rates roaming calls, it stores the settlement information, such as what is owed by each participating network provider, in the Pipeline Manager database. You extract the settlement information from the pipeline database and load it into the BRM database. After the settlement information is loaded, you can bill your network partners for the settlement amounts.
Before you can extract settlement information from the pipeline database and load it into the BRM database, you must complete the following tasks:
Install the roaming settlements package. This package includes the utility and template files you use to extract and load settlement data. See "Installing Roaming Settlement Package" in BRM Installation Guide.
Import the Universal Event Mapper settlement template by running the pin_uei_deploy utility. See "Importing the UE Mapper Settlement Template".
Configure Universal Event (UE) Loader to load the settlement file. See "Configuring UE Loader to Load the Settlement Data File".
To get the settlement data from the Pipeline Manager database to the BRM database, you use the following:
The settlement_extract.pl utility to extract the data from the Pipeline Manager database into a data file. See "Extracting Settlement Information from the Pipeline Manager Database".
Universal Event (UE) Loader to load the settlement data file into the BRM database. UE Loader uses the Universal Event Mapper settlement template (SettlementTemplate.xml) that specifies the settlement data file format. See "Loading Settlement Data into the BRM Database".
The ASCII file created by the settlement_extract utility contains the settlement fees. There is one record for fees owed to each network. For example, if you have settlements between networks B and C, the file contains the following:
How much you owe B
How much B owes you
How much you owe C
How much C owes you
Settlement amounts can be in different currencies. You define the currencies when you set up roaming in Pipeline Manager.
The UE Mapper settlement template specifies the format of the file containing settlement information.
When you install Roaming Settlement Package, you install the SettlementTemplate.xml template in the BRM_home/apps/uel directory. You must import the template into the BRM database by running the pin_uei_deploy utility.
Note:
To connect to the BRM database, the pin_uei_deploy utility needs a configuration (pin.conf) file in the directory from which you run the utility. See "Creating Configuration Files For BRM Utilities" in BRM System Administrator's Guide.To import the SettlementTemplate.xml template:
If you have not already done so, download and install Roaming Settlement package. See "Installing Roaming Settlement Package" in BRM Installation Guide.
Run the pin_uei_deploy utility:
pin_uei_deploy -c -t template_name -i SettlementTemplate.xml
where template_name is the name you want to give to the template in BRM.
For more information, see "pin_uei_deploy" in BRM Developer's Guide.
For more information about importing UE Mapper templates, see "Migrating Event Import Templates From One BRM Database to Another" in BRM Setting Up Pricing and Rating.
After you extract settlement data by using the settlement_extract.pl utility, you load the data by using UE Loader. You must first configure UE Loader to load the settlement file.
Note:
Before following this procedure, you should be familiar with UE Loader. See "About Rating Events Created by External Sources" in BRM Setting Up Pricing and Rating.To configure UE Loader to load the settlement data, see "Configuring the Universal Event Loader" in BRM Setting Up Pricing and Rating and be sure to modify the following settlement-specific entries in the UE Loader properties file (BRM_home/apps/uel/Infranet.properties):
Open the BRM_home/apps/uel/Infranet.properties file in a text editor.
If necessary, edit the infranet.connection entry to point to the correct database. For example:
infranet.connection=pcp://root.0.0.0.1:password@localhost:37180/service/pcm_client
Specify the following date/time format for the settlement file in the infranet.uel.date_pattern entry:
infranet.uel.date_pattern=yyyy-MM-dd
Specify the location of the settlement data file in the infranet.uel.event_log_file_location entry.
Note:
The default location is the C:/Portal/apps/uel directory. Modify this entry to specify the correct location, or move the settlement data file to this directory when you run UE Loader. For more information, see "Specifying the Event Log File Location" in BRM Setting Up Pricing and Rating.If you load settlement data on a regular basis, you can schedule UE Loader to load the settlement file automatically. To do this, you use the Batch Controller and sample batch handler. For more information, see "Loading Events Automatically" in BRM Setting Up Pricing and Rating.
Note:
Before following this procedure, you should be familiar with the Batch Controller. See "Controlling Batch Operations" in BRM System Administrator's Guide.To configure automatic loading:
Create a UE Loader batch handler to load the settlement data file by using the sample batch handler. See "About SampleHandler" in BRM System Administrator's Guide.
You specify the UE Mapper settlement template in the $TEMPLATE entry of the batch handler .values file (BRM_home/apps/sample_handler/samplehandler_config.values, unless you renamed the file). For example:
$TEMPLATE = "Template_name";
Configure the Batch Controller to start the UE Loader batch handler. See "Setting Activity Times and Triggers" in BRM System Administrator's Guide.
You extract settlement information from the Pipeline Manager database by using the settlement extraction utility (BRM_home/apps/uel/settlement_extract.pl). This utility creates a data file containing settlement amounts and other activity information.
Note:
To ensure that only unbilled events are extracted, before extracting the settlement data, you must close the billrun for each roaming partner account. You close the billrun by using Pricing Center. See the discussion of closing a network operator bill cycle in BRM Pricing Center Online Help.When the settlement_extract.pl utility extracts settlement data, it marks the data in the database as exported so the next time you run the utility, you export only new data. For this reason, you cannot use this utility to extract the same settlement information twice. However, if you make adjustments to the aggregated settlement amounts by using Pricing Center, you can extract the adjusted settlement data. For more information, see "About Adjusting Aggregated Settlement Amounts".
Note:
(HP-UX only) Before running this utility, you must load the libjava.sl (HP-UX PA-RISC) or libjava.so (HP-UX IA64) library. One way of doing this is to set the LD_PRELOAD environment variable to point to the library file.For example (using the HP-UX PA-RISC library file):
# sateens LD_PRELOAD /u01/ape/oracle/product/817/JRE/lib/PA_RISC/native_threads/libjava.sl
Note:
To connect to the BRM database, the settlement_extract utility needs a configuration file in the directory from which you run the utility. See "Creating Configuration Files For BRM Utilities" in BRM System Administrator's Guide.To extract settlement information:
Close the billrun for each roaming partner account.
Use the following command to run the settlement_extract.pl utility:
settlement_extract.pl [-u] dbsn username password [filepath]
where dbsn is the Perl database source name.
For example:
settlement_extract.pl -u dbi:Oracle:orcl scott tiger /usr/home/files
For more information, see "settlement_extract" in BRM Configuring Pipeline Rating and Discounting.
To load the data in the settlement file, you run UE Loader.
There are two ways to run UE Loader:
To run UE Loader manually, use the following command:
uel -t template_name settlement_file_name
where:
template_name is the name you gave the template when you imported it into the BRM database. (See "Importing the UE Mapper Settlement Template".)
settlement_file_name is the name of the extracted settlement data file.
Note:
Do not include the path in the command line. You specify the path to the settlement file in the UE Loader properties file. See "Configuring UE Loader to Load the Settlement Data File".For more information, see "Universal Event Loader" in BRM Setting Up Pricing and Rating.
To run UE Loader automatically, create a UE Loader batch handler and configure the Batch Controller. See "Configuring UE Loader to Run Automatically (Optional)".
Pipeline Manager stores aggregated settlement data in the IC_DAILY database table. If any aggregated settlement amounts are in error, you can use Pricing Center to adjust the aggregated amounts in the Pipeline Manager database and then load them into the BRM database.
To make adjustments, you search for the aggregated settlements you want to modify by searching for associated data such as network operators, IC products, and dates the events were aggregated. You then make changes and update the database. See the discussion of adjusting aggregated settlement amounts in BRM Pricing Center Online Help.
You can collect aggregated information about SMS messages exchanged between your subscribers' home networks and other networks for generating settlement reports. The FCT_AggreGate module includes a scenario defined to aggregate the number of SMS messages based on the following attributes:
Origination Carrier ID
Destination Carrier ID
Record type
Date of the message
The FCT_AggreGate module extracts the SMS usage information from the input call details record (CDR) files and creates aggregated data files. For more information about aggregation, see the following topics:
"Setting Up Pipeline Aggregation" in BRM Configuring Pipeline Rating and Discounting.
"FCT_AggreGate" in BRM Configuring Pipeline Rating and Discounting.
You use the Universal Event (UE) Loader to load the aggregate SMS information into the BRM database. UE Loader parses the FCT_AggreGate output files that contain the SMS message information and calls the PCM_OP_IC_LOAD_SMS_REPORT opcode to create or update the /sms_settle_report object in the BRM database. See "Loading SMS Data into the BRM Database".
You can run a report to generate SMS bulk reports from the data in the /sms_settle_report object.
For more information on BRM reports, see "About BRM Reports" in BRM Reports.
To generate an SMS usage report, perform these tasks:
Make sure you have installed and configured Pipeline Manager.
See "Installing Pipeline Manager" in BRM Upgrade Guide.
Install the roaming settlements package.
See "Installing Roaming Settlement Package" in BRM Installation Guide.
Install the BRM reports SMS Settlement Reports package.
See "Installing BRM Reports" in BRM Reports.
Create the aggregation scenario in the database.
Configure the FCT_AggreGate registry file to specify the SMS Message scenario, SMS_SCE_01.
See "Configuring the FCT_AggreGate Module to Collect SMS Usage Information".
Load the SMS interworking message information for settlement reports into the BRM database.
Run reports to generate the SMS bulk reports.
This section describes how to create aggregation scenarios in Oracle database.
Note:
You can also create aggregation scenarios by using Pricing Center. See the discussion of working with aggregation scenarios in BRM Pricing Center Online Help.To create the aggregation scenario in an Oracle database, run the SMS_Interworking_Scenario.sql script from the Pipeline_home/database/Oracle/Scripts directory.
This SQL script creates the SMS_SCE_01 scenario in the database that the FCT_AggreGate module uses to collect SMS usage information.
Add an entry for the SMS settlement report scenario in the registry file.
For example:
Aggregate
{
ModuleName = FCT_AggreGate
Module
{
Active = TRUE
ScenarioReaderDataModule = ifw.DataPool.ScenarioReader
Scenarios
{
SMS_SCE_01
{
TableName = TAB_SMS_RPT
Threshold = 100000
TempDir = sms_result/temp
DoneDir = sms_result/done
CtlDir = sms_result/ctl
FieldDelimiter = ,
FlushMode = 0
}
}
ResultFile
{
TempSuffix = .tmp
DoneSuffix = .dat
WriteEmptyFile = FALSE
}
ControlFile
{
Suffix = .ctl
DataFilePath = TRUE
}
}
}
For detailed information about configuring the FCT_AggreGate module, see "Setting Up Pipeline Aggregation" in BRM Configuring Pipeline Rating and Discounting.
When you install the roaming settlements package, you install the SMS settlement report template file (SMSSettlementRptTemplate.xml) in the BRM_home/apps/uel directory. This template is used by UE Loader to parse aggregated SMS settlement data when it loads the data into the BRM database.
Import the SMSSettlementRptTemplate.xml template by running the pin_uei_deploy utility:
pin_uei_deploy -c -t template_name -i SMSSettlementRptTemplate.xml
where template_name is the name you want to give the template.
For more information, see "pin_uei_deploy" in BRM Developer's Guide.
Configure Universal Event (UE) Loader to load the SMS settlement data by modifying the BRM_home/apps/uel/Infranet.properties file.
See "Configuring the Universal Event Loader" in BRM Setting Up Pricing and Rating.
To load the file manually, run UE Loader by using this command:
uel -t template_name log_file_name
For example:
uel -t SMSSettlementRpt SMSSettlementRpt.dat
Note:
The SMSSettlementRpt.dat file contains the aggregated SMS settlement data output by the FCT_AggreGate module. UE Loader uses the .dat files to load the data into the BRM database.For more information on running UE Loader, see "Loading Events From External Sources" in BRM Setting Up Pricing and Rating.
To run UE Loader automatically, create a UE Loader batch handler and configure the Batch Controller.
See "Loading Events Automatically" in BRM Setting Up Pricing and Rating.
An SMS bulk report is a summary report of the aggregated information collected for SMS messages exchanged between the home network and other networks.
To generate an SMS bulk report, you run the BRM reports SMS Internetworking Bulk Data Report. You must have installed BRM reports and the SMS Settlement Reports package. This package includes the SMS Internetworking Bulk Data Report template, SMSinterworkingbulk.rpt. For more information, see "Installing BRM Reports" in BRM Reports.
For information on generating reports on SMS messages, see "SMS Settlement Reports" in BRM Reports.
For information on running BRM reports, see "Running BRM Reports" in BRM Reports.
For more information about settlement, see "About Managing Settlement for Interconnect Charges".
Use the following IC Daily standard opcodes to manage settlement data:
To load settlement data into the BRM database, use PCM_OP_IC_DAILY_LOADER. See "Loading Settlement Data into the BRM Database".
To load aggregated SMS data into the BRM database, use PCM_OP_IC_LOAD_SMS_REPORT. See "Loading SMS Data into the BRM Database".
Use PCM_OP_IC_DAILY_LOADER to load settlement data files into the BRM database. Settlement data files are generated by the settlement_extract utility and specify the amount you owe to each network partner. See "About Processing Outcollect Settlement Data".
Universal Event (UE) Loader calls this opcode when loading settlement data into the BRM database.
Note:
You configure UE Loader to call this opcode by using the Universal Event Mapper. See "Importing the UE Mapper Settlement Template".PCM_OP_IC_DAILY_LOADER performs the following tasks:
Prepares the data from the settlement data file.
Records the event and updates the network provider's account balance in the BRM database.
Creates an /event/activity/settlement object to record details about the roaming event.
Note:
Each event contains information for one network partner.Returns the POID of the /event/activity/settlement object.
Use PCM_OP_IC_LOAD_SMS_REPORT to validate SMS aggregation data and create or update the /sms_settle_report object. See "About Generating SMS Usage Reports".
Universal Event (UE) Loader calls this opcode when loading aggregated SMS data into the BRM database.
Note:
You configure UE Loader to call this opcode by using the Universal Event Mapper. See "Loading the SMS Message Data into the Database"PCM_OP_IC_LOAD_SMS_REPORT performs the following tasks:
Determines whether the /sms_settle_report object already exists in the BRM database.
If it finds the report object, it updates the object with the value for SMS_TOTAL from the input flist.
If it does not find the object, it creates the /sms_settle_report object.
Returns the POID of /sms_settle_report object.