Subscriber Data Access Layer for Service Database Compatibility

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional service provider networks face difficulties in communicating between services and subscriber databases due to different data models, which are often proprietary and contractually restricted from modification, leading to compatibility issues and potential damage to service functionality across multiple customer databases.

Innovation Solution

The introduction of a Subscriber Data Access Layer (SDAL) with a wrapper that decouples service definitions from subscriber database data models, allowing for data model bridging and enabling efficient communication between services and databases, even when they use different data models.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If services directly access subscriber databases using different proprietary data models, then service functionality can be maintained for each specific database, but service compatibility and complexity increase across multiple customer databases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveservice functionalityVSAvoidservice compatibility
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a Subscriber Data Access Layer (SDAL) as an intermediary component between services and subscriber databases. The SDAL includes a wrapper that translates between different proprietary data models, allowing services to access multiple customer databases without direct knowledge of their specific data models. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining service functionality through the wrapper's translation capabilities while reducing service compatibility complexity by providing a unified access interface.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Ease of operation

If subscriber database data models are modified to improve service compatibility, then communication between services and databases improves, but contractual restrictions and data model integrity are violated

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecommunication compatibilityVSAvoiddata model integrity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the system into three distinct layers: services, the SDAL wrapper, and subscriber databases. This segmentation allows the wrapper to handle all data model translation and adaptation logic, isolating services from database-specific implementations. The wrapper can be modified to improve communication compatibility without affecting the integrity of the underlying subscriber database data models, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Measurement precision

If services query subscriber databases without data caching, then data freshness is maintained, but query execution time and system performance decrease

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata freshnessVSAvoidquery execution time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a caching mechanism in the SDAL that pre-loads and stores subscriber data before it is needed by services. The wrapper detects when subscriber data is accessed and caches it for subsequent queries, reducing the time required for repeated data retrieval. This preliminary action resolves the contradiction by maintaining data freshness through selective caching while significantly reducing query execution time for repeated accesses.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS10929429B2Flexible subscriber data abstraction layer
Publication Date: 2021.02.23 HCL TECH LTD
  • US10929429B2 patent drawing
  • US10929429B2 patent drawing
  • US10929429B2 patent drawing

AI summary

A method for providing a subscribed service includes: receiving a service request at a service; accessing, at a subscriber data abstraction layer interposed between the service and the subscribed database, subscriber data from a subscriber database; and processing the service request using the accessed subscriber data.