CONFIGURABLE WEB SERVICE NOTIFICATION WITH TEMPLATES

1 . A method performed by a policy and charging rules node (PCRN) of generating a notification message, the method comprising:

defining a notification server profile including an address;

defining a notification template including a message body and a variable;

defining an action rule including a condition and an action for sending a notification message;

evaluating the condition of the action rule using a rules engine;

determining, by the rules engine, a result set including a value of an attribute;

placing the value of the attribute in the variable to form a notification message; and

sending the notification message to the address of the notification server.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the notification server is a SOAP based web-service server and the step of defining a notification server profile comprises:

defining an address of the server;

defining a SOAP action; and

storing authentication information for the SOAP based web-service server.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of defining an action rule comprises:

defining a condition including a criteria, operator, and value;

defining a first action including a server action using the notification server; and

defining a second action including a message action using the notification template.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising defining a custom attribute including a result context and a rule set, wherein the rules engine evaluates a rule set and the result set includes attributes matching a result context of the rule set.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a message from another network node; and

updating an attribute stored at the PCRN.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of evaluating the condition of the action rule using a rules engine comprises:

including the action rule in a rule set;

for each condition of the action rule, comparing a criteria attribute with a value based on an operator; and

if each condition of the action rule is true, adding the action of the action rule to the result set.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the steps of defining a notification server profile, defining a notification template, and defining an action rule occur while the PCRN is running and the step of sending a notification message occurs without restarting the PCRN.

8 . A policy and rules charging node (PCRN) comprising:

a context information module configured to store attributes related to the state of a network;

a notification server profile storage configured to store information for connecting to a server;

a notification template storage configured to store a notification template including a message body and a variable;

a rules engine configured to evaluate action rules using context information and select a notification action; and

an action manager configured to:

connect to a server defined in the notification server storage,

generate a notification message by placing a value of an attribute in the variable of a notification template, and

send the notification message to the server.

9 . The PCRN of claim 8 , further comprising a custom rule dictionary configured to store definitions of user created custom attributes including a result context and a rule set.

10 . The PCRN of claim 8 , wherein the rules engine is configured to evaluate a rule set including one or more action rules and return a result set including attributes that include a result context matching the rule set.

11 . The PCRN of claim 8 , further comprising an action rule storage configured to store user created action rules wherein an action rule includes a condition and an action.

12 . The PCRN of claim 8 , further comprising a message handler configured to receive a message from another network node via an interface and update an attribute within the context information module based on the received message.

13 . The PCRN of claim 8 , further comprising a scanner that generates an action rule object from an action rule defined while the PCRN is running, wherein the rules engine evaluates the action rule and the action manager generates a notification message before the PCRN restarts.

14 . A tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium encoded with instructions thereon for execution by a network element of a telecommunication network, wherein said tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprises:

instructions for defining a notification server profile including an address;

instructions for defining a notification template including a message body and a variable;

instructions for defining an action rule including a condition and an action for sending a notification message;

instructions for evaluating the condition of the action rule using a rules engine;

instructions for determining, by the rules engine, a result set including a value of an attribute;

instructions for placing the value of the attribute in the variable to form a notification message; and

instructions for sending the notification message to the address of the notification server.

15 . The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein the notification server is a SOAP based web-service server and the instructions for defining a notification server profile comprise:

instructions for defining an address of the server;

instructions for defining a SOAP action; and

instructions for storing authentication information for the SOAP based web-service server.

16 . The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein the instructions for defining an action rule comprise:

instructions for defining a condition including a criteria, operator, and value;

instructions for defining a first action including a server action using the notification server; and

instructions for defining a second action including a message action using the notification template.

17 . The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14 , further comprising instructions for defining a custom attribute including a result context and a rule set, wherein the rules engine evaluates a rule set and the result set includes attributes matching a result context of the rule set.

18 . The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14 , further comprising:

instructions for receiving a message from another network node; and

instructions for updating an attribute stored at the PCRN.

19 . The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein the instructions for evaluating the condition of the action rule using a rules engine comprise:

instructions for including the action rule in a rule set;

instructions for comparing a criteria attribute with a value based on an operator for each condition of the action rule; and

instructions for adding the action of the action rule to the result set if each condition of the action rule is true.

20 . The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein the instructions for defining a notification server profile, defining a notification template, and defining an action rule are executed while the PCRN is running and the instructions for sending the notification method are executed without restarting the PCRN.