This chapter describes the tasks you need to perform to integrate Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management (BRM) wireless rating and customer management components.
You should read this chapter before installing and configuring the individual wireless components.
For basic information about integrating wireless services with BRM, see "About Integrating Wireless Services".
Before you install and configure a wireless system, you should understand how the components work together.
You use the following components for creating and managing customer accounts:
Use GSM Manager to add the storable classes and GSM FM opcodes that provide functionality for managing GSM services.
Use SIM Manager and SIM Administrator to manage your SIM card inventory. The SIM FMs include opcodes that support SIM management. See "About Managing SIM Card Inventory".
Use Number Manager and Number Administrator to manage your telephone number inventory. The Number FMs include opcodes that support number management. See "About Managing Telephone Numbers".
Use a provisioning system to send GSM provisioning requests to the network.
Use the GSM Manager Customer Center Extension with Customer Center to create and manage accounts that own GSM services. See information about working with GSM accounts in the Customer Center Help.
To set up your price list:
Use Pricing Center to set up your GSM service rate plans.
Use the sample GSM price list as an example when creating your GSM services price list.
You use the following components to rate calls:
If you are rating batch events with Pipeline Manager:
Use Pipeline Rating Engine to rate events, such as calls or data transfers. Pipeline Manager uses the DAT_AccountBatch and FCT_Account modules to retrieve data from the BRM database and apply it to events when rating.
For GSM services, use the Account Synchronization Data Manager (DM) to send updated account information to pipeline rating for call rating. See "Installing and Configuring the Account Synchronization DM" in BRM Installation Guide.
Use Rated Event (RE) Loader to import prerated events into BRM. See "Loading Prerated Events" in BRM Configuring Pipeline Rating and Discounting.
If you are rating real-time events, use GSM AAA Manager. Rating is performed in real time by BRM rating opcodes.
For more information, see "About Integrating Wireless Services".
If you offer GPRS services, but not GSM services, you need to install only GPRS Manager for real-time rating.
This section describes the tasks required to implement wireless services.
Important:
Install, configure, and test each component before installing the next component.
Be sure that the BRM system is running properly before installing optional components.
Be sure that system and environment variable values do not change during installation of the components.
Note:
You do not have to follow these steps in this exact order. However, some components need to be configured before others. See "Component Configuration Dependencies".Install and configure BRM. This includes setting up standard BRM business policies, such as how to run billing and manage customers. If you use pipeline rating, set up your G/L IDs, rate plans, and resources before configuring pipeline rating.
Important:
You must install BRM before installing GSM Manager 2.0.
Before installing and configuring any optional components, such as GSM Manager, run enough tests to ensure that your BRM core server components are installed and configured correctly.
See "Putting Together Your BRM System" in BRM Installation Guide.
Install SIM Manager. This includes:
Installing SIM Manager and SIM Administrator.
Completing the mandatory configuration tasks, for example, defining number device/service associations.
See "Installing and Configuring SIM Manager and SIM Administration Center".
Install Number Manager. This includes:
Installing Number Manager and Number Administrator.
Completing the mandatory configuration tasks, for example, defining number device/service associations.
See "Installing and Configuring Number Manager and Number Administration Center".
If you offer GSM services, install and configure GSM Manager and Wireless Provisioning Data Manager. See "Installing and Configuring GSM Manager and Provisioning Data Manager".
Install the GSM Customer Center Extensions. See "Configuring and Testing GSM Manager and Provisioning Data Manager".
Important:
Before you install GSM Manager Customer Center Extension, you must install GSM Manager and Customer Center.If you offer GPRS services using GPRS Manager, install GPRS Manager and GPRS AAA Manager. See "Installing GPRS Manager 3.0" and "Installing GPRS AAA Manager".
If you are rating postpaid GSM services, see "Overview of Pipeline Manager Installation".
If you are rating prepaid GSM services, see "Installing GSM AAA Manager".
Install and configure the provisioning system.
Installing and configuring the Account Synchronization Data Manager (DM). The Account Synchronization DM allows pipeline rating to get data from the BRM database.
Running the object_auditing.pl script to turn on auditing for BRM objects that pipeline rating needs information about.
See "Installing and Configuring the Account Synchronization DM" in BRM Installation Guide.
Important:
You cannot complete all the tasks required for sending account data to pipeline rating until you install pipeline rating. (For example, when you configure the Account Synchronization Data Manager, you need to specify the location of the Listener map file.)Install and configure Pipeline Rating Engine. Before you configure rating, use the sample registry to test the system and make sure it has been installed correctly. See "Installing Pipeline Manager" in BRM Installation Guide.
Configure these pipeline components:
The pipeline "DAT_Listener," "DAT_AccountBatch," and "FCT_Account" modules
If you use Multidatabase Manager, the pipeline "FCT_AccountRouter" module
See BRM Configuring Pipeline Rating and Discounting.
Install and configure Rated Event Loader to load events into the BRM database. See "Installing Rated Event Loader" in BRM Configuring Pipeline Rating and Discounting.
Table 2-1 summarizes the components you install for a typical wireless integration. This table assumes that you have installed the BRM server software and client applications.
Table 2-1 Installable Components
| Installation Package | Description |
|---|---|
|
BRM server software |
Installs the standard BRM system software, including Connection Managers (CMs) and Data Managers (DMs). |
|
Pipeline Rating Engine |
Installs the Pipeline Rating Engine system software, modules, database, and utilities. The FCT_Account and DAT_AccountBatch modules are installed with the Pipeline Rating Engine. |
|
GSM Manager |
Installs the following:
|
|
GSM AAA Manager |
Installs GSM AAA opcodes, storable classes, and utilities. |
|
GSM Manager Customer Center Extension |
Installs Customer Center components that support GSM services. |
|
Account Synchronization Data Manager |
Installs the Account Synchronization Data Manager (DM) and the object_auditing.pl script. |
|
Rated Event Loader |
Installs Rated Event Loader. |
|
SIM Manager |
Installs the SIM Manager server components. |
|
SIM Administration Center |
Installs SIM Administration Center. |
|
Number Manager |
Installs the Number Manager server components. |
|
Number Administration Center |
Installs Number Administration Center. |
|
GPRS Manager |
Installs GPRS Manager. |
Some components cannot be configured without configuring another component first:
Before you install any of the optional BRM GSM components, you must install the BRM server software.
Before you install GSM Customer Center Extension, you must install GSM Manager and Customer Center.
Before you install GSM AAA Manager, you must install GSM Manager.
Before you create a SIM card inventory with pre-provisioned SIM cards, you need to set up provisioning.
Before you create provisioning tags for extended rating attributes (ERAs), you need to configure ERAs in the pipeline.
Before you create your GSM price list, you need to do the following:
Install GSM Manager.
Create and load provisioning tags. To use the sample GSM price list, you can load the sample pin_gsm_provisioning_tags file without editing it.
Before you configure rating in the pipeline, you need to define the following in BRM:
rate plan names
G/L IDs
resources
Before you can run the Account Synchronization DM, you need to install and configure the Pipeline Manager. See "Installing Pipeline Manager" in BRM Installation Guide.
Before you run the object_auditing script, you must install your optional service components, such as GSM Manager and GPRS Manager.
Before you run the pipeline with the DAT_AccountBatch and FCT_Account modules, you must run the object_auditing script to create the audit event tables that the DAT_AccountBatch and FCT_Account modules need. See "Turning on Object Auditing" in BRM Installation Guide.
All BRM wireless integration components run on HP-UX IA64, Linux, AIX, and Solaris operating systems. In addition, the GSM Manager Customer Center Extension, SIM Administrator, and Number Administrator run on Windows.
Rated Event (RE) Loader can load events only into an Oracle database.
The pipeline and RE Loader should run on the same system. While it is possible to install RE Loader on a BRM system or the database system, you get better performance if you install it on the pipeline system. If the pipeline and RE Loader are on different systems, you need to map the pipeline output directories to a drive local to RE Loader.
For a test system, you should use three machines:
BRM
Pipeline Manager and Rated Event Loader
Provisioning system
For a production system, you run BRM components on multiple machines. Use the standard BRM guidelines described in "Putting Together Your BRM System" in BRM Installation Guide.
When you have installed all the components and have made sure that each is installed correctly and functioning, you can perform an end-to-end test of the entire wireless implementation. To do so, create an account and rate a usage event for that account.
Before creating an account, you need to do the following:
Load the sample price list in BRM, and load the sample pricing data in the pipeline. See "Setting Up GSM Wireless Pricing". For information about installing Pipeline Manager, see "Installing Pipeline Manager" in BRM Installation Guide.
Create sample SIM cards. See "Creating SIM Cards for Testing".
Create sample telephone numbers. See "About Managing Telephone Numbers".
To create a GSM account, use Customer Center. Create an account using the sample GSM price list to make sure that the account owns a GSM service.
To rate a usage event, create a sample CDR file that uses the test account's phone number as the originating number. After loading the rated event, use Customer Center to make sure that the account balance is updated by the correct amount.
Important:
In your sample CDR, the event dates must be later than the account creation dates.By creating an account, you ensure the following:
SIM cards and telephone numbers have been created.
Services and ERA provisioning tags have been configured.
The price list has been loaded.
The provisioning system can receive and return provisioning requests.
The Account Synchronization Data Manager and the Pipeline Listener can update the pipeline with a new account.
By rating a usage event, you ensure the following:
The pipeline is configured correctly.
The pipeline can get data from the BRM database.
RE Loader is configured correctly.