Understanding Lookups

Lookups are required when upstream systems fail to send all of the required information needed to model service bundles (for example, the data is not fully assigned, has incorrect labels or values, and so forth). Generally, a developer is required to create the code (java or stored procedure) for the lookup. Solution designers, however, can configure attributes of the lookups using Design Studio.

Lookups are executed by the SRT during the processing of an upstream XML service request. Lookups can be used to look up additional parameters that are required for activation of services, to format parameters so that they are compatible with service action parameters, and so forth. The lookup library contains custom lookups that are used by the SRT only. You may want to create lookups in the following situations:

The upstream system is unable to provide a network element identifier. As opposed to using ASAP's internal support for network element routings (for example, ID routing, user defined routing, and so forth), you can create a lookup to accept an identifier (such as a MSISDN or IMSI in the case of mobile services, or DN or LEN in the case of PSTN services) and return one or more network element identifiers. You can implement this lookup as a stored procedure or java method to retrieve the data from a database table.
Several parameters need to be concatenated or one parameter needs to be split apart in order to match the parameters required by one or more service actions. No database interaction is required as the algorithm is implemented inside a java method or java script.

After a technical resource creates the lookup (the stored procedure or java code that implements the lookup logic), you can define the lookup in Design Studio by describing its attribute, such as its name and input/output parameters. Existing lookups are available for use and appear in Service Bundle editor SA Parameter Map tab where they can be mapped to service action parameters. It also possible to create a series of lookups that feed parameters to each other as well.

Prior to deploying your Activation SRT cartridge to the environment, you package the required lookups in addition to service bundles and other element types.