Generating POIDs for Rated Events

9 Generating POIDs for Rated Events

You can configure Oracle Communications Elastic Charging Engine (ECE) to generate POIDs for events that are created in ECE.

Topics in this document:

About Generating POIDs in ECE

You use portal object IDs (POIDs) to track rated events and bill items. For tracking events created in ECE, POIDs are generated as follows:

For delayed events, ECE generates the POIDs by default.
For prepaid events, BRM generates the POIDs and sends them to ECE by default. You can configure ECE to generate the POIDs. See "Configuring ECE to Generate POIDs for Prepaid Events".
For non-usage events, such as subscription events, BRM generates the POIDs and sends them to ECE.

ECE uses Rated Event Formatter to generate the POIDs and persists the last allocated POID ID in the database. This ensures that the POIDs are generated without any duplication even if the ECE system is restarted.

The POID generated in ECE contains the following information:

event_type date cluster_id BRM_schema_id unique_id

See Table 9-1 for the description of each entry in the POID.

Table 9-1 POID Entries in ECE

Entry	Description
event_type	A unique 4-bit number assigned to each event type. For example, 0 is assigned to subscription events, 1 is assigned to postpaid events (USAGE_POSTPAID), and 2 to 7 is assigned to prepaid events (USAGE_PREPAID) depending on the prepaidParttitionSet value specified in BRM. The default value for event_type is 0.
date	The 16-bit date on which the POID is generated. The date is determined based on ECE virtualTime if it is enabled. For more information on virtualTime, see "Changing Time and Date to Test ECE".
cluster_id	A unique 4-bit number assigned to the Coherence cluster to identify ECE in the cluster. The cluster_id is limited to 0 to 15 and the maximum number of ECE clusters allowed in a deployment is 16. The default value for cluster_id is 0. If ECE is configured for disaster recovery, you must specify the cluster ID for each cluster used in the Active-hot standby or Active-cold standby systems.
BRM_schema_id	A unique 6-bit number assigned to the BRM schema. The BRM_schema_id is limited to 0 to 31.
unique_id	A unique 34-bit number assigned to each POID.

You can configure multiple instances of Rated Event Formatter for uninterrupted POID allocation. If the primary Rated Event Formatter instance fails, the secondary Rated Event Formatter instance ensures that the POIDs are generated and allocated without any interruption. In a disaster recovery deployment, if the Rated Event Formatter instance in the primary site fails, the Rated Event Formatter instance in the backup site continues the POID allocation for the events.

For tracking the bill items and non-usage events created in ECE, ECE uses the POIDs received from BRM. ECE persists the POID pool received from BRM in the database. This ensures that the reserved POID pool is retained in ECE even after the ECE restart. It allows ECE to continue the POID allocation using the existing POID pool.

Configuring ECE to Generate POIDs for Prepaid Events

To configure ECE to generate POIDs for prepaid events, you must perform the following:

Enable prepaid-event partitions in BRM. See "Enabling Prepaid Event Partitions in BRM".
Ensure that the cluster ID is configured for ECE clusters. The cluster ID must be specified if you have ECE configured for disaster recovery. See "Configuring Cluster ID".
Ensure that the name of the primary Rated Event Formatter instance is specified in each Rated Event Formatter instance. See the primaryInstanceName MBean attribute in "Configuring RE Formatter" in Loading Rated Events.

The primary Rated Event Formatter instance must be specified if you have ECE configured for disaster recovery.
Enable POID generation for prepaid events in ECE. See "Enabling POID Generation for Prepaid Events in ECE".

Enabling Prepaid Event Partitions in BRM

To enable prepaid-event partitioning in BRM:

Note:

In multischema systems, perform this task first on the primary BRM installation machine and then on the secondary BRM installation machines.

Open the BRM_home/sys/dm_oracle/pin.conf file in a text editor.
Set the prepaid_partition_set entry to a numerical value only between 2 and 7. For example:
```
- dm prepaid_partition_set 2
```
Set the prepaid_partition_transition_mode entry to 1:

Note:

Setting this entry to 1 enables Data Manager to retrieve the partitions for the existing events. After retrieving all the partitions for the existing events (for example, after 90 days), set this entry to 0 to disable this mode.
```
 - dm prepaid_partition_transition_mode 1
```
Save and close the file.
Create an editable XML file from the system instance of the /config/business_params object:
```
pin_bus_params -r BusParamsSystem bus_params_system.xml
```
Set the prepaidPartitionSet parameter to the value you specified in step 2. For example:
```
<prepaidPartitionSet>2</prepaidPartitionSet>
```
Save the file as bus_params_system.xml.
Load the XML file into the BRM database:
```
pin_bus_params bus_params_system.xml
```
Stop and restart the CM.
(Multischema systems only) Run the pin_multidb script with the -R CONFIG parameter. For more information, see "pin_multidb" in BRM System Administrator's Guide.
Go to the BRM_home/apps/partition_utils directory.
Enable prepaid-event partitions by running the following command:
```
partition_utils -o enable -t prepaid
```
Add prepaid-event partitions by running the following command:
```
partition_utils -o add -t prepaid -s start_date -u month|week|day -q quantity
```
where:
- start_date specifies the starting date for the new partitions. The format is MMDDYYYY.
- quantity specifies the number of partitions to add. Enter an integer greater than 0.
For more information on enabling and adding partitions, see "Partitioning and Managing BRM Database Tables" in BRM System Administrator's Guide.

Configuring Cluster ID

To configure the cluster ID for ECE clusters:

Access the ECE configuration MBeans in a JMX editor, such as JConsole. See "Accessing ECE Configuration MBeans".
Expand the ECE Configuration node.
Expand charging.clusters.Cluster_Name, where Cluster_Name is the name of the ECE cluster that you are configuring.
Expand Attributes.
Set the id attribute to a unique number that indicates the ID of the cluster in the POID generated in ECE.

Rated Event Formatter uses the cluster ID in the POID to identify the ECE clusters. The cluster ID must be unique for each cluster.

Enabling POID Generation for Prepaid Events in ECE

To enable POID generation for prepaid events in ECE:

Access the ECE configuration MBeans in a JMX editor, such as JConsole. See "Accessing ECE Configuration MBeans".
Expand the ECE Configuration node.
Expand charging.brmCdrPlugins.Instance_Name, where Instance_Name is the name of the BrmCdrPluginDirect Plug-in instance you are configuring.
Expand Attributes.
Set the prepaidPartitionSet attribute to the value that you specified in the prepaid_partition_set entry in the BRM_home/sys/dm_oracle/pin.conf file.

Note:

To enable POID generation in ECE, you must set this attribute to a number between 2 and 7. If this attribute is set to 0, ECE uses the POIDs received from BRM for tracking events.