Overview | System Architecture
| Aricent Unified Service Creation Environment
The services designed by a service creator is processed by
the Service Creation Environment (SCE) platform. The SCE platform
consists of all the components that are needed to create a
service and upload it on a target network. The Service Creation
Environment from Aricent includes:
- Service Creation Environment (SCE) Graphical Editor
- SCE Builder Platform Software
Web based SCE Graphical Editor
SCE Builder Platform
Service Logic Execution Framework (SLEF)
Code Generation
Build Environment
Database Execution Engine
SCE Test Environment
Configuration Management
Traces and Debugging Support
SCE Generated Service Portability
Statistics Generation
System Administration
High Availability and Redundancy Support
SCE Third Party Development Support
Standards Compliance
SCE Generated Sample Service Look and Feel
Web based SCE Graphical
Editor
SCE provides a Web based network centric Graphics User
Interface based environment, SCE Graphical Editor (SCEGE), which
ensures easy development of services. To design services, a
service creator uses the Service Creation Environment Graphical
Editor (SCEGE). SCEGE is a JAVA applet. SCEGE provide a graphics-based
environment for creating and customizing services. These services
are created using pre-defined and pre-tested reusable components
called Operation Blocks (OPBs). SCEGE has following attributes:
- Advanced & easy to use Programming Environment
- Web- based Network Centric tool
- Flexible integration with any external interface
- Provides facility for service graph compilation for syntactic
validations and build environment to generate executable
service
- Multiple SIBs can be combined into reusable High-Level
SIB
- Complete support for Edit operations - e.g. cut, copy,
paste, delete, alignment, spacing, multiple graph-handling
etc.
- Generation of wrapper code over external APIs, as to integrate
them as a Service Independent Blocks
- SCE Graphical Editor produces service definition in the
form of language independent XML based service description
language.
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SCE Builder Platform
Rich Palette of SIBs : Full compliance to ITU-T/ETSI
SIBs for CS1 and CS2 and AIN 0.2 SIBs, which can be used for
development of services for IN and Soft-switch platform. It
also has rich collection of generic and Utility SIBs and components
for database operations.
Standard CS1/CS2/AIN0.2 SIBS : It is collection of
ITU-T/ETSI & ANSI defined CS1 and CS2 SIBs for development
of IN based features, applications and services.
High Level SIBS : A combination of SIBS representing
different operations, which can be combined with other high-level
SIBS or SIBS to create another high-level SIB. Therefore a
high-level SIB represents a high-level operation, which is
a combination of multiple operations. High level SIBs can
be defined as service feature like call forwarding, time based
routing etc.
Test and Simulation SIBs : It provides SIBs for the
test node corresponding to the target platform. For example
in case of IN based network, SSP is the test node corresponding
to the target node SCP on which the service logic runs. From
the same creation environment, test service logic can be prepared
using test SIBs to test the service logic flow.
User Defined SIBs : A user-defined SIB provides the
functionality to integrate a well-defined and tested interface
function with a service. The interface function is available
in the form of a library. The function that is integrated
with a service should conform to the interface specifications
for SCE. SCE Graphical Editor provides easy integration of
user defined SIBs.
Utility SIBs : These SIBs are used across all the
services for serving basic programming need. The examples
SIBs are SIBs collection for mathematical functionality string
manipulation and file I/O and so on.
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Service Logic Execution
Framework (SLEF)
The service logic execution framework (SLEF) provides the
environment in which a service executes. Service logic is
developed on a SCE, and is then deployed on the SLEF. The
SLEF starts and stops services, loads new instances of services,
and ensures each service runs. The SLEF provides some utilities
for service use such as tracing, logging and timers. The Aricent
Service Logic Execution Framework supports the following capabilities:
- SAP (Service Administration Process) Process to monitor
all services for their health (audit), usage, alarms, and
the ability to change service attributes dynamically to
alter the services’ behaviors.
- Execution support utilities Providing run-time environment
services such as transaction support, database access, security
- Memory Management - Customizable memory management module
allows tuning the memory requirement for embedded systems.
- Communication Package - Generic Interface, which allows
Enhancement and customization.
- Management of Service generated Logs - Generic Interface
for logging. Support services such as viewing, editing and
removal of service generated logs.
- Full compatibility with ANSI C/C++ Standards
- Highly optimized code generation
- Complete Object Oriented Design
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Code Generation
Generic, platform-independent tools that generates code in
ANSI C/C++ and Java
- Full compatibility with ANSI C/C++ Standards.
- Portable and Optimized code generation
- POSIX Compliance generated service code
- Customizable memory management module allows tuning the
memory requirement for embedded systems
- Services are generated for various target platforms like
Solaris, VxWorks and Windows NT
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Build Environment
Single user click to get service binaries from the SCE Graphical
Editor. Code generation, compilation and linking is hidden
from the user and user gets only service binaries. The SCE
can generate services in the form of service executable, library
and shared object based on target platform need.
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Database Execution Engine
It provides interface to any service running at Target Network,
which is created by SCE to perform Database related operations.
Concept of SCE Database Interface has been implemented using
two entities: Database Interface Generator (DIG) and Database
Execution Engine (DBE). A separate entity SCE Database Interface
has been designed to achieve:
- Faster response per query
- To provide uniform database interface to all services
created by SCE Platform and running at target service execution
platform.
- Provide services an interface that is independent of underlying
database.
Database Interface Generation (DIG)
- Platform Independent tool developed using Java technology.
- Full ANSI SQL Support, which makes it compatible with
most of the popular databases.
- Capable of generating code for any Database Interface
Language (DIL) like PRO*C for Oracle , Times-Ten , LDAP
etc.
Database Engine
- Runtime addition of Service specific data
- Database Independence
- Faster response per query
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SCE Test Environment
Service test environment shall provide an offline method
for testing of the service applications by simulating functionality
of the target network.
Figure 2: Service Creation Test Environment
Service Test Environment (STE) supports execution of various
test case scenarios in a virtual test setup that consists
of a protocol simulator and the target network components.
The test cases can be formulated using SCE in a similar manner
as Service Logic Programs are generated. Test SLPs can be
created to match any protocol message that flow from the Service
Logic Program (SLP).
This virtual testing method enables carriers to test the
service implementation without using any hardware resources;
all target network functions can be simulated in software
using the STE.
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Configuration Management
Once the service logic flow is fully tested and validated
with the Service Creation Environment, the next step is to
do configuration management for the generated services. Aricent
Service Creation Environment provides an open interface for
version control of generated services and re-usable components.
Presently, it works with standard third party tool Clearcase.
It requires minimal effort to integrate with any other version
management system.
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Traces and Debugging Support
Aricent SCE provides facility of generating traces while SCE
developed services are being executed. Traces can be generated
for already defines 3 levels (Brief, Medium and Detail). The
trace/debug file generated after execution of the service
can be used for diagnosis and resolution of the problem.
However, advanced service developer can use standard available
debugging tools like gdb, ddd for the same purpose and it
can be integrated part of the SCE.
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SCE Generated Service Portability
The SCE generated service is portable code and works seemlessly
with the multiple platforms.
The tested SCE generated service (Service object in the form
of library and service executable) can run on following platforms
(Platforms for the target network):
- SUN Solaris 5.7 and above
- Windows NT Workstations
- VxWorks Platform
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Statistics Generation
SCE has capability to define various statistics collection
data and its interface with the LOGGER to record the statistics
data. During, call excecution, the defined data can be manipulated
by using the concept of scratch pad.
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System Administration
The System Administrator Process (SAP) maintains the list
of the processes started by it and sends Health check messages
to all of them regularly to keep track of them. If any of
them goes down, it is SAP that tries to bring that process
back into existence.
Besides these health check messages that could be both for
SLP or the Service Manager itself, SAP can send add/delete/pause/resume
SLP messages to the Service Manager.
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High Availability and Redundancy
Support
The SCE generated services shall be using Aricent High Availability
Framework API’s and generic software modules, which would
enable inherently different applications to support various
redundancy schemes. It has a uniform set of API’s and software
modules, which help reduce the time to develop a High Availability
Application. The followings are the key features:
- Handling of system start-up, Active/Standby configuration
and Switch-over handling
- Replication of data - It exposes the set of APIs to the
application to replicate their critical data to Standby
System. It handles the replication of in-memory data, file
data or third pary RDBMS database (Oracle). A copy of RDBMS
is also replicated to central repository
- Health Management - The health of the applications continuosly
get monitored. On failure policy decisions are taken for
necessary actions
- A well defined set of APIs are exposed to the management
entity to configure the system. User configures the Active
system and same configuration is applied to Standby system
- Shutdown of the system can be initiated internally or
by operator
SCE Generated services will be working with Aricent High Availability
Platform framework but, to work with Telica’s platform, separate
integration effort will be required.
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SCE Third Party Development
Support
A unique feature of the SCE is its component software architecture
that allows developers to develop completely new service logic
components and integrate them into the SCE with minimal effort.
This allows third party developers to integrate value-added
or proprietary building blocks and expose them to application
developers as part of the same easy-to-use visual environment
as the standard plug-in components. The fact that SCE has
capability to integrate new (functionality’s) SIBs to create
the standard set of plug-in components that ship with the
SCE illustrates that third-party developers have the full
power to customize the SCE SIBs and applications.
It also provides extensible interfaces for integrating with
multiple platforms and external interfaces.
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Standards Compliance
The following standards all followed for the SCE product:
- Full Compliance of ITU-T/ETSI SIBs for CS1 and CS2
- Full Compliance of AIN 0.2 SIBs (GR 1298, GR 1299)
Full Compliance of Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0 (Second
Edition) W3C recommendation 6 October, 2000.
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SCE Generated Sample Service
Look and Feel
Figure 3: Screen Snapshot for SCE Graphical
Editor
The following screen capture demonstrates the look and feel
of Aricent SCE Graphical Editor for defining a service Toll-Free.
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Last updated : February 2, 2004
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