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OSS Telecom Dictionary

 

Term Description
AAA Server Authentication, Authorization and Accounting Server.
Access Scheme Access schemes can be used to limit subscribers' access to the network during specified periods.  DCP uses two values to enforce network access restrictions: a maximum number of simultaneous logons for each user and time frames defined in an access scheme.  An access scheme may apply to a group of users.
Account DCP entity containing general subscriber information.
Account Hierarchy An account hierarchy is a number of accounts, which are related to one another for the purpose of invoicing. The relationship is established by assigning one or more sub-accounts to a master account.

Each sub-account can itself be a master account, in that it may have sub-accounts assigned to it. DCP imposes no restrictions on the depth and complexity of account hierarchies. An account hierarchy allows a user to determine whether to invoice accounts individually or through the master account.

See also Master Account and Sub-account

Account Type See Billing Cycle.
Accounting The post-processing of rated CDRs.  Examples of accounting actions are:

� Discounts/promotional offers, e.g. free minutes.

� Discount operations performed in real-time.

� Revenue distribution across customer hierarchies.

Most accounting functionality is connected with billing.

Accounting Engine The Accounting Engine receives billing events from the Rating Engine.  The Accounting Engine uses the billing events to update the account balances, and checks whether the updated accounts have exceeded their credit limit.
* ACE SBC legacy billing system.
ACL Access Control List.
Activation Code DCP can generate activation codes and PIN codes for users of, for example, the Web Self-Registration interface that provides end-users with access to specific services offered by the service provider  (e.g. Internet access).
Adjustment Positive or negative adjustment to an account.
ADSL Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line.  A technology for transmitting digital information at a high bandwidth on ordinary telephone lines to homes and businesses.  Unlike dial-up services, ADSL is a continuous connection.  ADSL is asymmetric in that it uses most of the channel to transmit downstream to the user and only a small part to receive information from the user.  ADSL also provides analog communication on the same line.
Agent (See CSR)
API Application Program Interface.

Application Programming Interface.

AS Application Server.
Assessment A variable used to evaluate a threshold, i.e. an Assessor Value.  The assessment is within the Discount Set.
Assessor A versioned object defined in the user interface to select billing events according to a set of criteria and aggregate their values.  The application of Assessors to billing events results in the creation of Assessor.

Values. Assessor Values serve as the basis for determining whether a discount should apply and to calculate the amount of the discount.  Assessor API A programming interface used by the Discounting Engine to retrieve Assessor Values from the database.

Assessor Process A software module/process that supports discounting in DCP by detecting which Assessors are associated with an account and by calculating Assessor Values.
Audit Trail DCP keeps audit trail information as part of the user's account record. All activities within an account's history are recorded through the audit trail. Audit trails are also an aspect of most DCP elements, e.g. products, rate schemes, VAT schemes, etc., to allow tracking of who changed what and when. It will no longer apply only to accounts.
Authentication The verification of a claimed identity. It typically takes place when a subscriber attempts to access online services. It is also a process of determining that the subscriber is known to the system and therefore can therefore be granted access. DCP supports the authentication protocol known as RADIUS as standard. Support for other protocols can be added as required.
Authorization The determination of whether a particular right can be granted, for example, the right of access to a resource or application. It is a process of determining whether resources required for an online session to be established are available (such as IP address, port, etc.). If the resources are available when a user known to the system attempts to log on, the logon is authorized by the system.

Backdoor Files

A group name for inputs to CPM other than DCP, i.e. Finance Unbillable, Credit Card Reject, Credit Card Chargeback files or the ACE Re-bill file.

Billing Cycle A billing cycle is a period of time associated with one or more subscriber accounts for billing purposes. All billing events (charges) applied to an account during a billing cycle are reflected in an invoice generated after the billing cycle has ended.
Bill Cycle Run DCP bill generator.  Process aggregates billing events and produces Financial Transaction Header records.  Records are used for optional invoice generation or bill file generation.

A process designed to manage generation of invoices in DCP. It consists of a number of discrete phases handled by different DCP subsystems. Each billing cycle run begins with selection of accounts to process. Subsequent phases include calculation of invoice data (Financial Transactions), document generation (creation of actual invoices and document images), and commitment of the generated invoice data, invoice documents and invoice images to the database. Each phase can be run manually or automatically. In manual mode, the user can execute the phase, review its output, undertake corrective action, view statistics for the stage, cancel the stage (roll-back) or move to the next stage.

* Billing Eligibility

Not on a Zero-rated Bill plan, e.g. 60-day-free Dial, In-region Move, Complimentary.

Billing Event Each line item from a purchase shopping basket will be stored in DCP as a billing event.

A database record reflecting the monetary value of a service usage session or a product subscription charge; the monetary values of billing events are applied to accounts to adjust the outstanding balance. DCP also uses billing events to apply payments, discounts, etc.

Billing Event Type Each Billing Event will be stored with a specific Billing Event Type.  Billing Events can be aggregated and invoiced by Billing Event Types.

Billing Event Type Category of billing events. For ordering and sorting items on invoices.

Bridge A device that connects and passes packets between two network segments that use the same communications protocol. Bridges operate at the data link layer (layer 2) of the OSI reference model. In general, a bridge will filter, forward, or flood an incoming frame based on the MAC address of that frame.
BTN Billing Telephone Number.  Synonym with an account signed up for Telco billing.
Cache

A small fast memory holding recently accessed data, designed to speed up subsequent access to the same data.

Campaign A previously defined marketing campaign that resulted in the customer buying the product, which can then be selected when adding a product to an account in DCP.
CARA Classification and Rating Administration.  Institution determining ratings for Movies.
  • G - General Audiences
  • PG - Parental Guidance Suggested
  • PG-13 - Parents Strongly Cautioned
  • R - Restricted
  • NC-17 - No One 17 And Under Admitted
Category ID 01 for movies�

This DCP EDR field value is validated against the Incoming Product ID values in the CPM Database.

CC

Credit Card

CDR

Content Data Record � also called CSR and EDR.  (See Transaction)

Call Detail Record. A CDR can only be defined as part of a service type (but is required only if the services based on the service type are to be rated � true for most services). CDRs are used internally within DCP for rating. In post-rating, a CDR reflects a subscriber�s usage of a service during one session or it reflects a subscription charge. In pre-rating, a CDR corresponds to a pre-rating request from the network element (pre-rating CDRs are also referred to as PRDRs). CDRs are created by Mediation Agents or by the Charge Generator and sent to Rating Engines, which use them to perform pre-rating and post-rating calculations. Post-rating CDRs can also be added to a store of historical information and used to generate statistical information. Several post-rating CDRs can be generated for a single session. Each CDR includes a unique identifier, a subscription ID, timestamp information and other attributes that vary depending on the service type with which it is associated.

CDR Collection Point DCP collects details of the subscribers� use of services at CDR Collection Points. They are typically, but not exclusively, log files. The information they collect can be considered as raw call data. CDR Collection Points are associated with network elements. CDR Failstore A repository of CDRs for which the rating process or mapping failed. It is configured during DCP installation. In DCP, there are two types of CDR fail store � fail store(s) used by Rating Engines and fail stores local to Mediation Agents. A Rating Engine fail store may be either a disk based file or it can be a set of database tables where failed CDRs are saved. A fail store holds each failed CDR, an error code and a description of the cause of failure. See also Mediation Agent Fail store
CGI Common Gateway Interface A set of rules that describes how a web server communicates with another application running on the same computer and how the application (called a CGI program) communicates with the web server. Any application can be a CGI program if it handles input and output according to the CGI standard.
CHAP Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol. A security feature supported on lines using PPP encapsulation that prevents unauthorized access. CHAP itself does not prevent unauthorized access; it merely identifies the remote end. The router or access server then determines whether that user is allowed access.
Charge Generator A software module in DCP that generates CDRs reflecting product subscription charges (activation/termination and recurring charges) and submits these CDRs to a Rating Engine. The principles of its operation are similar to those of a Mediation Agent.
Classification A text string that identifies sub-categories among billing events of the same type, time bands, or other objects used in discounting. For example, a billing event type category "usage charge" may include billing events that result from execution of different rating scripts or different nodes in a Rate Scheme. A classification traces the underlying CDR's path through the rating process, and allows DCP to distinguish between billing events within the category "usage type". Classifications make it possible to discount usage of specific products, subscriptions, or to offer discounts for usage at specific times.
Commercial Service DCP entity defining commercial attributes and features of a service.

An entity, which defines a service that can be sold as part of a product. It can be regarded as a specific instance of a service type with further information about business rules (e.g. how to rate the CDRs). A commercial service can define parameters and/or provide values for parameters defined on the underlying service type. Rating scripts (post-rating and if appropriate also pre-rating) are associated with commercial services.

DCP entity defining commercial attributes and features of a service.

Commercial Service Subscription An entity, which represents a subscription to, a specific commercial service included in a product. An account may subscribe to zero, one or more commercial services. End-users do not subscribe to commercial services directly, but subscribe to commercial services through a product. A commercial service subscription can provide values for parameters defined on the underlying commercial service and service type. See also Product.

DCP entity representing a subscription to a specific Commercial Service included in a Product.

Consumer A person purchasing content from the Merchant.  End-user subscribing to MTB service (same as Customer).

The consumer�s Username and Password is authenticated by SBC�s MPS.

Content An internet data item that is purchased from a Merchant via a shopping cart � examples are a: movie, game, song, ringtone, picture, ebook, video, etc.
Content Provider (See Merchant)
Content Category

A grouping of similar Content � i.e. Movies, Games, Music, Ringtones, Graphics, Digital Photos, eBooks, Videos, etc.

CORBA Common Object Request Broker Architecture.

CPM

Content Partner Management - Intec application that was combined with DCP and other interfaces to create the Intec MTB product.

Credit limit The maximum amount allowed for purchasing content during a bill cycle.  Post paid over multiple bill cycles; control outstanding balance.
* CRM SBC Customer Relationship Manager.
CS See Commercial Service.
CSR Content Service Record � also called CDR and EDR.  (See Transaction)
CSR  CCR Customer Service Representative (Customer Care Representative).  The person who handles customer requests such as finding account balances or billing errors over the customer help line.  Someone who works with Helpdesk, Accounts, and Provisioning in DCP for a service provider, and deals with subscribers' accounts.
CSS See Commercial Service Subscription.
Customer A person purchasing content from the Merchant.  End-user subscribing to MTB service (same as Consumer).

The customer�s Username and Password is authenticated by SBC�s MPS.

DCP

Dynamic Charging Platform  - Intec application that was combined with CPM and other interfaces to create the Intec MTB product.  

A modular system designed to support the business operations of a provider of IP-based communications services in terms of active mediation (DCP Base), rating and balance management (DCP Realtime Rating and Balance Management modules) and invoicing and customer care (DCP Billing and Customer Support module).  Where an installation does not include the optional modules, the DCP Base System is capable of interacting with any existing OSS/BSS solution providing rating and balance management and/or invoicing capabilities.

DHCP

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

DIA

Dedicated Internet Access

Discount Action States which billing events are to be discounted and by how much. Once the Discount Conditions have been satisfied (if any are defined), all Discount Actions connected to a Discount Rule are carried out.
Discount Condition Describes the criterion for qualifying under a Discount Rule, i.e. a value to compare with.
Discount Rule A set of zero or more Discount Conditions and one or more Discount Actions that are to be applied when a Discount Condition is fulfilled.
Discounting A rule-based process of reducing standard charges applicable to accounts and products. Discounting is defined through a number of versioned objects such as Discount Models (which include Discount Rules, Discount Conditions and Discount Actions).
Discounting Engine A software module invoked by the Financial Transaction Generator to apply discounts to accounts. Its output is discount-billing events; therefore it is executed before the Financial Transaction Generator produces Financial Transactions.

DNS

Domain Name Service

Domain Name System.  System used in the Internet for translating names of network nodes into addresses.

Document Converter A program developed to the specification of the service provider to produce paper or electronic invoices. It uses the output of the Financial Transaction Generator and also document modeling information, contact details, method and terms of payment data and other relevant information lodged in the database.

DSL

Digital Subscriber Line

DSLAM

DSL Access Multiplexor

DTD Document Type Definition.  Defines legal building blocks of an XML document.
Dynamic IP Temporarily assigning an IP address to a requesting Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) computer from a pool of IP addresses. The temporary IP address is called a dynamic IP address.

EDR

Event Data Record � also called CDR and CSR.  (See Transaction.)

DCP creates retail CDRs and sends them to CPM for settlement.

End (Rating) Filter The final rating filter in a rate scheme. End filters are the only rating filters to which a series of chargeable attributes are attached. The chargeable attributes attached to an end filter are assigned monetary values to allow the calculation of a cost for the CDR. See Rating Filter.
Enrollment The act of establishing an active MTB customer.
Enumeration Enumerations give an administrator the option to define the contents of various drop-down lists in DCP.
ESRB Entertainment Software Rating Board.  Institution determining ratings for Games.
  • EC � Early Childhood
  • E � Everyone
  • T � Teen
  • M � Mature
  • AO � Adults Only
  • RP � Rating Pending
Fail store See CDR Fail store.
Financial Transaction Output of the Financial Transaction Generator; contains all the information required in an invoice regarding an invoice account and its sub-accounts for one or more billing periods. A Financial Transaction reflects service usage, subscription charges, one-off charges, discounts, tax (VAT), products, services, billing events, etc. It is typically used as basis for creating paper and electronic invoices.
Financial Transaction Generator The DCP Transaction Financial Generator retrieves call-pricing information from the master database and uses it to generate invoicing information (Financial Transaction Records) that can be used by software outside DCP to create paper and electronic invoices.

FSP

Functional Specification (Intec)

FTG Financial Transaction Generator. DCP Billing Engine which generates the data for invoices. FTG runs in the BillCycleRun Calculation phase.
FTH Financial Transaction Header. Contains header information like total invoice amount, due date, transaction date etc. of an invoice and is stored in database table.
* Franchise ID This DCP EDR field value is validated against the Franchise ID value in the CPM database.  For SBC, valid value is �SBC�.

Fulfillment

A notification from the Merchant to DCP that a MTB is complete.

Gateway A gateway is a special-purpose device that performs an application layer conversion of information from one protocol stack to another.
GL code General Ledger code.  Each billing event type can have a GL code.  The GL code is used for invoicing or aggregating information for submission to a legacy billing system.  GL codes are defined through Accounts Receivable UI.
GUI Graphical User Interface. A computer environment that represents programs, files, options etc. by means of icons, menus and dialog boxes.
Helpdesk The Helpdesk allows the service provider's CSRs to track problems/cases reported by customers. When a customer calls the hotline, the user creates a case report that describes the problem/case in detail.
HTTPS HyperText Transport Protocol (Secure).
IDL Interface Definition Language.  Language used for defining interface specifications for CORBA.

IDW

Internet Data Warehouse

IETF Internet Engineering Task Force consisting of over 80 working groups responsible for developing Internet standards. The IETF operates under the auspices of ISOC.
IIOP Internet Inter-ORB Protocol.
IMS Internet Management System developed by Digiquant A/S, precursor of DCP. 
Incoming Partner ID This CPM database field value is validated against the DCP EDR field Merchant ID.
Incoming Product ID This CPM database field value is validated against the Category ID from an incoming EDR.
IP Internet Protocol. Network layer protocol in the TCP/IP stack offering a connectionless internetwork service. IP provides features for addressing, type-of-service specification, fragmentation and reassembly, and security. Defined in RFC 791.
ISP See also Service Provider.
ISP-VN See also Service Provider. Internet service provider - Virtual Network. ISP-VNs are subdivisions of a network made by a service provider. This is often done in order to lease parts of the network to other service providers, and for this reason the ISP-VNs are often considered as service providers within a service provider. An ISP-VN is created by logically grouping a specific number of the ports on the NASs within a POP or across several POPs.
IT Integrated Technologies
Job Queue See Billing Cycle Run Job Queue.
LCP Link Control Protocol. Protocol that establishes, configures, and tests data-link connections for use by PPP.
LDAP Lightweight Directory Access Protocol.  A protocol for identifying organizations, individuals, files and devices in a network, e.g. the Internet or an intranet.
MA See Mediation Agent.
MAC Address Standardized data link layer address that is required for every port or device that connects to a LAN. Other devices in the network use these addresses to locate specific ports in the network. Addresses are 6 bytes long and are controlled by the IEEE. Also known as a hardware address, MAC-layer address, or physical address.
Master Account DCP term denoting the root node of an account hierarchy, i.e. an account which does not have a master account.

A master account is an account in the DCP account hierarchy that has sub-accounts. There can be several levels of sub-accounts and a sub-account can itself be a master account (it may have sub-accounts assigned to it). Sub-accounts can be invoiced through master accounts, and then the invoicing information for master accounts aggregates the invoicing information for the sub-accounts. DCP imposes no restrictions on the depth and complexity of account hierarchies. See also Account Hierarchy and Sub-account.

Mediation The initial processing of CDRs. This includes extending them with additional information such as subscriber identification and field validation, as well as translating CDRs into an internal format.
Mediation Agent A program associated with a network element and responsible for creating and sending CDRs for a specific service type to a Rating Engine. A Mediation Agent creates both pre-rating and post-rating CDRs.
Mediation Agent Fail Store A repository local to the Mediation Agent, where CDRs that could not be processed by a Rating Engine are stored along with error codes and error messages. The Mediation Agent typically re-submits the CDRs for rating when Rating Engines become available.
Mediation Layer Mediation Layer is a software layer in DCP that consists of programs that create CDRs and submit them to a Rating Engine for rating. Examples of such programs are Mediation Agents and the Charge Generator.
Member ID Unique identifier of MTB subscriber.
Merchant Provider of content.  Merchant or vendor that has partnered with SBC for allowing their products to be purchased.
Merchant ID Unique identifier of Merchant or partner that is consistent throughout MTB (same in both DCP and CPM modules � a maximum of 6 characters and must be ALL CAPS.)

This DCP EDR field value is validated against the Incoming Partner ID value in the CPM database.

Merchant Profile For each Merchant or partner, the following required data constitutes their Merchant Profile: 
  • Merchant ID
  • Support Email Address
  • Support Phone Number
  • Merchant�s Public Name
  • Successful URL
  • Failure URL
  • IP Address
  • Default Reservation Duration
Merchant SDK Merchant Software Development Kit.  Merchants use this to establish connections to MTB.

The Merchant API is the server side software which with a Java servlet implementation contains the business logic needed for Merchants to submit reservation, extension, cancellation, and fulfilment requests.  The Merchant SDK is the client-side software kit installed on the Merchant server which enables communications with the API.  It is the responsibility of the Merchant to integrate to the SDK.

MOP Method of Payment.
* MPS SBC Member Profile System � where the customer�s Member ID is authenticated � verified that they have an SBC DSL account/subscription.
* MSR SBC�s Merchant Service Representative
MTB Micro Transaction Billing.
MTB Account Account in DCP subscribing to MTB commercial service.  (See Primary Account.)
MTB Line Items Purchase information specific to a single item of content downloaded by the consumer (i.e. content type, charge amount, �).
MTB Subscriber  
MTB Transaction ID  
Mutex A mutual exclusion object that allows multiple threads to synchronize access to a shared resource.
NAS Network Access Server. Sometimes called Remote Access Server. A piece of computer hardware that provides access to a network. NASs act as "network clients" between the users and the server that provides the authentication function.
Navigation Pane The left-most section of an MTB window that contains a list of items/options that may be selected.
NCP Network Control Program. In Systems Network Architecture (SNA), a program that routes and controls the flow of data between a communications controller (in which it resides) and other network resources.
Network Control Protocol A set of protocols for establishing and configuring different network layer protocols, such as for AppleTalk over PPP.
Network Address Network Configuration is the act of entering and storing information about network devices so that the devices can communicate with one another across the network. Network Configuration is also the data (information) that allows network elements to communicate with one another. It includes information about network protocols supported by the network elements, and among other things, the identifiers and addresses of the network elements.
Network Configuration Network Configuration is the act of entering and storing information about network devices so that the devices can communicate with one another across the network. Network Configuration is also the data (information) that allows network elements to communicate with one another. It includes information about network protocols supported by the network elements, and among other things, the identifiers and addresses of the network elements.
Network Element Network elements are physical devices that provide services to customers, e.g. a web server, OSA/Parlay gateway, software delivery tool, or IN platform. DCP uses network elements to make services available to subscribers (provisioning), and to collect service usage information for rating and billing purposes.
OSI Open System Interconnection.  International standardization program created by ISO and ITU-T to develop standards for data networking that facilitate multi-vendor equipment interoperability.
PA See also Provisioning Agent.
PAP Password Authentication Protocol. Authentication protocol that allows PPP peers to authenticate one another. The remote router attempting to connect to the local router is required to send an authentication request. Unlike CHAP, PAP passes the password and host name or user name in the clear (unencrypted). PAP itself does not prevent unauthorized access, but merely identifies the remote end. The router or access server then determines if that user is allowed access. PAP is supported only on PPP lines.
Parameter Parameters (also �service parameters� or �Service Framework parameters�) are variables that define services and their attributes in DCP. They can be regarded as variables that hold values (data) of certain types. In DCP, the legal data types for parameters are: number, string, Boolean, ID, timestamp, structure, list. Parameters are used in a variety of ways including pre-rating, post-rating and provisioning (making services available to the subscribers). Parameters can hold for example, the names of the directories where subscribers' Web pages are to be stored, discount rates, rates, and favorite phone numbers.
Parameter Value History DCP is capable of tracking changes to parameter values through versioning. Users can select (in the GUI) to maintain a history of value changes for a parameter. Whenever such a parameter receives a new value, DCP automatically creates a new version of it with a timestamp and version number. Value history guarantees that rating always uses the correct parameter value for the timestamp of the CDR.
Period Accounting A batch-oriented process that performs periodized tasks required for invoice generation, e.g.:

� Processing of recurring fees.

� Discounts across the entire billing period, e.g. a discount based on the total revenue generated by a subscriber.

� Generation of invoice items/positions

� Taxation of invoice items.

After period accounting, all the data needed for invoice creation are ready and can be exported for invoice generation.

Partner (See Merchant)
POP Point of Presence. POPs are created to refer to a concentration of NASs within a particular geographical area. A POP is the place where a (usually long distance) telephony carrier connects lines to a local phone company�s network or private direct hook-ups.
Port Group A port group defines a pool of ports that can be accessed by one or more POPs. Each POP attached to a port group is allocated ports from that port group. For example, a port group called Europe may be allocated 1000 ports and POPs called London, Paris, Rome and Berlin could be allocated respectively 300, 300, 200, and 200 ports in this port group.
Post-rating A form of rating that refers to calculating charges after the subscriber has used a service and to calculating product subscription charges. The results of the calculation are saved in the Master Database as billing events. These, in turn, are used to update the subscriber�s account balance, making it possible to generate an invoice. See also Rating.
PPP Point-to-Point Protocol. Successor to SLIP that provides router-to-router and host-to-network connections over synchronous and asynchronous circuits. SLIP was designed to work with IP; PPP was designed to work with several network layer protocols, such as IP, IPX, and ARA. PPP also has built-in security mechanisms, such as CHAP and PAP. PPP relies on two protocols: LCP and NCP.
PRDR Pre-Rate Detail Record, see also CDR.
Pre-rating Pre-rating applies to pre-paid services, such as a calling card service, and means calculating how much service usage the subscriber�s current credit can purchase. Pre-rating is used to control access to a prepaid service, therefore the result of a pre-rating calculation is returned to the network element. See also Calling Card.
Primary Account Master account.
PRM Partner Relationship Manager.  Intec-developed web interface for Merchants into CPM.
Product Products consist of one or more commercial services.  Service providers bundle different combinations of commercial services that end users can subscribe to. End-users do not subscribe to commercial services directly, but subscribe to commercial services through a product (all business subscription information is associated with a product).  Products reside in the Product Catalog of each individual service provider.

DCP entity bundling Commercial Services; such as: Movies, Games, Music, Ringtones, Graphics, Digital Photos, eBooks, Videos, etc

To define an MTB Merchant, SBC users must create a Merchant Account in DCP.  The Merchant Account must be subscribed to two products: �Merchant Profile (MP)� and �Micro Transaction Billing (MTB)�.

Product Catalog The Product Catalog is where products are defined in DCP. The product catalog can hold all of the applications that the service provider and its ISVs are subject to distribution.
Provisioning Provisioning is:

� Associating products with subscriber accounts to create product subscriptions;

� Making services available to subscribers via network elements and controlling service availability to subscribers.

Provisioning Agent A daemon associated with a network element responsible for receiving provisioning data and commands for a specific service type from the Provisioning Server. A Provisioning Agent makes the received data available to the network element and acts on commands to start, block, or withdraw an individual subscription or a batch of subscriptions.
Provisioning Server The Provisioning Server is the main conduit of DCP�s service provisioning functionality. DCP users define services and provision them to subscribers using the application GUIs, which first update the master database and then contact the Provisioning Server. The Provisioning Server acts on this input by contacting the Provisioning Agents to update them with new service configuration data and provisioning information such as the blocking of user accounts or the creation of new service subscriptions.
PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network.
Query Fetching information from e.g. database or other data provider.
RADIUS Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service. RADIUS is a standard authentication protocol used by many NASs and gateways, as well as other types of network equipment. RADIUS is one of the protocols supported by the DCP AAA Server.
RADIUS AV Collection Attribute Value Collections are associated with all users. They define the users' actual authorized capabilities and resources. DCP supports RADIUS AV collections, for example, to allow service providers to use and support their own extended attribute. Formerly AV Pairs. See Also AV.
Rate Scheme A rate scheme is a set of price (rate) lists and a parameterized mechanism (decision tree) for selecting them. It allows an ISP to charge for service usage, depending on such factors as the time of day, day of the week, the type of service, the access technology used, etc. For example, a rate scheme may specify an off-peak rate from 00:00 to 08:00, a peak rate from 08.00 to 19:00, and an intermediate rate from 19:00 to 24:00. It may also indicate different prices for week days, weekend days, public holidays, and for ISDN, or DSL, etc. The applicable factors that determine the rates, as the DCP user must define well the rating scheme itself. A rate scheme is specific to a particular ISP.
Rating Rating in DCP is the process of relating a monetary value to service usage. Rating includes calculation of product subscription charges. DCP supports two forms of rating: pre-rating and post-rating. Rating is performed by a Rating Engine, which runs scripts written in the Rating Script Language (RSL). The scripts contain rating algorithms specific to the given service.
Rating Engine A software module responsible for rating. One or more Rating Engines may be present at a DCP site. A Rating Engine runs an RSL script to perform pre-rating or post-rating calculations.
Rating Engine Fail Store See CDR Failstore.
Rating Filter A selector assigned to a decision node in a rate scheme which filters rate scheme parameter values (values from CDR attributes or service hierarchy parameters) and thus �catches� or rejects the CDR. The last Rating Filter that �catches� a CDR in the Rate Scheme�s decision tree is a leaf node that contains a list of prices for that CDR. A Rating Filter is based on a Rating Filter Type.
Rating Filter Type A DCP entity used to create Rating Filters. A Rating Filter Type defines qualitative indicators of service usage, which classify CDRs according to such factors as the quality of service, technology used, etc. For example, the Rating Filter Type called "MPLS Type of Service" supports a number of different Values to classify a CDR according to the type of service the subscriber were given during an MPLS session. Examples of values that represent different types of service are Telnet, FTP, HTTP; values that represent Quality of Service are Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Rating Filters are of a single Rating Filter Type, but may include any number of the available values for that type. See Rating Filter.
Rating Function A function implemented as a shared object and called from an RSL script to perform part of a rating calculation and/or to access the database. Also referred to as a �rating plug-in� or �plug-in�.
Rating Plug-in See Rating Function
Regional Time Scheme A Regional Time Scheme describes a geographical region and consists of a list of dates where a specified region's relation to UTC (Coordinated Universal Time � equivalent to Greenwich Mean Time, or GMT) changes at specified times during the course of a calendar year. For example, Denmark might be part of a Scandinavian Regional Time Scheme that is two hours ahead of GMT during Summer Time (from March to October), but only one hour ahead of GMT during Winter Time (from October to March).
Relay OSI terminology for a device that connects two or more networks or network systems. A data link layer (layer 2) relay is a bridge; a network layer (layer 3) relay is a router.
Refund  
Refund Limit The maximum currency amount that can be refunded to a customer - during a bill cycle � for a given transaction.
Reservation An amount of credit set aside to purchase service usage; if a reservation exists, the subscriber is guaranteed service usage up to the value of the reservation.  DCP includes functionality to create and manage reservations.  A reservation cannot exceed the value of the credit available to an account.  Reservations are useful to support multiple concurrent pre-paid sessions.

DCP creates and manages reservations.  A Reservation consists of a Transaction ID, amount, short time-out initially.  Later, the Reservation is updated with the merchant�s duration.

RIAA Recording Industry Association of America.  Institution determining ratings for Music.
  • PA - Parental Advisory
Roaming Accessing some service through other service providers (proxy).
Router Network layer device that uses one or more metrics to determine the optimal path along which network traffic should be forwarded. Routers forward packets from one network to another based on network layer information. Occasionally called a gateway (although this definition of gateway is becoming increasingly outdated).
RSL Rating Script Language. DCP proprietary C language used for implementing business logic for rating usage for a Commercial Service.

Rating Script Language. Script language used in the DCP Rating Engine. SDK Software Development Kit.

* SBCIS SBC Internet Services
* SBCIS Financial Internal SBCIS billing institution
SCP Secure copy
SDK Software Development Kit
Secondary Account Sub-account of Master or Primary account.
Service Logic Modules Modules at the lowest level of the worker process of the AAA Server. Generally, there is one Service Logic Module per service type, e.g. VoIP, OSP, and Roaming. They perform the bulk of the processing that is carried out by the AAA Server. They are implemented as shared libraries and are intended to be protocol independent.
Service Management Service Management in DCP is focused on a set of Service Management GUIs that allow DCP users to create and maintain services and related entities for the duration of their lifecycle. Service Management includes facilities to create and maintain service types (and CDRs), commercial services, commercial service subscriptions, and manual service blocking and withdrawal. Service Product See Product.
Service Provider A service provider is a company that provides Internet access and services to other companies and individuals. For example, some service providers provide Internet access only, while others provide application services (ASPs), and others have further, different missions. Also known as ISPs - Internet service providers. See also DCP User and Subscriber.
Service Termination A service that has been terminated at the request of the subscriber. A service that has been terminated due to account inactivity. Service Type An DCP service type is an entity that specifies information necessary to enable services based on a particular type of technology (for example Voice over IP). It typically includes parameters, and if the services based on it are to be rated, also a CDR definition. See also CDR. A service type is the basis for defining specific commercial services which make up products.
Service Type DCP entity defining specific attributes and features of a service.
Servlet Modules of Java code that run in a server application to answer client requests.
SKU Stock Keeping Unit.
Settlement Within the context of DCP, settlement refers to an agreement between two or more parties.  Two or more parties have agreed on standards for rating that they will comply with to reduce redundancy and increase efficiency in day-to-day business activities (in the billing settlement example, this refers to mutual call billing). The billing settlement can also extend to two more parties, as more participants become involved in setting up the billing settlement.
Shopping Basket Line items representing the content purchased by a DSL customer are stored in the Merchant�s online Shopping Basket or Shopping Cart until such time as the online transaction is committed.
Shopping Cart (See Shopping Basket)
Small Invoice Suppression A mechanism that allows DCP users to defer invoices for an account if the total of service usage and charges for a billing period does not reach a certain threshold. Users can specify the threshold and also the maximum number of consecutive billing periods that can elapse before an invoice must be generated.
SOAP Simple Object Access Protocol.  XML based protocol to let applications exchange information over HTTP (protocol for accessing web services).

SRD

System Requirements Document

SRS

Systems Requirements Specification (Intec)

Scope and Requirements Specification (Intec)

SSL

Secure Socket Layer

Secure Socket Layer. Encryption technology for the web used to provide secure transactions such as the transmission of credit card numbers for e-commerce. SSL can use a variety of public-key and token-based systems for exchanging a session key. Once a session key is exchanged, it can use a variety of secret key algorithms.

ST

See Service Type.
Static IP A static IP address is a number (in the form of a dotted quad) that is assigned to a computer by an Internet service provider (ISP) to be its permanent address on the Internet.
Sub-account DCP term denoting an account which has a master account.

Sub-accounts are assigned to master accounts in the account hierarchy in DCP. Sub-accounts can be invoiced through master accounts, and invoicing information for master accounts can aggregate invoicing information for sub-accounts. Each sub-account can itself be a master account, in that it may have sub-accounts assigned to it. DCP imposes no restrictions on the depth and complexity of account hierarchies.

See also Account Hierarchy and Master Account.

Subscriber Customer who has an active DSL account.

The end user who subscribes to a service sold by a service provider as part of a product.

Subscription Relation between Account and Commercial Service when subscriber is provisioned a service.

A product subscription, for example, is created and associated with the customer's account when a customer buys a product. The product subscription includes automatic creation of a commercial service subscription for each commercial service in the product. Subscriptions can run for a single period, or they can be automatically renewed when the subscription period expires. The subscription period (for a product) is defined during creation of the product via the Product Catalog.

To define an MTB Merchant, SBC users must create a Merchant Account in DCP.  The Merchant

Summary Statement A document type and a form of output of Document Converters. Summary statements contain the same types of information as an invoice (Financial Transaction). They are generated for non-invoice accounts and their sub-accounts, i.e. a branch of the invoice hierarchy, and therefore reflect a subset of information included in a Financial Transaction.
Supporting Objects Custom objects that can be added to DCP that can be used by the DCP Service Framework. New service modules contain the components that enable a new service type in DCP. They can introduce new objects that require specified rules, and manipulation of existing DCP interfaces. Module management of this kind is performed through the Supporting Objects functionality, which provides uniform access to all entities and integration into DCP without having to edit any DCP core code (since the service module uses DCP's public Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to communicate with DCP core functionality).
System Administration System Administration focuses on general DCP settings where you can control different options for the applications that are not associated with either services or the network. System Administration determines who is allowed to use the settings and what their authorizations are.

SWH

Shared Web Hosting

TAS

Traffic Aggregation Service

TPV Third Party Vendor
TBD To be decided/determined.
Transaction Each entire purchase shopping basket is considered a transaction.  The transaction will be stored as a single CDR/EDR in DCP.  The shopping basket details (line items) will be stored as individual billing events.
Transaction ID  
URL Uniform Resource Location � unique, permanent internet address.  (See Static IP)
Usage limit Control of usage per time period (e.g. x dollars by day, week).
User Customer/Consumer, i.e. primary or secondary account holder.
USOC

Universal Standard Order Code

Vendor Abstraction Modules Modules at the tactical decision-making layer of the worker process of the AAA Server. Each Vendor Abstraction Module is designed to process requests that are formatted by a particular protocol, and where a particular hardware manufacturer (�vendor�) adapts that protocol. They are implemented as shared libraries.
VPDN Virtual Private Dial-up Network. A type of private access via IP-based Networks.

VP

Virtual Path

VPDN Virtual Private Dial-up Network. A type of private access via IP-based Networks.
VPN Virtual Private Network - VPNs are registered in the DCP Master Policy Database to allow user access to a corporation's local area network through a L2F (layer 2 forwarding) tunnel over a public network. All IP traffic is encrypted while traveling through the tunnel from one network to another.
Web Customer Care Web Customer Care is a user interface for hotline users, resellers, and partners who do not have access to DCP, or who only need to access certain functions. The user interface enables the user to manage accounts, provision services, and perform helpdesk functions through his browser.
Web Self-care Web Self-care is a Website through which DCP makes product and service information available to service providers' users, so that they can access and maintain their account and subscription information, and check their invoice data and activity records.
Web Self-registration Web Self-registration is a web-based GUI interface that allows users to register as subscribers of a service provider's services.
Wholesale Processing Refers to a situation when a large number of CDRs for the same owner account reach the Rating Engine. This may occur, for example, when subscribers use roaming, or when separate CDRs are generated for the content provider and the subscriber. Wholesale processing in the DCP relies on algorithms that maximize Rating Engine throughput.
WSDL Web Services Description Language.  XML based specification describing available web services.
XML EXtensible Markup Language. Similar to HTML but designed to carry data (HTML was designed to display data).

 


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