1 Local Subscriber Store Overview

This chapter introduces Oracle Communications Service Broker local subscriber storage and management features.

About the Local Subscriber Store

Oracle Communications Service Broker applications enable telecommunication network operators to deliver user-targeted services. For example, Policy Controller applications apply Quality of Service (QoS) parameters for network access that are customized for a particular user. Similarly, Online Mediation Controller applications expose charging system service operations, such as balance inquiry and account top-up, to network end users.

To deliver user-targeted services, Service Broker maintains its own representation of end user information in a repository called the Local Subscriber Store. The data in the Local Subscriber Store specifies the service access preferences and parameters for each network end user in a subscriber profile. Subscriber profiles contain subscriber-specific information not traditionally stored in online charging systems.

The information in the Local Subscriber Store is intended to supplement the information in an operator's existing subscriber repository or billing system. While existing subscriber repositories contain general account information, the Local Subscriber Store contains information specifically relating to the delivery of user-targeted services over diverse networks.

To implement user-targeted Service Broker features, you must create, configure, and populate the Local Subscriber Store repository.

The Service Broker controller types that use the Subscriber Store are:

• Policy Controller

• Online Charging Mediation Controller

• Co-deployed Policy Controller and Online Charging Mediation Controller

The Local Subscriber Store is not used by the Service Broker VPN or Social Voice Communicator (SVC) features. Subscriber profiles for those features are stored and managed separately. Also, the Service Controller does not use the Local Subscriber Store.

See Oracle Communications Service Controller Implementation Guide for more information about Service Broker products. Also see Oracle Communications Service Broker VPN Implementation Guide and Oracle Communications Service Broker Social Voice Communicator Implementation Guide for information on managing user information for those products.

The Local Subscriber Store is configured during domain creation. See "Setting Up the Subscriber Store" for information on setting up the Local Subscriber Store.

Local Subscriber Store Provisioning API

Service Broker provides a Web services Subscriber Provisioning API used to manage subscriber data in the Local Subscriber Store. You use this API to add, modify, and remove subscribers from the Local Subscriber Store, and manage the subscriber lifecycle and states. The Subscriber Provisioning API is accessible by both internal Service Broker components and external systems.

Figure 1-1 shows the Local Subscriber Store and the Subscriber Provisioning API available for internal Service Broker components and external systems.

Figure 1-1 The Local Subscriber Store

Description of "Figure 1-1 The Local Subscriber Store"

See "Using the Subscriber Provisioning API", for more information on the Subscriber Provisioning API.

About Subscriber Profiles

In the Local Subscriber Store, each subscriber has a subscriber profile. A subscriber profile is associated with a particular user on the network through the network ID for that user. The network ID can be an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) number, SIP address, E.164 number, or other type of network ID. The exact form of the ID differs by network.

In addition to external network IDs, each subscriber has an internal user ID allocated by the Local Subscriber Store. The user ID uniquely identifies an end user in the Local Subscriber Store, associating a user to potentially multiple external networks IDs.

In addition to network identities, a subscriber profile may contain the following information:

• Service policy information

• iFC data, which defines a customer specific service chain

• General user information such as account state and language preference

• Counters storing information on service usage and resource balances

Subscriber profiles may also contain elements called profile data extensions. These are application-specific data elements in the form of name-value pairs.

See "Subscriber Profile Data Model" for more information on the subscriber profile data model.