CCN

Charging Control Node a Complete

Reference Book

By Sheheryar Obaid

Sheheryar Obaid 1
Scope and Expectations
Scope of the presentation is
◦ To give a complete overview of CCN
◦ To focus on the O & M concepts and techniques of CCN
◦ To present the topics so that they could be used as a
reference and guide
◦ Topics are divided into chapters with well defined
objectives
Expectation from you are
◦ To be interactive and engage in discussions
◦ Ask question as much as you want
◦ Give compliments at the end of the show to improve
the quality of future presentations
◦ Expect you to further explore the things taught in the
presentation and share the knowledge

Sheheryar Obaid 2
Contents
Ericsson Architecture
◦ The Architecture of Ericsson Charging System 5
◦ Brief intro of different Entities and their functions
CCN Introduction
◦ Introduction to TSP and NSP
◦ Explanation of CCF
◦ Interfaces and Protocols (CIP)
◦ Traffic Cases
CCN O&M
◦ Complete O&M of Ericsson CCN
◦ Including Fault, Performance and SS7
Management, B&R and Statistics

Sheheryar Obaid 3
A brief introduction of CS 5.0

CHARGING SYSTEM
5.0 ARCHITECTURE

Sheheryar Obaid 4
OBJECTIVES
After this chapter we will be able to

Name all the Network Entities in CS

5 Environment
Describe each node and its
functionality in a CS 5 Environment
Identify the connectivity of each NE
in a CS 5 environment

Sheheryar Obaid 5
CS5.0
CS5.0 is the latest charging system offered by Ericsson
 Serving more than 850 million users and 160 service providers
CS5.0 has a “decoupled/modular/distributed
architecture”
 Separates traffic plane from administration plane
Every function of an IN Network has been assigned a
separate node
 SDP ---- SDP
 SEP ----- SDP
 SCP ---- CCN
 SMP ---- MINSAT
 IP ---- IVR
The ultimate goal of CS is to provide convergent
charging
 Charging of every service in one single system

Sheheryar Obaid 6
 Architecture of
CS5

Figure showing all the NEs of CS5

Sheheryar Obaid 7
 Brief Intro of NEs
Network Description
Element
CCN Maintains charging session with the core
network and SDP
VXML/IVR Standalone IVR, announcements and
handling of IVR traffic towards AIR
SDP Subscriber Database, Rating, USSD and SMS
notifications
MINSAT Mobile IN Subscriber Administration Tool
CRS Storage of CDRs, generation of reports
AIR-AF Interface for 3PPs to perform refills,
adjustments or enquiries on account
balance – AF locates SDP (DNS)
VS Vouchers administration and authentication

Sheheryar Obaid 8
Introduction to the heart, mind and soul of CCN

CCN INTRODUCTION

Sheheryar Obaid 9
OBJECTIVES
After this chapter we will be able to

Explain what CCN is, its functions and services

Describe the architecture and interfaces of CCN
Explain what is TSP and its characteristics
Describe TelORB and its role
Describe what CCF is and its function
Describe NSP and different types of processors
Describe what is CIP and perform CAP to CIP
conversion
Describe different Traffic scenarios

Sheheryar Obaid 10
Introduction to CCN
CCN is an interface of Ericsson Charging
System 5.0 towards core network
◦ Can Handle all kinds of SS7 incoming requests
MOC, MTC, SMS, DATA, Diameter, ERTC
Primary function of CCN is to “facilitate”
real time charging and convert all the
incoming protocols to CIP for SDP
◦ CCN does not maintain user accounts nor does
it perform RTC
CCN works as a relay towards SDP
◦ Barring lists, Normalizing Numbers, Converting
Parameters, Finding right SDP

Sheheryar Obaid 11
What is CCN
CCN is a charging application built on Telecom
Server Platform implemented on Dicos OS
Primarily it works as a relay towards SDP (as SDP
only understands CIP)
Different protocols terminate at CCN and it works
as a protocol converter and packet forwarder to
SDP
◦ CAP, MAP, SCAP, RTC, Diameter etc
CCN consists of two main parts TSP platform and
CCF application
◦ TSP and CCF are explained in the following slides
Hardware of CCN is called NSP
◦ Explained in the following slides

Sheheryar Obaid 12
CCF & TSP Architecture

Sheheryar Obaid 13
Telecom service platform (TSP)
TSP is a generic telecom grade platform on
which we can deploy many applications
◦ e.g HLR,AC,IN,CCN etc
TSP offers a combination of scalability,
availability and real time characteristics
Ericsson CCN is also built upon TSP
TSP provides the following advantages
◦ Support of Software upgrades during operation
◦ Support for geographical redundancy
◦ Real-Time Operation: transmission takes place with
minimal and controlled delay
There are two ways to connect to TSP via
CLI(ssh) and GUI (http)

Sheheryar Obaid 14
TSP Architecture Explained
TSP Hardware used by Ericsson is called NSP
◦ Currently deployed iteration of TSP and NSP is 6
TSP cluster ware used is called TelORB
◦ TelORB is the heart of TSP when it comes to traffic
and subscriber data management
TSP utilizes Linux and Dicos operating systems
◦ A striped down version of Linux for O&M, FS & I/O
processors
◦ Dicos for real time mission critical tasks (TPs)
External communications represent all the
external connections to TSP
◦ External communications include SS7 and Ethernet
connections

Sheheryar Obaid 15
NSP
NSP is the hardware used by
Ericsson for TSP
◦ Current iteration of NSP used by
Ericsson is NSP 6
Difference between NSP and TSP
is that NSP is a hardware release
while TSP is a software release
◦ We can upgrade to TSP6 on NSP 5
hardware

Sheheryar Obaid 16
NSP 6.0

Sheheryar Obaid 17
NSP 6.0 Hardware Description
NSP hardware consists of magazines and processors
◦ Processors are affixed in magazines
There are three magazines in one NSP 6.0 cabinet
◦ First magazine is standard only the rest can be loaded with
different processors
First
and Last slot of every magazine is reserved for
MXB plugin unit
The main roles of different processors are
◦ Traffic Processor : used for the processing of application
◦ Loader : dedicatedly used for cluster management
◦ Node Management : Linux processors to provide O&M
interface
◦ I/O : used for initial loading, backups, dumping and upgrade
◦ File Server : used for storing application data

Sheheryar Obaid 18
Different type of processors
MXB has the following functions
◦ Power distribution
◦ Interconnection of magazines
◦ Backplane buses to connect the processors
There are following three types of processors:
GEP2
◦ Can be used as Loader, Traffic Processor and Node manager
◦ Software installed on these processors determines their purpose
GEP2 SAS
◦ Can be used as an I/O and File Server processor
◦ These boards can be used to extend the HDD capacity
◦ Please note that I/O and FS are not part of the cluster
GEP2 E1/T1
◦ This is used as a connectivity processor for Sigtran and E1
connectivity

Sheheryar Obaid 19
CCF Architecture Explained
CCF software contains services and
functions specific to CCN
CCF application includes the following
◦ Access
◦ Services
◦ Functions
Accesscontains the CCF specific access
methods in CCN
◦ Request
◦ Termination
◦ Transfer

Sheheryar Obaid 20
CCF - Access
Request methods in CCN are
◦ CIP – charging interrogation protocol
◦ AFP – account finder protocol
◦ MAP – mobile application part
Termination methods in CCN are
◦ ERTC
◦ CAP
◦ SCAP
◦ Gy
Transfer method in CCN is
◦ FTP
Sheheryar Obaid 21
CCF - Services
Services offered by CCN are
◦ Online charging of Voice
◦ Online charging of GPRS
◦ Online charging of SMS
◦ Online charging of Content
◦ Online charging of Event
◦ Online charging of Diameter

Sheheryar Obaid 22
CCF- Functions
Functions provided by CCF are
◦ Protocol conversion
◦ blacklist/whitelist
◦ MNP
◦ Bonus on incoming calls
◦ Number Normalization
◦ SDP lookup
◦ ATI (location lookup)
◦ CDR Generation
◦ Call control
◦ Charging Suppression
◦ Pre-Call Replenishment

Sheheryar Obaid 23
Interfaces and protocols

Sheheryar Obaid 24
Interfaces explained
CAP v1 for charging of voice calls
CAP v3 for charging of GPRS and SMS
MAP protocol for HLR and FNR
ERTC protocol for Ericsson MSC
CIP/IP protocol for SDP
SSH for connectivity with client PCs
Gy interface for connectivity with GGSN
FTP to transfer CDRs to EMM
HTTP/LDAP for configuration via RMA

Sheheryar Obaid 25
CIP
CIP is a new charging interrogation
protocol that uses IP instead of SS7 and
is based on diameter application

The three messages of CIP are

◦ First Interrogation
 RET,RET result operation at the start of call
◦ Intermediate Interrogation
 RET,RET result operation during the call
◦ Final Interrogation
 RET, RET result operation at the end of call

Sheheryar Obaid 26
CAP CIP

 IDP  First Interrogation

◦ RET, RET Result

 ACR  Intermediate
Interrogation
◦ RET, RET Result

 Last ACR
 Final Interrogation
◦ RET,RET Result

From CAP to CIP

Sheheryar Obaid 27
CAP  CIP

Sheheryar Obaid 28
Traffic Cases
The following traffic cases will be
discussed
◦ Voice Call
◦ SMS
◦ MNP

Sheheryar Obaid 29
Voice Call

Sheheryar Obaid 30
Voice Call
1. A call is initiated from a charging system subscriber. The
OCSI of the subscriber in the VLR, routes the call to the SSF.
2. The SSF collects data about the call and triggers CCN.
3. CCN performs a SDP selection and sends the data, collected
in step 2, in a first interrogation to SDP.
4. SDP reserves money from the account and sends the
calculated call time to CCN, together with other call data
such as announcements to be played.
5. CCN tells the SSF to play announcements if this has been
requested by SDP. Further on, CCN tells the SSF to setup the
call and to supervise it based on the call time calculated by
SDP.
6. The call lasts longer than the call time sent to the SSF, so a
notification is sent to CCN.
7. CCN requests SDP to make another reservation from the
account with an intermediate interrogation.

Sheheryar Obaid 31
Voice Call (Contd)
8. SDP makes a new charging analysis and deducts the amount previously
reserved from the account. In this example it is assumed that there is
still sufficient funds left on the subscriber’s account. SDP then reserves
money for the next period and forwards a new call time to CCN.
9. CCN passes the new call time on to the SSF.
1. Note: Step 6–9 can be repeated several times. In this example, steps 10–17
describes what happens when the subscriber's account balance reaches the
account empty limit.
10.The call lasts longer than the call time sent to the SSF and a notification
is sent to CCN.
11.CCN requests SDP to make another reservation from the account with an
intermediate interrogation.
12.SDP makes a new charging analysis and updates the account. The
charging analysis shows that there is not enough money on the account
to cover the requested period. SDP sends the calculated call time to CCN
together with an indication that there is no money left on the account
and that a call cutoff warning announcement is to be played. The time
between the warning announcement and call cutoff can be configured.
For this example 30 seconds is used.

Sheheryar Obaid 32
Voice Call (Contd)
13.CCN uses the 30 seconds indication from SDP and the time
between call cutoff warning and call cutoff is excluded from the
new call time. CCN then passes the new call time on to the
SSF.
14.The SSF notifies CCN that the time sent down in step 13 has
expired.
15.CCN sends the remaining 30 seconds and tells the SSF to play
the call cutoff warning announcement.
16.The SSF notifies CCN that the final 30 seconds has expired.
17.CCN tells the SSF to play the call cutoff announcement and to
disconnect the call.
18.The SSF notifies CCN of the call disconnection.
19.A final report is sent from CCN to SDP. SDP performs final
charging of the call.
20.SDP rates the total call and sends a final report result to CCN.
21.CCN sends a call release to the SSF.

Sheheryar Obaid 33
SMS

Sheheryar Obaid 34
SMS
1. An originating SMS is received by the MSC/SSF.
2. The MSC/SSF analyses the data and interrogates
the serving CCN.
3. CCN interrogates SDP.
4. SDP verifies the account status, reserves money
and sends the result to CCN.
5. CCN replies to the interrogation from the SSF
based on the result from SDP.
6. The MSC/SSF delivers the SMS to the SMS-C.
7. The SMS-C confirms the delivery of the SMS.
8. The MSC/SSF forwards the result to CCN.
9. CCN forwards the result to SDP. SDP charges the
corresponding account.

Sheheryar Obaid 35
MNP

Sheheryar Obaid 36
MNP
1. The call is initiated by the Charging
System subscriber.
2. If it is an originating or forwarded call:
the called party number is sent to the
MNP database.
3. If it is a terminating call: the calling
party number is sent to the MNP
database.
4. The MNP database returns MNP
information to CCN, for delivery to SDP.

Sheheryar Obaid 37
Complete O&M guide to CCN

CCN O&M

Sheheryar Obaid 38
O&M Concept
Operation
◦ By operation we mean network operation
and co-ordination on a day to day basis
◦ Collection of data and analysing it
◦ Monitoring of critical alarms
◦ Ensuring high level of service
Maintenance
◦ Keeping the network work correctly
◦ Troubleshooting
◦ Testing
◦ Reporting
Sheheryar Obaid 39
O&M Functions of CCN
Fault Management
Backup and Restore
DBN Disk Log
SS7 Management
Performance Management
Statistics(Statistical Counters)

Sheheryar Obaid 40
FAULT MANAGEMENT
OBJECTIVES

Use the user interface for receiving

and viewing of alarms and
notifications
Retrieve past alarms using log query
Review the error logs in the system
List important directories for log files
in the system

Sheheryar Obaid 41
Fault management
FM allows detect faults and malfunctions on node
Two default viewers are used for FM
◦ Alarm Viewer
◦ Notification Viewer
Alarms are actionable events, Notifications are for
informational purposes only
OS writes events used for troubleshooting to error
logs as do all programs, logs are stored on I/O
Alarms are of two types
◦ Automatically Detected and Automatically Cleared
(ADAC) e.g processor failure
◦ Automatically detected manually cleared (ADMC)

Sheheryar Obaid 42
ALARM viewer

Sheheryar Obaid 43
Alarm viewer guide
Severity
◦ Indeterminate, Minor, Major, Critical
Time
Type
◦ CommunicationAlarm, QoS, ProcessingErrorAlarm,
EquipmentAlarm, EnivironmentalAlarm
Object Type
◦ Name reflects the MO that triggered the alarm
Instance
◦ Identifier of the MO that triggered the alarm
FaultID
◦ Identifies the alarm within ObjectType and Instance
Cause
◦ Description of probable cause

Sheheryar Obaid 44
Notification viewer

Sheheryar Obaid 45
Notification viewer guide
Time
◦ Time when notification was sent
Object Type
◦ Identifies the type of object the notification
is about
Instance
◦ Identifies the object the notification is about
Type
◦ Integer value used to differentiate between
different events belonging to the same
object

Sheheryar Obaid 46
Log query
Log query is a GUI that helps display alarm
history.
Open the Node Management Toolbox. The Node
Management window appears.
In Logging, click Log Query. The Database
Selection window appears.
Choose the current or the backup database
option, and click Select. The Log Type
Selection window, alike to the following
example, appears.
In the application list, select the log type to be
queried, then click Select. The Query Tool
window appears.

Sheheryar Obaid 47
Log Query Window

Sheheryar Obaid 48
Error logs
Linux Syslog
◦ /var/log/messages
Applog
◦ /opt/telorb/axe/tsp/applog
Console log
◦ /opt/telorb/axe/tsp/consolelogs

Sheheryar Obaid 49
O&M interface protocols

Sheheryar Obaid 50
BACKUP AND RESTORE
Objectives

Describe the principles of backup

and restoration of the TSP platform
Create a backup and restore the
TelORB database
Create a backup of IO
Describe principle of Centralized
Scheduler

Sheheryar Obaid 51
Backup and Restore
Database of CCN is called DBN
Creating a backup ensures that a
checkpoint of all the data in DB is
stored to a safe file system on IO
The following data is backed up
◦ Site Database: all services running
on IO
◦ SS7: all configuration files having
SS7 settings
◦ NM: configuration of all 3PPs
connected to NM Sheheryar Obaid 52
Backup and Restore
There are three kinds of backups
◦ DBN Backups
◦ IO backups
◦ FS backups
There are two kinds of restore
◦ Zone Reload
 Entire system is restore from the active
backup
◦ Processor Reload
 Restore only certain processors
Sheheryar Obaid 53
Backup and Restore
Backups can be initiated in two
ways
◦ Manual Backups
◦ Scheduled Automatic Backups
Archiving Backups
◦ Backups could be archived to
external servers either tape drives or
hard disks

Sheheryar Obaid 54
DBN Backup Guide
Log in to TelORB manager there is a tab
called backup
There are two subsections under backup tag
◦ Basic
 Shows a list of all the backups currently available on IOS
 Only one of the backups are active marked with A
◦ Archiver
We can also set the number of backups to be
retained
DBN backups are scheduled in the scheduler

Sheheryar Obaid 55
Backups

Sheheryar Obaid 56
Scheduler

Sheheryar Obaid 57
DBN DISKLOG
Objectives

Describe the disklog functionality on

CCN platform
Configure and Manage the disklog
function on the CCN platform

Sheheryar Obaid 58
DBN DISKLOG
Disk Log is used for point in time recovery
Disk Log Is an incremental backup of POTs
All critical information is disk logged such
as subscriber account data so that it could
be recovered even if the entire system is
reloaded
A transaction that updates such data stores
changes in a log file on IO processors
When the system is restored from backup
the log for that backup is applied as well

Sheheryar Obaid 59
Disklog Snap

Sheheryar Obaid 60
SS7 MANAGEMENT
Objectives

Describe SS7 protocol stacks

supported by CCN
Configure and Manage SS7 Function
on TSP6 Platform

Sheheryar Obaid 61
Signalling Manager
Signalling
Manager is a GUI used
for management of SS7 stack of
CCN
SS7 Stacks supported by CCN are
◦ CAPv1-3
◦ SCAP
◦ Diameter
◦ INAP
CCN supports both Sigtran and
HSL
Sheheryar Obaid 62
How to Check
Associations
Go to Signalling Manager  SCTP
◦ SCTP Get instance list
 Select FE
 Note Endpoint ID
◦ SCTP Get Association list
 Select FE
 Enter Endpoint ID
 Select Association ID
◦ SCTP Get Association Status
 Select FE
 Enter Association ID
 Check the Status of the Association

Sheheryar Obaid 63
PERFORMANCE
MANAGEMENT AND
STATISTICAL
COUNTERS
Objectives

To Know where the different

counters of CCN are stored
To calculate BHCA stats of all
services and requests coming to
CCN
To Monitor load on different blades
of CCN

Sheheryar Obaid 64
Load Viewer
Start the Load Viewer using the
command win. The command is in the
following form:
◦ win -th <VIP_address> | -n | -s | -i |
-geometry +<xPosition>+<yPosition>
Each colour represents a different type
of load
◦ Yellow: Low priority load
◦ Green: Normal priority load
◦ Red: High priority load (Dicos), Kernel
Activity (linux)

Sheheryar Obaid 65
Performance Counters
Path
◦ /opt/telorb/axe/tsp/NM/PMF/reporterLogs/CcnCounters
SMS counters
◦ /opt/telorb/axe/ccn/bin/CleanCcnCounters.pl `ls –ltr | grep
“Nov 24” | gawk ‘{print$9}’ | grep Messaging-Charging-
Originating-SMS
◦ /opt/telorb/axe/ccn/bin/CleanCcnCounters.pl `ls –ltr | grep
“Nov 24” | gawk ‘{print$9}’ | grep Messaging-Charging-
DirectDebit-Successful
Call Counters
◦ /opt/telorb/axe/ccn/bin/CleanCcnCounters.pl `ls –ltr | grep
“Nov 24” | gawk ‘{print$9}’ | grep Voice-Charging-Originating-
Call
◦ /opt/telorb/axe/ccn/bin/CleanCcnCounters.pl `ls –ltr | grep
“Nov 24” | gawk ‘{print$9}’ | grep Voice-Charging-First
Interrogation-Successful

Sheheryar Obaid 66