Method and apparatus for performing an accounting network layer as a service
AssigneeAT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
InventorsHoward Lang, Joseph Soryal
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a plurality of accounting nodes, each accounting node being associated with a service node of a communication network, each accounting node being configured to collect data usage information for a network segment of the communication network including an associated service node, and an accounting server in data communication with accounting nodes of the plurality of accounting nodes, the accounting server configured to receive from the accounting nodes the data usage information for each service node and determine billing for data usage of each network segment. Other embodiments are disclosed.
Claims20
A system, comprising:
- a processing system including a processor;
- and
- a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
- determining, by an accounting node of an accounting network layer, an amount of communicated data communicated by a service node between a designated source and a designated destination, the service node providing communication services in a network segment of a communication network providing data communication between the designated source and the designated destination;
- providing, by the accounting node, to an accounting server in data communication with the accounting node over the accounting network layer, data usage information for the network segment;
- receiving, by the accounting node over the network accounting layer, control information to control routing in the communication network including the network segment, by the service node of data associated with a service in the communication network;
- and
- providing, by the accounting node, the control information to the service node to control routing of data by the service node.
A non-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
- determining, by an accounting node of an accounting network layer, an amount of communicated data communicated by a service node between a designated source and a designated destination, the service node providing communication services in a network segment of a communication network providing data communication between the designated source and the designated destination;
- providing, by the accounting node, to an accounting server in data communication with the accounting node over the accounting network layer, data usage information for the network segment;
- receiving, by the accounting node over the network accounting layer, control information to control routing in the communication network including the network segment, by the service node of data associated with a service in the communication network;
- and
- providing, by the accounting node, the control information to the service node to control routing of data by the service node.
A method, comprising:
- determining, by an accounting node of an accounting network layer, the accounting node including at least one processor, an amount of communicated data communicated by a service node between a designated source and a designated destination, the service node providing communication services in a network segment of a communication network providing data communication between the designated source and the designated destination;
- providing, by the accounting node, to an accounting server in data communication with the accounting node over the accounting network layer, data usage information for the network segment;
- receiving, by the accounting node over the network accounting layer, control information to control routing in the communication network including the network segment, by the service node of data associated with a service in the communication network;
- and
- providing, by the accounting node, the control information to the service node to control routing of data by the service node.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.