Oracle BRM - Tips and Tricks

Migrating PDC data from one system to another

2019-06-25T07:53:00.000-07:00

Given System “A” with BRM and PDC and System “B” with BRM and PDC, following is the process for moving new or changed pricing data from system A to system B.

1. Load new/changed BRM configuration objects from BRM A to BRM B, in particular, the following objects that are mastered in BRM:

a. Provisioning Tags
b. GLIDs
c. Tax Codes
d. Tax Supplier
e. Events
f. Service
g. Account

2. Follow this step if you have made any name changes in PDC for these objects. If no name changes have been made, you can skip this step and go directly to Step 3. Export the Event attribute spec, Customer attribute spec, Product (aka Service) attribute spec and Profile attribute spec [if using ECE] from PDC A.
ImportExportPricing -export -config EVENT_ATTRIBUTE_SPEC
ImportExportPricing -export -config CUSTOMER_ATTRIBUTE_SPEC
ImportExportPricing -export -config PRODUCT_ATTRIBUTE_SPEC
ImportExportPricing -export –config PROFILE_ATTRIBUTE_SPEC [Applicable for ECE only]

These commands will generate 3 export files. (4 if ECE is used)
Import the exported attribute specs into PDC B
a. The internal IDs for the objects should not be changed.
b. Make sure that the transformation engines are running in so that the xref tables are updated.
c. Follow the same order as export.

ImportExportPricing -import -config export_config_attributes.xml

3. Start SyncPDC
If the Event, Service, and Account objects have already been moved from PDC A to PDC B (steps 2 and 3), this will only sync the other 4 objects from BRM because SyncPDC will know that the Event, Service, and Account objects have already been sync’ed.

4. Move configuration objects mastered in PDC.
a. Export configuration objects: This export should NOT include the objects mastered in BRM which have already been moved in steps 1-4.

ImportExportPricing -export -config <TYPE>

Types are: GEO_ZONE_MODEL, STANDARD_ZONE_MODEL, ZONE_MAP, ZONE_RESULT_CONFIGURATION, RUM_CONFIGURATION, ATTRIBUTE_SPEC_MAP, BALANCE_ELEMENT, HOLIDAY_CALENDAR, CUSTOM_ANALYZER_RULE[Applicable for ECE only]

Invoke these commands up to 9 times, generating as many export files.
b. Import configuration objects into PDC B. Observe the following ordering when importing:

Import the service event map (AttributeSpecMap) last
Load ZONE_RESULT_CONFIGURATION before both GEO_ZONE_MODEL and STANDARD_ZONE_MODEL

ImportExportPricing -import -config <exported file name>

5. Move pricing objects.
a. Export all pricing from PDC A

ImportExportPricing -export -pricing

This creates a file called: export_pricing.xml

b. Import all pricing into PDC B
ImportExportPricing -import -pricing <exported file name>

PDC issues and fixes

2017-12-12T13:54:00.000-08:00

Issues#1: PDC import is failing with the following error:

[exec] Error during- Import

[exec] EJBException: Unknown reason: BEA1-047E79AE2C611898D0B8; nested exception is:

[exec] javax.transaction.HeuristicMixedException: (PricingDB_pdc_domain, HeuristicHazard, ()) ; nested exception is: javax.transaction.HeuristicMixedException: (PricingDB_pdc_domain, HeuristicHazard, ())

[echo] Waiting 30 seconds for import to finish.

Solution: Change XA Retry Interval to 0 in

Home >Summary of Services >Summary of JDBC Data Sources >JobDispatcherPersistentDS >Summary of JDBC Data Sources >PricingDB

Issues#2: Sequential Discount configuration doesn't work when discounts configured using PDC
Solution: Set the grant_period_offset for the discounts which need sequential discount configurations:

update ifw_dscbalimpact set grant_period_offset=-1;

commit;

Issues#3: Prorate discounts for fixed discount configurations

Solution: Add ProrateFixedDiscount entry in the discount pipeline's registry:

            ApolloDiscountModule
            {
              ModuleName = FCT_Discount
              Module
              {
                Active                   = TRUE
                DiscountDataModule       = ifw.DataPool.DiscountModelDataModule
                BalanceDataModule        = ifw.DataPool.BalanceDataModule
                AccountDataModule        = ifw.DataPool.CustomerData
                CurrencyDataModule       = ifw.DataPool.CurrencyDataModule
                DiscountMoreThanPossible = False
                TaxationMode             = 3   #[0-3] needs to in sync with 'taxation_switch' entry in pin.conf
                DiscountTrace            = FALSE
                ProrateFixedDiscount     = true
              }
            }

Realtime Discounting Pipeline Reports "discount model: () is invalid" In Discount Trace

2017-10-23T21:35:00.003-07:00

Debugging Realtime Discounting Pipeline Reports "discount model: () is invalid" In Discount Trace

#### BEGIN transaction: 3169

-----> DETAIL Container::isValidDetail: 1, Pipeline: 0
Account DB#: 1, ID: 234522
discount model: () is invalid, valid flag: 3

The VALID_FLAG values, see below for the different values and their meaning :

1 ==> valid
2 ==> invalid purchase start or end time
3 ==> invalid usage start or end time
4 ==> invalid sponsorship start or end time
5 ==> invalid discount/sponsorship object id
6 ==> no usage map for event type
7 ==> invalid usage map for event type

If it fails with valid flag: 5, it could be a problem with the way pipeline is restarted. CM should start after pipeline and you should not see listen with the port using following command:

lsof -i|grep 10803
ifw 24438 pin08 35u IPv6 447623857 0t0 TCP *:10803 (LISTEN)

Check for any extra RTP processes running before start RTP

Dequeuing in Oracle BRM

2016-11-08T17:42:00.002-08:00

Although it is not recommended, but sometimes in the test environment where there is no interface to dequeue the message from advance queue, the queue is clogged and we wish to dequeue it. Here is the way to do it:

DECLARE
po_t dbms_aqadm.aq$_purge_options_t;
BEGIN
dbms_aqadm.purge_queue_table('AQ_SYNC', NULL, po_t);
END;

Execute the above from SQL client or command line.

Useful logging information for cm and dm_oracle

2016-02-09T13:54:00.000-08:00

Logging settings for cm and dm_oracle

1) For logging the time taken by opcode in the cm.pinlog
    Add the following lines in $PIN_HOME/sys/cm/pin.conf

     - cm enable_pcm_op_call_stack 1
     - cm max_pcm_op_call_stack_entries 256

This will start displaying the opcode time as below:
cm_pcm_op_call_stack
                Seconds Type Opcode (flags, notes)
            0.000000000 Enter PCM_OP_READ_OBJ (0x0)
            0.000348000 .Enter PCM_OP_READ_OBJ (0x0)
            0.478129000 .Exit PCM_OP_READ_OBJ (0x0) - from DM 0.0.0.1
            0.502946000 Exit PCM_OP_READ_OBJ (0x0)

2) For setting the cm to debug level

    - cm cm_loglevel 3

3) For logging the PCM_OP_SEARCH input and output flist
    Add the following lines in $PIN_HOME/sys/cm/pin.conf

    - cm CMAP_DEBUG 0xFFFFFFFF
    - cm CM_DEBUG 0xFFFFFFFF

This should be used with cm in debug level.

4) Setting the cm log level to debug when cm is running

cat cm_debug3
r << XXX 1
0 PIN_FLD_POID POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /account 1 1
0 PIN_FLD_COMPONENT STR [0] "CM"
0 PIN_FLD_LOGLEVEL INT [0] 3
XXX
#
xop PCM_OP_INFMGR_SET_LOGLEVEL 0 1
#

run the below command from $PIN_HOME/test
testnap cm_debug3

5) Setting the cm log level to error when cm is running

cat cm_debug1
r << XXX 1
0 PIN_FLD_POID POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /account 1 1
0 PIN_FLD_COMPONENT STR [0] "CM"
0 PIN_FLD_LOGLEVEL INT [0] 1
XXX
#
xop PCM_OP_INFMGR_SET_LOGLEVEL 0 1
#
run the below command from $PIN_HOME/test
testnap cm_debug1

5) Setting the dm_oracle log level to debug when cm and dm are running

cat dm_debug3
r << XXX 1
0 PIN_FLD_POID POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /account 1 1
0 PIN_FLD_COMPONENT STR [0] "DM"
0 PIN_FLD_DEBUG_FLAG ARRAY [1] allocated 20, used 2
1     PIN_FLD_NAME STR [0] "DM_DEBUG"
1     PIN_FLD_FLAGS INT [0] 255
0 PIN_FLD_DEBUG_FLAG ARRAY [2] allocated 20, used 2
1     PIN_FLD_NAME STR [0] "DM_DEBUG2"
1     PIN_FLD_FLAGS INT [0] 4090
0 PIN_FLD_DEBUG_FLAG ARRAY [3] allocated 20, used 2
1    PIN_FLD_NAME STR [0] "DM_DEBUG3"
1    PIN_FLD_FLAGS INT [0] 65535
XXX
#
run the below command from $PIN_HOME/test
testnap dm_debug3

6) Setting the dm_oracle log level to normal when cm and dm are running

cat dm_debug1
r << XXX 1
0 PIN_FLD_POID POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /account 1 1
0 PIN_FLD_COMPONENT STR [0] "DM"
0 PIN_FLD_DEBUG_FLAG ARRAY [1] allocated 20, used 2
1     PIN_FLD_NAME STR [0] "DM_DEBUG"
1     PIN_FLD_FLAGS INT [0] 255
0 PIN_FLD_DEBUG_FLAG ARRAY [2] allocated 20, used 2
1     PIN_FLD_NAME STR [0] "DM_DEBUG2"
1     PIN_FLD_FLAGS INT [0] 0
0 PIN_FLD_DEBUG_FLAG ARRAY [3] allocated 20, used 2
1    PIN_FLD_NAME STR [0] "DM_DEBUG3"
1    PIN_FLD_FLAGS INT [0] 0
XXX
#
xop PCM_OP_INFMGR_SET_LOGLEVEL 0 1
#
run the below command from $PIN_HOME/test
testnap dm_debug1

7) Setting the dm_oracle to debug level

Add the following lines in $PIN_HOME/sys/dm_oracle/pin.conf
- dm dm_debug 0xff
- dm dm_debug2 0xffa
- dm dm_debug3 0xffff

You can find the SQL statements as below in dm_oracle.pinlog file:
SQL_STMT do_sql_update: cmd="update account_t set poid_rev = poid_rev + 1, mod_t = :mod_t, cust_seg_list=:cust_seg_list, currency=:currency, currency_secondary=:currency_secondary where poid_id0 = :poid_id0"
There will be lot more useful information in dm_oracle.log file

Implementing new service (CDMA) - Text format

2014-11-19T04:12:00.001-08:00

There are a few services that are supported out of the box in BRM. These services include GSM, GPRS, IP et.c. To support new service in BRM, lot of customization is required. This is specified in the BRM documentation, but spread in lots of areas so it becomes pretty difficult to take help of the BRM doc to implement a new service. Here are some of the steps /guidelines to priovide support for a new service in BRM. In this context we have used CDMA service implementation.

1]. Create or extend /service storable class e.g. /service/telco/cdma
2]. Create or extend the /event class for the delayed events (if the rating is to be done by batch pipeline) e.g. /event/delayed/session/telco/cdma
3]. Map /event/delayed/session/telco/cdma event to /service/telco/cdma
     a). Edit BRM_HOME/sys/data/pricing/example/pin_event_map file
        Caution The load_event_map utility overwrites the existing event map. If you are updating the event map, you can not load new mappings only.You must load the entire event map each time you run load_event_map utility.
If you want to load gsm events also then you should edit BRM_HOME/sys/data/config/pin_event_map_telco_gsm file

     b). Add the service - event mapping
     /service/telco/cdma : /event/delayed/session/telco/cdma : Delayed CDMA session

     c). Load the configuration to the /config/event_map using the utility load_pin_event_map
       $> load_pin_event_map -dv pin_event_map_telco_gsm

4]. Defining RUMs for new service usage events
   RUMs(Ratable Usage Metrics) are used to charge for the events. To define new RUMs(RUMs which are not already defined) for the new service, following steps should be performaed:
a). Define new RUMs in the pin_rum configuration file
  b). Load the contents of the pin_rum file to /config/rum object by using the load_pin_rum utility

5]. Load item tags : If you want to add new/custom tag to use in the invoice/bill, you need to edit config_item_types.xml and config_item_tags.xml. In this example, we have created a new tag for CDMA service
a). Add the new tag element in the BRM_HOME/sys/data/pricing/example/config_item_tags.xml

   <ItemTagElement>
       <ItemTag>CDMA_Telephony</ItemTag>
       <EventType>/event/delayed/session/telco/cdma</EventType>
      <ServiceType>/service/telco/cdma/*</ServiceType>
   </ItemTagElement>

b). Load tags using load_config_item_tags
      $>. load_config_item_tags -dv config_item_tags.xml

  c). Add the item tag configuration in the config_item_types.xml

    <ItemTypeElement>
        <ItemTag>CDMA_Telephony</ItemTag>
        <ItemDescription>CDMA Telephony</ItemDescription>
        <ItemType precreate="true" type="cumulative">/item/misc</ItemType>
    </ItemTypeElement>

d). Load using load_config_item_types
      $>. load_config_item_types -dv config_item_types.xml

Define the new service and service class

   1). Add new service using the pipeline setup toolbox in pricing centre

     a. Open "Pipeline Setup Tool Box" from pricing centre
     b. Click on Product&Service
     c. Click on Service. Make a new service
     d.  Give below entries on "Service" page:

Service Code	CDMAT
Name	CDMA Telephony Service
Rank	1
Type of Service	Basic(choose from drop down)
Ratable Usage Metric Group	DURATION-Duration (choose from drop down)
General Ledger Account	1420-National Airtime telephony
Revenue Group	Blank
Parent Service	Blank
Basic	Click the check box
PIN Service Type	/service/telco/cdma/telephony
History

     e.  Give below entries on "Service Class" page

Service Code	Service Class	Name	History
CDMAT-CDMA Telephony Service	DEF	Default Service Class for CDMA TEL

2. Add reference mapping
     a. Open "Pipeline Setup Toolbox" from pricing centre
     b. Click on reference mapping
     c. Click on Product & Service
     d. Enter the following entries on "Reference Mapping" page

ID	CustomerData
Referenced Object	/service/telco/cdma/telephony
Referenced Column	Blank
Referenced Parameter	/event/delayed/session/telco/cdma
History

3. Map service code
     a. Open "Pipeline Setup Toolbox" from pricing centre
     b. Click on Mapping & Enhancement
     c. Click on Map group
     d. Map group looks like :

Map Group	Name	History
ALL_RATE	Wireless Sample Mapping
INCOLLECT	Incollect Settlement Pipeline Mapping
OUTCOLLECT	Incollect Settlement Pipeline Mapping

e. Click on ALL_RATE and edit
f. Goto to Service Code Map and create new with the following details

Map Group	ALL_RATE-Wireless Sample Mapping
Name	Telephony service for CDMA
External Service Code	CDMA.*
Usage Class	.*
Location Area Indicator VAS-Event	.*
Quality of Service Requested	.*
Quality of Service Used	.*
Record Type	.*
Intern Service Code	CDMAT-CDMA Telephony Service
Intern Service Class	DEF
History

Note : Make sure that in the Service Code Map, new service map should come before default service(i.e, service map with name Everything else…)

4. Add container field for the new service
     a. Open "Pipeline Setup Toolbox" from pricing centre
     b. Click on EDR
     c. Click on EDR Container Description. This page will look like as :

EDR Container Description	Name	History
ALL_RATE	WIRELESS_SAMPLE contanier description
EXAMPLE	Exmaple container description

    d. Select ALL_RATE and edit. This will open EDR Conatiner Description with three tabs
         i. EDR Container Description
        ii. EDR Container Field
       iii. Alias Mapping
    e. Select Alias Mapping and create new Alias Mapping with the following details :

EDR Container Description	ALL_RATE - WIRELESS_SAMPLE conatiner description
Reference	UniData_CustA
Key	CDMAT
Type	Internal(choose from drop down)
Field ID	DETAIL.A_NUMBER

Configuring Pipeline Manager to rate the events of the new service

1. Configure the IRL_EventTypeSplitting iScript to split EDRs by service code: Add
     CDMAT:CDMAOutput
     as the last line in the PIPELINE_HOME/iScriptLib/iScriptLib_Standard/IRL_EventTypeSplitting.data

2. Edit wireless.reg to redirect output for CDMA, add the following piece of code/configuration

#----------------------------------------
#The /service/cdma/telephony output stream
#----------------------------------------
CDMAOutput
{
   ModuleName = OUT_GenericStream
   ProcessType = RATING_PIPELINE
   EventType = /event/delayed/session/telco/cdma

   Module
   {
     Grammar = ./formatDesc/Formats/Solution42/V670_EVENT_LOADER_OutGrammar.dsc
     DeleteEmptyStream = True
     OutputStream
      {
        ModuleName = EXT_OutFileManager
        Module
        {
          OutputPath = ./data/out/cdma/telephony
          OutputPrefix = test_CDMA
          OutputSuffix = .out
          TempPrefix = .
          TempDataPath = ./data/out/cdma/telephony
          TemDataPrefix = cdma.tmp.
          TempDataSuffix = .data
          Replace = TRUE
        }
     }
}
}# end of TELOutput

CONV_CDMAOutput
{
   ModuleName = OUT_GenericStream
   ProcessType = RATING_PIPELINE
   EventType = /event/delayed/session/telco/cdma
   ObjectCacheType = CONVERGENT
   Module
   {
    Grammar = ./formatDesc/Formats/Solution42/V670_EVENT_LOADER_OutGrammar.dsc
    DeleteEmptyStream = True
     OutputStream
     {
         ModuleName = EXT_OutFileManager
         Module
         {
            OutputPath = ./data/out/cdma/telephony
            OutputPrefix = test_CDMA
            OutputSuffix = .out
            TempPrefix = .
            TempDataPath = ./data/out/cdma/telephony
            TemDataPrefix = cdma.tmp.
            TempDataSuffix = .data
            Replace = TRUE
         }
      }
}
}# end of CONV_TELOutput

3. Create IFW_HOME/data/out/cdma/telephony
   $>. mkdir -p IFW_HOME/data/out/cdma/telephony

Changes in PIN_REL for loading rated events

    1. Add the event tables for the new event in the Infranet.properties of apps/pin_rel

#/event/delayed/session/telco/cdma
infranet.rel.storable_class.event_delayed_session_telco_cdma.number_of_tables = 9
infranet.rel.storable_class.event_delayed_session_telco_cdma.table.1.name = event_t
infranet.rel.storable_class.event_delayed_session_telco_cdma.table.2.name = event_bal_impacts_t
infranet.rel.storable_class.event_delayed_session_telco_cdma.table.3.name = event_essentials_t
infranet.rel.storable_class.event_delayed_session_telco_cdma.table.4.name = event_dlay_sess_tlcs_t
infranet.rel.storable_class.event_delayed_session_telco_cdma.table.5.name = event_dlay_sess_tlcs_svc_cds_t
infranet.rel.storable_class.event_delayed_session_telco_cdma.table.6.name = event_dlyd_session_tlco_cdma_t
infranet.rel.storable_class.event_delayed_session_telco_cdma.table.7.name = event_tax_jurisdictions_t
infranet.rel.storable_class.event_delayed_session_telco_cdma.table.8.name = event_rum_map_t
infranet.rel.storable_class.event_delayed_session_telco_cdma.table.9.name = tmp_profile_event_ordering_t
     2. Create ctl file for CDMA before loading the events using pin_rel
        a. Copy the original event_dlyd_session_tlco_gsm_t.ctl to event_dlyd_session_tlco_cdma_t.ctl, as we are not changing anything on field level.
        b. Open event_dlyd_session_tlco_cdma_t.ctl file and change the following…

UNCOVERABLE
LOAD DATA
APPEND
INTO TABLE EVENT_DLYD_SESSION_TLCO_CDMA_T // table name changed
SINGLEROW
PARTITION
(first the partition utility is run to create partition for /event/delayed /session/telco/cdma class)
partition_utils -o add -c /event/delayed/session/telco/cdma

New service is ready to use. You can start by creating new products. deals, discounts and plans.

A simple Oracle DB function to convert timestamp to date

2014-07-21T01:53:00.000-07:00

In BRM, all the time and date is stored in number format and it is required to convert them if you are reading it from the DB.
Lots of developers write functions or utilities to convert it to date. Here is a similar function:

create or replace function u2d(
v_tstamp IN number)
return date
as
v_date date;

begin
v_date := to_date('01-JAN-1970', 'DD-MON-YYYY') + (v_tstamp+19800)/86400;
RETURN V_DATE;
END;

Hash map implementation in C

2013-07-10T18:09:00.001-07:00

I've written a hash map in C which is based on linked list data structure. It may be useful in various scenarios. Here is the list of the APIs implemented in this:

// Hash map structure

struct hash_map_t{

struct hash_map_t* nxt;

char* account_poid; //Key

int status; // Value

}

=> HASH MAP OPERATIONS

* Function to insert/update a key-value pair

* If the key doesn't exist, this function will create a new node and add the

* key-value pair, if the key already exit, its value will be updated

void hash_map_set( struct hash_map_t* hm,

char* acc_poid,

int status);

* Function to free the memory allocated by hash map

void free_hash_map(struct hash_map_t* hm);

* Function to retrieve the map node with the kep acc_poid

struct hash_map_t* getNodeWithKey(

struct hash_map_t* hm,

char* acc_poid);

* Function to retrieve the map node using value status

struct hash_map_t* getNodeWithValue(

struct hash_map_t* hm,

int status);

The code is attached at the following location:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_TJwfRI4aqhcjJRMXBhQUNCQk0/edit?usp=sharing

If you've Scripd account, download it here:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/247124214/Hash-Map-Lib

BRM Errors

2013-04-08T00:36:00.001-07:00

Title: pcm_dyn_attach_mmap() issue

Issue: Following error observed while starting cm or in the cm.pinlog while executing any application connected to CM
mmap failed for pcm_dyn_attach_mmap(): Invalid argument

Cause: This error usually comes when you use reference to some mapping parameter/file in the CM or application's pin.conf and that is invalid or empty. E.g. if the entry file for ops_fields_extension_file is empty or invalid, we can get the error:
mmap failed for pcm_dyn_attach_mmap(): Invalid argument

Title: Resource Credit Limit Issue

Issue:
2:SACJOSHI-US:CustomerCenter:0:AWT-EventQueue-0:108:1476427204:0:root.0.0.0.1:::
        Credit limit exceeded
        <location=PIN_ERRLOC_FM:5 class=PIN_ERRCLASS_SYSTEM_DETERMINATE:1 errno=PIN_ERR_CREDIT_LIMIT_EXCEEDED:81>
        <field num=0:0,0 recid=0 reserved=0 reserved2=0 time(sec:usec)=0:0>
        <facility=0 msg_id=0 version=0>

Cause: This error usually comes when you use NCR (non-currency resource) to have a +ve balance impact. By default the credit limit for NCRs is 0 in BRM. In case, you need to have a positive balance impact on NCR, you need to update the credit limit.

0 PIN_FLD_POID                               POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /config/credit_profile 201 0
0 PIN_FLD_PROFILES                  ARRAY [2] allocated 2, used 2
1     PIN_FLD_CREDIT_FLOOR   DECIMAL [0] NULL
1     PIN_FLD_CREDIT_LIMIT     DECIMAL [0] NULL

Title: AMT procedure errors

Issue:
ORA-29280: invalid directory path
ORA-06512: at "WK33_PIN03.AMT_MV", line 347
ORA-06512: at line 1

Cause: The directory mentioned in Infranet.properties of pin_amt application is not created or if it is created you are using the name in lowercase, change it to upper case.

Issue:
ORA-29289: directory access denied
ORA-06512: at "WK33_PIN03.AMT_MV", line 347
ORA-06512: at line 1

Cause: Good news is that the directory exists but the db user with which pin_amt is being executed is not having read/write permission.

Issue:
ORA-02055: distributed update operation failed; rollback required
ORA-54013: INSERT operation disallowed on virtual columns
ORA-06512: at "WK33_PIN03.AMT_MV", line 722
ORA-06512: at line 1

Cause: Some table in the AMT_METADATA is having virtual column, check what are the custom tables added and check which one has virtual columns.

Title: Cache entry not found

E Mon Apr 8 16:13:58 2013 <<hostname>> cm:18233 fm_bill_utils_billing.c(49):1039 1:<<hostname>>:testnap:18231:-136099600:100001:1365405238:1
Could not find cache entry: "PIN_SEQUENCE_TYPE_PACKAGE_ID"
E Mon Apr 8 16:13:58 2013 <<hostname>> cm:18233 fm_subscription_purchase_deal.c:805 1:<<hostname>>:testnap:18231:-136099600:100001:1365405238:1
op_subscription_purchase_deal error
<location=PIN_ERRLOC_FM:5 class=PIN_ERRCLASS_SYSTEM_DETERMINATE:1 errno=PIN_ERR_NOT_FOUND:3>
<field num=^Aopsflds:0,0 recid=0 reserved=3 reserved2=0 time(sec:usec)=0:0>
<facility=0 msg_id=0 version=0>

Resolution: As the cache entry is missing, it means CM could not load few variable, restart cm to fix this.

Title: pricing_admin.pl failed in initializing

-bash-3.2$ ./pricing_admin.pl -init
EBUF: errno=<PIN_ERR_BAD_CRYPT:15> location=<PIN_ERRLOC_DM:4> class=<UNKNOWN:0> field num=<0:0,0> recid=<0> reserved=<0>
0 PIN_FLD_POID POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /config/pricing_admin -1 0
0 PIN_FLD_ACCOUNT_OBJ POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /account 1 0
0 PIN_FLD_HOSTNAME STR [0] "-"
0 PIN_FLD_NAME STR [0] "config_pricing_admin"
0 PIN_FLD_PROGRAM_NAME STR [0] "-"
0 PIN_FLD_CONFIG_INFO SUBSTRUCT [0] allocated 6, used 6
1 PIN_FLD_HOSTNAME STR [0] "sacjoshi-linux"
1 PIN_FLD_LOGIN STR [0] "INTEGRATE"
1 PIN_FLD_NAME STR [0] "brm11gdb"
1 PIN_FLD_PASSWD STR [0] "integrate"
1 PIN_FLD_PORT INT [0] 1521
1 PIN_FLD_SERVER_TYPE STR [0] "oracle"
call_opcode: PCM_OP_CREATE_OBJ failed. at ./pricing_admin.pl line 504.
Initializing config object for pricing admin failed.

Resolution: - crypt md5 entry is not enabled, enable this entry in dm_oracle's pin.conf

Another issue that can sometimes occur due to installation issues is:

-bash-3.2$ ./pricing_admin.pl -set <admins.txt
EBUF: errno=<PIN_ERR_BAD_ARG:4> location=<PIN_ERRLOC_DM:4> class=<UNKNOWN:0> field num=<PIN_FLD_POID:7,16> recid=<0> reserved=<0>
0 PIN_FLD_RESULTS ARRAY [*] NULL
0 PIN_FLD_POID POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /search -1 0
0 PIN_FLD_ARGS ARRAY [1] allocated 1, used 1
1 PIN_FLD_POID POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /config/pricing_admin -1 0
0 PIN_FLD_TEMPLATE STR [0] "select X from /config/pricing_admin where F1 = V1 "
0 PIN_FLD_FLAGS INT [0] 0
call_opcode: PCM_OP_GLOBAL_SEARCH failed. at ./pricing_admin.pl line 504.
Search failed for /config/pricing_admin object.

Storable class to XML representation

2011-11-02T02:28:00.000-07:00

I recently noticed this application that converts the storable class representation in database to XML format. Its syntax is:

storableclasstoxml [-h] [-r <filename> [-o <objectname>]]

-h : display help information

-r <filename> : retrieves storable class for

1. /service and its sub classes

2. /event and its sub classes

3. /account class

and write it to <filename>

-r <filename> -o <objectname> : retrieves storable class for

<objectname> and write it to <filename>.

<objectname> can be /service, /event, /account,

/service/xyz or /event/xyz where xyz is a sub class

of either /service or /event. Multiple object types

can be passed with comma(',') separated.

I'm not sure in which all scenarios this XML representation will be useful. If anyone get a chance to explore this or if someone has already explored, please share with me.

Some useful BRM flists

2011-10-12T03:55:00.000-07:00

Here are some useful flists which will be useful for the POCs during development of Oracle BRM based applications.
1). Search flist to find the service and account objects (or POIDS) using the login field value when login is available in the the service

0 PIN_FLD_POID POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /search -1 0
0 PIN_FLD_FLAGS INT [0] 256
0 PIN_FLD_INDEX_NAME STR [0] "service_login_i"
0 PIN_FLD_PARAMETERS STR [0] "telco/voice"
0 PIN_FLD_TEMPLATE STR [0] "select X from /service/$1 where F1 = V1 and F2 = V2 "
0 PIN_FLD_RESULTS ARRAY [0] allocated 7, used 7
1 PIN_FLD_POID POID [0] NULL
1 PIN_FLD_ACCOUNT_OBJ POID [0] NULL
1 PIN_FLD_LOGIN STR [0] NULL
1 PIN_FLD_PASSWD STR [0] NULL
1 PIN_FLD_PASSWD_EXPIRATION_T TSTAMP [0] (0) 01/01/1970 05:30:00:000 AM
1 PIN_FLD_PASSWD_STATUS ENUM [0] 0
1 PIN_FLD_STATUS ENUM [0] 0
0 PIN_FLD_ARGS ARRAY [1] allocated 1, used 1
1 PIN_FLD_POID POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /service/ip -1 0
0 PIN_FLD_ARGS ARRAY [2] allocated 1, used 1
1 PIN_FLD_LOGIN STR [0] "your-login"

2). Search flist to find the service and account objects (or POIDS) using the alias field value when login is not available in the the service

0 PIN_FLD_POID POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /search -1 0

0 PIN_FLD_FLAGS INT [0] 256

0 PIN_FLD_INDEX_NAME STR [0] "service_alias_list_name_i"

0 PIN_FLD_PARAMETERS STR [0] "telco/voice"

0 PIN_FLD_TEMPLATE STR [0] "select X from /service/$1 where F1 = V1 and F2 = V2 "

0 PIN_FLD_RESULTS ARRAY [0] allocated 7, used 7

1 PIN_FLD_POID POID [0] NULL

1 PIN_FLD_ACCOUNT_OBJ POID [0] NULL

1 PIN_FLD_LOGIN STR [0] NULL

1 PIN_FLD_PASSWD STR [0] NULL

1 PIN_FLD_PASSWD_EXPIRATION_T TSTAMP [0] (0) 01/01/1970 05:30:00:000 AM

1 PIN_FLD_PASSWD_STATUS ENUM [0] 0

1 PIN_FLD_STATUS ENUM [0] 0

0 PIN_FLD_ARGS ARRAY [1] allocated 1, used 1

1 PIN_FLD_POID POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /service/telco/gsm/telephony -1 0

0 PIN_FLD_ARGS ARRAY [2] allocated 1, used 1

1 PIN_FLD_ALIAS_LIST ARRAY [*] allocated 1, used 1

2 PIN_FLD_NAME STR [0] "9830000011"

3). Flist to create customer without plan/deals/products (PCM_OP_CUST_COMMIT_CUSTOMER)

0 PIN_FLD_POID POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /plan 9198 0

0 PIN_FLD_ACCTINFO ARRAY [0]

1 PIN_FLD_POID POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /account -1 0

0 PIN_FLD_PAYINFO ARRAY [0]

1 PIN_FLD_POID POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /payinfo/invoice -1 0

1 PIN_FLD_PAY_TYPE ENUM [0] 10001

1 PIN_FLD_INHERITED_INFO SUBSTRUCT [0]

2 PIN_FLD_INV_INFO ARRAY [0]

3 PIN_FLD_ADDRESS STR [0] "Castro Street"

3 PIN_FLD_CITY STR [0] "San Fransisco"

3 PIN_FLD_COUNTRY STR [0] "US"

0 PIN_FLD_NAMEINFO ARRAY [1]

1 PIN_FLD_LAST_NAME STR [0] "LastN"

1 PIN_FLD_FIRST_NAME STR [0] "FirstN"

1 PIN_FLD_ADDRESS STR [0] "113, Castro Street"

1 PIN_FLD_CITY STR [0] "San Fransisco"

1 PIN_FLD_STATE STR [0] "CA"

1 PIN_FLD_COUNTRY STR [0] "US"

1 PIN_FLD_ZIP STR [0] "53038"

1 PIN_FLD_COMPANY STR [0] "ABC"

1 PIN_FLD_EMAIL_ADDR STR [0] "test@test.com"

0 PIN_FLD_SERVICES ARRAY [0]

1 PIN_FLD_SERVICE_OBJ POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /service/telco/gsm/telephony -1 0

Enabling pin_virtual_time first time after BRM 7.4 installation

2011-09-29T01:47:00.000-07:00

During development many times we need pin_virtual_time utility to move the BRM time forward to test many scenarios like billing, invoicing, dunning et.c.
After installing the BRM 7.4 components in the server, generally the pin_virtual_time_file is not created and also the entry is commented in almost all the component's pin.conf file.
Here are some tips to enable the pin_virtual_time (may be useful to novice BRM developers/testers)

1). Uncomment pin_virtual_time entry in all the components' pin.conf file. You may run the following command :
find $PIN_HOME/ -name "pin.conf" | xargs sed -i 's/# - - pin_virtual_time/- - pin_virtual_time/g'
2). Restart the BRM server
3). Goto the $PIN_HOME/sys/test directory and execute
    $> pin_virtual_time
    This will create the pin_virtual_time_file and from now on you can move the time.

PIN_VIRTUAL_TIME USAGE
usage: pin_virtual_time [-h|-H|-?] [-f filename] [-m mode [value]]|[-i interval]
    -h, -H, -? print this message.
    -m ... set pin_virtual_time to mode, nothing or -i query pin_virtual_time
    mode is 0 (regular), 1 (fixed) or 2 (running)
    value as [mmdd]HHMM[[cc]yy][.SS]
    interval is time between queries in seconds

Search flist to find billinfo and account poid using account_no

2011-09-05T04:50:00.000-07:00

Following is a complex search flist for finding BILLINFO poid and ACCOUNT poid using the ACCOUNT_NO field. As such this is used while running the bill utility during test runs but consider it as a sample for searching and extracting field values from two different storable class in single search. Generally, using a simple flist this is not achievable.

0 PIN_FLD_POID                      POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /search -1 0
0 PIN_FLD_FLAGS                      INT [0] 768
0 PIN_FLD_TEMPLATE                   STR [0] " select X from /account 1, /billinfo 2 where 1.F1 = 2.F2 and 1.F3 = V3 "
0 PIN_FLD_RESULTS                  ARRAY [*] allocated 2, used 2
1     PIN_FLD_POID                  POID [0] NULL
1     PIN_FLD_LINKED_OBJ           ARRAY [2] allocated 3, used 3
2         PIN_FLD_ACCOUNT_OBJ       POID [0] NULL
2         PIN_FLD_LINK_DIRECTION    ENUM [0] 1
2         PIN_FLD_EXTRA_RESULTS    ARRAY [*] allocated 1, used 1
3             PIN_FLD_POID          POID [0] NULL
0 PIN_FLD_ARGS                     ARRAY [1] allocated 1, used 1
1     PIN_FLD_POID                  POID [0] NULL
0 PIN_FLD_ARGS                     ARRAY [2] allocated 1, used 1
1     PIN_FLD_ACCOUNT_OBJ           POID [0] NULL
0 PIN_FLD_ARGS                     ARRAY [3] allocated 1, used 1
1     PIN_FLD_ACCOUNT_NO             STR [0] "0.0.0.1-90356"

I will provide the explaination shortly.

Utility to move pin_virtual_time(mode 1) and execute pin_bill_day

2011-05-31T11:44:00.000-07:00

It sounds like huh, why should I need a script for changing virtual time or executing pin_bill_day but it has utility. Specially for BRM testing, there are scenarios where the movement of time followed by execution of pin_bill_day and pin_ledger_report are required, e.g.
   - Testing of invalid (soft declined/hard declined) credit cards
   - Checking the monthly bill for a certain period of time
   - Accounting validation by looking at General Ledger(GL) reports of certain months
   - Checking the expiration of the non-currency date based resources valid for a year
   - and so on

So this script has the following modes of operation when you will execute it :

$> perl tbill.pl
Current time is : mode 1 1367341200 Tue Apr 30 10:00:00 2013
mode 1 1367341200 Tue Apr 30 10:00:00 2013
Select from the following :
        1. Increment time to next day
        2. Increment time to a date
        3. Move time to a date by incrementing one day at a time
        4. Move time to a date by incrementing one month at a time :
        5. Move time to a date by incrementing 15 days at a time
        Your Selection(1|2|3|4|5) :

Option1 : Increment time to next day and execute pin_bill_day and pin_ledger_report
Option2 : Increment time to a particular date in future like some date after few months in the same year or next year
Option3 : Increment time to a date in future by executing pin_bill_day and pin_ledger_report on each day of that period
Option4 : Increment time to few months by moving one month at a time and executing pin_bill_day and pin_ledger_report each month
Option5 : Increment time to a date by moving 15 day at once and executing pin_bill_day and pin_ledger_report

Here is the link of the script :

Guidelines to write a new FM in BRM

2011-05-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

Creating a new FM

Steps to create a new FM in a CM :

Define new opcodes
Write a function to implement the new opcode
Write a program to map opcodes to functions
Create a shared library on UNIX i.e. ".so" file
Configure the new FM as part of the CM

1. Defining new opcodes

You must define your custom opcodes, with their numbers, in a header file and execute parse_custom_ops_fields.pl on the file. parse_custom_ops_fields.pl creates an extension to the pcm_tbls.c file. Client applications use pcm_tbls.c to map a field or opcode to its number.

Portal opcodes and their numbers are defined in the ops/*.h files in the <BRM_HOME>/include directory.
To pass new opcodes from a client application to a new FM, use the PCM_OP macro.

To define a new opcode:
a). Create a header file and define your new opcodes by using this format:
      #define    opcode_name_1    opcode_number_1

      For example, you might create a header file named my_opcodes.h with these definitions :

      #define MY_OP_SET_AGE     100001
      #define MY_OP_SET_LANGUAGE 100002

       Important: Numbers upto 100000 are reserved for use by BRM.

b). Run the parse_custom_ops_fields.pl perl script by using this syntax:

       parse_custom_ops_fields.pl -L language -I input -O output -P java_package

c). For the applications written in PCM C or PCM COM, create an entry using the following format in the pin.conf each application :
      - - ops_fields_extension_file ops_flds_ext

      Where ops_flds_ext is the file name and location of the memory-mapped extension file that was created by the parse_custom_ops_fields.pl script.
       Make sure that you included your header file both in the application that is calling the opcode and in the custom FM.

2. Writing a function to implement a new opcode

     To implement a new opcode in BRM, you have to write a new function that calls the base system opcodes to access the DM. The new function then becomes part of the new FM shared library in UNIX.

     The new function you are implementing should conform to the PCM_OP calling convention.
     Use the PCM_OP_* reference pages as checklists and templates to determine what your custom function must implement. Pay particular attention to the input and output flists.

Important If you are adding a new function in the fm_utils module that can be called outside the module, add a prototype of that function in the fm_utils.h

3. Creating an opcode-to-function mapping file

    You create a configuration program fm_*_config.c to map an opcode name to the function that implements it. This configuration file is read when a dynamic library is created, and the mapping information is stored in it. When a parent CM is inititalized, it configures the opcode-function pairs into itself, and each child CM inherits the same configuration as its parent CM.

   The configuration program contains an array of struct cm_fm_config for each opcode and its corresponding function and the config function at the end.
   For a definition of this struct (cm_fm_config), see the cm_fm.h file in the BRM_SDK_HOME/include directory.
   The following example shows an opcode-to-function configuration file.

Important Include you ".h" file with your new custom opcodes

#ifndef lint
static char    Sccs_id[] = "@(#) fm_custom_config.c 1.0 24 May 2011 %";
#endif
#include <stdio.h> /* for FILE * in pcm.h */
#include "ops/base.h"
#include "pcm.h"
#include "cm_fm.h"
#include "ops/my_header.h"

/*******************************************************************
* Opcodes handled by this FM.
*******************************************************************/
struct cm_fm_config my_config[] = {
/* opcode as a u_int, function name (as a string) */
{ MY_FIRST_OPCODE , "op_my_opcode" },
{ 0, (char *)0 }
};

void * my_config_func()
{
return ((void *) (my_config));
}

When the CM gets a MY_FIRST_OPCODE opcode through the PCM_OP call from a client application, the CM looks up at this table and calls the op_cust_create_acct() function.

4. Adding a new FM module to the CM configuration file

The configuration file contain the names of the shared libraries that implement the base and custom opcodes. It also contains the names of the corresponding configuration files that contain the opcode-to-function mappings.

Use the entries for the system FMs in the default CM configuration file pin.conf in the BRM_HOME/sys/cm as an example to add your custom FM entries. For example, the typical entries for custom FMs look like:

- cm fm_module BRM_HOME/lib/my_fm.so my_config - pin

In this example, I'm assuming that the new dynamic library that implements the new custom FM my_fm.so is copied to BRM_HOME/lib directory. "my_config" is the name of the configuration implementation that contains the name-to-function mapping of the new custom OpCode.

5. Compiling and linking a custom FM

Use the libraries in the Portal_SDK_home/lib for linking.
Each custom FM must be created as a shared library on UNIX

Important classes in Oracle BRM

2011-05-05T16:03:00.000-07:00

In BRM, account/customer related data such as names, addresses, profiles, current account balances, group charge sharing, and account hierarchy are stored. Plans/deals/products can be purchased by the customer which gets associated with their account. The customers can purchase one or more services like GSM/GPRS et.c. (in case the subscriber is a telecom subscriber). Some of the key or most important BRM classes are:

/ACCOUNT : This is one of the most important and key storable class of BRM that stores information about the customer. The customer information includes their contact info,status, locale and tax related information. Account class is mapped to account_t table and is uniquely identified by POID. Each account has a default balance group and is associated with the instances of billinfo, balance group,payment method, purchased products, purchased discounts and services.

/BALANCE_GROUP : Stores the balance information for each currency and non-currency resources in an account . A balance group includes one or more sub-balances for each resource. The sub-balance contains the current amount, resource type, validity dates for the resource, rollover data, and sub-balance contributors. This storable class is mapped with the bal_grp_t table in BRM database.

/BILL : This storable class contains the information for the bills generated for each customer based on the products they purchase or the usage they do. It includes information such as the amount due, amount adjusted, currency and bill number. A /bill object is created for each account that have a due at the beginning of a billing cycle. It contains information for the invoice and the billinfo object with which it is associated. It maps with the bill_t  table in BRM database.

/BILLINFO: Stores all billing, payment method, accounting cycle, and hierarchy information necessary to bill an account. A default /billinfo object is created for every account. If the billinfo is subordinate, the /billinfo object points to the parent account and the parent account’s /billinfo object. It maps to billinfo_t table in BRM database.

/INVOICE: Stores a customer invoice and information about the invoice, such as the bill it is associated with. Each /bill object can have a corresponding /invoice object. It maps to invoice_t table in BRM database.

/ITEM: Created to bundle events, this table summarizes billable item activity by type. It maps to item_t table in BRM database. Rows in this table are added for each row in the BILL_T table.

/PAYINFO: Stores generic payment method information for an account. It maps to payinfo_t  table in BRM database.

/DEAL: Stores information about a deal.When you use Pricing Center and connect to the database, all /deal objects in the database are shown in Pricing Center. It maps to DEAL_T table in BRM database.

/PRODCUT: Stores the information for a single product. Maps to product_t table.

/DEVICE: Stores information about devices. There is a separate /device object for every device managed by BRM. Generic data applicable to all devices is stored in the parent /device object. Subclasses such as /device/num store information specific to a particular device type. It maps to device_t table in BRM database.

/PROFILE: Abstract class to support custom account information. To use a /profile object, always create a subclass. You can link an account to any number of /profile objects. Maps to profile_t table.

/EVENT : Abstract class to record system-initiated and user-initiated events. Event objects are related to a specific service or to an account. An event includes generic information such as start and end times as well the balance impacts that are incurred by the account due to this event. The /event object points to the account balance group that is impacted.Maps to event_t table in BRM database. The event class stores the event balance data in another table event_bal_impacts_t.

/PURCHASED_PRODUCT : Contains an entry for each product owned by an account at the time of conversion.Maps to purchased_product_t table in the BRM database.

/PURCHASED_DISCOUNT: Contains an entry for each discount owned by an account at the time of conversion.Maps to purchased_discount_t table in the BRM database.

/SERVICE : Stores generic service type information for accounts. There is one row in this table for each applicable service for each entry in ACCOUNT_T. In addition to a row in this table, a row must be created in the service type table, such as IP service or email. Maps to service_t table in the BRM database.

/CONFIG: Base class for configuration objects. Subclasses hold specific configuration information for various features, for example, /config/beid defines currency and non-currency resources. Maps to config_t  table.

Custom fields in BRM

2011-05-05T15:49:00.000-07:00

Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management offers two methods for creating, editing and deleting custom fields and storable classes. One approach is by using Storable Class Editor, part of the Developer Center application, and the other is by using SDK opcodes.

This post will address manipulating custom fields with SDK opcodes.

Before beginning, one change needs to be made first: making the data dictionary writable. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open the DM Oracle configuration file ($BRM_HOME/sys/dm_oracle/pin.conf) in a text(e.g. vi) editor.

2. Enable field manipulation in the data dictionary, by setting the following entry to 1:-

dm dd_write_enable_fields 1

Our objectives are as follows:

1. To create a custom field

2. To edit the custom field description

3. To delete the custom field from the database

4. To make the custom field available to BRM

1. Creating a New Custom Field

Creating a new custom field and committing it to the database can be accomplished with SDK opcodes or with a pin deploy utility. As developers know, SDK opcodes provide a more flexible way to create, edit, and delete custom fields at the development stage. The pin deploy utility, on the other hand, uses PODL (Portal Object Definition Language) to export and import field and storable class definitions. This is more useful, especially at the administrative level, because the process can be streamlined by putting field definitions into source code management and thus lower any possibility of damaging the Oracle BRM production database data dictionary.

The following SDK opcodes can be used to manage field specifications:

i. PCM_OP_SDK_SET_FLD_SPECS – create or modify a field,

ii. PCM_OP_SDK_GET_FLD_SPECS – retrieve a field specs,

iii. PCM_OP_SDK_DEL_FLD_SPECS – delete a field.

To create a field, it’s necessary to write an input flist for PCM_OP_SDK_SET_FLD_SPECS opcode:

0 PIN_FLD_POID POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /dd/fields 0 0

0 PIN_FLD_FIELD ARRAY [0]

1 PIN_FLD_DESCR STR [0] “custom field for holding a VAT number”

1 PIN_FLD_FIELD_NAME STR [0] “C_FLD_VAT_NUMBER”

1 PIN_FLD_FIELD_NUM ENUM [0] 10000

1 PIN_FLD_FIELD_TYPE INT [0] 5

Now, verify that the field created exists in the database data dictionary by feeding the following input flist to PCM_OP_SDK_GET_FLD_SPECS opcode:

0 PIN_FLD_POID POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /dd/objects 0 0

0 PIN_FLD_FIELD ARRAY [0]

1 PIN_FLD_FIELD_NAME STR [0] “C_FLD_VAT_NUMBER”

2. Editing the Custom Field Description

Now, having confirmed that the new custom field exists, the description can be altered by calling PCM_OP_SDK_SET_FLD_SPECS opcode with the following input flist:

0 PIN_FLD_POID POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /dd/fields 0 0

0 PIN_FLD_FIELD ARRAY [0]

1 PIN_FLD_DESCR STR [0] “custom field – VAT number”

1 PIN_FLD_FIELD_NAME STR [0] “C_FLD_VAT_NUMBER”

1 PIN_FLD_FIELD_NUM ENUM [0] 10000

1 PIN_FLD_FIELD_TYPE INT [0] 5

Again, the field’s specifications can be retrieved so as to verify that the change has been accomplished.

After that, delete the custom field from the database.

Finally, assume a mistake has been made, and it’s necessary to delete a field. Provide the following input flist to PCM_OP_SDK_DEL_FLD_SPECS opcode, deletes the field:

0 PIN_FLD_POID POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /dd/fields 0 0

0 PIN_FLD_FIELD ARRAY [0]

1 PIN_FLD_FIELD_NAME STR [0] “C_FLD_VAT_NUMBER”

If the opcode for retrieving the field’s specifications returns an empty flist (only POID obj),then that signifies the field was not found in the database data dictionary.

3. Making the Custom Fields Available to BRM

Standard practice dictates that everything custom developed goes into the BRM_HOME/custom directory, and since, in this case, BRM_HOME/include/pin_flds.h, is being extended, a new custom header file BRM_HOME/custom/include/custom_flds.h. needs to be created.

Now, the new custom field can be introduced by appending the following line to custom_flds.h:

#define MY_CUSTOM_FLD PIN_MAKE_FLD(PIN_FLDT_STR, 10000)

The line above defines a custom field named “MY_CUSTOM_FLD” with data type “PIN_FLDT_STR” (STR stands for string) and unique identifier “10000″ (in regards to BRM_HOME/include/pin_flds.h).

Data types are static, and defined by the BRM version you are running; please see BRM_HOME/include/pcm.h for definitions.

Next, run the parse_custom_ops_fields.pl perl script on the custom_flds.h using this command:

$BRM_HOME/bin/parse_custom_ops_fields.pl -L pcmc -I custom_flds.h -O $BRM_HOME/custom/include/custom_mapping.m

And finally, include the following line to every pin.conf where it’s desired that these field be seen: –

- ops_fields_extension_file ${BRM_HOME}/custom/include/custom_mapping.m

NOTE: When introducing new functionalities using custom fields, it is necessary to include the custom_flds.h header file in the FMs that use these fields

Some BRM SQLs

2011-04-01T10:59:00.000-07:00

Here I'm sharing few SQLs which are very useful for specific BRM scenarios during debugging and testing. Please contribute if you have some SQLs apart from the listed ones :

1). Searching the resources associated with an account with their balances:

SELECT BG.OBJ_ID0,BG.REC_ID,BG.REC_ID2,CB.NAME,CB.SYMBOL, DATE '1970-01-01'+BG.VALID_FROM/86400,DATE '1970-01-01'+BG.VALID_TO/86400,BG.CURRENT_BAL FROM BAL_GRP_SUB_BALS_T BG,CONFIG_BEID_BALANCES_T CB WHERE BG.OBJ_ID0=(SELECT POID_ID0 FROM BAL_GRP_T WHERE ACCOUNT_OBJ_ID0=30651) AND BG.REC_ID2=CB.REC_ID

Change the ACCOUNT_OBJ_ID0 and use this query.

2). Getting discount details with discount model

select d.name,dum.EVENT_TYPE, -- Discount Name
idm.CODE, -- discount model
idt.CODE "Trigger", idcndn.COND_EXPRESSION ||' '||idcndn.COND_OPERATOR||' '||idcndn.CONDITION_VALUE "Trigger value", -- Trigger details
idmstr.CODE "DiscountMaster", iddtl.ZONEMODEL, iddtl.IMPACT_CATEGORY, iddtl.SERVICECODE, iddtl.SERVICECLASS, -- Master details
iddtl.TIMEMODEL, iddtl.TIMEZONE, iddtl.PRICEMODEL, iddtl.RESSOURCE, iddtl.RUM, iddtl.RECORDTYPE, -- Master details cont
iddtl.USAGETYPE,iddtl.USAGECLASS, iddtl.RATE_PLAN, iddtl.RATE_TAG, iddtl.GLID, -- Master details cont
idrl.CODE "DISC RULE", idrl.DRUM_EXPRESSION, idrl.RULE_TYPE, idrl.DRUM_TYPE, -- Discount rule
idstp.CODE, idstp.RANK, idstp.THRESHOLD_FROM, idstp.THRESHOLD_TO, -- Discount step
idblimpct.RESOURCE_ID, idblimpct.DISCOUNT_OWNER_FLAG, idblimpct.DISCOUNT_TYPE, idblimpct.BASE_EXPRESSION, -- discount balance impact
idblimpct.GRANT_BEAT, idblimpct.GRANT_PRORATEDBEAT, idblimpct.GRANT_UNITS, idblimpct.EVENT_BALANCE_ID -- discount balance impact
from discount_t d, discount_usage_map_t dum, IFW_DISCOUNTMODEL idm,
IFW_DSCMDL_CNF idmc, IFW_DSCTRIGGER idt, IFW_DISCOUNTRULE idrl, IFW_DSCCONDITION idcndn, IFW_DISCOUNTMASTER idmstr, IFW_DISCOUNTDETAIL iddtl,
IFW_DISCOUNTSTEP idstp, IFW_DSCBALIMPACT idblimpct--, IFW_DSCMDL_CNF idscnf
where d.POID_ID0=dum.OBJ_ID0 and dum.DISCOUNT_MODEL=idm.CODE and idmc.DISCOUNTMODEL=idm.DISCOUNTMODEL
and idmc.DISCOUNTTRIGGER=idt.DISCOUNTTRIGGER and idmc.DISCOUNTRULE=idrl.DISCOUNTRULE
and idcndn.DISCOUNTTRIGGER=idt.DISCOUNTTRIGGER and idmstr.DISCOUNTMASTER=idrl.DISCOUNTMASTER
and idmstr.DISCOUNTMASTER=iddtl.DISCOUNTMASTER and idstp.DISCOUNTRULE=idrl.DISCOUNTRULE
and idblimpct.DISCOUNTSTEP=idstp.DISCOUNTSTEP ;

3). Discount details with discount model selector

select d.name,dum.EVENT_TYPE, -- Discount Name
idm.CODE, -- discount model
idt.CODE "Trigger", idcndn.COND_EXPRESSION ||' '||idcndn.COND_OPERATOR||' '||idcndn.CONDITION_VALUE "Trigger value", -- Trigger details
idmstr.CODE "DiscountMaster", iddtl.ZONEMODEL, iddtl.IMPACT_CATEGORY, iddtl.SERVICECODE, iddtl.SERVICECLASS, -- Master details
iddtl.TIMEMODEL, iddtl.TIMEZONE, iddtl.PRICEMODEL, iddtl.RESSOURCE, iddtl.RUM, iddtl.RECORDTYPE, -- Master details cont
iddtl.USAGETYPE,iddtl.USAGECLASS, iddtl.RATE_PLAN, iddtl.RATE_TAG, iddtl.GLID, -- Master details cont
idrl.CODE "DISC RULE", idrl.DRUM_EXPRESSION, idrl.RULE_TYPE, idrl.DRUM_TYPE, -- Discount rule
idstp.CODE, idstp.RANK, idstp.THRESHOLD_FROM, idstp.THRESHOLD_TO, -- Discount step
idblimpct.RESOURCE_ID, idblimpct.DISCOUNT_OWNER_FLAG, idblimpct.DISCOUNT_TYPE, idblimpct.BASE_EXPRESSION, -- discount balance impact
idblimpct.GRANT_BEAT, idblimpct.GRANT_PRORATEDBEAT, idblimpct.GRANT_UNITS, idblimpct.EVENT_BALANCE_ID -- discount balance impact
from discount_t d, discount_usage_map_t dum, IFW_MODEL_SELECTOR ims, IFW_SELECTOR_RULESET isrlst, IFW_DISCOUNTMODEL idm,
IFW_DSCMDL_CNF idmc, IFW_DSCTRIGGER idt, IFW_DISCOUNTRULE idrl, IFW_DSCCONDITION idcndn, IFW_DISCOUNTMASTER idmstr, IFW_DISCOUNTDETAIL iddtl,
IFW_DISCOUNTSTEP idstp, IFW_DSCBALIMPACT idblimpct,
IFW_SELECTOR_RULE_LNK isrl, IFW_SELECTOR_RULE isl, IFW_SELECTOR_DETAIL isd
where d.POID_ID0=dum.OBJ_ID0 and dum.MODEL_SELECTOR=ims.NAME and idmc.DISCOUNTMODEL=idm.DISCOUNTMODEL
and idmc.DISCOUNTTRIGGER=idt.DISCOUNTTRIGGER and idmc.DISCOUNTRULE=idrl.DISCOUNTRULE
and idcndn.DISCOUNTTRIGGER=idt.DISCOUNTTRIGGER and idmstr.DISCOUNTMASTER=idrl.DISCOUNTMASTER
and idmstr.DISCOUNTMASTER=iddtl.DISCOUNTMASTER and idstp.DISCOUNTRULE=idrl.DISCOUNTRULE
and idblimpct.DISCOUNTSTEP=idstp.DISCOUNTSTEP
and dum.MODEL_SELECTOR=ims.NAME
and isrlst.MODEL_SELECTOR=ims.MODEL_SELECTOR
and isrlst.MODEL=idm.DISCOUNTMODEL
and isrlst.SELECTOR_RULE=isrl.SELECTOR_RULE
and isrl.SELECTOR_RULE=isl.SELECTOR_RULE and isrl.SELECTOR_DETAIL=isd.SELECTOR_DETAIL

4). SQL to find pipeline rate plan details with product poid
select p.name,pum.EVENT_TYPE, isrl.*, ipm.*, ims.*
from product_t p, PRODUCT_USAGE_MAP_T pum, RATE_PLAN_T rp, IFW_RATEPLAN irp,
IFW_RATEPLAN_VER irpv, IFW_RATEPLAN_CNF irpc, IFW_MODEL_SELECTOR ims, IFW_SELECTOR_RULESET isr,
IFW_SELECTOR_RULE isrl, IFW_PRICEMODEL ipm
where p.POID_ID0=pum.OBJ_ID0 and pum.RATE_PLAN_CODE=rp.CODE and rp.CODE=irp.CODE
and irp.RATEPLAN=irpv.RATEPLAN and irpv.RATEPLAN=irpc.RATEPLAN and irpc.MODEL_SELECTOR=ims.MODEL_SELECTOR
and isr.MODEL_SELECTOR=ims.MODEL_SELECTOR
and isrl.SELECTOR_RULE=isr.SELECTOR_RULE
and isr.MODEL=ipm.PRICEMODEL
and p.poid = <<PRODUCT_POID>>;

5). SQL to find discount details

select dsc.poid_id0, dsc.NAME,
decode(idb.discount_type,'P',idb.GRANT_UNITS*100||'%', idb.GRANT_UNITS||' Fixed') discount
, idd.*
from
DISCOUNT_T dsc, DISCOUNT_USAGE_MAP_T dum
,IFW_DISCOUNTMODEL idm
,IFW_DSCMDL_CNF idmc
,IFW_DISCOUNTRULE idr
,IFW_DISCOUNTSTEP ids
,IFW_DSCBALIMPACT idb
,IFW_DISCOUNTDETAIL idd
where dsc.POID_ID0=dum.OBJ_ID0
and idm.code=dum.DISCOUNT_MODEL
and idmc.discountmodel = idm.discountmodel
and idr.DISCOUNTRULE = idmc.DISCOUNTRULE
and ids.discountrule = idr.discountrule
and idb.discountstep = ids.discountstep
and idr.DISCOUNTMASTER = idd.DISCOUNTMASTER
--and dsc.name like '%<<DISCOUNT_PATTERN%'
and dum.EVENT_TYPE='<<EVENT_TYPE>>'
;

BRM - GL (General Ledger)

2011-03-26T11:22:00.000-07:00

Billed and unbilled usage fees

Billed and unbilled purchase and cancellation fees

If a purchase or cancel event occurs after the billing date but before the G/L reporting date, BRM G/L reports the revenue as unbilled.

Cycle arrears and Forward Arrears

1. Billed cycle arrears fees

2. Billed and unbilled cycle forward arrears fees

Sample Ledger Report

DD Objects/Fields queries in BRM

2011-03-23T06:29:00.000-07:00

This is a simple but very useful search to find the table name for a storable class in BRM. It is many times a difficult job specially in highly customized environments. Execute the following query by connecting to the BRM database :

SQL> select dof.SM_ITEM_NAME from dd_objects_t do,dd_objects_fields_t dofwhere do.OBJ_ID0=dof.OBJ_ID0 and do.NAME like '<CLASSNAME>' and dof.SM_ITEM_NAME not like ':%' and dof.SM_ITEM_NAME not like 'au_%'

Replace the <CLASSNAME> with the exact class for which you want to search the table, e.g.

SQL> select dof.SM_ITEM_NAMEfrom dd_objects_t do,dd_objects_fields_t dof where do.OBJ_ID0=dof.OBJ_ID0 and do.NAME like '/service' and dof.SM_ITEM_NAME not like ':%' and dof.SM_ITEM_NAME not like 'au_%'

Similarly, we can search the storable class name from the table name. Use the following query :

SQL> select dof.SM_ITEM_NAME,do.name from dd_objects_t do,dd_objects_fields_t dof where do.OBJ_ID0=dof.OBJ_ID0 and dof.SM_ITEM_NAME like 'account_t'

Following query can be used to find the storable classes where a BRM field is used:

select do.name from dd_objects_t do,dd_objects_fields_t dof where dof.field_name ='<FIELD_NAME>' and do.obj_id0=dof.obj_id0;

e.g.,

select do.name from dd_objects_t do,dd_objects_fields_t dof where dof.field_name ='PIN_FLD_ITEM_NO' and do.obj_id0=dof.obj_id0;

Adding new element in a storable class

2011-03-10T05:25:00.000-08:00

To add a new element in a storable class, you need to use PCM_OP_WRITE_FLDS with the PCM_OPFLG_ADD_ENTRY as flag. Provide the element in the input flist with the new element id and execute PCM_OP_WRITE_FLDS with the flist. e.g., using testnap

testnap>r << xx 1
0 PIN_FLD_POID           POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /some_class 1111
0 NEW_ARRAY_NAME ARRAY [10]
1   ARRAY_FIELD1   STR [0] "VALUE1"
1   ARRAY_FIELD2 STR [0] "VALUE2"
...
...
...
xx
testnap>xop PCM_OP_WRITE_FLDS 32 1
0 PIN_FLD_POID           POID [0] 0.0.0.1 /some_class 1111

For your reference, the value of PCM_OPFLG_ADD_ENTRY is 0x20 (hexadecimal) which is equal to 32 in decimal.

Billing Applications vs Billing Opcodes

2011-03-02T08:40:00.000-08:00

Here is a rare mapping between the Billing Applications and Billing Opcodes :

Billing Applications	Billing Opcodes
pin_deferred_act	PCM_OP_ACT_SCHEDULE_EXECUTE
pin_bill_accts	PCM_OP_BILL_MAKE_BILL
pin_cycle_fees	PCM_OP_SUBSCRIPTION_CYCLE_FORWARD
	PCM_OP_SUBSCRIPTION_PURCHASE_FEES
	PCM_OP_SUBSCRIPTION_CANCEL_PRODUCT
pin_collect	PCM_OP_PYMT_COLLECT
	PCM_OP_PYMT_CHARGE_CC
	PCM_OP_PYMT_CHARGE_DD
pin_refund	PCM_OP_PYMT_COLLECT
	PCM_OP_PYMT_CHARGE_CC
	PCM_OP_PYMT_CHARGE_DD
pin_deposit	PCM_OP_PYMT_COLLECT
	PCM_OP_PYMT_CHARGE_CC
	PCM_OP_PYMT_CHARGE_DD
pin_inv_accts	PCM_OP_INV_MAKE_INVOICE
	PCM_OP_INV_VIEW_INVOICE
	PCM_OP_INV_POL_FORMAT_VIEW_INVOICE

Partial (Short and Long) Accounting Cycles !

2011-02-24T11:55:00.000-08:00

When the accounting cycle date is changed in the middle of an accounting cycle, the new date does not take effect until after the current accounting cycle is over. This results in a gap of time between the end of the old accounting cycle and the start of the new accounting cycle. For example, for a 30-day month, if the current accounting cycle ends on the 15th and the new cycle starts on the 1st, there is a gap of 15 days between the end of the old cycle and the start of the new cycle.

Short Accounting Cycle
By default, the BRM system treats extra days,between the old and new accounting cycle, of 15 days as a short, but complete accounting cycle. At the end of that short cycle, the accounting cycle resumes its normal monthly cycle.

Long Accounting Cycle
If the short cycle is less than 15 days, a long cycle is created instead. In that case, the extra days are added to the next one-month accounting cycle. This results in a long cycle with the start date of the old cycle and the end date of the new cycle.

Monthly charges are prorated for accounting cycles less than or greater than one month.

Short and long cycles with new accounts

A short or long cycle can also occur when a customer registers and the billing DOM is different from the day of month when they register. For example, your company might require that all customers be billed on the first day of the month. If a customer registers on January 26, by default the first bill is created on March 1. To bill the customer on February 1, you need to change the default partial billing cycle to short.

How BRM calculates long billing cycles

By default, BRM uses the following formula to calculate long billing cycles:
Use a short cycle unless one of the following is true:

Future billing day of month > current billing day of month
AND
(Future billing day of month - current billing day of month) < 15

Future billing day of month < current billing day of month
AND
(Current billing day of month - future billing day of month) > 15

Examples:

If the current billing DOM is 1 and the future billing DOM is 10:

10 > 1 10 - 1 = 9 Use a long cycle.

If the current billing DOM is 1 and the future billing DOM is 20:

20 > 1 20 - 1 = 19 Use a short cycle.

If the current billing DOM is 10 and the future billing DOM is 1:

1 < 10 10 - 1 = 9 Use a short cycle.

If the current billing DOM is 20 and the future billing DOM is 1:

1 < 20 20 - 1 = 19 Use a long cycle.

Implementing a new service (CDMA) in BRM

2011-02-24T02:45:00.000-08:00

Invoice Number(Bill no) Formating

2011-02-23T23:49:00.000-08:00

Here I'm presenting few guidelines to customize the invoice number format.

The out of the box format for the invoice number is :
Default Invoice : B1-BILLNO, e.g. B1-1234

We will take the case to customized Invoice number in the following format :
Customized Invoice Number : [ACCOUNT_POID]-BILLNO, e.g. 0000098976-1234
Where account_poid = 98976

For implementing the above change, we need to do the following steps :
1]. Customize the policy opcode : PCM_OP_BILL_POL_SPEC_BILLNO opcode needs modification to read sequence id(poid) from account object POID and replace B1 from default invoice number with the sequence id.
To customize the PCM_OP_BILL_POL_SPEC_BILLNO, need to edit fm_bill_pol_spec_billno() function of fm_bill_pol_spec_billno.c

fm_bill_pol_spec_billno(
{
    /*****************************************
    * Set the BILL_NO field according to poid
    *****************************************/
    vp = PIN_FLIST_FLD_GET(b_flistp,PIN_FLD_BILL_NO,1,ebufp);
    if((vp == (void *)NULL || (strlen((char *)vp) <= 0)) { // START OF IF BLOCK
       ............
        ............
        poid_db = PIN_POID_GET_DB(pdp);
        poid_id = PIN_POID_GET_ID(pdp);
        business_param_invoice_sequence_id_lt = psiu_bparams_get_int(ctxp, PSIU_BPARAMS_INVOICING_PARAMS,PSIU_BPARAMS_LENGHT_OF_SEQUENCE_ID,ebufp);
        printf(%s is the bill no", billno);
        sprintf(billno,"%llu",poid_id);
        /*start sequence */
        PIN_ERR_LOG_MSG(PIN_ERR_LEVEL_DEBUG,"--billno and poid--");
        PIN_ERR_LOG_MSG(PIN_ERR_LEVEL_DEBUG,billno);
        PIN_ERR_LOG_MSG(PIN_ERR_LEVEL_DEBUG,poid_id);
        PIN_FLIST_FLD_SET(b_flistp,PIN_FLD_BILL_NO,(void *)billno,ebufp);
   }//END OF IF BLOCK
   *out_flistpp = b_flistp;
    return;
}