Network Service Plan Design via Integrated Policy Center
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Solution Overview
Problem
The development and implementation of network service plans are hindered by the siloed efforts of control and accounting policy specialists, leading to slow deployment and less cohesive plan design due to divergent appliance-level destinations for policy instructions.
Innovation Solution
An integrated service design center enables centralized, unified development of access-control, service-accounting, and service-notification policies, with automated translation into provisioning instructions for various network elements and end-user devices, using hierarchical organization and multi-match classification to streamline service plan development and management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If control and accounting policies are developed separately by different teams for different appliance-level destinations, then each team can specialize in their respective functions, but the deployment time significantly increases and the plan design becomes less cohesive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges separate control policy and accounting policy development teams into a unified policy development platform. This integration allows both control and accounting policies to be developed simultaneously within the same system, eliminating the sequential siloed approach while maintaining functional specialization through modular policy components.
Solution Approach 2:
The policy development platform is designed as a universal system that handles both control and accounting policy development through common interfaces and workflows. The system provides multi-functional capabilities including policy creation, validation, translation to appliance configurations, and coordination across different network elements, all within a single integrated environment.
2Adaptability or versatility
If control and accounting policies are developed in separate silos, then each policy can be optimized independently, but the overall plan design becomes less cogent and coordination becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments policies into distinct control and accounting components that can be independently developed and optimized, while simultaneously providing integration mechanisms that ensure cohesive plan design. Each policy type maintains its independence for optimization purposes but connects through shared policy templates and coordinated validation rules.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback loops where control policy developments inform accounting policy requirements and vice versa. The integrated platform provides real-time validation and conflict detection between control and accounting policies, allowing teams to optimize independently while maintaining overall plan coherence through continuous coordination feedback.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple teams develop policies for different network appliances separately, then each appliance can be configured with specialized policies, but the complexity of coordination and integration increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a central policy development platform as an intermediary between policy developers and multiple network appliances. This intermediary system translates high-level policy definitions into appliance-specific configurations, automatically handling the coordination and integration complexity while allowing each appliance to receive tailored policies through standardized interfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The policy development platform serves as a universal system that can generate configurations for multiple different appliance types through a single integrated interface. The system provides multi-functional translation capabilities that adapt unified policy definitions to various appliance-specific requirements, reducing coordination complexity while maintaining appliance-specific optimization.
Data Source
AI summary
A technique involves modular storage of network service plan components and provisioning of same. A subset of the capabilities of a service design system can be granted to a sandbox system to enable customization of service plan offerings or other controls.