11 Configuring the Threshold Notification Application

This chapter describes how you configure the Threshold Notification application.

About Threshold Rules

A threshold is a value of a Diameter Attribute-Value Pair (AVP) that triggers Service Broker to generate an event. Other applications can subscribe to this event and perform various actions when the event occurs.

For example, you can define that if a subscriber reaches a requested time quota, Service Broker generates an event that triggers an application to send to the subscriber an SMS notification.

You define thresholds for each subscriber by creating threshold rules. A threshold rule is a set of conditions that specify the following:

• An AVP to be checked. Currently, Threshold Notification checks the CC-TIME AVP only

• Threshold value of the CC-TIME AVP

• Whether Service Broker applies the rule every time the threshold is reached

• Whether Service Broker should apply the rule only when the subscriber is in roaming

You define threshold rules in a subscriber's profile.

About Threshold Notification

Threshold Notification is a Service Broker application that compares threshold rules of a subscriber with the units that the subscriber actually used. If Threshold Notification finds that conditions of a threshold rule are met, Threshold Notification generates an event.

Threshold Notification communicates with the OE through IM-ASF SAL interworking module.

Threshold Notification works as follows:

1. Network-facing interworking modules (IMs), such as IM-SCF, R-IM-OCF, or R-IM-ASF, add information about used units and units to be requested to the ChargingInfo header of the message.

2. The Orchestration Engine (OE) communicates with the Subscriber Store to retrieve threshold rules from the subscriber profile. The OE adds these rules to the body of the message.

3. The OE forwards the session to IM-OCF. Based on the ChargingInfo header, IM-OCF generates a CCR and sends it to the online charging application.

4. The online charging application responds to IM-OCF with a Credit Control Answer (CCA). In this CCA, the online charging application specifies how many units are granted.

5. Based on the CCA, IM-OCF updates the ChargingInfo header by adding the amount of granted units.

6. The OE forwards the session to Threshold Notification.

   To allow Threshold Notification to receive updated charging information, the OE must always route a session to Threshold Notification after IM-OCF. To achieve this, you need to form IM-OCF and Threshold Notification into a unidirectional group (see the "Defining the Orchestration Order of Messages Sent by a Called Party" section of the "Invoking Applications Based on the Previous Session Route" chapter in Oracle Communications Service Broker Orchestration Studio User's Guide for more information about unidirectional groups).

7. Threshold Notification compares the information stored in the ChargingInfo header added by the network-facing modules with the threshold rules added by the OE. When Threshold Notification application finds a match between threshold rules and the information in the ChargingInfo header, Threshold Notification generates an event and submits it to Event Processor.

   See "Using the Event Notification API" for more information about how applications can consume events and run their own business logic in the occurrence of these events.

Figure 11-1 shows the place of the Threshold Notification application in the overall architecture of Service Broker.

Figure 11-1 Threshold Notification Application

To allow the OE to trigger the Threshold Notification application, you need to perform the following steps:

1. Define threshold rules. See "Defining Threshold Rules" for more information.

2. Set up an instance of IM-OCF. See "Setting Up an Instance of IM-OCF".

3. Set up an instance of IM-ASF SAL. See "Setting Up an Instance of IM-ASF SAL" for more information.

About Forcing Network-Facing Modules to Send Charging Requests

In order to timely identify a threshold that the subscriber reaches, Threshold Notification needs to constantly receive the most recent information about used and granted units. Therefore, Threshold Notification needs to check when a network-facing IM sends the next charging request. If the IM schedules to send such a request after the threshold is already reached, Threshold Notification should enforce the IM to send the charging request earlier.

For example, the threshold rule states that a subscriber needs to receive a notification 50 minutes after the call began. If the IM is configured to send an updated charging request every 30 minutes, the online charging application sends CCAs as follows:

• The first CCA is sent in the beginning of the call.

• The second CCA is sent 30 minutes after the call began.

• The third CCA is sent 60 minutes after the call began. In this case, Threshold Notification receives the CCA too late because Threshold Notification should generate an event 50 minutes after the call began.

To receive CCAs in time, Threshold Notification automatically forces network-facing IMs to send an updated charging request earlier than the IM is originally scheduled. In this case, Threshold Notification receives a CCA in time. Threshold Notification does so by adding the custom x_wcs_threshold header to the CCA. In the header, Threshold Notification specifies how much time in advance, in minutes, the IM should send the next request before the threshold is reached. In the example described above, Threshold Notification should add the x_wcs_threshold header to the second CCA and set this header to 10 minutes. This enforces the IM to send the IM the next request 50 minutes after the call began.

Defining Threshold Rules

You define threshold rules in the subscriber's profile under the <profileDataExtensions> element as follows:

<extensions>
   <extension>
      <id>session-threshold</id>
      <field key="threshold_rule_name" value="AVP;Threshold_Value;IsRecurring;IsRoamingOnly"/>
   </extension>
</extensions>

For example, you might want to define two rules that trigger the Threshold Notification application to generate an event when the following occurs:

• Rule 1:

  • The subscriber used 25 minutes

  • Service Broker applies the rule every time the threshold is reached

  • Whether or not the subscriber is in roaming, Service Broker always applies this rule

• Rule 2:

  • The subscriber used 10 minutes

  • Service Broker applies the rule only once

  • Service Broker applies this rule only when the subscriber is in roaming

To reflect this configuration in a subscriber's profile, you need to set up the <profileDataExtensions> element as follows:

<extensions>
   <extension>
      <id>session-threshold</id>
      <field key="threshold1" value="CC_TIME;25;true;false"/>
      <field key="threshold2" value="CC_TIME;10;true;true"/>
   </extension>
</extensions>

You create and update subscriber profiles using the Subscriber Provisioning API. See the "Subscriber Provisioning API Reference" chapter in Oracle Communications Service Broker Subscriber Store User's Guide.

Setting Up an Instance of IM-OCF

To set up an instance of IM-OCF:

1. Create an instance of IM-OCF. See the "Managing Interworking Modules" chapter in Oracle Communications Service Broker Processing Domain Configuration Guide for more information.

2. Configure the instance of IM-OCF as required. See the "Configuring IM-OCF" chapter in Oracle Communications Service Broker Processing Domain Configuration Guide for more information.

3. Using the Orchestration Studio, do the following:

   1. Add the instance of IM-OCF to the orchestration flow. See the "Specifying IMs" section of the "Building an Orchestration Logic Flow" chapter in Oracle Communications Service Broker Orchestration Studio User's Guide for more information.

   2. If necessary, specify conditions that the session must meet to be routed to the instance of IM-OCF. See the "Adding Conditions" section of the "Building an Orchestration Logic Flow" chapter in Oracle Communications Service Broker Orchestration Studio User's Guide for more information.

Setting Up an Instance of IM-ASF SAL

To set up an instance of IM-ASF SAL:

1. Create an instance of IM-ASF SAL. See the "Managing Interworking Modules" chapter in Oracle Communications Service Broker Processing Domain Configuration Guide for more information.

2. In the Application Server tab, set the parameters as follows:

   • In the SAL Application Address field, type sip:[e-mail].

   • From the SAL Mode list, select INLINE.

3. Specify configuration parameters on the Session Keep Alive and SAL tabs as required. See the "Configuring IM-ASF SAL" chapter in Oracle Communications Service Broker Processing Domain Configuration Guide for more information.

4. Using the Orchestration Studio, do the following:

   1. Add the instance of IM-ASF SAL that communicates with the Threshold application to the orchestration flow. See the "Specifying IMs" section of the "Building an Orchestration Logic Flow" chapter in Oracle Communications Service Broker Orchestration Studio User's Guide for more information.

   2. Create a flow in which the OE routes a session first to IM-OCF and then to IM-ASF SAL. See the "Building an Orchestration Logic Flow" chapter in Oracle Communications Service Broker Orchestration Studio User's Guide for more information.

   3. Add the instance of IM-OCF and IM-ASF SAL into a unidirectional group. See the "Defining the Orchestration Order of Messages Sent by a Called Party" section of the "Invoking Applications Based on the Previous Session Route" chapter in Oracle Communications Service Broker Orchestration Studio User's Guide for more information.

   4. If necessary, specify conditions that the session must meet to be routed to the instance of IM-ASF SAL. See the "Adding Conditions" section of the "Building an Orchestration Logic Flow" chapter in Oracle Communications Service Broker Orchestration Studio User's Guide for more information.