Computational modelling — UPT split charging management case

Abstract

This paper addresses modelling of telecommunications service management applications in a distributed environment. The modelling approach is based on ISO Open Distributed Processing (ODP) and Telecommunications Information Networking Architecture Consortium (TTNA-C) but is also harmonised with TMN modelling. ODP structures a specification of a distributed system according to five viewpoints. The relationships between management requirements in the enterprise viewpoint and concepts in the computational viewpoint have been identified in the paper. The concept of ‘activity’ has been found very useful for describing particular use cases (dynamics) of the system in the computational viewpoint. No syntax has so far been proposed for the specification of activities. In this paper a graphical syntax for activities is defined. Methods to guide the specifications work is considered important due to the complexity of the ODP/TTNA-C approach, and therefore a modelling method for the computational viewpoint has been proposed since no complete method exists so far. As a case a computational specification is presented for the management of a flexible charging schema such as the split charging in the context of the Universal Personal Telecommunications Service.