Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02268683 1999-04-14
SUBSCRIPTION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
FOR DATA COMMUNICATION NETWORK
Technical Field
This invention relates to the management of data
communication networks. In particular the invention relates to
systems and methods for facilitating the creation and
maintenance of connections between subscribers and services
provided by way of a data communication network.
Background
There is a need for systems which can be used to
provide services to users connected to data communication
networks. Services may include things such as video-on-demand,
audio-on-demand, on-line games and amusements, or Internet
access, which are provided by a service provider, to subscribers
who are connected to a data communications network.
The currently accepted approach to setting up the
network connections needed to provide such services is tedious,
requires technically skilled personnel and is susceptible to
errors. First, the physical port to which the subscriber is
attached to the network must be identified. Next, the service's
connection requirements, including bandwidth, must be studied
to determine what sort of connection is needed. Appropriate
connections from one or more of the service provider's servers to
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the subscriber's physical port can then be established. The
connections must be monitored for billing purposes and billing
information must be accumulated and associated with the
subscriber.
Existing network management tools such as the
MainStreetXpressTM 46020TM network manager available from
Newbridge Networks Corporation of Kanata, Ontario, Canada
provide for the centralized management of network connections
but operate at a low level. Such management tools allow an
operator to configure network nodes, cards and modules and
manage links and paths throughout a network from a single
location. The operator must still, however, have reasonably
advanced technical knowledge of the network and must
manipulate physical port addresses and other similarly low level
information to set up a service for a subscriber.
Another problem with existing network management
tools is that they track network statistics in a manner which
provides the information necessary to make "wholesale" sales of
network bandwidth but do not provide sufficient information to
conveniently bill on a selective basis for particular services
provided over the network. The inability of existing network
management systems to collect the information necessary to bill
for individual services has provided an obstacle to the
deployment of such services by network providers.
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Summary of the Invention
This invention provides a management system for a
data communication network. The management system allows
for the creation of subscriptions which each relate a subscriber
to a service. The management system can create communication
channels needed to provide the subscription to the subscriber
automatically. It is not necessary for a human operator of the
management system to provide low level information about the
network each time a subscription is created.
In one aspect of the invention, the management
system comprises a plurality of application objects each
corresponding to an application available on a data
communication network and each specifying a network
connection point for the corresponding application. The
application objects may be stored in a database accessible to the
system. The system also comprises a plurality of subscriber
objects each corresponding to a subscriber having a connection
to the data communication network, each subscriber object
specifying a network connection point for the corresponding
subscriber. The subscriber objects may also be stored in the
database. The system has a user interface which permits a user
to create a subscription object associating one of the subscriber
objects and one of the application objects. The system includes a
network manager which creates in the data communication
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network a communication channel for each subscription object.
The communication channel connects the network connection
point for the subscriber of the subscription object and the
network connection point for the application of the subscription
object. In the case of an ATM network the communication
channel is a virtual channel connection ("VCC"). In the case of a
frame relay network the communication channel may be a
frame relay path ("FRP").
The operator who creates the subscription object
does not need to deal with low level information such as physical
port numbers. Thus the invention ameliorates some of the
disadvantages of prior art systems which are identified above.
The capacity and other quality of service parameters for the
virtual channel connection are preferably included in the
application object for each application so that the system
automatically creates an appropriate communication channel
for each subscription.
Preferred embodiments of the system track statistics
for each communication channel used in the delivery of a
subscribed service to a subscriber. The statistics are associated
with subscriptions. The statistics may be used to bill the
subscriber for the service even if several different
communication channels are used to provide the service. The
management system preferably includes a statistics collector.
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The statistics collector collects statistics regarding those
communication channels of the data communication network
which correspond to each subscription. The management system
comprises means for selecting and aggregating statistics for all
of one or more communication channels used in the provision of
a service according to a subscription over a selected period.
The invention also provides a method for managing
the provision of services to users of a data communications
network. The method comprising, in a computer system: storing
in a database accessible to the computer system subscriber
information identifying a plurality of subscribers and
application information identifying one or more applications
available to the subscriber; receiving user input identifying one
subscriber and one application to be associated as a
subscription; retrieving from the database a subscriber network
connection point from the subscriber information for the one
subscriber and an application network connection point from the
application information for the one application; and, creating a
virtual channel connection in the data communications network
extending between the subscriber network connection point and
the application network connection point. The virtual channel
connection is created automatically between the correct
endpoints without the requirement for an operator to manually
specify points of network connection for the user or the
application. The method of the invention accordingly provides a
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simplified procedure for providing services to subscribers on a
data communications network. The following specification and
claims point out other aspects and benefits of the invention.
Brief Description of Drawings
In drawings which illustrate non-limiting
embodiments of the invention,
Figure 1 is a schematic view of a data communication
network comprising a service subscription manager according to
the invention;
Figure lA is a schematic view of a service subscription
manager according to the invention being used in the
management of subscriptions on a two part data communication
network;
Figure 2 is a schematic representation of a service
subscription manager according to the invention;
Figure 3 is a representation of the relationships between
some of the main objects in object oriented software embodying
the invention;
Figure 4 is a schematic view illustrating the connection of
a service selection agent to the a network equipped with a
subscriber management system;
Figure 5 is a depiction of a graphical user interface of a
type which may be presented to a subscriber by a service
selection agent according to the invention;
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Figure 6 is a schematic view of a system for client-side
load balancing according to the invention; and,
Figure 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method according to
the invention.
Description
Figure 1 is a schematic view of a network 20. For the
purpose of illustration, network 20 is an ATM network. Network
20 could be any other suitable type of network in which
communication channels can be set up between different points
on the network.
Network 20 comprises a number of Asynchronous
Transfer Mode ("ATM") switches 24 connected by
communication lines 26, each capable of carrying digital
information. One or more service providers provide servers 28
connected to network 20 by way of suitable access devices 30. A
number of users or "subscribers" 32 are also connected to
network 20 by way of suitable access devices 30. Access devices
30 for users 32 may be, for example, Digital Subscriber Line
("DSL") modems or wireless access devices.
Servers 28 can provide one or more services or
"applications" to users 32. For example, a service might be the
delivery of an audiovisual work (such as a movie) from server 28
to a particular user 32A through network 20. User 32A may be
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termed a subscriber who subscribes to the service provided from
server 28. To enable such a service to be provided it is necessary
to configure network 20 to provide a virtual channel connection
("VCC") (indicated by dashed line 40) from server 28 to the
access device 30A for subscriber 32A. In many typical
embodiments of the invention, VCC 40 is a Permanent Virtual
Connection ("PVC").
VCC 40 must have sufficient bandwidth to provide
the desired service. Where the service is delivery of an
audiovisual work, VCC 40 must have sufficient bandwidth to
carry the audiovisual work to subscriber 32A. If a service other
than the delivery of an audiovisual work is provided then one or
more VCCs each having an appropriate bandwidth and
providing an appropriate level of Quality of Service ("QoS") will
need to be set up so that the service can be delivered to
subscriber 32A.
VCC 40 is created by configuring switches 24. A
network manager 44, such as the MainStreetXpressTM 46020TM
network manager, is attached to network 20. An operator of
network manager 44 could configure switches 24 to provide VCC
40. To do this the operator would need to know in advance, or
find out, the physical port at which access device 30A is
connected to network 20 as well as the bandwidth and other
QoS requirements for VCC 40. The operator can enter this
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information into network manager 44. Network manager 44
then sends commands to switches 24 to cause VCC 40 to be set
up and connected. Looking up and manually entering such
information can be tedious and can result in errors which either
impair the service or prevent the service from operating at all.
The errors may be hard to locate.
This invention provides a network management
system 45 which includes a service subscription manager 46
which communicates with one or more network managers 44
through one or more communication links 47. Communication
link 47 may be provided by network 20. Service subscription
manager 46 contains one or more databases 50 which associates
each subscriber 32 as identified by easily ascertainable
information, such as name, address, telephone number or the
like, with physical information needed to establish a VCC to
that subscriber including port number on network 20.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, service
subscription manager 46 comprises two databases 50 and 51.
This provides flexibility in implementation. Database 50
contains service level information and database 51 contains
technical information regarding the resources of network 20.
Database 50 may contain, for example, the following
information about each subscriber 32: account name; password;
contact information such as telephone number, e-mail address,
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postal address; personal information; administrative status; a
list of services to which the subscriber has subscribed; and an
association with technical network access information which is
stored in database 51. Databases 50 and 51 are preferably
implemented using object oriented database software.
Database 50 also associates services or "applications"
provided by service providers, once again identified by easily
ascertainable information such as a trade-mark, logo, provider
name, or the like, with information describing the one or more
VCCs needed to provide the service to any one of subscribers 32.
Database 50 may contain, for example, the following
information for each application: application provider; name;
logo; e-mail contact for trouble reports; e-mail contact for service
enquiries; a set of subscribers to the application; and
associations to technical information about the class of service
used to provide the application, and network access (application
delivery point(s)) which are stored in database 51.
A third database (not shown) is preferably provided
to track the rights that various operators of service subscription
manager 46 have. For example, some operators may have rights
to modify existing subscriptions but not to create new
subscriptions, and so on.
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An operator of system 45 can cause the VCCs
necessary to provide a service to a subscriber 32A to be set up
by creating a subscription in service subscription manager 46. A
subscription associates a subscriber 32A with a service, for
example a service provided from server 28. Particulars of the
subscription are then stored in databases 50 and 51.
As shown in Figure 2, service subscription manager
46 preferably comprises software 54 running on a suitable
network-connected computer 56. Software 54 has access to read
and write to databases 50, 51 and an interface 55 to network
manager 44. Service subscription manager 46 also has a user
interface, which is preferably but is not necessarily a graphical
user interface ("GUI") 58. The interface, for example GUI 58,
may be provided on computer 56 or on a separate computer
connected to computer 56. When an operator creates a new
subscription (which associates a service and a subscriber),
software 54 generates one or more messages which are sent to
network manager 44 via interface 55. The messages cause
network manager 44 to set up the VCC(s) required by the new
service. The messages include information from databases 50
and 51 specifying the attributes of the VCC(s) required by the
new service.
It is convenient to describe software 54 using object
oriented software engineering terminology. Object oriented
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software comprises a number of interacting software objects.
Each object represents a real or abstract entity. Each object
includes data which is encapsulated in the object and software
which can manipulate the data and control how the object
interacts with other objects. Figure 3 illustrates relationships
between objects of an embodiment of software 54 in Universal
Modelling Language ("UML").
Using such an object oriented description permits a
subscriber 32 to be represented in software 54 as a subscriber
object 33. Each subscriber object 33 contains or is linked to data
which includes the name of the subscriber and the physical port
through which the subscriber accesses network 20 (subscriber
network access object 57). A service, such as the service
provided by server 28 may be represented as a service object 29.
The service object 29 contains, or is linked to, data which
includes the name of the service, the level of fqloS required by
the service (class of service object 59), and the physical port (or
ports) through which server 28 accesses network 20 (application
network access object 61).
A subscription object 60 links a service object 29 and
a subscriber object 33. The subscription object may contain or
link to data, such as statistics on the use of the service which
may be used for billing purposes.
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The subscription VCC object 62 links subscription
object 60 to VCC object 67 which represents the actual VCC 40
which will be used by the subscription. VCC object 67 defines a
virtual connection between endpoints specified by VCC
endpoints object 69. The VCC endpoints are determined by the
network port object 71 associated with the network access 64
which is associated with each of the application network access
61 and the subscriber network access 57. The application and
subscriber network access objects each inherit the attributes of
network access object 64.
A subscription object 60, together with the service
object 29 and the subscriber object 33 which it associates,
contain all of the information necessary to set up VCC 40
including the port at which subscriber 32A connects to network
(from the subscriber network access object 57), the port at
which server 28 connects to network 20 (from the application
network access object 61), and the bandwidth and any other QoS
requirements on VCC 40 (from the class of service object 59).
20 Preferably, various classes of service are predefined. Each class
of service specifies faoS parameters such as: service category,
peak information rate in each direction, and sustained
information rate in each direction. Each application can have its
own asymmetrical class of service definition. The various objects
used by software 54 may be stored in databases 50 and 51.
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Service subscription manager 46 generates
commands which cause network manager 44 to create VCCs 40.
The commands include the information needed by network
manager 44 to set up VCCs 40. Network manager 44
subsequently causes switches 24 to configure themselves to
provide VCCs 40.
In some cases network manager 44 will not have
control over all of network 20. Figure 1A shows a situation
where a network has two portions 20A and 20B connected at a
point of presence POP. Network manager 44 only has direct
control over portion 20A of the network. A separate network
manager 44A which is not under the direct control of service
subscription manager 46 manages portion 20B of the network.
This situation might exist, for example, where different
infrastructure providers maintain portions 20A and 20B. If a
service provider SP1 and a subscriber 32 are both in portion
20A of the network then network manager 44 can create the
necessary communication channel 40C directly. On the other
hand, if the service provider is in a different portion of the
network from subscriber 32 then communication channels must
be set up in both of portions 20A and 20B. Service subscription
manager 46 directly commands network manager 44 to create a
communication channel 40B between subscriber 32 and point of
presence POP. Service subscription manager 46 also generates
a work order message 49 asking that a communication channel
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40C from point of presence POP to service provider SP2 be
created. The work order messages may be sent by calling a
remote script from software 54.
Service subscription manager 46 preferably includes
a facility to enable or disable subscriptions that are set up in
service subscription manager 46 without deleting the
subscriptions. This facility might be used, for example, to
temporarily suspend a subscription for which a subscriber's
payment is overdue. This facility may be provided by including
an "enable" attribute in the subscription object 60. The enable
attribute can be set to one state to enable the subscription in
question and set to another state to disable the subscription in
question. When an operator commands software 54 to disable a
service, software 54 sets the "enable" attribute for the
subscription in question to its disabled state and sends a
command to network controller 44 instructing network
controller 44 to take down the VCCs for the service in question.
Preferably, service subscription manager 46 also permits
subscribers to turn on or off subscriptions that have been
previously set up.
In order to conserve network resources, VCCs 40 are
preferably connected only when a service is in use. For example,
service subscription manager 46 may cause network manager
44 to connect the VCCs 40 for a particular service when a
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subscriber 32 who has a valid subscription logs onto network 20
and is assigned a network access and enables the subscription,
or when a subscription is added for a subscriber who already has
a network access or when a disabled subscription for a
subscriber who already has a network access is enabled. The
VCCs may be taken down when a subscriber 32 who has a valid
and enabled subscription logs out from network 20 (and thereby
removes their network access) or when an enabled subscription
is cancelled or becomes disabled.
Preferably, service subscription manager causes the
VCCs for a subscription to be enabled only when the following
conditions all hold:
1. the subscriber is "enabled" (a subscriber might not be
enabled if the subscriber were a new subscriber, not yet
completely entered into the system or if the subscriber had
not paid its bills);
2. the subscription is enabled;
3. the application (service) is enabled;
4. the subscriber's network access is enabled and operational;
5. the service provider's network access is enabled and
operational; and,
6. the subscriber has not turned the subscription off.
Network manager 44 includes a statistics collector,
as is known in the art. The statistics collector may, for example,
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be the statistics collector function of a NewbridgeTM 46020
network manager. The statistics collector collects statistics
regarding the usage of each VCC provided on network 20
including the volume of data transferred over the VCC and the
length of time that each VCC is connected. The raw information
provided by the statistics collector is not directly useful for
billing for services because several different VCCs may be used
to provide the same service over time.
Service subscription manager 46 periodically
receives statistics from network manager 44 and collects
together the statistics that relate to VCCs used by each
subscription. Service subscription manager 46 does this by
identifying the VCCs used by each subscription from the
information in databases 50 and 51 and by searching the
statistics provided by network manager 44 for statistics on
those VCCs. Service subscription manager 46 then produces
concise records which summarize the aggregate usage of
network resources by each subscription over a selected period.
The records may be used by a billing system to bill subscribers
32 for usage of network 20.
Preferably network 20 is partitioned so that the
network access points for subscribers 32 and the application
network access points for servers) 28 and all of the PVCs
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between them are placed into one or more Virtual Switched
Networks ("VSNs").
It is useful to provide subscribers 32 with a
mechanism to select and control their subscriptions. As shown
in Fig. 4, The invention provides a Service Selection Agent
("SSA") 70 which interfaces with service subscription manager
46 by way of a suitable Application Programming Interface
("API") 72. API 72 is preferably a CORBA based API. SSA 70
may be maintained and operated by a carrier who may be a
different entity than the entity which provides and operates
network 20, network manager 44 and service subscription
manager 46.
Subscribers 32 can communicate with SSA 70 by
way of a web based interface indicated by line 74. Subscribers
can use SSA 70 to dynamically switch between different
services. For example, a subscriber 32 who had subscriptions to
both a work-at-home session and a general high-speed Internet
access service could use SSA 70 to dynamically switch between
these two services. When a subscriber uses SSA 70 to enable a
service, service subscription manager 46 commands network
manager 44 to connect the VCC 40 required by that service.
SSA 70 preferably also permits subscribers to sign up for new
subscriptions for themselves.
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SSA 70 obtains information about the services
subscribed to by each subscriber through API 72. Links to each
service may be displayed on the web page of SSA 70. Figure 5
shows an example web page which could be provided by a
suitable server 71 associated with SSA 70 to enable a subscriber
32 to inter aha select between subscribed services, enable or
disable subscribed services, or to obtain information about the
status of the subscriber's subscriptions. The web page of Figure
5 would be made available to a subscriber only after the
subscriber had entered an account name and a password.
SSA 70 will typically have a plurality of servers 71 so
that many subscribers can be serviced at the same time. SSA 70
could, for example, comprise an application running on a
NetscapeTM Enterprise Server. Servers 71 may invoke
commands on service subscription manager 46 by way of API 72
to authenticate the identity of a subscriber 32 before allowing
the subscriber 32 access to information about subscriptions via
SSA 70. Servers 71 may obtain information about subscriptions
of a subscriber 32 by causing service subscription manager 46 to
interrogate database 50 and forward the requested information
via API 72.
One problem that can occur is that one or more of
servers 71 may be over utilized. Subscribers connected to the
over utilized servers 71 will experience slow response times. At
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the same time, other ones of servers 71 may be idle or only
lightly utilized. Preferred embodiments of the invention provide
client-side load balancing to more evenly distribute subscribers
among servers ?1. Figure 6 illustrates apparatus for providing
client-side load balancing in the invention. Figure 6A illustrates
a method 90 of client-side load balancing according to the
invention.
As shown in Figure 6, a user runs user software 80
to connect to one of service selection servers 71 of SSA 70. User
software 80 may be, for example, a JAVA applet running on a
subscriber's network connected computer. Software 80
interrogates a name server 82 which returns an address for one
of service selection servers 71 as indicated by line 84 (step 91).
Software 80 then connects to the assigned service selection
server 71 as indicated by line 85 (step 92). Name server 82 is
designed to assign service selection servers 71 to subscribers in
such a fashion that a roughly equal number of subscribers are
serviced by each service selection server 71. Suitable hardware
and software for implementing name server 82 is known to
those skilled in the art and is available off the shelf from various
parties and will therefore not be described herein.
The foregoing scheme does not take into account the
fact that some subscribers may place much higher demands on a
service selection server 71 than other subscribers. The invention
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provides a timer 86 in user software 80. A user uses GUI 58A to
enter commands for processing at service selection server 71,
the commands are forwarded to service selection server 71 by
the user's computer under the control of software 80 (step 93).
Timer 86 monitors the time taken by the service selection server
71, to which the software 80 is connected, to respond to certain
commands (step 94). If the response time becomes excessive (i.e.
the response time exceeds a threshold time) then user software
80 sends a request to name server 82 that it be connected to a
different service selection server 71 (step 95). Currently
available name servers 82 support requests from client software
to be connected to a different server. The threshold time may be
a preset value which is provided in user software 80 or may be a
value which is computed from previous response times
experienced by software 80. Name server 82 returns the address
of a different service selection server 71 for the user software 80
to connect to (step 96). Name server 82 may select the different
service selection server 71 randomly from other available
service selection servers 71. User software 80 then connects to
the new service selection server 71 (step 97). The result is that
the loads on service selection servers 71 tend to become
balanced because user software 80 which is experiencing
unacceptable response times from a service selection server 71
will switch to a different service selection server 71.
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While the invention has been described above with
reference to a network subscription management system, the
invention also provides a method 100 for managing the
provision of services to users of a data communications network.
The method is performed in a computer system. As shown in
Figure 7, the method begins with storing in database 50
accessible to computer system 56 subscriber information
identifying a plurality of subscribers and application
information identifying one or more applications available to the
subscriber (indicated by 110). The method continues with
receiving user input identifying one subscriber and one
application to be associated as a subscription (indicated by 112).
When the subscription has been made, the method retrieves
from database 50 a subscriber network connection point from
the subscriber information for the one subscriber and an
application network connection point from the application
information for the one application (indicated by 114).The
method finishes by automatically creating a virtual channel
connection (VCC 40) in the data communications network 20.
The VCC extends between the subscriber network connection
point and the application network connection point.
As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the
light of the foregoing disclosure, many alterations and
modifications are possible in the practice of this invention
without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. For example,
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the invention may be used in non-ATM networks. Various
specific types of hardware and software may be used in the
implementation of the invention. The method for balancing
loads on service selection servers 71, which is described above,
may be used to balance loads on other kind of web servers.
Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be construed in
accordance with the substance defined by the following claims.
