2.16 Custom Application Framework (CAF)

Custom Application Framework (CAF) is the call processing application development framework which allows CSP’s to rapidly build and deploy value added services on DSR. Applications built using CAF will run and interface with the DSR in a manner similar to the native DSR applications like RBAR, FABR, and PCA.

Figure 2-65 Custom Application Framework (CAF)

CAF provides the GUI based IDE at NOAM to build the applications using Perl language. Developers can define and access configuration and maintenance data tables required for custom application business logic. CAF allows to define and access custom application state data using the DSR’s high-capacity, highly-available, geo-redundant Subscriber Data Repository (UDR) subsystem. CAF also includes meta-data in DSR’s Integrated Diameter Intelligence Hub (IDIH) trace records for advanced troubleshooting using IDIH.

CAF includes the following set of inbuilt Perl API’s which can be used to build value added call processing applications at DSR:

• Message manipulation API’s to encode and decode diameter messages.
• API’s to perform basic routing functions like: set ART, set PRT, forward/drop a Diameter message or respond back to request with Diameter Answer message.
• Database access API’s to perform create/read/update/delete operations on UDR tables and read operations on configuration tables used by CAF applications.
• Utilities API’s to peg the measurement counters, raise the alarms and events, log the debug events, so on.