Title: System, method and apparatus for capturing and processing call processing failures occurring at a telephone switch control processor
Abstract: A system, method and apparatus is disclosed for capturing call processing failures in a telecommunication system occurring at a telecommunication switch control processor as the failures occur. The system includes a computing system adapted for communicating with the telecommunication system. The computing system includes one or more computers having one or more processors for executing logic instructions; a memory associated with the computing system for storing the instructions; a storage device adapted for communicating with the computing system for storing data; and a communication device associated with the computing system for establishing a communication link between the computing system and the telecommunication system. The logic instructions are executed by the computing system and cause the one or more processors to establish a communication link between the computing system and the telecommunication system; continually capture call processing failure data occurring at the telecommunication switch control processor; and store the captured call processing failure data to the storage device. The method includes establishing a communication link between a computing system and the telecommunication system; the computing system continually capturing call processing failure data occurring at the telecommunication switch control processor; and storing the captured call processing failure data to the storage device. The apparatus includes a computer adapted for communicating with the telecommunication system, the computer having one or more processors to execute logic instructions associated with one or more computer software programs and a memory for storing the logic instructions; a first adapter coupled to the computer for interfacing the computer to a server; a second adapter coupled to the computer for continually capturing call processing failure data at the telecommunication switch control
Patent Number: 6,975,705 Issued on 12/13/2005 to Boehmke, et al.
| Inventors:
|
Boehmke; Yuergen (Parkland, FL);
Shepard; Kenneth L. (Boca Raton, FL)
|
| Assignee:
|
BellSouth Intellectual Property Corp. (Wilmington, DE)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
746505 |
| Filed:
|
December 22, 2000 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
379/9.02; 379/9; 379/9.03; 379/9.04; 455/423 |
| Intern'l Class: |
H04M 003/22 |
| Field of Search: |
379/9,902,903,904,45,3201-32,101
455/423,424,671.1
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
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| 6519452 | Feb., 2003 | Agostino et al.
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| 6539082 | Mar., 2003 | Lowe et al.
| |
| 6788933 | Sep., 2004 | Boehmke et al.
| |
| 2001/0032170 | Oct., 2001 | Sheth.
| |
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| 2002/0072358 | Jun., 2002 | Schneider et al.
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| |
Other References
U.S. Appl. No. 09/746,504,filed Dec. 22, 2000.
U.S. Appl. No. 09/746,502, filed Dec. 22, 2000.
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|
Primary Examiner: Kuntz; Curtis
Assistant Examiner: Taylor; Barry
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Withers & Keys, LLC
Claims
1. A method for capturing call processing failures in a telecommunication system
occurring at a telecommunication switch control processor as the failures occur, comprising:
establishing a communication link between a computing system and the telecommunication
system;
the computing system continually capturing, in real-time, call processing failure
data occurring at the telecommunication switch control processor, wherein the call
processing failure data includes parameters relating to a dropped call transaction
between a transmitting telecommunication device and a receiving telecommunication
device;
continuously analyzing on a cumulative basis, in real-time, the captured call
processing failure data and determining if a predetermined condition is met; and
storing the captured call processing failure data to the storage device.
2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising providing the call processing
failure data to an output device coupled to the computing system.
3. The method according to claim 2, wherein providing the captured data to an
output device includes providing the captured data to any output device selected
from the group consisting of a monitor, a printer, a modem, a computer, a plotter,
a logic circuit adapted for sending electronic mail and a facsimile device.
4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the captured data are provided to
the output device in response to user-selected criteria.
5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the captured data are provided to
the output device formatted according to the user-selected criteria.
6. The method according to claim 1, wherein establishing a communication link
includes establishing a TCP/IP communication link.
7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising filtering the incoming
call processing failure data in accordance with a predetermined parameter.
8. The method according to claim 1, wherein establishing the communication link
is performed by a first set of logic instructions executed by the computing system
and continually receiving the captured data is performed by a second set of logic
instructions executed by the computing system.
9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the first set of logic instructions
are executed by the second set of logic instructions.
10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising monitoring the execution
of one or more sets of logic instructions being executed by the computing system
by a predetermined set of logic instructions.
11. The method according to claim 10, wherein monitoring the execution of one
or more sets of logic instructions includes determining whether call processing
failures are being captured and received continuously.
12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising broadcasting a paging
signal if the predetermined condition is met.
13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
maintaining the call processing failure data; and
logging administration data associated with the captured call processing data
to the storage device.
14. A system for capturing call processing failures in a telecommunication system
occurring at a telecommunication switch control processor as the failures occur, comprising:
a computing system adapted for communicating with the telecommunication system,
the computing system including one or more computers having one or more processors
for executing logic instructions;
a memory associated with the computing system for storing the instructions;
a storage device adapted for communicating with the computing system for storing
data; and
a communication device associated with the computing system for establishing
a communication link between the computing system and the telecommunication system;
wherein the logic instructions are executed by the computing system and cause
the one or more processors to:
establish a communication link between the computing system and the telecommunication
system;
continually capture, in real-time, call processing failure data occurring at
the telecommunication switch control processor, wherein the call processing failure
data includes parameters relating to a dropped call transaction between a transmitting
telecommunication device and a receiving telecommunication device;
continuously analyze on a cumulative basis, in real-time, the captured call processing
failure data and determine if a predetermined condition is met; and
store the captured call processing failure data to the storage device.
15. The system according to claim 14, further comprising a server adapted for
communicating with the computing system, the server having a second memory for
storing logic instructions to be executed by the server and a second storage device
for storing call processing data associated with the telecommunication switch control processor.
16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the server includes a structured
query language server.
17. The system according to claim 14, further comprising an output device adapted
to be coupled to the computing system for receiving the call processing failure data.
18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the output device is selected from
the group consisting of a monitor, a printer, a modem, a computer, a plotter, a
logic circuit adapted for sending electronic mail and a facsimile device.
19. The system according to claim 17, further comprising means for receiving
user-selected criteria and means for providing the captured data to the output
device in response to the user-selected criteria.
20. The system according to claim 19, further comprising means for determining
the user-selected criteria and providing the captured data to the output device
formatted according to the user-selected criteria.
21. The system according to claim 14, wherein the communication device is adapted
for establishing a TCP/IP communication link.
22. The system according to claim 14, further comprising filter means for processing
the incoming call processing failure data in accordance with a predetermined parameter.
23. The system according to claim 14, wherein establishing the communication
link is performed by a first set of logic instructions executed by the computing
system and continually receiving the captured data is performed by a second set
of logic instructions executed by the computing system.
24. The system according to claim 22, wherein the first set of logic instructions
monitors the execution of the second set of logic instructions.
25. The system according to claim 14, wherein a logic portion for monitoring
the execution of one or more sets of logic instructions is executed by the computing
system by a predetermined set of logic instructions.
26. The system according to claim 25, wherein the logic portion for monitoring
the execution of one or more sets of logic instructions includes a second logic
portion for determining whether call processing failures are being captured and
received continuously.
27. The system according to claim 14, further comprising a logic portion for
broadcasting a paging signal if the predetermined condition is met.
28. The system according to claim 14, further comprising:
a first logic portion for maintaining the call processing failure data; and
a second logic portion for logging administration data associated with the captured
call processing data to the storage device.
29. The system according to claim 14, wherein the logic instructions executed
by the computing system cause the one or more processors to filter the captured data.
30. An apparatus for capturing call processing failures in a telecommunication
system occurring at a telecommunication switch control processor as the failures
occur, comprising:
a computer adapted for communicating with the telecommunication system, the computer
having one or more processors to execute logic instructions associated with one
or more computer software programs, a memory for storing the logic instructions,
and a storage device coupled to the computer;
a first adapter coupled to the computer for interfacing the computer to a server;
a second adapter coupled to the computer for continually capturing call processing
failure data at the telecommunication switch control processor; and
a communication device coupled to the computer for establishing a communication
link between the computer and the telecommunication system;
wherein the logic instructions cause the one or more processors to:
establish a communication link with the telecommunication system;
continually capture, in real-time, call processing failure data at the telecommunication
switch control processor, wherein the call processing failure data includes parameters
relating to a dropped call transaction between a transmitting telecommunication
device and a receiving telecommunication device;
continuously analyze on a cumulative basis, in real-time, the captured call processing
failure data and determine if a predetermined condition is met; and
store the call processing failure data in the storage device.
31. The apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the communication device is
adapted for establishing a TCP/IP communication link between the computer and the
telecommunication system.
32. The apparatus according to claim 30, further comprising an output device
coupled to the computer.
33. The apparatus according to claim 32, wherein the output device is selected
from the group consisting of a monitor, a printer, a modem, a computer, a plotter,
a logic circuit adapted for sending electronic mail and a facsimile device.
34. A system for capturing call processing failures in a telecommunication system
occurring at a telecommunication switch control processor as the failures occur, comprising:
computing system means adapted for communicating with the telecommunication system,
the computing system means including one or more computer means having one or more
computer processing means for executing logic instructions;
memory means associated with the computing system means for storing the instructions;
means for storing data adapted for communicating with the computing system means;
and
communication means associated with the computing system means for establishing
a communication link between the computing system means and the telecommunication
system;
wherein the logic instructions are executed by the computing system means and
cause the one or more computer processing means to:
establish a communication link between the computing system means and the telecommunication
system;
continually capture, in real-time, call processing failure data occurring at
the telecommunication switch control processor, wherein the call processing failure
data includes parameters relating to a dropped call transaction between a transmitting
telecommunication device and a receiving telecommunication device;
continuously analyze on a cumulative basis, in real-time, the captured call processing
failure data and determine if a predetermined condition is met; and
store the captured call processing failure data in the storage means.
35. The system according to claim 34, further comprising server means in communication
with the computer system means.
36. The system according to claim 34, further comprising output means coupled
to the computer system means.
37. A computer readable medium having a set of computer instructions encoded
thereon, comprising:
the set of computer instructions being operative with a computer adapted for
communicating with a telecommunication system and adapted for communicating with
a storage device, the set of computer instructions cause the computer to:
establish a communication link between the computer and the telecommunication
system;
continually capture, in real-time, call processing failure data at a telecommunication
switch control processor, wherein the call processing failure data includes parameters
relating to a dropped call transaction between a transmitting telecommunication
device and a receiving telecommunication device;
continuously analyze on a cumulative basis, in real-time, the captured call processing
failure data and determine if a predetermined condition is met; and
store the data in the storage device.
38. The computer readable medium according to claim 37, further comprising computer
instructions stored thereon that cause the computer to broadcast a paging signal
in accordance with a predetermined set of conditions.
39. The computer readable medium according to claim 37, further comprising computer
instructions stored thereon that cause the computer to maintain and log administrative
data to the storage device.
40. The computer readable medium according to claim 37, further comprising a
set of computer instructions stored thereon that cause the computer to establish
a TCP/IP communication link between the computer and the telecommunication system.
Description
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Not Applicable.
BACKGROUND
1. Technical Field
The system, method and apparatus relate generally to telecommunications. More
particularly, the system, method and apparatus relate to capturing and processing
call processing failures occurring at a telephone switch control processor.
2. Description of Related Art
Related art systems provide data and processes, such as computer software
programs, in multiple databases, spreadsheets and other files that are not interrelated,
interconnected or in communication with each other. Accordingly, users of such
data and processes on a distributed network are unable to execute the software
programs and access the data on a real-time basis. For example, such users are
unable to access modifications to the data or upgrades to the software programs.
Furthermore, such users are unable to access changes to data which may have an
effect on the user's function or processes made by others, on a real-time basis.
There are no known related art systems that provide real-time access to a network-organized
repository of data and processes, such as software programs, within a distributed
data and processes information system.
Telecommunication systems generally employ switches that establish
and release connections between two or more communication circuits. Generally,
a control processor is utilized to control the operation of one or more telecommunication
switches in a given geographic region. The control processor may be utilized to
control the operation of one or more digital cellular switches deployed in a particular
telecommunication system in a given city. Different geographic regions can generally
deploy one or more telecommunication switches that are in turn controlled by a
telecommunication switch control processor.
Failures that occur during a telecommunication transaction can be tracked
by generating a failure message at the telecommunication switch control processor.
Such failure messages generated at the telecommunication switch control processor
are referred to as call processing failures occurring at the telecommunication
switch control processor.
In general, related art systems provide reports of such call processing failures
occurring at the telecommunication switch control processor. The reports are useful
to a telecommunication system performance evaluation team for purposes of evaluating
the overall operation of the telecommunication system. In accordance with the reports,
the performance evaluation team will generally take remedial actions based on an
analysis of the cell processing the failure data. However, in related art telecommunication
systems, such reports are normally available only for the previous day and are
not available substantially concurrently with the occurrence of a failure. There
are no known systems that allow a telecommunication system performance evaluation
team to receive and evaluate reports of call processing failures occurring at the
telephone switch control processor on a real-time basis. Accordingly, the performance
evaluation team cannot take the necessary remedial action in response to the call
processing failure on a real-time basis.
Failures that occur during a telecommunication transaction can also be tracked
by generating a failure message at the digital cellular switch. Such failure messages
generated at the digital cellular switch are referred to as call processing failures
occurring at the digital cellular switch.
In general, related art systems provide such digital cellular switch failure
reports.
The reports are useful to a telecommunication system performance evaluation team
for purposes of evaluating the overall operation of the telecommunication system.
In accordance with the reports, the performance evaluation team will generally
take remedial actions based on an analysis of the call processing failure data.
However, in related art telecommunication systems, such reports are normally available
only for the previous day and are not available substantially concurrently with
the occurrence of a failure. There are no known systems that allow a telecommunication
system performance evaluation team to evaluate reports of call processing failures
occurring at the digital cellular switch on a real-time basis. Accordingly, the
performance evaluation team cannot take the necessary remedial action in response
to the call processing failure on a real-time basis.
Telecommunication transaction records (call records) generally
are collected from mobile telephone subscribers and used for various purposes.
For example, the call records can be used for billing purposes, for tracking illegal
activity, for troubleshooting the telecommunication system and the like. Related
art methods and systems can obtain call records through either the billing system
or by searching through every telecommunication switch on the system.
Searching for telephone call records in the billing system has several
drawbacks. One drawback of such a system is that it could take days or weeks to
obtain the call records.
Another related art method and system obtains the call records by searching
within every telecommunication switch throughout the telecommunication system.
The drawback with searching the switches for call records is that a user must perform
the searching function at every existing switch. Accordingly, it may take up to
2-4 hours or more in order to obtain a complete set of call records at the central
office. Another drawback of searching at every telecommunication switch location
is that telephone call records are available at the switch insofar as there is
adequate disk storage available at the switch. For example, generally, a switch
only holds 3 to 4 days' worth of call records in its storage disk. Any call record
older than 3 to 4 days would generally not be available to the user.
There are no known related art systems that can provide telephone call records
on a real-time basis. For example, there are no known methods or systems that collect
all incoming call records in real-time from mobile telecommunication devices of
various subscribers of the telecommunication system. Furthermore, there are no
known related art systems or methods that make the call records available to a
user in real-time. As an example, real-time means substantially concurrently with
the telecommunication device hanging up. In general, within 10-15 seconds of the
telecommunication device hanging up, the call records become available for the
user to review and manipulate. In addition, there are no known related art systems
or methods that store the call records for longer than about 3 to 5 days.
Related art telecommunication methods and systems for collecting and communicating
court-ordered requests of call records were found to be undependable. Such methods
and systems collect transactional call records requested by court order and a telecommunication
switch sends the call records to an agency that is responsible for managing and
processing the court orders. However, if any problems are encountered within the
telecommunication system, the call records are lost and cannot be communicated
to the responsible agency.
There are no known methods or systems that filter incoming call records from
a call record database associated with a court order and automatically communicate
those call records, either by way of electronic mail (e-mail) message or by way
of facsimile transmission, to the agency responsible for generating the court-ordered
request. Also, there are no known methods or systems that make the call records
available even if the court-ordered request is generated after the fact.
Related art systems are unable to obtain real-time telecommunication cell-specific
information during call outages or emergencies. There are no known methods or systems
that allow users to obtain up-to-date real-time information associated with a cellular
telephone network when needed.
Related art systems are unable to obtain information regarding the deployment
of cellular telecommunication sites on a real-time basis. For example, related
systems are generally not updated with current information until a deployment project
team meets at periodic intervals. In the meantime, deployment project team members
are generally unaware of the status of the deployment project until a meeting is
held. Accordingly, there is a need for a real-time process that is able to provide
deployment project members with real-time up-to-date project information substantially
instantaneously once it is entered into the process. Furthermore, there is a need
for a process that eliminates the need for maintaining separate databases spread
out across various project teams and updating the separate databases.
There are no known related art processes that can provide project teams members
with real-time up to date project information once that information is entered
into the process. There are no known processes that eliminate the need for maintaining
separate databases spread out across various project teams and updating the separate
databases. For example the MICROSOFT PROJECT™ process does not provide the
type of benefits required for obtaining up to date real-time information associated
with the deployment of cellular telecommunication network sites. There are no known
related art systems that interact with a user's or project team's electronic mail
system to provide real-time information such that when a user executes instructions
associated with the process they are made aware of any changes in project status
on a real-time basis and they are provided with access to the updated project data
on a real-time basis.
In addition, there are no known related art systems or methods that provide auto
down streaming, such that if a user changes a project variable such as a date,
the process can automatically change downstream dates. Also, there are no known
related art systems that provide the user with an electronic mail message if a
particular project variable is edited or has been satisfied. There are no known
related art systems that allow a user to obtain up to date real-time information
associated with the deployment of cellular telecommunication network sites.
SUMMARY
In accordance with the invention the limitations of the related art described
above and other limitations that will become apparent upon reading and understanding
the present specification are overcome by providing a system, method and apparatus
for capturing and collecting telecommunication call processing failures occurring
at a telephone switch control processor on a real-time basis. The invention further
provides a system, method and apparatus for capturing such telecommunication call
processing failures occurring at the telephone switch control processor on a real-time
basis, performing an analysis on such failures and presenting reports of such failures.
One aspect of the invention provides a method for capturing call processing failures
in a telecommunication system occurring at a telecommunication switch control processor
as the failures occur. The method includes, in a computing system configured to
be in communication with the telecommunication system, the computing system including
one or more computers having one or more processors for executing logic instructions
and a memory for storing the instructions and a storage device for storing data,
the logic instructions are executed for: establishing a communication link between
the computing system and the telecommunication system; the computing system continually
capturing call processing failure data occurring at the telecommunication switch
control processor; and storing the captured call processing failure data to the
storage device.
Another aspect of the invention provides a system for capturing call processing
failures in a telecommunication system occurring at a telecommunication switch
control processor as the failures occur. The system includes a computing system
adapted for communicating with the telecommunication system, the computing system
including one or more computers having one or more processors for executing logic
instructions; a memory associated with the computing system for storing the instructions;
a storage device adapted for communicating with the computing system for storing
data; and a communication device associated with the computing system for establishing
a communication link between the computing system and the telecommunication system.
The logic instructions are executed by the computing system and cause the one or
more processors to: establish a communication link between the computing system
and the telecommunication system; continually capture call processing failure data
occurring at the telecommunication switch control processor; and store the captured
call processing failure data to the storage device.
A further aspect of the invention provides an apparatus for capturing call processing
failures in a telecommunication system occurring at a telecommunication switch
control processor as the failures occur. The apparatus includes a computer adapted
for communicating with the telecommunication system, the computer having one or
more processors to execute logic instructions associated with one or more computer
software programs and a memory for storing the logic instructions; an adapter coupled
to the computer for interfacing the computer to a server; an adapter coupled to
the computer for continually capturing call processing failure data at the telecommunication
switch control processor; and a communication device coupled to the computer for
establishing a communication link to computer and the telecommunication system.
Yet a further aspect of the invention provides a system for capturing call processing
failures in a telecommunication system occurring at a telecommunication switch
control processor as the failures occur. The system includes computing system means
adapted for communicating with the telecommunication system, the computing system
means including one or more computer means having one or more computer processing
for executing logic instructions; memory means associated with the computing system
means for storing the instructions; means for storing data adapted for communicating
with the computing system means; and communication means associated with the computing
system means for establishing a communication link between the computing system
means and the telecommunication system. The logic instructions are executed by
the computing system means and cause the one or more computer processing means
to: establish a communication link between the computing system means and the telecommunication
system; continually capture call processing failure data occurring at the telecommunication
switch control processor; and store the captured call processing failure data to
the storage means.
Still a further aspect of the invention provides a computer readable medium
having a set of computer instructions encoded thereon. The computer readable medium
includes the set of computer instructions being operative with a computer adapted
for communicating with a telecommunication system and adapted for communicating
with a storage device, the set of computer instructions cause the computer to:
establish a communication link between the computer and the telecommunication system;
continually capture call processing failure data at a telecommunication switch
control processor; and store the data in the storage device.
These and various other features of novelty as well as advantages that characterize
the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and
form a part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, reference
should be made to the drawings which form a further part hereof, and to accompanying
descriptive matter, in which there are illustrated and described specific examples
of the system, method and apparatus in accordance with the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numbers represent
corresponding parts throughout, where:
FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a computing system having one or more computers
in communication via a network to perform logical operations;
FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a hardware environment of a general-purpose
computer to perform the logical operations;
FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a logic flow diagram;
FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a distributed information management system;
FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a diagram of a telecommunication switch;
FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a distributed information management system;
FIG. 7A illustrates one embodiment of a representation of a call record of a
telecommunications system;
FIG. 7B illustrates one embodiment of an output display of a table;
FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a logic flow diagram for monitoring and
capturing telecommunication system data;
FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of a logic flow diagram for communicating
and managing telecommunication system data;
FIG. 10 illustrates one embodiment of a logic flow diagram for processing court-ordered
surveillance information;
FIG. 11A illustrates a related art system for processing court-ordered requests;
FIG. 11B illustrates one embodiment of a system for processing court-ordered
requests; and
FIG. 12 illustrates one embodiment of a logic flow diagram for obtaining information
associated with a telecommunication system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the following description of the specific embodiments, reference is made to
the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and which show by way of illustration
the specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. In the accompanying
drawings, like reference numbers represent corresponding parts throughout the several
views. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized as structural
changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.
I. Distributed Information System for Data and Processes
The distributed information system for data and processes in accordance with
one embodiment of the invention includes one or more databases and processes, such
as computer software programs, that share a common database. In one embodiment,
the distributed information system for data and processes can utilize a structured
query language (SQL) common database for providing a distributed database management
system. For example, a MICROSOFT SQL™ server can be used to provide a common
database function whereby a plurality of general-purpose computers in communication
with the SQL server can carry out the manipulation of data stored on the SQL server
while the SQL server performs other operations associated with the distributed
database management system. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the SQL
server can be coupled to or be in communication with one or more storage devices
for storing data or computer software programs. In accordance with one embodiment
of the invention, any changes that are made to a particular set of data by the
one or more computer software programs in one process, or by one or more users,
are reflected into and are accessible by other computer software programs within
the distributed information system on a real-time basis.
Referring now to FIG. 1, where one embodiment of one set of components
that can be used to carry out the system, method and apparatus is illustrated in
diagram form. In one embodiment, the system components comprising the distributed
information system
10 include an application server
12, a shared
server
14, a database server
16, a general-purpose computer
18
and a workstation
26. The application server
12 provides access to
one or more computer software programs
20 stored therein or stored in a
database
22 in communication with the application server
12. Further
in one embodiment, the application server
12 is in communication with one
or more other components of the other distributed information system
10,
such as the shared server
14, the database server
16, the general-purpose
computer
18 and the workstation
26, for example. The one or more
system components also can communicate with each other via well-known communications
hardware and software. Still further in one embodiment, the one or more system
components can be interconnected in a network
24 configuration in accordance
with various well-known network topologies. For example, the components of the
distributed information system
10 can be interconnected in a bus topology,
ring topology, a star topology or combinations thereof. Those skilled in the art
will appreciate that any one these network topologies, or combinations thereof,
can provide an adequate implementation of the system, method and apparatus.
The general-purpose computer
18, the shared server
14, the database
server
16 and the workstation
26 can each execute the computer software
programs
20 stored in the application server
12 or programs that
are stored in the database
22 depending on the specific implementation.
In one embodiment, the general-purpose computer
18 can perform the function
of the workstation
26 or other computing systems without departing from
the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the general-purpose
computer
18 can be provided with various peripherals in communication with
or coupled thereto. For example, the general-purpose computer
18 can be
coupled to an optical disk drive
28 for reading and writing instructions
or data to be used by the general-purpose computer
18. Moreover, a tape
drive
30 can be coupled to the general-purpose computer
18 for storing
data and processes for backup purposes, for example. In addition, a storage device
32, such as a floppy disk drive or hard disk drive can be coupled to the
general-purpose computer
18 for storing instructions and data to be used
by the general-purpose computer
18. Instructions and/or data can be provided
to the general-purpose computer
18 via a removable storage medium
34.
A communication device
36 such as a modem can also be provided with the
general-purpose computer
18 to serve various communication purposes. Also,
an output device
38, such as a printer, or a monitor
44, can be provided
in communication with or coupled to the general-purpose computer
18 for
providing the user with reports and the like.
In use, a user operating the general-purpose computer
18 sends a request
to access the one or more computer software programs
20 from the application
server
12. Such computer software programs
20 can then be delivered
to the general-purpose computer
18, the shared server
14, the database
server
16 or the workstation
26 for execution thereon. Accordingly,
any changes that are made by the user operating the general-purpose computers
18
in communication with the network
24 to any of the programs
20 or
data residing within the databases
22 distributed throughout the distributed
information system
10, will be available and accessible by the other system
components and users. Those skilled in the art will appreciate, that if more than
one general-purpose computers
18 are interconnected in a network
24,
changes to the database
22 made by one user operating one general-purpose
computer will be available and accessible to any other user operating any other
general-purpose computer
18 in communication with the network
24
on a real-time basis (e.g., substantially instantaneously).
One embodiment of a hardware environment of a general-purpose computer
18,
a distributed information system
10, a telecommunication switch and a switch-master,
whereby the instructions of computer software program
20 can be executed
by, or interact with, are described below. Furthermore, specific embodiments of
the computer software programs
20, such as program
20 for receiving
and capturing call processing failures and digital cellular switch failures, communicating
and managing telecommunication call records, processing court-ordered surveillance
requests, obtaining real-time information associated with a network and tracking
the deployment of telecommunication network sites on a real-time basis also are
described below.
II. General-Purpose Computer
Referring now to FIG. 2, one embodiment of a hardware environment of a
general-purpose computer
18 provided for executing one or more computer
software program
20 instructions is shown in diagram form. The general-purpose
computer
18 can be, for example, an IBM-compatible computer that operates
under the control of a number of operating systems. For example, the general-purpose
computer
18 may operate under a DOS, OS/2, WINDOWS, WINDOWS NT, UNIX, XENIX,
LINUX or PICK operating systems, among others, that are generally well known to
those skilled in the art.
In one embodiment, the general-purpose computer
18 can include one or
more
peripherals that are coupled to or are in communication with the general-purpose
computer
18. For example, the general-purpose computer
18 can include
several input devices such as a mouse
40 or a keyboard
42. Furthermore,
the general-purpose computer
18 can include several output devices such
as a monitor
44, a printer
38 or a plotter. In addition, the general-purpose
computer
18 can include several communication devices such as, for example,
a modem
36.
The general-purpose computer
18 can also be adapted to be coupled to or
in communication with one or more other general-purpose computers distributed throughout
the distributed information system
10. For example, the one or more general-purpose
computers can be interconnected or configured as a network
24. As discussed
above, the network topology can be a bus topology, a ring topology, a star topology
or combinations thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. Those
skilled in the art will appreciate that any one of these network topologies, or
combinations thereof, can provide an adequate network implementation for the system,
method and apparatus. Still other peripherals may be coupled to the general-purpose
computer
18 such as, for example, a storage device
32 such as a hard
disk drive or floppy disk drive, an optical disk drive
28, a tape drive
30 and the like. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the above
list of peripherals is not exhaustive and that other peripherals may be utilized
in conjunction with the general-purpose computer
18 without departing from
the scope of the invention.
The general-purpose computer
18 also can include several other components
known generally to those skilled in the art as the motherboard, interfaces, adapters
and controllers. For example, a network adapter
45 may be utilized to provide
a communication means or to couple the general-purpose computer
18 to one
or more other general-purpose computers, one or more workstations, or more mainframe
computers or servers distributed throughout the distributed information system
10. Also, a parallel interface
46 may be provided for coupling the
general-purpose computer
18 to various printers
38 and plotters.
Furthermore, a serial interface
48 may be provided for interfacing a communication
device, such as a modem
36 to the general-purpose computer
18. In
addition, a video graphics adapter
50 may be utilized to couple the general-purpose
computer
18 to the monitor
44. Moreover, a storage device controller
52, e.g., a hard disk drive controller, a floppy disk drive controller or
an optical disk drive controller, may be utilized for controlling the hard disk/floppy
disk drive
32, the optical disk drive
28, and the like.
The motherboard of the general-purpose computer can include one or more central
processing units
52 and one or more memory devices
54 for storing
the instructions of software programs to be executed by the central processing
unit
52 for carrying out a particular algorithm or function. The one or
more central processing units
52 may be custom manufactured for a specific
application at hand, or may be selected from a wide variety of processors and controllers
that are generally available on the market and well known to those skilled in the
art. For example, single chip or multi-chip processors manufactured by the INTEL
CORPORATION including the 8051, 80386, 80486, PENTIUM and PENTIUM PRO family of
processors can be used. In addition, single chip or multi-chip processors manufactured
by the MOTOROLA CORPORATION including the MC68000 and MC68040 can be utilized.
Further, various clones of the above listed processors that are readily available
on the market can be used. For example, processors manufactured by ADVANCED MICRO
DEVICES (AMD), CIRYX, C&T and IBM can be readily adapted and utilized as the central
processing unit
52 for the general-purpose computer
18.
The general-purpose computer
18 can also act as a workstation
26
whether it be in a standalone configuration or interconnected in the network
24.
In addition, workstations
26 requiring additional performance may utilize
reduced instruction set computing (RISC) architecture processors and one or more
SPARC central processing units
52 such as those manufactured by SPARC INTERNATIONAL,
INC., SUN MICROSYSTEMS, INC., the POWER PC™ by MOTOROLA, the AMD 29000™,
and the like.
Memory devices
54 such as random access memories (RAM), read only memories
(ROM) and erasable programmable read only memories (EPROM) are generally used for
storing the instructions of the software programs
20 to be executed by the
central processing unit
52 of the general-purpose computer
18 for
carrying out specific algorithms or functions. These memory devices
54 are
well known to those skilled in the art and are available in a wide range of configurations
and from a wide variety of manufacturers. Those skilled in the art will appreciate
and recognize that the above recitation of central processing units
52 and
memory devices
54 is not exhaustive and that others may be substituted without
departing from the scope of the invention.
III. Network Organized Repository of Data
Referring now to FIG. 3, where one embodiment of a logic flow diagram
19
of a network organized repository of data is shown in logic diagram form. At logic
block
21, one or more computer software programs
20 are stored in
a shared database
22. At logic block
23, data are also stored in
the shared database
22. At decision block
25, it is determined whether
a user, a process or a computer has requested access to the programs
20
or data that are stored in the shared database
22. If access to the programs
20 is requested, at logic block
27 the user is permitted access to
a selected program
20 stored in the shared database
22. At decision
block
29, it is determined whether the user has modified the program
20.
If the program has not been modified, the logic flow returns to the previous process.
However, if the selected program
20 is modified in any way, at logic block
31, any changes or modifications that are made to the program
20
are reflected in the other programs
20 that are stored in the database
22.
Furthermore, at logic block
33, the changes made to the programs
20
stored in the database
22 are made available to every other program on the
distributed information system
10 on a real-time basis.
If, at logic block
25, access to data is requested, at block
35
the user is provided with access to the data stored in the database
22.
If the data are modified, as determined at block
37, at block
39
the modifications made to the requested data are reflected in all other data stored
in the database
22. At block
41, the changes made to the data stored
in the database are made available on the distributed information system
10
on a real-time basis.
IV. Telecommunication Distributed Database Management System
Referring now to FIG. 4, where one embodiment of the distributed information
system
10 is illustrated which can be utilized as part of a telecommunication
distributed database management system
56. In one embodiment, the general-purpose
computer
18 can be in communication with one or more other general-purpose
computers configured and adapted as the database server
16 component of
the telecommunication distributed database management system
56. The database
server
16 can be configured as a distributed database management server
for creating, maintaining and viewing database data. Those skilled in the art will
appreciate that, in addition to the data, the database
22" can also include
one or more computer software programs
20 therein.
In one embodiment, the database server
16 of the telecommunication distributed
database management system
56 can utilize a structured query language (SQL)
database for creating, viewing and maintaining database data. MICROSOFT, ORACLE,
GUPTA, INFORMIX, POWERSOFT, ORACLE and SYBASE can all supply SQL databases, for
example. Accordingly, the database server
16 can implement an SQL database
server such that one or more general-purpose computers
18, workstations
26 or other servers can access and manipulate the data stored in the database
22" that is accessible by the database server
16. In addition, the
database server
16 can manage and coordinate the data stored in the database
22 while also performing calculations locally. For example, as discussed
above, the database server
16 can be comprised of a general-purpose computer
18 or workstation
26 that includes one or more central processing
units
52 for executing instructions according to one or more software programs
20 and a memory
54 for storing such instructions. The database server
16 also can be configured and adapted to perform additional functions and
execute additional algorithms in addition to manipulating data within the database
22".
For example, in one embodiment, the database server
16 can execute instructions
of a software program
20 for carrying out tasks such as managing the storage
and retrieval of database
22" data, generating reports, displaying data,
transmitting data to one or more peripheral devices such as printers
38,
plotters, facsimiles, modems
36 and other similar devices. In addition,
in one embodiment, the database server
16 can execute instructions of one
or more software programs
20 for carrying out tasks such as transmitting
database data or specific reports to one or more other general-purpose computers
18 or workstations
26 that are in communication therewith.
Further, in one embodiment, the database server
16 can execute instructions
of one or more software programs
20 for carrying out tasks such as communicating
database
22" data or reports to one or more other computer software programs
20 whose instructions are executed on other general-purpose computers across
the telecommunication distributed database management system
56. In addition,
the database server
16 can execute instructions of one or more software
programs
20 for carrying out tasks such as sending database data or reports
to a network address or electronic mail (e-mail) address in response to a query
or in response to a predetermined set of conditions. Still further in one embodiment,
the database server
16, or for example any one of the one or more general-purpose
computers
18 in communication with the network
24, can execute instructions
of a software program
20 for carrying out the function of broadcasting a
wireless signal to be received by one or more users carrying a wireless device
or to be received by other devices having incorporated therein a device in response
to a predetermined set of conditions. Those skilled in the art will appreciate
that the wireless device can be, for example, a pager receiving a paging signal.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that the above-enumerated tasks to be performed
by the database server
16 can be performed by other components within the
telecommunication distributed database management system
56. Also, such
tasks are illustrative in nature are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
V. Telephone Switch
In one embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 4, a telecommunication switch
58
provides a communication path or circuit between a transmitting telecommunication
device and a receiving telecommunication device, and vice-versa. Those skilled
in the art will appreciate that the transmitting and receiving telecommunication
devices include telephones (e.g., mobile or cellular) pagers or the like. The communication
path or circuit remains in place for the duration of the transaction between the
transmitting and the receiving devices. The switch
58 can process various
signal types. For example, the switch can process voice (e.g., digital and analog
voice), data, text, images and the like. As described herein, the telecommunication
switch
58 can be associated with both wireless and wireline telecommunication
devices. Furthermore, in one embodiment of, the telecommunication switch
58
can refer to an electronic switching office that switches calls from a cellular
telephone to a wireline telephone or a digital cellular switch. The telecommunication
switch
58 also can perform such tasks as controlling the handoff of transactions
between cells in a cellular network and monitoring various transaction parameters.
For example, the telecommunication switch
58 can provide telephone usage,
cell monitoring data or transactional data, hereinafter referred to as call records
62, to various components of the telecommunication distributed database
management system
56. The call records
62 are generated by telecommunication
devices, for example from cellular telephones owned by subscribers
144.
One embodiment of the telecommunication switch
58 also can include a storage
device
60, for example it can include a tape drive, a hard drive, a disk
drive or optical drive for the local storage of various call records
62.
An electronic control processor
64 (ECP) can be provided within the system
for controlling the telecommunication switch
58. The ECP
64 can control
the operation of one or more telecommunication switches
58 servicing a particular
geographic region. For example, each geographic region near a major metropolitan
area will generally have one or more ECP's
64 for controlling the operation
of one or more telecommunication switches
58. In one embodiment, the data
emerging from the ECP
62 include AMA records. AMA records are automatic
message accounting records, which is another name for call records.
Furthermore, the ECP
64 can be configured to send a feed out
to a switch-master
66 for clone detect
