Rating Interconnect Events

About Interconnect Rating

Interconnection means the process of handling events over physical lines between two or more network operators. The following types of network can be involved in an interconnect process:

Originating network: where a call originates
Transit network: network which passes the call on
Terminating network: where a call terminates

An interconnect process always involves an originating and terminating network; a transit network is optional.

The cost added for handling an interconnect event is called the interconnect charge. An interconnect charge is calculated according to a service agreement between interconnect partners.

For information about processing settlements for rated interconnect events, see "About Managing Settlement for Interconnect Charges".

About Setting Up Interconnect Rating

To set up interconnect rating, do the following:

Use Pricing Center or Pipeline Configuration Center (PCC) to create network operators, network models, and interconnect charge offers. When you set up interconnect rating, you also define the following:
- The calculation mode to define which EDR data to rate for the network model, for example, inroute, outroute, or transit data.
- Network elements to find the zone for interconnect calls.
  - Map points of interconnection (POIs) to area codes or logical point codes.
  - Assign switches to network operators.
  - Assign trunks to network operators.
Configure the FCT_CarrierICRating module. See "About FCT_CarrierICRating Module".
Configure the DAT_InterConnect module. See "About the DAT_InterConnect Module".
Define aggregation scenarios. See "About Aggregation Scenarios for Roaming".
Define network operator bill cycles. See "About Network Operator Bill Cycles".

About FCT_CarrierICRating Module

The FCT_CarrierIcRating module uses the interconnect charge offers to identify the network operator and which charge to use.

The FCT_CarrierIcRating module creates associated charge breakdown records and charge packets that contain data used for rating roaming events, for example, the network operator and event timestamp. This data is used by the FCT_PreRating and FCT_MainRating modules to determine the impact category and calculate the charges for the event. The roaming data is used for both incollect and outcollect processing.

FCT_CarrierIcRating creates ratable charge packets for each valid roaming charge (IFW_ICPRODUCT_RATE) entry for the IC charge offer.

When you configure the FCT_CarrierIcRating module:

Use the EdrNetworkModel entry to specify the network model, which identifies the home network to use for the pipeline.
Use the IcProductGroup entry to specify the network model, which identifies the home network to use for the pipeline.

About the DAT_InterConnect Module

To provide roaming configuration data to pipeline function modules, you must configure the DAT_Interconnect module. This module caches interconnect and roaming related configuration data. This information is used by FCT_CarrierIcRating module.

You can use the Reload semaphore to reload interconnect data.

About Aggregation Scenarios for Roaming

You use aggregation scenarios to do the following:

Aggregate charges for outcollect rating to send to network operators.
Aggregate charges for incollect processing to compare with the charges in the invoice sent to you from network operators.

Pipeline Manager aggregates settlement information for each network operator and stores it in the Pipeline Manager database. You can use this settlement information to bill your interconnect partners or verify interconnect charges.

To compare aggregated charges to those from network operators, you extract the aggregated settlement data from the Pipeline Manager database. This gives you a text file containing charge information. To bill network operators for interconnect charges, you load the extracted aggregation data into the BRM database and run billing. For more information, see "About Processing Outcollect Settlement Data".

You can also set up your own aggregation scenarios.

About Network Operator Bill Cycles

Note:

You only define network operator bill cycles when you use the settlement_extract utility to load aggregated settlement data into the BRM database.

You define bill cycles in Pricing Center or Pipeline Configuration Center (PCC) for your interconnect partners. A bill cycle is defined as a billrun. Billruns are used to determine whether you have billed the network operator for roaming usage during a specified period.

When you define billruns, you enter the bill cycle period, and the begin and end dates of the bill cycle. All events generated within this period apply to the specified billrun.

Closing a Billrun

Prior to extracting aggregated roaming settlement data from the Pipeline Manager database, you must close the bill cycle for the network operator. This ensures that only unbilled events are extracted for loading into the BRM database.

About Setting Up Network Operator Accounts

To set up network operator accounts, you use Pricing Center or Pipeline Configuration Center (PCC) to configure the following elements in the Pipeline Manager database:

About Network Operators

Use Pricing Center or Pipeline Configuration Center (PCC) to create a network operator account in the Pipeline Manager database for every roaming partner.

Note:

When creating network operator accounts for roaming, the roaming partner account for that network operator must be created in the BRM database before creating a network operator account.

When you set up network operators, you include the following data:

Network operator name.
Network operator type, for example, interconnect partner or service provider partner. (This information is for your reference, not for processing.)
How to identify the network operator; for example, by the carrier access code or by the PLMN ID.
Whether to apply taxes for roaming charges.
(Roaming) The network operator's roaming partner account in the BRM database.
(Roaming) Fraud or high-usage limits.

About Network Models

A network model identifies your roaming agreements and is associated with your home network. Each network operator representing a roaming partner is linked to the network model.

When you set up a roaming network model, you include the following data:

Model type. For roaming, this is always Reseller Roaming.
The network operator that represents your network.
Your home currency.

About Interconnect Charge Offers

An IC charge offer specifies the network data that identifies a network operator and type of service. You create one or more IC charge offers for each network operator and link them to charges. You create IC charge offers to select the charge to use for the network operator's services. For example, to use a charge that includes mailbox inquiries, you include a mailbox inquiry usage class in the IC charge offer configuration. You identify the network operator by specifying the source and destination of the call.

You configure IC charge offers in the IC charge offer group in Pricing Center or Pipeline Configuration Center (PCC). When you configure an IC charge offer, you specify the following information:

Validity dates
To identify the network operator:
- Source and destination area codes
- Source and destination networks
- Transit area code

To identify the type of service:
- Record type
- Service code, service class, and usage class

Roaming events with data that matches an interconnect charge offer belong to the associated network operator and are rated by using the associated charge. See "About Linking Charges to Network Operators and IC Charge Offers".

About Interconnect Charge Offer Groups

An interconnect charge offer group is a collection of interconnect charge offer configurations. You create an interconnect charge offer group to define the set of interconnect charge offers available to each network model. You can create multiple interconnect charge offer groups, but you use only one interconnect charge offer group in a pipeline.

When you create interconnect charge offer groups, you specify the following:

The network model that uses the interconnect charge offer group.
The ranking of interconnect charge offers in the interconnect charge offer group. The first configuration that matches an event attribute will be used for rating.

An interconnect charge offer can be in several interconnect charge offer groups.

About Linking Charges to Network Operators and IC Charge Offers

To rate a call and perform settlements, you must link the call attributes defined by the interconnect charge offer to a network operator and charge. You can link each interconnect charge offer to multiple network operators and charges. This allows you to:

Use a different charge for the same network operator. For example, you might use different charges for different types of services such as telephony and SMS, or for different types of usage such as mailbox inquiries and friends-and-family calls.
Use the same charge for different network operators. For example, you might have roaming agreements with two network operators that provide the same services.

To link the call attributes defined by the interconnect charge offer to a network operator and charge:

Use Pricing Center or Pipeline Configuration Center (PCC) to link network operators to IC charge offers and charges by configuring the following:
- Validity dates.
- The network model.
- The charge.
- The IC charge offer.
- Zone direction. For roaming, this is always Standard Zoning (A#->B#).
Configure the FCT_CarrierIcRating module. See "About FCT_CarrierICRating Module".

About Managing Settlement for Interconnect Charges

To manage settlement for interconnect charges, you do the following:

For outcollect processing, you process settlement data for visiting customers. You send this data to your roaming partners. To process this data, you do the following:
- Set up accounts for roaming partners in BRM. See "About Creating Accounts for Interconnect Partners".
- Extract settlement data from the Pipeline Manager database.
- Load settlement data into the BRM database. You can then create an invoice to send to your roaming partners.
For incollect processing, you process settlement data from your roaming partners. This data is from calls made by your customers on other networks.
- Validate the interconnect charges you receive from your roaming partners.

About Creating Accounts for Interconnect Partners

You create BRM accounts for each network operator by using Billing Care. For each network operator, create one parent account with a paying bill unit and two child accounts with nonpaying bill units.

Network operator accounts store the following information:

The parent account is responsible for the accounts receivable.
One child account is responsible for incoming roaming charges.

Incoming roaming charges are fees that you owe your roaming partner for calls made by your subscribers. These fees are aggregated into a single amount. Incoming charges are represented as accounts receivable in the parent account.
The second child account is responsible for outgoing roaming charges.

Outgoing roaming charges are fees that your roaming partner owes you for calls made by their subscribers. These fees are aggregated into a single amount. Outgoing charges are represented as bill items in the parent account.

How Settlements Are Applied to Account Balances

When you rate usage by a visiting customer, you bill the visiting customer's network operator for that usage. Pipeline Manager aggregates charges for each network operator on a daily basis. When you load the aggregated settlement information and bill the accounts, the amount due is the difference between what you owe your partners and what they owe you. Amounts owed to you are included in the bill. The net roaming charges are stored in the balance impact of your roaming partner's parent account.

About Processing Outcollect Settlement Data

When Pipeline Manager rates roaming calls, it stores the settlement information, such as what is owed by each participating network provider, in the Pipeline Manager database. You extract the settlement information from the pipeline database and load it into the BRM database. After the settlement information is loaded, you can bill your network partners for the settlement amounts.

Before you can extract settlement information from the pipeline database and load it into the BRM database, you must complete the following tasks:

Install the roaming settlements package. This package includes the utility and template files you use to extract and load settlement data.
Import the Universal Event Mapper settlement template by running the pin_uei_deploy utility. See "Importing the UE Mapper Settlement Template".
Configure Universal Event (UE) Loader to load the settlement file. See "Configuring UE Loader to Load the Settlement Data File".

To get the settlement data from the Pipeline Manager database to the BRM database, you use the following:

The settlement_extract.pl utility to extract the data from the Pipeline Manager database into a data file. See "Extracting Settlement Information from the Pipeline Manager Database".
Universal Event (UE) Loader to load the settlement data file into the BRM database. UE Loader uses the Universal Event Mapper settlement template (SettlementTemplate.xml) that specifies the settlement data file format. See "Loading Settlement Data into the BRM Database".

The ASCII file created by the settlement_extract utility contains the settlement fees. There is one record for fees owed to each network. For example, if you have settlements between networks B and C, the file contains the following:

How much you owe B
How much B owes you
How much you owe C
How much C owes you

Settlement amounts can be in different currencies. You define the currencies when you set up roaming in Pipeline Manager.

Importing the UE Mapper Settlement Template

The UE Mapper settlement template specifies the format of the file containing settlement information.

When you install Roaming Settlement Package, you install the SettlementTemplate.xml template in the BRM_home/apps/uel directory. You must import the template into the BRM database by running the pin_uei_deploy utility.

Note:

To connect to the BRM database, the pin_uei_deploy utility needs a configuration (pin.conf) file in the directory from which you run the utility.

To import the SettlementTemplate.xml template:

If you have not already done so, download and install Roaming Settlement package.
Run the pin_uei_deploy utility:
```
pin_uei_deploy -c -t template_name -i SettlementTemplate.xml
```
where template_name is the name you want to give to the template in BRM.

Configuring UE Loader to Load the Settlement Data File

After you extract settlement data by using the settlement_extract.pl utility, you load the data by using UE Loader. You must first configure UE Loader to load the settlement file.

Note:

Before following this procedure, you should be familiar with UE Loader.

Open the BRM_home/apps/uel/Infranet.properties file in a text editor.
If necessary, edit the infranet.connection entry to point to the correct database. For example:
```
infranet.connection=pcp://root.0.0.0.1:password@localhost:37180/service/pcm_client
  
```
Specify the following date/time format for the settlement file in the infranet.uel.date_pattern entry:
```
infranet.uel.date_pattern=yyyy-MM-dd
  
```
Specify the location of the settlement data file in the infranet.uel.event_log_file_location entry.

Note:

The default location is the C:/Portal/apps/uel directory. Modify this entry to specify the correct location, or move the settlement data file to this directory when you run UE Loader.

Configuring UE Loader to Run Automatically (Optional)

If you load settlement data on a regular basis, you can schedule UE Loader to load the settlement file automatically. To do this, you use the Batch Controller and sample batch handler.

To configure automatic loading:

Create a UE Loader batch handler to load the settlement data file by using the sample batch handler.

You specify the UE Mapper settlement template in the $TEMPLATE entry of the batch handler .values file (BRM_home/apps/sample_handler/samplehandler_config.values, unless you renamed the file). For example:
```
$TEMPLATE = "Template_name";
```
Configure the Batch Controller to start the UE Loader batch handler.

Extracting Settlement Information from the Pipeline Manager Database

You extract settlement information from the Pipeline Manager database by using the settlement extraction utility (BRM_home/apps/uel/settlement_extract.pl). This utility creates a data file containing settlement amounts and other activity information.

Note:

To ensure that only unbilled events are extracted, before extracting the settlement data, you must close the billrun for each roaming partner account. You close the billrun by using Pricing Center or Pipeline Configuration Center (PCC).

When the settlement_extract.pl utility extracts settlement data, it marks the data in the database as exported so the next time you run the utility, you export only new data. For this reason, you cannot use this utility to extract the same settlement information twice. However, if you make adjustments to the aggregated settlement amounts by using Pricing Center or Pipeline Configuration Center (PCC), you can extract the adjusted settlement data. For more information, see "About Adjusting Aggregated Settlement Amounts".

Note:

(HP-UX only) Before running this utility, you must load the libjava.sl (HP-UX PA-RISC) or libjava.so (HP-UX IA64) library. One way of doing this is to set the LD_PRELOAD environment variable to point to the library file.

For example (using the HP-UX PA-RISC library file):

# sateens LD_PRELOAD /u01/ape/oracle/product/817/JRE/lib/PA_RISC/native_threads/libjava.sl

Note:

To connect to the BRM database, the settlement_extract utility needs a configuration file in the directory from which you run the utility.

To extract settlement information:

Close the billrun for each roaming partner account.

Use the following command to run the settlement_extract.pl utility:

settlement_extract.pl [-u] dbsn username password [filepath]

where dbsn is the Perl database source name.

For example:

settlement_extract.pl -u dbi:Oracle:orcl scott tiger /usr/home/files

Loading Settlement Data into the BRM Database

To load the data in the settlement file, you run UE Loader.

There are two ways to run UE Loader:

To run UE Loader manually, use the following command:
```
uel -t template_name    settlement_file_name
  
```
where:
- template_name is the name you gave the template when you imported it into the BRM database. (See "Importing the UE Mapper Settlement Template".)
- settlement_file_name is the name of the extracted settlement data file.
  
  Note:
  
  Do not include the path in the command line. You specify the path to the settlement file in the UE Loader properties file. See "Configuring UE Loader to Load the Settlement Data File".
To run UE Loader automatically, create a UE Loader batch handler and configure the Batch Controller. See "Configuring UE Loader to Run Automatically (Optional)".

About Adjusting Aggregated Settlement Amounts

Pipeline Manager stores aggregated settlement data in the IC_DAILY database table. If any aggregated settlement amounts are in error, you can use Pricing Center or Pipeline Configuration Center (PCC) to adjust the aggregated amounts in the Pipeline Manager database and then load them into the BRM database.

To make adjustments, you search for the aggregated settlements you want to modify by searching for associated data such as network operators, IC charge offers, and dates the events were aggregated. You then make changes and update the database.

About Generating SMS Usage Reports

You can collect aggregated information about SMS messages exchanged between your subscribers' home networks and other networks for generating settlement reports. The FCT_AggreGate module includes a scenario defined to aggregate the number of SMS messages based on the following attributes:

Origination Carrier ID
Destination Carrier ID
Record type
Date of the message

The FCT_AggreGate module extracts the SMS usage information from the input call details record (CDR) files and creates aggregated data files.

You use the Universal Event (UE) Loader to load the aggregate SMS information into the BRM database. UE Loader parses the FCT_AggreGate output files that contain the SMS message information and calls the PCM_OP_IC_LOAD_SMS_REPORT opcode to create or update the /sms_settle_report object in the BRM database. See "Loading SMS Data into the BRM Database".

You can run a report to generate SMS bulk reports from the data in the /sms_settle_report object.

Generating an SMS Usage Report

To generate an SMS usage report, perform these tasks:

Make sure you have installed and configured Pipeline Manager.
Install the roaming settlements package.
Install the BRM reports SMS Settlement Reports package.
Create the aggregation scenario in the database.

See "Creating the Aggregation Scenario in the Database".
Configure the FCT_AggreGate registry file to specify the SMS Message scenario, SMS_SCE_01.

See "Configuring the FCT_AggreGate Module to Collect SMS Usage Information".
Load the SMS interworking message information for settlement reports into the BRM database.

See "Loading the SMS Message Data into the Database".
Run reports to generate the SMS bulk reports.

See "Generating SMS Bulk Reports".

Creating the Aggregation Scenario in the Database

This section describes how to create aggregation scenarios in Oracle database.

To create the aggregation scenario in an Oracle database, run the SMS_Interworking_Scenario.sql script from the Pipeline_home/database/Oracle/Scripts directory.

This SQL script creates the SMS_SCE_01 scenario in the database that the FCT_AggreGate module uses to collect SMS usage information.

Configuring the FCT_AggreGate Module to Collect SMS Usage Information

Add an entry for the SMS settlement report scenario in the registry file.

For example:

Aggregate
{
   ModuleName = FCT_AggreGate
   Module
 {
   Active = TRUE
   ScenarioReaderDataModule = ifw.DataPool.ScenarioReader
   Scenarios
  {
   SMS_SCE_01
   {
   TableName = TAB_SMS_RPT
   Threshold = 100000
   TempDir = sms_result/temp
   DoneDir = sms_result/done
   CtlDir = sms_result/ctl
   FieldDelimiter = ,
   FlushMode = 0
   }
  }
ResultFile
 {
   TempSuffix = .tmp
   DoneSuffix = .dat
   WriteEmptyFile = FALSE
 }
  ControlFile
 {
  Suffix = .ctl
  DataFilePath = TRUE
 }
}
}

Loading the SMS Message Data into the Database

When you install the roaming settlements package, you install the SMS settlement report template file (SMSSettlementRptTemplate.xml) in the BRM_home/apps/uel directory. This template is used by UE Loader to parse aggregated SMS settlement data when it loads the data into the BRM database.

Import the SMSSettlementRptTemplate.xml template by running the pin_uei_deploy utility:
```
pin_uei_deploy -c -t template_name -i SMSSettlementRptTemplate.xml 
  
```
where template_name is the name you want to give the template.
Configure Universal Event (UE) Loader to load the SMS settlement data by modifying the BRM_home/apps/uel/Infranet.properties file.
To load the file manually, run UE Loader by using this command:
```
uel -t template_name log_file_name 
  
```
For example:
```
uel -t SMSSettlementRpt SMSSettlementRpt.dat 
```
Note:

The SMSSettlementRpt.dat file contains the aggregated SMS settlement data output by the FCT_AggreGate module. UE Loader uses the .dat files to load the data into the BRM database.
To run UE Loader automatically, create a UE Loader batch handler and configure the Batch Controller.

Generating SMS Bulk Reports

An SMS bulk report is a summary report of the aggregated information collected for SMS messages exchanged between the home network and other networks.

To generate an SMS bulk report, you run the BRM reports SMS Internetworking Bulk Data Report. You must have installed BRM reports and the SMS Settlement Reports package. This package includes the SMS Internetworking Bulk Data Report template, SMSinterworkingbulk.rpt.

Opcodes Used for Managing Settlement Data

For more information about settlement, see "About Managing Settlement for Interconnect Charges".

Use the following IC Daily standard opcodes to manage settlement data:

To load settlement data into the BRM database, use PCM_OP_IC_DAILY_LOADER. See "Loading Settlement Data into the BRM Database".
To load aggregated SMS data into the BRM database, use PCM_OP_IC_LOAD_SMS_REPORT. See "Loading SMS Data into the BRM Database".

Loading Settlement Data into the BRM Database

Use PCM_OP_IC_DAILY_LOADER to load settlement data files into the BRM database. Settlement data files are generated by the settlement_extract utility and specify the amount you owe to each network partner. See "About Processing Outcollect Settlement Data".

Universal Event (UE) Loader calls this opcode when loading settlement data into the BRM database.

Note:

You configure UE Loader to call this opcode by using the Universal Event Mapper. See "Importing the UE Mapper Settlement Template".

PCM_OP_IC_DAILY_LOADER performs the following tasks:

Prepares the data from the settlement data file.
Records the event and updates the network provider's account balance in the BRM database.
Creates an /event/activity/settlement object to record details about the roaming event.

Note:

Each event contains information for one network partner.
Returns the POID of the /event/activity/settlement object.

Loading SMS Data into the BRM Database

Use PCM_OP_IC_LOAD_SMS_REPORT to validate SMS aggregation data and create or update the /sms_settle_report object. See "About Generating SMS Usage Reports".

Universal Event (UE) Loader calls this opcode when loading aggregated SMS data into the BRM database.

Note:

You configure UE Loader to call this opcode by using the Universal Event Mapper. See "Loading the SMS Message Data into the Database".

PCM_OP_IC_LOAD_SMS_REPORT performs the following tasks:

Determines whether the /sms_settle_report object already exists in the BRM database.
- If it finds the report object, it updates the object with the value for SMS_TOTAL from the input flist.
- If it does not find the object, it creates the /sms_settle_report object.
Returns the POID of /sms_settle_report object.