IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,621,687
Granted Patent B2
US 12,621,687 · App. 18/468,609 · Granted May 5, 2026

Vendor onboarding and pre-deployment service testing

Inventors: Nikhil Sharma (Highlands Ranch, CO); Ramanathan Sekkappan (Prosper, TX)
Assignee: Boost SubscriberCo L.L.C.
H04W24/06G06F21/602
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,621,687
App. No.
18/468,609
Granted
May 5, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Systems and methods for service vendor onboarding and pre-production artifact validation and functional testing are provided. An example method includes receiving, in an automated test control system in connection with a cellular network implemented on a cloud-computing platform, an artifact associated with a service provided by a service vendor, and the service is to be deployed on the cellular network. The method further includes storing the received artifact in an untrusted artifacts database, generating and configuring a first test environment on a first virtual private cloud of the cloud-computing platform, performing validation on the received artifact in the first test environment, in response to a determination that the artifact is validated, performing functional testing on the validated artifact in the first test environment, and in response to a determination that the artifact passes the functional testing, signing the artifact and storing the signed artifact in a repository.

Claims (68)

1 . A method, comprising:

receiving, in an automated test control system in connection with a cellular network implemented on a cloud-computing platform, an artifact associated with a service provided by a service vendor, wherein the service is to be deployed on the cellular network;

storing the received artifact in an untrusted artifacts database;

generating and configuring a first test environment on a first virtual private cloud of the cloud-computing platform;

automatically performing validation on the received artifact in the first test environment;

in response to a determination that the artifact is validated, performing functional testing on the validated artifact in the first test environment; and

in response to a determination that the artifact passes the functional testing, signing the artifact and storing the signed artifact in a repository.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, in a service management platform, a service request for deploying the service from the service vendor; and

assigning, by the service management platform, a resource identifier locator to the service vendor,

wherein the artifact is transmitted to the automated test control system using the assigned resource identifier locator.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first test environment further comprises an artifacts testing layer, a services testing layer, an applications testing layer, and an application orchestration testing layer, and the functional testing of the artifact is performed on the artifacts testing layer.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the validation further comprises:

performing an immutability check on the artifact to identify presence or absence of vulnerabilities, security risks, or compliance violations, according to pre-determined validation rules retrieved from a database.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein performing the immutability check further comprises:

calculating a checksum or cryptographic hash of the artifact;

comparing the calculated checksum or cryptographic hash with an expected checksum or cryptographic hash; and

determining presence or absence of a mismatch,

wherein the absence of a mismatch indicates that the artifact passes the immutability check, and the presence of a mismatch indicates that the artifact fails the immutability check.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the functional testing further comprises:

performing a smoke test and a regression test on the validated artifact; and

generating a report indicating a status the validated artifact, the status indicating whether the validated artifact passes or fails the smoke test and the regression test.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

in response to a determination that the artifact is not validated, generating a first notification indicating that the artifact is not validated; and

transmitting the first notification to the service vendor.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

in response to a determination that the artifact fails the functional testing, generating a second notification indicating that the artifact fails the functional testing; and

transmitting the second notification to the service vendor.

9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating and configuring a second test environment on a second virtual private cloud of the cloud-computing platform, the second test environment being having a higher complexity level than the first test environment; and

performing functional testing on the validated artifact in the second test environment.

10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

deploying the validated artifact stored in the repository in a production environment of the cellular network.

11 . An automated test control system in connection with a cellular network implemented on a cloud-computing platform, the automated test control system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a computer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to:

receive an artifact associated with a service provided by a service vendor, wherein the service is to be deployed on the cellular network;

store the received artifact in an untrusted artifacts database;

generate and configure a first test environment on a first virtual private cloud of the cloud-computing platform;

automatically perform validation on the received artifact in the first test environment;

in response to a determination that the artifact is validated, perform functional testing on the validated artifact in the first test environment; and

in response to a determination that the artifact passes the functional testing, sign the artifact and store the signed artifact in a repository.

12 . The automated test control system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processors further cause the automated test control system to:

receive a service request for deploying the service from the service vendor; and

assign a resource identifier locator to the service vendor,

wherein the artifact is transmitted to the automated test control system using the assigned resource identifier locator.

13 . The automated test control system of claim 11 , wherein the first test environment further comprises an artifacts testing layer, a services testing layer, an applications testing layer, and an application orchestration testing layer, and the functional testing of the artifact is performed on the artifacts testing layer.

14 . The automated test control system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processors further cause the automated test control system to:

perform an immutability check on the artifact to identify presence or absence of vulnerabilities, security risks, or compliance violations, according to pre-determined validation rules retrieved from a database.

15 . The automated test control system of claim 14 , wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processors further cause the automated test control system to:

calculate a checksum or cryptographic hash of the artifact;

compare the calculated checksum or cryptographic hash with an expected checksum or cryptographic hash; and

determine presence or absence of a mismatch,

wherein the absence of a mismatch indicates that the artifact passes the immutability check, and the presence of a mismatch indicates that the artifact fails the immutability check.

16 . The automated test control system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processors further cause the automated test control system to:

perform a smoke test and a regression test on the validated artifact; and

generate a report indicating a status the validated artifact, the status indicating whether the validated artifact passes or fails the smoke test and the regression test.

17 . The automated test control system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processors further cause the automated test control system to:

in response to a determination that the artifact is not validated, generate a first notification indicating that the artifact is not validated; and

transmit the first notification to the service vendor.

18 . The automated test control system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processors further cause the automated test control system to:

in response to a determination that the artifact fails the functional testing, generate a second notification indicating that the artifact fails the functional testing; and

transmit the second notification to the service vendor.

19 . The automated test control system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processors further cause the automated test control system to:

generate and configure a second test environment on a second virtual private cloud of the cloud-computing platform, the second test environment having a higher complexity level than the first test environment; and

perform functional testing on the validated artifact in the second test environment.

20 . The automated test control system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processors further cause the automated test control system to:

deploying the validated artifact stored in the repository in a production environment of the cellular network.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 10, 2025
From: DISH WIRELESS L.L.C.
To: BOOST SUBSCRIBERCO L.L.C.
Reel/Frame 073066/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 27, 2023
From: SHARMA, NIKHIL; SEKKAPPAN, RAMANATHAN
To: DISH WIRELESS L.L.C.
Reel/Frame 065368/0089 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20250097741A1 · Mar 20, 2025
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