26 Setting Up IM-OFCF ECE

This chapter describes how to set up an IM-OFCF ECE interworking module for use with the Oracle Communications Elastic Charging Engine (ECE).

About IM-OFCF ECE Setup

The process of IM-OFCF ECE setup requires the following:

1. Adding an IM-OFCF ECE to your Oracle Communications Service Broker deployment. You can add as many modules of type IM-OFCF ECE as you need. See "Adding an IM-OFCF ECE to the Service Broker Deployment" for more information.

2. Configuring the IM-OFCF ECE. See "Configuring an IM-OFCF ECE" for more information.

Adding an IM-OFCF ECE to the Service Broker Deployment

To add an IM-OFCF ECE:

1. In the domain navigation pane, expand the OCSB node.

2. Expand the Processing Tier node.

3. Expand the Interworking Modules node.

4. Select IM Management.

5. On the bottom of the IM Management pane, click New.

6. In the New window, fill out the fields as follows:

   • In the Type list, select IMOFCFECE.

   • In the Version list, select the required version.

   • In the Name field, enter a name for this module as it should appear in the list of modules. In this field, you can only use lower case letters (a-z), upper case letters (A-Z), numbers (0-9), and underscores (_). If you attempt to use a character which is not allowed, Service Broker displays the error message and prompts you to enter a different name.

7. Click OK.

8. In the notification window that reminds you to commit the changes, click OK.

9. To add the new IM-OFCF ECE to your deployment, in the Change Center pane, click Commit.

   A new module of type is now added to your Service Broker deployment. The new module is displayed in the domain navigation pane under the Interworking Modules node.

Configuring an IM-OFCF ECE

To configure an IM-OFCF ECE:

1. In the Change Center, click Lock & Edit.

2. In the domain navigation pane, under the Interworking Modules node, select the newly added IM-OFCF ECE.

   The IM-OFCF ECE configuration consists of two main tabs:

   • Configuration tab

   • Rf ECE Mediation tab - Enables you to define how IM-OFCF ECE translates Rf messages to PCP messages and communicates with BRM applications. See "Configuring Rf ECE Mediation", for more information.

   The IM-OFCF ECE configuration screen contains the tabs described in Table 26-1.

   Table 26-1 IM-OFCF ECE Configuration Tabs

   Subtab	Description
   Call Handling	Enables you to define how IM-OFCF ECE handles calls. See "Configuring Call Handling Parameters" for more information.
   Monitoring	Enables you to define how Runtime MBeans and notifications should operate. See "Configuring Monitoring Parameters" for more information.
   Degraded Mode	Enables you to set up how a session is charged when an online charging server is not available. See "Configuring the Degraded Mode" for more information.

   
   

Configuring Call Handling Parameters

The Call Handling subtab enables you to define how IM-OFCF ECE handles calls.

Table 26-2 describes configuration parameters on the Call Handling tab.

Table 26-2 IM-OFCF ECE Call Handling Parameters

Name	Type	Description
Destination Alias	STRING	Specifies an alias of the offline charging server realm that you defined in the SSU PCP configuration. If you leave this field blank, the IM-OFCF ECE works in the degraded mode.
Service Context	STRING	Specifies the Service-Context-Id AVP if this AVP is not set in the session that IM-OFCF PCP receives from the network.
Failure Code For Processing Error	STRING	Specifies the SAL error that IM-OFCF PCP generates if IM-OFCF PCP failed to create an ACR.

Configuring Monitoring Parameters

The Monitoring tab enables you to define how Runtime MBeans and notifications operate for an IM-OFCF ECE. For more information about configuring monitoring, see "Configuring Service Broker Monitoring" in "Monitoring Service Broker Using Runtime MBeans" in Oracle Communications Service Broker System Administrator's Guide.

Configuring the Degraded Mode

In Online Mediation Solution Controller, Service Broker relies upon an external online charging server (OCS) to apply charges for the use of network services.

When an online charging server is unavailable, IM-OFCF ECE switches to the special mode known as degraded mode. This mode enables IM-OFCF ECE to continue a session and charge a mobile subscriber during the time when the charging server is temporarily unavailable.

To check the availability of the charging server, every time when IM-OFCF ECE sends an accounting request to the charging server, IM-OFCF ECE waits a specified period of time for a response from the server. If the server does not respond, IM-OFCF ECE switches to the degraded mode.

After IM-OFCF ECE switches to the degraded mode, IM-OFCF ECE handles the session until the session is terminated even if the online charging server becomes available. When the charging server becomes available again, IM-OFCF ECE sends the server charging information gathered during the session.

In the degraded mode, IM-OFCF ECE communicates with the Service Broker local charging server. The local online charging server performs the work of an external charging server. This means that the local charging server can receive Credit Control Requests (CCRs) from, and send Credit Control Answers (CCAs) to, IM-OFCF ECE.

M-OFCF ECE writes charging data records (CDRs) which it replays to the online charging server after this server becomes available again. The OCS applies charges to the mobile subscriber.

For more information, see the discussion on administrating the degraded mode in Oracle Communications Service Broker Online Mediation Controller Implementation Guide.

You use the Degraded Mode tab to configure the parameters of this mode as described in Table 26-3.

Table 26-3 Degraded Mode Parameters

Name	Type	Description
On OCF Failure	STRING	Specifies the behavior of IM-OFCF Ro when the OCF fails. Possible values: ALWAYS_REFUSE Degraded mode is disabled. If the OCF fails, IM-OFCF Ro refuses to grant the service. USE_LOCAL_REFUSE Degraded mode is enabled. IM-OFCF Ro writes CDRs. If a local OCF or CDR writing fails, IM-OFCF Ro refuses to grant the service. USE_LOCAL_GRANT Degraded mode is enabled. IM-OFCF Ro writes CDRs. If a local OCF or CDR writing fails, IM-OFCF Ro grants the service. Note: This setting is overridden by the OCF AVPs 'Credit Control Failure Handling' and 'Realtime Required'. Default value: USE_LOCAL_REFUSE
CDR Mode	STRING	Specifies how IM-OFCF ECE writes CDRs. Possible options: NORMAL IM-OFCF ECE begins to write CDRs when IM-OFCF ECE switches to the degraded mode. HISTORY Like in the Normal mode, IM-OFCF ECE begins to write CDRs when IM-OFCF ECE switches to the degraded mode. In addition, IM-OFCF ECE stores all CDRs that IM-OFCF ECE previously sent to the OCS. ALWAYS IM-OFCF ECE always writes CDRs. Default value: NORMAL
CDR Writer Impl	STRING	Specifies the full path of the bundle that implements the CDR writer functionality. This is a preset parameter. Do NOT change the value of this parameter.
CDR Writer Service	STRING	Specifies the full path of the CDR writer service. This is a preset parameter. Do NOT change the value of this parameter.
Degraded Mode Timer	INT	Specifies the period of time, in milliseconds, that IM-OFCF ECE waits for a response from the online charging server. If the online charging server does not respond within the specified period of time, IM-OFCF ECE switches to the degraded mode.
Local-OCF Alias	STRING	Specifies the alias of the local online charging server. This alias is mapped to the destination host and destination realm of the local online charging server as defined in the configuration of Diameter SSU outbound routing rules. For more information, see the discussion on configuring outbound destinations in Diameter SSUs in Oracle Communications Service Broker Signaling Server Units Configuration Guide.
Local-OCF External Protocol	STRING	Specifies the protocol that IM-OFCF ECE uses to communicate with the local online charging server.
Degraded Mode Error Codes	STRING	Specifies the error codes that trigger IM-OFCF Ro to enable the degraded mode. You can type several error codes separated by comma.

Configuring Rf ECE Mediation

IM-OFCF ECE translates Rf messages to ECE messages and communicates with ECE using the Rf ECE mediator.

You set up the mediator by configuring parameters on the subtabs located under the Rf ECE Mediation tab and described in Table 26-4.

Table 26-4 Rf ECE Mediation Subtabs

Subtab	Description
General	Enables you to define how IM-OFCF ECE communicates with ECE. See "Configuring General Parameters" for more information.
Service Types	Enables you to set up mapping between Diameter Ro Service-Identifier AVP and ECE service types. See "Configuring Service Types Parameters" for more information.
Processor mapping	Enables you to map new Diameter Rf requests to PCP processors. See "Configuring Processor Mapping" for more information.

Configuring General Parameters

Using the General subtab, you define how IM-OFCF ECE communicates with ECE. Table 26-5 describes the parameters that you can configure.

Table 26-5 Rf to ECE Mediation General Parameters

Name	Type	Description
incremental-mode	BOOL	Specifies how IM-OFCF ECE calculates the used quantity for the session. Possible values: TRUE IM-OFCF ECE calculates the used quantity as the delta between updates. FALSE IM-OFCF ECE calculates the total used quantity in all updates.
acr-timeout	INT	Specifies the period of time, in milliseconds, that IM-OFCF ECE waits for a response from the ECE. If IM-OFCF ECE does not receive a response within the specified period of time, IM-OFCF ECE handles the request in the degraded mode.

Configuring Service Types Parameters

Using the Service Types tab, you set up mapping between Diameter Rf Service-Identifier AVP and ECE service types. Table 26-6 describes the parameters that you can configure.

Table 26-6 Rf to ECE Mediation Service Types Parameters

Name	Type	Description
Service-Identifier AVP	INT	The Diameter Rf service identifier to be mapped to ECE service type
ECE Product Type	STRING	The ECE product type to use for the corresponding Diameter Rf service id. For example, Data.
ECE Event Type	STRING	The ECE event type to use for the corresponding Diameter Rf service id. For example, 3G.
ECE Request Specification Version	STRING	The ECE request specification version.
Default Service Type	BOOL	Set to: TRUE to use this as a default value FALSE to not use this as a default value

Configuring Processor Mapping

Commonly used Accounting Record Types are mapped by default. Using the Processor Mapping tab, you can map new Diameter Rf requests to ECE processors.

To map new Diameter Rf requests to PCP processors:

1. In the Processor Mapping tab, in the navigation tree, click the New button.

2. In the Processor Mapping window enter the following values:

   • Accounting Record Type

   • Processor Class Name

   All of the processors should implement the following interface:

   oracle.ocsb.app.rcc.mediation.ece2rf.mapping.AccountRequestProcessor

3. Click the Apply button.