Method for determining concurrent voice over IP calls
View Patent ↗A method employs call detail records for developing a report on the usage of VoIP calling along a network path or through a network location. By utilizing, for example, a call-beginning record and a call-ending record for each connection, a report is created of the number of concurrent VoIP calls that a specified equipment or network path carries at any given instance by retrieving batches of stored call detail records, culling the records that are relevant to the specified equipment or network path, considering the culled records in a time sorted manner, and incrementing or decrementing a counter based on whether a considered record is a call-beginning record or a call-ending record, respectively. The state of the counter is reported, illustratively, as a line entry each time the counter's state is modified.
1. A method for developing a report on usage of voice-over-Internet (VoIP) calling between network equipment that connects to a packet network and network paths that said equipment uses to connect to the packet network comprising the steps of:
collecting call detail records (CDRs) having an identifier that permits segregating call detail records based on said specified piece of equipment or network path, which call detail records are adapted to yield call-beginning information, or call-ending information, or both;
conditioning said collected CDR by employing a process of culling CDRs that pertain to said network equipment that connects to a packet network and network paths that said equipment uses to connect to the packet network, and a process for permitting said CDRs to be considered in time-ordered manner, said conditioning executing said processes in any chosen order; and
employing the conditioned CDR to identify VoIP calls from call origin and destination information contained in said CDRs, and developing therefrom a report of concurrent VoIP calls that said equipment carries.
2. The method of claim 1 where said collecting is for a specified time interval, and said report identifies number of concurrent established VoIP calls pertaining to said specified piece of equipment or network path.
3. The method of claim 1 where each CDR includes an identifier.
4. The method of claim 3 where the identifier of a CDR resulting from a call carried by a piece of equipment in said network or network path in said network where said call originates (ID-A), and the identifier of a CDR resulting from said call carried by a piece of equipment in said network or network path in said network where said call terminates (ID-B) contain information is used to identify pairs of CDRs relating to the same call.
5. The method according to claim 2 where said developing of the report increments a counter when a considered CDR provides call-beginning information, and decrements said counter when said considered CDR provides call-ending information.
6. The method according to claim 5 where said developing the report augments state of the counter to account for calls that are in progress at beginning of said interval.