This chapter describes the software, hardware, and information requirements for Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management Elastic Charging Engine (ECE).
This section describes the supported and required software.
Table 3-1 lists operating systems that support ECE.
Table 3-1 Supported Operating Systems
| Product | Version |
|---|---|
|
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (64bit) Important: To protect from security vulnerabilities, ensure you apply the latest critical patch updates. See "About Critical Patch Updates". ECE is certified on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, 6, and 7; regularly apply the latest patch set for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, 6, and 7 to ensure that Red Hat Enterprise Linux has the latest security fixes. |
5.0 (plus latest patch updates) 6.0 (plus latest patch updates) 7.0 (plus latest patch updates) |
|
Oracle Linux (64bit) Important: To protect from security vulnerabilities, ensure you apply the latest critical patch updates. See "About Critical Patch Updates". ECE is certified on Oracle Linux 5, 6, 7 and you should regularly apply the latest patch set for Oracle Linux 5, 6, 7 to ensure that Oracle Linux has the latest security fixes. |
5.0 (plus latest patch updates) 6.0 (plus latest patch updates) 7.0 (plus latest patch updates) |
|
Oracle Solaris for SPARC (64bit) |
10 From ECE 11.3 Patch Set 4: 11.x, where x is version 3 or later |
Table 3-2 lists the required third-party software.
| Product | Version |
|---|---|
|
Groovy |
Note: From ECE 11.3 Patch Set 3, Groovy is not provided as part of the ECE software package. |
|
Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE), containing Java Development Kit (JDK) and Java Runtime Environment (JRE) (32bit or 64bit) Important: To protect from security vulnerabilities, ensure you apply the latest critical patch updates. See "About Critical Patch Updates". ECE is certified on JDK8 and you should regularly apply the latest patch set for JDK8 to ensure that JDK has the latest security fixes. |
1.8.0_144 |
|
Oracle Coherence for Java libraries The ECE 11.3 and ECE 11.3 patch set packages include only those Oracle Coherence libraries that are required by ECE (not all Oracle Coherence libraries); these libraries are installed as part of the ECE installation. |
|
Table 3-3 lists the additional products required for running ECE in an integrated, end-to-end test or production system. Network mediation software is required for ECE to communicate with network-facing applications of the charging system.
For a production system, Oracle recommends that you install the other products in the same system on which you install ECE and ensure that the other products use the same operating system as ECE. However, the other products can use different operating system for a test system.
Table 3-3 Required Products in an Integrated System
| Product | Version |
|---|---|
|
Pricing Design Center (PDC) |
|
|
Oracle WebLogic Server 11g Enterprise Edition Note: Installing Oracle WebLogic Server 11g is a prerequisite for PDC 11.1. ECE also uses Oracle WebLogic Server in an integrated system. |
10.3.6 |
|
Oracle WebLogic Server 12c R2 Enterprise Edition Note: Installing Oracle WebLogic Server 12c R2 is a prerequisite for PDC 12.0. ECE also uses Oracle WebLogic Server in an integrated system. |
12.2.1.2.0 |
|
Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management (BRM) |
|
|
Oracle Communications Offline Mediation Controller ECE supports Offline Mediation Controller on Linux x86 or x86-64 or Solaris SPARC (64bit). |
|
|
Oracle NoSQL Database Enterprise Edition |
12cR1 (12.1.3.5.2) |
Table 3-4 lists optional software products.
| Product | Version |
|---|---|
|
Oracle Application Management Pack for Oracle Communications (for monitoring ECE nodes) |
12.1.0.1 |
You should install all critical patch updates as soon as possible. To download critical patch updates, find out about security alerts, and enable email notifications about critical patch updates, see the Security topic on Oracle Technology Network:
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/whatsnew/index.html
The number and configuration of the computers that you employ for your ECE installation depend on the scale and the kind of deployment you have planned according to your charging requirements. Work with your performance team to determine your sizing requirements.
For a standalone system, ECE requires:
4 GB of RAM (or more)
200 MB of disk space (or more)
2 x86 cores (or more)
This section describes the information that you must provide during the ECE installation. You define some of these values when you install and configure BRM, PDC, Oracle NoSQL Database, and Oracle WebLogic Server for PDC.
Note:
Oracle recommends that you print the tables in this section and record the values for future reference.Certain information is required for both an ECE standalone installation and an ECE integrated installation. See "Information Requirements for Standalone and Integrated Installations".
Additional information is required for an integrated installation. See "Information Required Only for an ECE Integrated Installation".
For more information about standalone and integrated installations, see "Overview of ECE Installed Components".
Tip:
This section describes information that you must provide during the ECE installation process for predefined values. For a preview of all required information, including values that you set during installation, see "Elastic Charging Engine Installer Screens".This section describes the information requirements common to both an ECE standalone installation and an ECE integrated installation.
During the installation, you must specify the path to the directory into which the ECE Rated Event Formatter Plug-in will write call detail record (CDR) files of rated events.
This is the directory where the plug-in stores completed CDR files that are ready to be processed by BRM.
Table 3-5 lists the information requirements for the machines in the Coherence cluster.
If convenient, you can use the Value column of the table to note the values for your specific installation so that you have them available when you run the ECE installer.
Table 3-5 Information for Machines in the Coherence Cluster
| Information Type | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
User name |
The user name for all machines in the cluster. You create this user and specify the user name as a pre-installation task. All machines must have the same user name. Tip: Along with same user name, all the servers must also allow password-less SSH login for the driver machine user. |
- |
|
Java heap settings |
The memory to be allocated to each node in the Coherence cluster. |
- |
|
Cluster name |
The Coherence cluster name used by applications for identifying ECE in the cluster. The cluster name must be less than 32 characters. |
- |
|
Host names or IP addresses |
The names or the IP addresses of all host machines on which ECE nodes will reside. This information is required only if you enable security-related configurations during the installation with or without Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Include your computer name in this entry. Do not enter localhost or a loopback address. |
- |
|
IP address range |
If you have multiple hosts in the same subnet, note the from and to IP addresses for the range of hosts in the same subnet. This information is required only if you enable security-related configurations during the installation with or without SSL. |
- |
|
Administrator alias name |
The alias name that defines the administrator for securing the Coherence cluster. You define this value during installation. This is required only if you enable SSL and security-related configurations during the installation. This value cannot be changed after it is set. |
- |
|
Administrator alias password |
The password for the administrator alias. You define this value during installation. This is required only if you enable SSL and security-related configurations during the installation. This value cannot be changed after it is set. |
- |
Table 3-6 lists the Oracle NoSQL database information required during the ECE installation.
If convenient, you can use the Value column of the table to note the values of the fields for your specific installation so that you have it available when you run the ECE installer.
Table 3-6 Oracle NoSQL Database Information
| Information Type | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
Host name |
The name of the machine on which Oracle NoSQL database is installed. |
- |
|
Port number |
The port number assigned to the Oracle NoSQL Database service. |
- |
|
Data store name |
The name of the data store in which you want ECE to persist rated event information. This must be the name that you defined during the installation of Oracle NoSQL database. |
- |
ECE uses credential stores or keystores for cluster security. You will be asked to specify keystore credential values during the installation process.
ECE uses two keystore files:
The keystore.jks file stores cipher keys used for encrypting the passwords used between ECE and BRM or PDC when required.
The server.jks file is used for enabling Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and stores cipher keys used for keeping the Coherence cluster secure.
During the ECE installation, you are asked to specify the following keystore credential information:
The password ECE uses to access the boundary system alias key in the keystore.jks file. The boundary systems are BRM and PDC.
The certificate store password used for accessing the keystore.jks and server.jks files.
The authorization of users for what they can do regarding cluster security. You set this value in the DName field during installation.
The DName (acronym for Distinguished Name) is similar to a group in UNIX.
Examples:
CN=Administrator,OU=Rating,O=CompanyB
Or:
CN=Developer,OU=ECE
Where:
CN is the common name for the user.
OU is the organizational unit of the user.
O is the organization of the user.
For more information about the keystores and how they are used, see the discussion of setting up and managing Elastic Charging Engine security in BRM Elastic Charging Engine System Administrator's Guide.
During installation, you must specify the following information that Diameter clients use to identify your Diameter Gateway server.
Table 3-7 Diameter Gateway Information
| Information Type | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
Skip |
During installation, you must specify whether Diameter Gateway is started when ECE is started. |
- |
|
Origin Host |
The value for the Origin-Host attribute-value pair (AVP) to be sent in the Diameter request. This is a unique identifier that you assign your Diameter Gateway server on its host. It can be any string value. This value is used by the Diameter client to identify your Diameter Gateway server as the connecting Diameter peer that is the source of the Diameter message. |
- |
|
Origin Realm |
The value for the Origin-Realm AVP to be sent by the Diameter Gateway in outgoing Diameter requests. This is the signaling realm (domain) that you assign your Diameter Gateway server. This value is used by Diameter clients to identify your Diameter Gateway server as the source of the Diameter message. |
- |
For more information about how the Origin-Host and Origin-Realm AVPs can be specified, refer to Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Network Working Group RFC 3588 (Diameter Base Protocol).
The Diameter Gateway details you enter in this screen apply to a single instance (node) of a Diameter Gateway server that the installer adds to your ECE topology. You must add more Diameter Gateway nodes to your topology after installation. See "Adding and Configuring Diameter Gateway Nodes for Online Charging" for more information.
During installation, you must specify the following information that RADIUS clients use to identify your RADIUS Gateway server.
Table 3-8 RADIUS Gateway Information
| Information Type | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
Skip |
If you do not want RADIUS Gateway to start when ECE starts, select this option. |
- |
|
Name |
The name of the RADIUS Gateway instance. |
- |
|
Port |
The port number assigned to RADIUS Gateway. |
- |
|
Shared Secret |
The common password shared between your RADIUS Gateway server and Network Access Server (NAS). It is used by the RADIUS protocol for security. Each RADIUS Gateway instance must have a unique password in encrypted format. |
- |
|
Wallet Location |
The path to the Oracle wallet file containing SSL trusted certificates and the BRM root key for RADIUS Gateway. |
- |
The RADIUS Gateway details you enter in this screen apply to a single instance (node) of a RADIUS Gateway server that the installer adds to your ECE topology. You must add more RADIUS Gateway nodes to your topology after installation. See "Adding and Configuring RADIUS Gateway Nodes for Authentication and Accounting" for more information.
During the installation, you need to know the directory where you saved the JAR files required for the ECE installation process.
For more information, see "Obtaining Required JAR Files."
This section describes the additional information requirements for an ECE integrated installation.
During the installation, you must specify the path to the directory that contains configuration data (mediation specifications).
After installation, when you load data into ECE, the loading utility reads and loads configuration data from this directory.
For more information about configuration data, see the discussion about implementing ECE with BRM in BRM Elastic Charging Engine Implementation Guide.
You install WebLogic Server when you install PDC. You set up two JMS queues on a WebLogic server:
A pricing data JMS queue that ECE listens on to consume pricing data that PDC publishes into the queue.
A notification event queue (JMS topic) into which ECE publishes notification events that external systems, such as network mediation programs, can consume to obtain data for their own processing.
Note:
ECE provides a post-installation script that will create the notification event queue for you.Table 3-9 lists the WebLogic Server information that is required during the ECE installation.
If convenient, you can use the Value column of the table to note the values of the fields for your specific installation so that you have it available when you run the ECE installer.
Table 3-9 WebLogic Server Information
| Information Type | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
Host name |
The host name of the server on which the JMS queues reside. |
- |
|
Port number |
The port number of the server on which the JMS queues reside. |
- |
|
User name |
The user name for logging in to the WebLogic server on which the JMS queues reside. |
- |
|
Password |
The password for logging in to the WebLogic server on which the JMS queues reside. |
- |
|
Module name |
The JMS system module name on the WebLogic server on which the JMS queues reside. |
- |
|
Subdeployment |
The name of the subdeployment target in the JMS system module. |
- |
|
Connection Factory name |
The connection factory name that is used to create connections to the JMS topic queue on the WebLogic Server to which ECE will publish notification events. After you install ECE, you will run an ECE post-installation script that will create the JMS topic queue on the WebLogic Server. The connection factory name is used by the script to create the connections to the JMS topic queue. |
- |
|
Topic Name |
The JMS topic queue name of the JMS topic on the WebLogic Server to which ECE will publish notification events. After you install ECE, you will run a post-installation script that will create the JMS topic on the WebLogic Server. The topic name is the name the ECE post-installation script will use to create the JMS topic. |
- |
|
Suspense Queue Name |
The BRM Gateway suspense queue is created as part of post-install script in case of full installation. In case of a patch-set release a new JMS suspense queue is configured manually in the WebLogic within the ECE JMS module. |
|
|
Disable SSL |
During installation, you must specify whether SSL will be used to secure the ECE JMS queue connection. |
- |
|
Keystore password |
The password used to access the SSL keystore file. |
- |
|
Keystore location |
The full path to the SSL keystore file. |
- |
Table 3-10 lists the BRM information required during the ECE installation.
If convenient, you can use the Value column of the table to note the values of the fields for your specific installation so that you have it available when you run the ECE installer.
| Information type | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
BRM user name |
The user name for logging in to BRM. |
- |
|
BRM password |
The password for logging in to BRM. |
- |
|
Database user name |
The BRM database schema user name. |
- |
|
Database password |
The password for the BRM database user. |
- |
|
Database driver |
The driver used to connect to the BRM database. |
- |
|
Database host name |
The IP address or the host name of the computer on which the BRM database is configured. |
- |
|
Database port number |
The port number assigned to the BRM database service. |
- |
|
Service name |
The name of the BRM database service. |
- |
|
CM host name |
The IP address or the host name of the computer on which the BRM Connection Manager (CM) is configured. |
- |
|
CM port number |
The port number for the CM. |
- |
|
Disable SSL |
During installation, you must specify whether SSL will be used to secure the BRM Gateway connection. |
- |
|
Wallet file absolute path |
The default path to the Oracle wallet file containing the SSL trusted certificates for BRM Gateway: /opt/wallet/client/cwallet.sso If SSL is enabled for BRM Gateway but the wallet is in a different location, you must replace the default path with the full path to the actual location during installation. |
- |
|
Queue name |
The name of the database queue that the BRM Account Synchronization DM uses to publish business events for ECE to consume. |
- |
|
Suspense queue name |
The name of the database queue that ECE will use to move failed update requests (for business-event data that could not be consumed by ECE) so they can be retried later. An ECE post-installation script will create the queue itself. You only need to supply the name you want to use for the queue. |
- |
|
Acknowledgement queue name |
The name of the database queue that ECE will use to publish acknowledgement events for BRM to consume (used for rerating). An ECE post-installation script will create the queue itself. You only need to supply the name you want to use for the queue. |
- |
Table 3-11 lists the External Manager (EM) Gateway information required during the ECE installation.
If convenient, you can use the Value column of the table to note the values of the fields for your specific installation so that you have it available when you run the ECE installer.
Table 3-11 External Manager Gateway Information
| Information type | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
|
Number EM Gateways |
The number of EM Gateway instances you want ECE to run automatically when you start EM Gateway. |
- |
|
Starting Port Number |
The port number assigned to EM Gateway. If you have more than one EM Gateway instance, this is the starting port number. Subsequent port numbers increase by one for each additional EM Gateway instance. For example, if the starting port number is 15502 and you specify three EM Gateway instances, ports 15502, 15503, and 15504 are used by EM Gateway processes. Ensure that no other processes on the machine use port numbers assigned to EM Gateway instances. |
- |
|
Disable SSL |
During installation, you must specify whether SSL will be used to secure the EM Gateway connection. |
- |
|
Client Authentication Disabled |
During installation, you must specify whether authentication is performed to check whether EM Gateway is allowed to communicate with ECE. |
- |
|
Wallet File Absolute Path |
The default path to the Oracle wallet file containing the SSL trusted certificates for EM Gateway: /opt/wallet/server/cwallet.sso If SSL is enabled for EM Gateway but the wallet is in a different location, you must replace the default path with the full path to the actual location during installation. |
- |
During the installation, you must specify the system connection information of the server on which the JMS queue for PDC pricing component data resides.
PDC publishes pricing component data into this queue. ECE listens on this JMS queue to consume the pricing component data.
| Field or Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Host Name | The IP address or the host name of the computer on which the PDC JMS queue resides. |
| Port Number | The port number of the computer on which the PDC JMS queue resides. |
| User Name | The user for logging in to the server on which the PDC JMS queue resides. |
| Password | The password for logging in to the server on which the PDC JMS queue resides. |
| Disable SSL | During installation, you must specify whether SSL will be used to secure the PDC JMS queue connection. |
| PDC Keystore Password | The password used to access the SSL keystore file. |
| Keystore Path | The full path to the SSL keystore file. |