16 Integrating Query Clients with ECE

This chapter describes how client applications that need to query data in Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management Elastic Charging Engine (ECE) can integrate with ECE.

Note:

If you are using Diameter Gateway for receiving Diameter messages and translating them into ECE requests, see "Network Integration for Online Charging Using Diameter Gateway". Diameter Gateway constructs balance query requests for ECE.

About Integrating Query Clients with ECE

You can write client applications to query data in ECE, such as query the login and password information of a customer, or query the customer's account balance.

About Sending Authentication Queries

Use the authentication API to query the login and password of subscribers.

Use the login and password information for:

  • Implementing authentication methods outside of the ECE charging server

  • Allowing subscribers to validate their login and password credentials against a charge offer to which they are subscribed

About Sending Balance Queries

Use the balance API to query subscriber balances.

Use the subscriber balance for:

  • Making policy decisions

  • Sending the balance information to subscribers so they can monitor their network-usage expenses, validate their credit limit, or monitor their active reservation

For information about the data returned in the ECE balance query response, see the documentation for oracle.communication.brm.charging.messages.query in BRM Elastic Charging Engine Java API Reference.

About Balance Element ID Information in the ECE Balance Query Response

ECE returns the balance element numeric ID of each balance in the ECE balance query response. ECE returns the balance element numeric ID of balances for both SUMMARY and DETAILED balance query modes. Client applications could use this information, for example, when customer balances are stored in multiple subscriber profile repositories and it is required to map the balances between the repositories.

About Grantor Information in the ECE Balance Query Response

ECE returns grantor information in the ECE balance query response for DETAILED balance query mode. Grantor information consists of the Grantor ID and the Grantor Type. The different grantor types include purchased charge offerings, purchased alteration offerings, charge offerings, and alteration offerings.

About Sending Price Estimation Queries

Use the PriceEnquiry operation type of the charging API to query price information.

For information about the PriceEnquiry operation type, see "About Charging Operation Types".

Using the Query APIs

For detailed information about the query APIs, see the documentation for the following packages in BRM Elastic Charging Engine Java API Reference:

  • For the ECE authentication and query API: oracle.communication.brm.charging.messages.query

  • For the ECE PriceEnquiry of the charging API: oracle.communication.brm.charging.brs and oracle.communication.brm.charging.messages

Sample Programs for Query Requests

For information about running sample programs that demonstrate how to use the ECE query APIs, see "About the ECE Sample Programs".