Session 3 Bss

OSS & BSS

OSS & BSS

• Operations Support Systems– Network systems, inventory, provisioning,

configuration, element management– OAM&P

• Business Support Systems– Customer management, order processing– Payments and billing– Sometimes Billing Support Systems

OSS & BSS

• Why is OSS & BSS complicated?• Involves end to end management of services

– How do you make a service work once ordered?– Provisioning, activation, maintenance, payment?

• Has to encapsulate complete value chain• Must recognise and integrate multiple elements

from multiple vendors– Vendor independence is key business requirement– Vendor interop is essential....but difficult

OSS & BSS

Ref: Seamless OSS/BSS for IMS Services Catalyst, Project Charter, TMF

OSS & BSS


OSS & BSS


OSS & BSS


OSS & BSS


OSS & BSS


OSS & BSS


OSS & BSS


OSS & BSS


OSS & BSS


OSS & BSS


OSS & BSS


OSS & BSS


OSS & BSS

• OSS integration is a significant and ongoing challenge– Seamless automation, management and

activation– Subject to considerable standardisation

efforts– Considerable variation

• Role of SI

OSS & BSS

• Processes– Sequence of events

• Data– Information that is acted upon

• Applications– Components that implement processes

• Technology– How application is implemented

OSS & BSS

• ITU-T Telecommunications Management Network (TMN) model– M.3000– Business Management Level (BML)– Service Management Level (SML)– Network Management Level (NML)– Element Management Level (EML)

• ISO FCAPS model– Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, Security

OSS & BSS• Different protocols act at different levels

– E.g. SNMP at EML / NML level• I.e. Individual elements reporting into a network alarm system• Many proprietary interfaces• How do you consolidate these?

• Telemanagement Forum now has leading role in developing standardised model– Recommendations and frameworks incorporated into

standards• 3GPP – explicitly refer to vendor interop as key goal (3GPP

TS 32.102.810)

OSS & BSS

• TMF provides framework, not necessarily protocol standards themselves

• NGOSS programme– Information model

• Shared Information/ Data model – SID– Process model

• Enhanced Telecom Operation Map – eTOM– Application model

• Telecom Application Map– Architecture

• Technology Neutral Architecture– Lifecycle model

OSS & BSS

Ref: TMF

OSS & BSS

• NGOSS is– Loosely coupled

• Resilient• Integration interfaces make no assumptions about capabilities of elements at either

end• Reduces chances that change in one will affect other

– Distributed– Component based

• Components interact through common communications vehicle– Web services, Enterprise Java Beans

• Service orchestration

OSS & BSS

• TMF provided reference models to illustrate relationship between business processes– Evolved into picture of telco value chain

• eTOM

• Developed standards to define access to OSS capabilities– MTNM, MTOSI

OSS & BSS

• TAM– Telecom Application Map– Considers role and functions of applications that

deliver OSS & BSS functionality– Reference framework allowing unambiguous

statements of requirements– Highlights overlap– Groups function and data into recognised

components

OSS & BSS


OSS & BSS

• eTOM– A guidebook to business processes in telecoms– Describes business processes and their interaction– Defines key elements and interaction between them– Analogous to ITIL (TQM, ISO 9000)

• eTOM is specific to telecoms• See http://www.amdocs.com/amdocscom/post/doc/etom6.pdf

OSS & BSS

Ref: eTOM Business Process Framework, TMF

OSS & BSS

Customer facing activities

Supplier facing activities


OSS & BSS


OSS & BSS

• SID Shared Information/Data Model– Defines NGOSS architectures

• Common vocabulary• Set of information/data definitions• Relationships

– Object model, using UML • Unified Modelling Language

– Articulates concerns of 4 principal stakeholders• Business, System, Implementation, Deployment

– Build requirements from each in common language– 8 Domains

OSS & BSS

Ref: Driving Service Innovation and Profitability, Adoption of TMF standards in OSS, EMC2

REF: Nuno Silva, PT Inovacao, IMS World Forum, 2008

OSS and BSS

OSS & BSS

• Multi Technology Network Management Team– Evolved from SSIM (Sonet/SDH Information Model)

and other technologies• E.g. ATM

– Based on CORBA, realised as ITU M.3170• Also X.780.2 / Q816.2

– Parallel activity to extend MTNM to XML interfaces• Multi Technology Operating Systems Interface, MTOSI

OSS & BSS

• MTOSI presents single management interface– Common information model– Supports all transport technologies– Fewer interfaces to develop, integrate, deploy, etc

• Enterprise service bus connects and acts as message broker between components

• Standards will be unified with XML / Corba interface versions under mTOP

OSS & BSS

Ref: Driving Service Innovation and Profitability, Adoption of TMF standards in OSS, EMC 2

OSS & BSS

Ref: Integration Challenges in Triple Play Service Delivery, Yankee Group

OSS & BSS

• OSS/J initiative from TMF– APIs for integration of BSS and OSS

• Based on NGOSS model– SIDs

• To be added to the NGOSS TAM• Java, Web Services, XML

OSS & BSS

Ref: Statement of Direction: Amdocs CES, Customer Experience Systems (2008)

OSS and BSS

• TM Forum Service Delivery Framework model is consistent with exposure of enablers from OMA Service Environment– OSE

• Direct connection between OSS and service enablers via service bus

REF: Nuno Silva, PT Inovacao, IMS World Forum, 2008

OSS and BSS

OSS & BSS

• Billing

OSS & BSS

• Billing is fundamental to telecoms• Accounting for authorised access to

network resources• Billing resources construct records from

collection of token, pulses and CDR*s from various entities in the network

• IMS provides standardised way to approach

*Charging Data Record, sometimes known as Call Data Record

OSS & BSS

32.240 Charging Architecture and Principles

32.250 CS-domain Charging

32.251 PS-domain Charging

32.252 WLAN

Charging

32.260 IM Subsystem

Charging

32.270 MMS

Charging

32.271 LCS

Charging

32.295 Charging Data Record (CDR)

transfer

32.296 Online Charging System (OCS) applications and

interfaces

32.299 Diameter Charging

Application

32.297 Charging Data Record (CDR) file format and

transfer

32.274 SMS

Charging

32.298 Charging Data Record

(CDR) parameter description

32.273 MBMS

Charging

32.275 MMTel

Charging

32.272 PoC

Charging

32.280 Advice of Charge

(AoC) service

Ref: 3GPP TS 32.240.830

OSS & BSS

Ref: 3GPP TS 32.240.830

Billing Domain

ONLINE CHARGINGOFFLINE CHARGING

WLAN

MRFC

SIP AS

PCRF

AF

CDF

CS-NE

SGSN

CGF

OCSIMS-GWFS-CSCF

Service-NE

P-GWPCEF

MGCFBGCFIBCFP-CSCFI-CSCF

S-GW

Logical high-level common charging architecture. Functional requirements are the same for all domains (e.g. PS), services (e.g. MMS) and sub-systems (e.g. IMS)

IMS Charging and Billing

• Online charging– Charging information collected in real time

alongside resource usage– Authorisation must be obtained prior to

session– Resource usage authorisation may be limited– May be renewed during usage– Prepaid solutions


REF: 3GPP TS 32.260.840

Billing Domain Billing Domain

BGCF SIP-AS

MGCF OCS OCS

S - -CSCF IMS - GWF ISC

Ro

Ro

Ro

MRCF

Figure 4.3: IMS online charging Architecture


• Offline charging– Charging information collected in real time

alongside resource usage– Charging information does not affect service– CDRs are generated and passed to Billing

Domain• Subscriber billing and inter-operator accounting

– Post payment systems


IBCF

Billing Domain

Rf

SIP AS

MGCF MRFC

MRFC MGCF

SIP AS BGCF

CDF CDF

CGF CGF

Rf

Ga

Bi

Rf

Rf Rf

Rf

Rf I-CSCF

P-CSCF Rf

S-CSCF

Figure 4.2: IMS offline charging architecture

REF: 3GPP TS 32.260.840

Ga interface = GTP


• Charging Gateway Function (CGF) ：– within the Packet-Switched domain, provides a mechanism to transfer

charging information from the SGSN and GGSN nodes to the network operator‘s chosen Billing Systems

• Charging Collection Function (CCF) ： – main functionalities for IMS are in principle equivalent to the Charging

Gateway Functions (CGF) that are used in the PS domain 。• Session Charging Function (SCF) ：

– is responsible for Session Charging including the session control such as e.g. session termination.

• Bearer Charging Function (BCF) ： – performs the Bearer Charging.

• Event Charging Function (ECF) ：– performs event-based charging (content charging).


• Content Provider Charging Function (CPCF)– manages the account that is maintained for the content

provider. Upon receipt of a charging request from the AS/MRFC, the CPCF processes the request and relays it to the SCCF.

• Subscriber Content Charging Function (SCCF)– Handles content charging requests that are made when the

subscriber accesses the content. Upon such a content charging request, the SCCF may for example request the Correlation Function to check or to debit the subscriber's account. Content charging requests are received from the Content Provider Charging Function (CPCF)


• AS / MRFC determine whether to apply Offline or Online charging, or both

• Offline charging– Post payment– IMS elements report charging events via Rf interface

• Diameter– Each session has unique ICID (IMS Charging Identifier)

• IOI (Inter Operator Identified) defines originating and terminating networks

– Charging Collection Function (CCF) constructs and formats CDRs– CDR sent to billing system (BS)

• Format specified in TS 32.225.5b0• Bi interface – not specified, but FTP / IP suggested


Policy and Charging Control – Offline Charging Architecture


• Online charging– Prepayment– Real-time credit control of postpaid services

• May be applied to same session as Offline Charging– AS / MRFC report charging information via Ro

interface• Diameter

– Event Charging Function (ECF) uses charging event to support OCS

– Session Charging Function (SCF) communicates with S-CSCF via ISC SIP interface

• May terminate session on credit expiry

Charging information

flow

ISC

SGSNSGSN CAP

Online Charging System

Home(A) + Visited(A)

Re

Rb

Ro

Ro

Re

Rc

MRFCMRFC

AS(s)AS(s)

ISC

SGSNSGSNCAP

Online Charging System

Home(B) + Visited(B)

Re

Rb

Ro

Ro

Re

Rc

Account

Correlation FunctionBearer

Charging FunctionAccount

Correlation Function Bearer

Charging Function

RatingFunction

RatingFunction

S-CSCFS-CSCF S-CSCFS-CSCF

AS(s)AS(s)

MRFCMRFC SCCF

CPCF

SCCF

CPCF

SessionCharging Function

SessionCharging Function

EventCharging Function

EventCharging Function

Policy and Charging Control – Online Charging Architecture



REF: TS 32.225.5b0 Simple procedure for session establishment, MO call


REF: Intec Telecom Systems PLC: http://www.intecbilling.com/Intec/Products+Services/Products/Charging+and+Billing/Intec+IMS+Charging+Solution.htm

Policy Servers

Policy Servers• Policy refers to the treatment of a session with

respect to resources available and demanded• Policy server provides services to applications• Vendor / network independent• Determines whether subscriber request

should be permitted• of required needs

Policy Servers

• Session level policies– Subscriber entitlements / content permissions– Authorisation

• Session level policies include – Security– High-availability– DRM– Content delivery

• IPTV

Policy Servers

• Resource level policies– Network admission control– QoS– Delivery

Policy Servers

• Primary architectures– Policy Control and Charging Rules Function

• IMS (3GPP & 3GP2)– Service Policy Decision Function (SPDF) and

Resource and Administration Control Function (RACF)

• TISPAN (3GPP from R8)– Policy Server

• Packet Cable Media (Cable Labs)

Policy Servers

REF: Light Reading Broadband Policy Servers http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=86106&page_number=1

Policy Servers


Policy Servers


Opportunities for Sun

• OSS has been domain of specialists– Amdocs, Iona, Intec, Crane, Telcordia,

Orga, HP• According to Light Reading, TEMs now

moving in to market– Often with OEM software partner– Alcatel-Lucent / Convergys– Cisco / Amdocs


• Suggests focus on both TEMs and Tier 2 vendors may be fruitful– Attack both sides

• Increased need to deploy high-performance policy servers will drive requirements for high-performance COTS technology

• Database growth associated with subscriber complexity


• Enterprise service bus layer for integration– Oracle, BEA, Iona, etc

• SOA emergence in telecoms for orchestration of web services across OSS bus

• Integration will require high-performance servers to realise connectivity issues

Session 3 Bss

Economy & Finance

oss bss tmf

oss bss ref

oss bss oss integration

oss bss etom

oss bss ngoss

oss bss customer

oss bss complicated

oss bss different protocols