Billing File Control

The Billing File Control object is a child of the Billing object. It specifies how the files holding billing information are managed.


Specifying the time for new billing data files to be created

You can specify when the current billing data file is flipped (the current one is closed and a new one created) using the BAF file output interval fields. Using the fixed time interval, day, hour, and minute fields, you specify a fixed point when the file is flipped. hour and day will be displayed only if you select a fixed time interval where that information is relevant. For example, day is visible only if you specify a weekly interval, and hour is visible only if you set the fixed time interval to greater than one hour.

If you specify a time interval smaller than one day, the file is always flipped at the time you specify, but it may also be flipped earlier in the day. For example, if you set fixed time interval to 4 hours, hour to 16 and minute to 15, the file will be flipped at 16.15 as requested, but the complete schedule is 00:15, 04:15, 08:15, 12:15, 16:15, and 20:15.

If you set BAF file output interval - fixed time interval to use flipping interval, you cannot specify a base time and the value of the BAF file output interval - current BAF file flipping interval (sec) is used to determine when the current billing file is closed.


When a software protection switch occurs, a new billing data file is created on the new controller or Call Agent Server, regardless of the next due date specified by this object. If you have configured this object so that a new billing data file is created during the "overlap" when Daylight Savings Time ends, a new file will only be created the first time. For example, if you have configured a new file to be created daily at 01:15, this time occurs twice when Daylight Savings Time ends because the local time goes back from 02:00 to 01:00. The new file is only created for the first 01:15. However, if a Software Protection Switch occurs in between, a new file will be created the second time as well.

Object-Specific Actions
Close billing file To close the current billing data file, move it to the FTP directory, and open a new one, click on this pushbutton. This action can be used to ensure that all billing data up to this point has been retrieved, and is typically used before performing major maintenance work such as software upgrades.

Parameter

Access

Description
BAF file output interval - fixed time interval Change Specifies the duration for which each billing date file should be used. Once the specified time has elapsed, the NE closes the current billing data file and creates a new one. Values:
  • 15 minutes
  • 30 minutes
  • 1 hour
  • 2 hours
  • 4 hours
  • 12 hours
  • daily
  • weekly
  • use flipping interval (default)
When use flipping interval is selected, the value of the BAF file output interval - current BAF file flipping interval (sec) field is used for the interval.
BAF file output interval - day Change This field is visible only if BAF file output interval - fixed time interval is set to weekly. Specifies the day of the week on which the NE should close the current billing data file and open a new one. Values:
  • Monday (default)
  • Tuesday
  • Wednesday
  • Thursday
  • Friday
  • Saturday
  • Sunday
BAF file output interval - hour Change This field is visible only if BAF file output interval - fixed time interval is not set to 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, or use flipping interval. Specifies the hour that should be used for calculating when the current billing file is closed, and a new one created. Range: 0-23. The default is 0.
BAF file output interval - minute Change This field is visible only if BAF file output interval - fixed time interval is not set to use flipping interval. Specifies the minutes past the hour at which the current billing file is closed, and a new one created. Range: 0-59. The default is 0.
BAF file output interval - Call Agent timezone Read only This field is visible only if BAF file output interval - hour is visible. Specifies the time zone of the Call Agent.
BAF file output interval - Call Agent Daylight Savings in force Read only This field is visible only if BAF file output interval - hour is visible. Specifies whether the Call Agent is currently applying Daylight Savings time or not.
BAF file output interval - current BAF file flipping interval (sec) Change This field is visible only if BAF file output interval - fixed time interval is set to use flipping interval. The time interval in seconds between starting new billing data files. All billing data created during this period of time is written to one file. At the end of this period, the file is closed and moved to the FTP directory, and a new file is started. Range: 1 - 2,000,000. The default is 172,800 (2 days).
BAF file output interval - BAF file next output time Read only Specifies the next time that the billing file will be closed and a new one opened.
Minor alarm threshold Change Threshold (expressed as a percentage of the maximum primary file size) at which the total file size results in a minor alarm. Values:
  • 10%
  • 20%
  • 30%
  • 40%
  • 50%
  • 60%
  • 70% (default)
  • 80%
  • 90%
  • 100%
This must not be greater than the Major alarm threshold. The two thresholds can be equal; in this case, the NE will generate a major alarm at this threshold but will not generate minor alarms.
Major alarm threshold Change Threshold (expressed as a percentage of the maximum primary file size) at which the total file size results in a major alarm. Values:
  • 10%
  • 20%
  • 30%
  • 40%
  • 50%
  • 60%
  • 70%
  • 80% (default)
  • 90%
  • 100%
This must not be less than the Minor alarm threshold or greater than the Critical alarm threshold. The thresholds can be equal; in this case, the NE will generate only the higher alarm when the threshold is reached, and will not generate the lower alarm.
Critical alarm threshold Change Threshold (expressed as a percentage of the maximum primary file size) at which the total file size results in a critical alarm. Values:
  • 10%
  • 20%
  • 30%
  • 40%
  • 50%
  • 60%
  • 70%
  • 80%
  • 90% (default)
  • 100%
This must not be less than the Major alarm threshold. The thresholds can be equal; in this case, the NE will generate only a critical alarm when the threshold is reached, and will not generate major alarms. A value of 100% indicates that a critical alarm will never be raised.
Recounting primary file size interval (sec) Change The time interval in seconds between successive counts of the primary file size. If the NE is temporarily unable to write further billing data to file because the total size of primary files has reached its limit, it waits for this interval (during which the administrator can delete or rename primary files to reduce the total file size) before recounting the file size to determine whether it can resume. Range: 1 - 2,000,000. The default is 10.
Current primary file size (Kb) Read only Current total size of all primary billing data files (including the current file).
Current alarm level Read only The alarm level currently in effect for the total primary file size, if any. Values:
  • None
  • Minor
  • Major
  • Critical
Output start and end records Change Specifies whether start and end records, which indicate the time of output and the number of records in the file, are output in BAF files. Note that changes to this field will take effect at the end of the current flip interval, and will not affect the current billing file. Values:
  • True
  • False (default)
Use sequence number in filenames Change Specifies whether the filename for each billing file includes a 3-digit sequence number (000 - 999) as well as a timestamp. Values:
  • True
  • False (default)
Open active BAF file retry interval (sec) Change The time interval in seconds between successive retries if the attempt to open an active billing data file results in a file-open error. Range: 1 - 2,000,000. The default is 60.
Secondary BAF file expiry time (sec) Change The time interval in seconds after which secondary billing data files (files that have been processed by the billing application and renamed) can be deleted. This measures the age of the file from the time it was copied to the FTP directory. The NE may delete secondary files before this expiry time if disk space is short, but in this case it writes a problem log. Range: 0 - 2,000,000 (approximately 23 days). A value of zero indicates that secondary files can be deleted as soon as they have been renamed. The default is 432000 (5 days).
Number of BAF record write failures Read only Number of times (since system startup) that the NE has failed to write a billing data record to file because of a file I/O error.
MetaSwitch FTP address Read only IP address from which to access billing records from the MetaSwitch system (using sftp).
Alarm state Read only Specifies whether any alarms are currently raised for this object. Values:
  • Clear
    No alarms are currently raised.
  • Attention Required
    Attention Required - the object is not operating normally, and needs operator intervention. (This indicates that the total primary file size has crossed one of the thresholds).
  • Attend To Dependent
    Attention Required elsewhere - another object on which this object depends is not operating normally.
Alarm log correlator Read only Identifier of the log message for the event that caused the last Attention Required alarm state for this object. This field is reset when the Attention Required alarm events field is reset to zero.
Attention Required alarm events Read only / Reset Number of times (since the alarm count was reset) that this object's alarm state has gone to Attention Required.
Alarm state changed timestamp Read only The time at which the Alarm state last changed.
Alarm events reset timestamp Read only The time at which the Attention Required alarm events was last reset to zero.