Reporting Plug-in Configuration

Install Policy Reporting Plug-in

By default, policy reporting plug-in is not installed in CPS. To install policy reporting plug-in, perform the following steps:

Procedure

Step 1

Edit the features files on Cluster Manager VM:

  1. In the /etc/broadhop/pb/features file, add the following line:

    com.broadhop.client.feature.policyintel

  2. In the /etc/broadhop/pcrf/features file, add the following line:

    com.broadhop.policyintel.service.feature

  3. (Optional) In a HA environment, you can enable the service feature for Policy Director (lb) nodes (/etc/broadhop/iomanangerxx/features) if you want to enable FTP from those nodes. To enable the service feature, add com.broadhop.policyintel.service.feature line in corresponding Policy Director (iomanager).

    For example, for iomanager01, user needs to add the following line in /etc/broadhop/iomananger01/features:

    com.broadhop.policyintel.service.feature

Step 2

After modifying the feature files, execute the following commands from Cluster Manager:

/var/qps/install/current/scripts/build_all.sh

If VMs are already deployed, after modifying the feature files, execute the following commands from Cluster Manager:

/var/qps/install/current/scripts/build_all.sh

/var/qps/install/current/scripts/upgrade/reinit.sh

Configure Policy Reporting Plug-in

To configure the policy reporting plug-in feature, perform the following steps:

Procedure

Step 1

Login to the Cisco Policy Builder. The default Reference Data tab opens up displaying Summary pane on the left side.

Step 2

Expand the Systems created. Click Plugin Configurations to display Plugin Configurations Summary pane on the right side.

Step 3

Click Policy Reporting Configuration and the configuration pane is displayed.

Figure 1. Policy Reporting Configuration
The following parameters can be configured under Policy Reporting Configuration:
Table 1. Policy Reporting Configuration Parameters

Parameter

Description

Staging Db Host Primary

Enter the name of the primary host database

Staging Db Host Secondary

Enter the name of the secondary host database

Staging Port

Enter the staging port number.

Staging Write Concern

Select staging write concern from the drop-down list.

Staging Failover Sla

Enter the staging failover Sla.

Staging Max Replication Time

Enter the staging maximum replication time.

Cdr Staging Size Mb

Enter the CDR staging size in Mb.

Cdr Db Host Primary

Enter the name of the primary CDR host database.

Cdr Db Host Secondary

Enter the name of the secondary CDR host database.

Cdr Port

Enter the CDR port number.

Cdr Write Concern

Select CDR write concern from the drop-down list.

Cdr Failover Sla

Enter the CDR failover Sla.

Cdr Max Replication Time

Enter the maximum CDR replication time.

Time To Live In Days

Enter the time to live in days.

Disabled Policy Reports

Click Add, a window appears asking you to select Policy Reporting Field. Select the required policy reporting configuration object and click OK to add the selected object in Disabled Policy Reports pane.

Keep UTC Timing in CDR

When we enable this check box, the system will keep the timing in UTC when replicating the CDRs to different databases.

Use separate DB per CDR collection

Enabled when there are multiple CDR types.

Configure a Reporting Server

To configure a reporting server, perform the following steps:

Procedure

Step 1

On the Policy Reporting Configuration page, under Create Child: click Reporting Server Configuration.

Step 2

The Reporting Server Configuration page opens up. Click select near Related Cdr field.

Step 3

Select the required policy CDR object from Please select a 'PolicyCdr’ object... and click OK. The added policy CDR is added in the Related Cdr field.

Note 

Using a Reporting Server, the user can create JDBC CDR replication, CSV replication and Realtime CSV replication. The user can also copy the current reporting server configuration.

Replicate JDBC CDR

Use this procedure if your deployment stores records for offline accounting as JDBC. To enable JDBC CDR database replication, perform the following steps:

The following steps resumes form the Step 3 in Configure a Reporting Server.

Procedure

Step 1

Begin from Reference Data > Systems > name of the system > Plugin Configurations > Policy Reporting Configuration > Reporting Server Configuration.

Step 2

Click Jdbc Cdr Replication to open JDBC CDR Replication page.

Replicate CSV

Use this procedure if your deployment uses a CSV format to store subscriber records. This screen specifies the location of the subscriber records in the output directory.


Note
Only one CSV configuration should be added under a given server. You can also copy the current CSV Replication configuration.

The File Generation Schedule Location and File Naming Rules related sections under Csv replication are not used for logging based CDR implementation and instead are configured via logback configuration).

To enable CSV Replication, perform the following steps:

The following steps resume from Step 3 in Configure a Reporting Server.

Procedure

Step 1

Begin from Reference Data > Systems > name of your system > Plugin Configuration > Policy Reporting Configuration > Reporting Server Configuration.

Step 2

Click CSV Replication to open CSV Replication page.

The following parameters can be configured under Csv Replication:
Table 2. CSV Replication Parameters

Parameter

Description

Separator (Records)

Enter the separator character to use when writing out fields in a record. The delimiter between fields, for example a comma or semicolon. Default is ,(comma).

Quote

Enter the quote character to use when writing out records. This is an optional field. Not setting a value results in a CSV file free of quotation marks. Set to a specific character, perhaps ’ single quote) or " (double quote) to use those characters in the csv file.

Escape

Enter the escape character to use when writing out records.

Attribute Mask for Date Time

This can be used to specify the date time format used for logging any Date time fields in the report. If not specified the default format yyyyMMddhhmmss is used.

Date Attributes As Timestamp

When checked, converts date type fields into time stamps (and ignores the Attribute Mask for Date Time field) while writing to CDRs (millisec since epoch).

Store In Gzip Format

When checked, the policy reports in the configured directory are stored in the GZip format.

Max Minutes For File

Enter the maximum number of minutes to keep the tmp file open for writing. Using the default of 60 minutes, if CPS starts writing to the file at 1:05 pm, it stops writing to the file at 2:05 pm. Using the default, CPS generates a new file every60 minutes regardless of file size it may attain. Choose either Max Minutes For File or Max File Size Bytes, not both.

Max File Size Bytes

Enter the maximum file size to write. When the tmp file reaches the size defined here, CPS opens a new file. Choose either Max File Size Bytes or Max Minutes For File, not both.

Output Directory

Enter the file path where to write out the files.

Max Number Of Files

This field represents the maximum number of files that can exist in the configured output directory. On reaching the limit, addition of files takes place by deleting the oldest file in the configured output directory.

Default: 200

Replication Period Seconds

Enter the replication time in seconds. That is, how often to update the temporary CSV file with data from the work queue of CSV records.

Run on Instances

You can limit offline reporting to specific machines. You can select instances that need to participate in replication of reporting records.

Click Add to display the instances that are defined under cluster in Policy Builder configuration. User needs to make sure that the Policy Reporting plugin is also installed on the specified instances otherwise the instance will not be participating in replication of recording records even if it is specified in the list. If the list is empty then all the instances having Policy Reporting plugin installed may participate in replication of reporting records.

File Part Separator

Enter the separator character to use when writing out file names. The default is a hyphen ( - ). The file name syntax by default is file part file part <dbname><separator><collection name><separator><date format mask><.suffix>.

Date Format Mask

This variable impacts the <date format mask> part of the name. Normally the format is yyyymmddmmss (year month day minutes seconds). However, you can set this variable to the special word "long" to use the Unix timestamp that includes hours and seconds.

Example:1310998213 (2011-07-18 14:10:13Z)

Note 

If using the special word "long", HH provides 24-hour clock time and hh, lower case letters, provide 12-hour clock time. The file name syntax by default is: <db name><separator><collection name><separator><date format mask><.suffix>.

Suffix

Enter the decimal point and three-letter suffix you want to append to your filename. This could be .csv, .xls, .txt, and so on.

Note 

This field has no default. Be sure to specify it.

File Name includes Db Name check box

Database name is added to csv file name if the checkbox is selected.

File Name includes Collection Name check box

Collection name is added to csv file name if the checkbox is selected.

Replicate Real-time CSV

Use this procedure if your deployment uses a realtime CSV format to store subscriber records. This screen specifies the location of the subscriber records in the output directory.


Note

Only one realtime CSV configuration should be added under a given server. The user can also copy the current realtime CSV Replication configuration.

To enable Realtime CSV Replication, perform the following steps:

The following steps resume from Step 3 in Configure a Reporting Server.

Procedure

Step 1

Begin from Reference Data > Systems > name of your system > Plugin Configuration > Policy Reporting Configuration > Reporting Server Configuration.

Step 2

Click Realtime CSV Replication to open Realtime CSV Replication page.

Figure 2. Realtime CSV Replication
The following parameters can be configured under Realtime Csv Replication:
Table 3. Realtime CSV Replication Parameters

Parameter

Description

Separator (Records)

Enter the separator character to use when writing out fields in a record. The delimiter between fields, for example a comma or semicolon. Default is comma ( , ).

Quote

Enter the quote character to use when writing out records. This is an optional field. Not setting a value results in a CSV file free of quotation marks. Set to a specific character, perhaps ’ single quote) or " double quote to use those characters in the csv file.

Escape

Enter the escape character to use when writing out records.

Attribute Mask For Date Time

This can be used to specify the date time format used for logging any Date time fields in the report. If not specified the default format yyyyMMddhhmmss is used.

File Creation Schedule

This field represents the frequency in minutes of the time schedule to write into the csv files for real time replication.

Output Directory

Enter the file path to write the files into

Output Directory2

This is an additional path to store the CSV file. This field is optional

Replication Period Seconds

Enter the replication time in seconds. That is, how often to update the temporary realtime CSV file with data from the work queue of CSV records

Run on Instances

You can limit offline reporting to specific machines. You can select instances that need to participate in replication of reporting records.

Click Add to display the instances that are defined under cluster in Policy Builder configuration. User needs to make sure that the Policy Reporting plugin is also installed on the specified instances otherwise the instance will not be participating in replication of recording records even if it is specified in the list. If the list is empty then all the instances having Policy Reporting plugin installed may participate in replication of reporting records.

Override File Name Mask

This field is used to override the default file name for the generated CSV report. Ifnot specified, a default file name of the format <PolicyCDRName-TableNameyyyyMMddhhmmss> is used.

File Name System Properties

This option can be specified to replace any system properties with actual run-time values when Override File Name Mask is selected. A list of system properties separated by commas can be specified. The value in Override File Name Mask is compared against each matching value from this list and replaced with the run time system property. The final replaced value is used for the filename.

Define Policies in Cisco Policy Builder

When configuring extension points under Initial Blueprint for Policy Reporting:

  • Send outbound messages records the CDRs before the outbound message is sent by the CPS.

  • Post outbound message policies are executed after the outbound message is sent across by the CPS.

Based on the extension point used for configuration, the results may differ.

For example, in cases of session termination, the conditions depending on the presence of a session are not satisfied.

If A Diameter Gx TGPP Session exists is configured in the Conditions pane under Send outbound messages, it captures CDRs for all messages including CCR-T message.

But if A Diameter Gx TGPP Session exists is configured for Post outbound message policies, it can capture blank CDRs for CCR-T message. This is due to the session being deleted once the CCR-T message is sent.

As mentioned above, since post outbound message policy is executed after the outbound message is sent across by the CPS, the condition A Diameter Gx TGPP Session exists does not hold true for CCR-T message, resulting in blank CDRs being captured.

To define a policy in the Policy Builder, add the required fields in the Policy CDR using the data fields available in the Policy Reporting field category.


Note

The CDR in the reporting database should be load balanced across the session managers. If high CDR (approx. 8k) is reported on primary reporting replica-set member, there is a chance of getting an issue "Secondary replica lagging behind the Primary replica" which leads to the diagnostics output in the hang state. So, the load balancing has to be done as a policy change and can be configured based on the customer environment. For more information, contact your Cisco Account representative.

Procedure

Step 1

To add a field into a report, use the following steps:

  1. Log in to Cisco Policy Builder. Select Reference Data tab.

  2. Click Policy Reporting > Policy Cdrs.

  3. In the Actions tab, click Policy Cdr to create a report.

  4. In the Policy Cdr window, under Reporting Cdr Columns, click Add to add a new column in the report.

    The default Cdr Field Type value is set to Literal. If the CDR Field Type Data is selected, the field name entered should have the same name as that of the data fields in the Policy Reporting Field Type.

  5. To set a particular CDR field type, click on the default value, a drop-down appears from which you can select the required CDR Field type.

    The field added into the report should be mapped with the data fields under the Policy Reporting Field Type.

Step 2

To map the fields, use the following steps:

  1. Select the field in the Reporting Cdr Columns table to be mapped, and click select under Reporting Column Details > Data > Field. A window appears asking you to select Policy Reporting Field.

    Important 

    Field is available only when Cdr Field Type is Data under Reporting Cdr Columns table.

  2. Navigate to the data field that matches the field defined in the Reporting CDR column and click OK.

Step 3

Once the fields are defined for a report, conditions and policies need to be defined, which are available in the Policies tab. To specify a condition, use the following steps:

  1. In the Policy Builder, select Policies tab.

  2. Expand Initial Blueprint > Send outbound messages. A default policy window appears. Enter a policy name of your choice in the Name field.

  3. Select Conditions tab to specify your condition.

  4. To add a new condition, click Add. A window appears asking you to select a condition phrase. Select the required condition phrase and click OK.

    Figure 3. Policy
Step 4

The user needs to initialize the Input Variables, Type and Operator Value to establish a connection with the Report. To initialize the values, use the following steps:

  1. Select Actions tab.

  2. Select Add global reporting data.

  3. Set the Input Variables required, the Type and Operator Value.

    Note 

    The Operator Value for the Input Variable Name should be the same as that of the data field defined in the Reporting CDR columns table.

Policy CDR Management

Cisco Policy Suite (CPS) generates Call Data Records (CDR). For improved management, the generated CDRs are moved onto a server, which provides external tools and dashboards for Reporting.

The following topics briefs you on the Policy CDR Management:

  • Policy Reports

  • Configuring Maximum Number of Files

  • Configure File Transfer Protocol (FTP) for Policy CDRs

  • Store files in GZip format

Policy Reports

The Policy Reports are designed to provide all its relevant details in a single page.

Viewing of the Policy Reports can be classified in two ways:

  • Categorized Policy Reporting Field Types

  • View Policy CDR Fields

Categories of Policy Reporting Field Types

Data Fields that are available for the Policy Reporting field Types are categorized into the following:

  • NETWORK

  • TRAFFIC

  • PCRF

  • SUBSCRIBER

  • BALANCE

  • SESSION

The Data Fields for each of the above mentioned Policy Reporting Fields are displayed in columns on the same page.

For example, The Data Fields for NETWORK is displayed in columns on the same page, along with its other relevant details.

View Data Fields of a Category

To view a categorized list of Policy Reporting Fields and it’s Data Fields, use the following steps:

Procedure
Step 1

Log in to Cisco Policy Builder. By default, the screen displays Reference Data > Summary window.

Step 2

Click Policy Reporting.

Step 3

Select Policy Reporting Field Types.

Step 4

Select a Policy Reporting Field Type from the categorized list.

For example, click NETWORK to view the list of data fields that belong to NETWORK on the right side.

The data fields related to NETWORK are displayed.

Figure 4. Policy Reporting Field Type - NETWORK

Apart from the fields in the categorized list mentioned, extra fields can be created and configured separately under a new category. These extra fields are called non-default fields.

Create a Non-default Field
To create a non-default field, perform the following steps:
Procedure
Step 1

Click Policy Reporting > Policy Reporting Field Types.

Step 2

On the right side, under Create Child:, click Policy Reporting Field Type to open policy reporting field type page.

Step 3

Provide a name to the category in the Name filed. New policy reporting fields can be added to this category.

Step 4

Click Add to create a field.

  1. Provide a name to the field in the Code column.

  2. Provide a name to the field in the Db Field Name column.

  3. By default, Db Type is set to VARCHAR. To change the database type, click on the default field, a drop-down list appears. Select the Db Type required from the drop-down list.

Figure 5. Policy Reporting Field Type - Customized

View Policy CDR Fields

The Policy CDR provides for the configuration of all the Policy Reporting Fields in the same page, avoiding the creation of multiple child pages for each Policy Report.

To view and configure the Policy Reporting Fields, perform the following steps:

Procedure
Step 1

Log in to Cisco Policy Builder.

Step 2

Click Policy Reporting > Policy Cdrs.

Step 3

Click Policy Cdr under Create Child:.

A single report that can be configured along with its relevant details is displayed on the same page.

Accumulate CDR Column Values

You can configure a CDR column to report an accumulated value. For example, as shown in the following figure, if you want to report an accumulated value for balance used, you can set the Type for the balanceUsed column to accumulation, which displays the accumulated balance used reported by each CCR-U during a Gx session.

Procedure
Step 1

In Policy Builder in the Reference Data tab, select Policy Reporting > Policy Cdrs in the left pane.

Step 2

Click Policy Cdrs under Create Child.

Step 3

Configure the relevant details for the report.
Step 4

Under Reporting Cdr Columns, select a Type of accumulation beside the name of the column whose values you want to accumulate.

Notice that, in this example configuration, the imsi CRD column is the key column.

Figure 6. Selecting a Type of accumulation for reporting CDR columns
Step 5

Select the Policy Builder Policies tab.

Step 6

In the left pane, select Initial Blueprint > Send outbound messages.

Step 7

Select PCRF-CDR (the name of the policy CDR created above), and click the Actions tab in the Policy pane.

Step 8

Under Actions, click Add.

Step 9

In the dialog box, search for and select Add reporting data, and click OK.

Step 10

Select the new Add reporting data action in the Actions list. The Policy pane now looks like the following figure.

Figure 7. Select Add reporting data Action
Step 11

Under Type, select Output for IReportingState (IReportingState). The Available Output Variables dialog box opens.

Step 12

Select IReportingState under A reporting state exists, and click OK.

Step 13

For Name (String), type the name of the CRD column that you configured as an accumulation type (balanceUsed in our example).

Step 14

Under Type, select Output for Value (Object). The Available Output Variables dialog box opens.

Step 15

Select the appropriate variable, and click OK. In our example, for the balanceUsed column, you would select Amount Charged1 under An OCSChargeReservationResponse exists.

Step 16

Under Available Input Variables, click Add beside Reporting Scope (Object).

Step 17

Under Type, select Output for Reporting Scope (Object). The Available Output Variables dialog box opens.

Step 18

Select the name of the key CDR column under A Diameter Gx TGPP Session exists (imsi is the key column in our example) and click OK.

The configuration should now look like that shown in the following figure.

Figure 8. Final configuration

Configure Maximum Number of Files

Using maximum number of files field, you can configure the maximum limit of files that can be stored in the configured output directory. On reaching the maximum limit, the oldest report is deleted.

To set the maximum number of files, perform the following steps:

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to Cisco Policy Builder.

Step 2

Click Reference Data > Systems > select an existing system.

Step 3

Expand the existing system to navigate to Plugin Configurations.

Step 4

Select Policy Reporting Configuration under the Plugin Configuration summary page. The Policy Reporting Configuration page is displayed.

Step 5

Scroll down to locate Reporting Server Configuration, under Actions and click on the link.

Step 6

From the Reporting Server Configuration page, under Actions select Csv Replication.

Step 7

Under File Generation Schedule, in the Max Number of Files configure the maximum value in the field provided.

Figure 9. File Generation Schedule

The following parameters can be configured under File Generation Schedule:

Table 4. File Generation Schedule Parameters

Parameter

Description

Max Number of Files

This field represents the maximum number of files that can exist in the configured output directory. On reaching the limit, addition of files takes place by deleting the oldest file in the configured output directory.

Allowed value

Integer

Default value

200

Configure File Transfer Protocol (FTP) for Policy CDRs

When the FTP server is configured, the generated Policy CDR reports are copied to the configured destination directory on the primary remote server using File Transfer Protocol. If the primary remote server is not reachable, the Policy CDR reports are copied to the configured destination directory on the secondary remote server.

To configure FTP server, perform the following steps:

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to Cisco Policy Builder.

Step 2

Click Reference Data > Systems > select an existing system.

Step 3

Navigate to Plugin Configuration.

Step 4

Select Policy Reporting Configuration under the Plugin Configurations. The Policy Reporting Configuration page appears.

Step 5

Locate Ftp Server Configuration check box and select it.

Figure 10. FTP Server Configuration

The following parameters can be configured under Ftp Server Configuration:

Table 5. FTP Server Configuration Parameters

Parameter

Description

Frequency In Minutes

This field represents the time interval after which the files are pushed (FTP’ed) to the remote destination.

Allowed values = Integer

Default = 60

Primary Server

This field represents the host name or IP address of the primary server to which the files are pushed (FTP’ed).

Allowed values = String

Default = None

Primary User Name

This field represents the user name of the FTP account on the primary server.

Allowed values = String

Default = None

Primary Password

This field represents the password of the FTP account on the primary server.

Allowed values = String

Default = None

Primary Destination Path

This field represents the destination folder of the FTP account on the primary server. Note that this folder is the path relative to the FTP home folder of the user.

Allowed values = String

Default = None

Secondary Server

This field represents the host name or IP address of the backup server or secondary server to which the files are pushed (FTP’ed) if the primary host is not reachable.

Allowed values = String

Default = None

Secondary User Name

This field represents the user name of the FTP account on the secondary server.

Allowed values = String

Default = None

Secondary Password

This field represents the password of the FTP account on the secondary server.

Allowed values = String

Default = None

Secondary Destination Path

This field represents the destination folder of the FTP account on the secondary server. Note that this folder is path relative to the FTP home folder of the user.

Allowed values = String

Default = None

Store files in GZip Format

The policy reports in the configured directory can be stored in the GZip format.

To store the file in the GZip format, perform the following steps:

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to Cisco Policy Builder.

Step 2

Click Reference data > Systems > Summary > Plugin Configurations > Policy Reporting Configuration. The Policy Reporting Configuration page appears on the right side.

Step 3

Under Actions, click Reporting Server Configuration > Csv Replication.

Step 4

Under File Generation Schedule, select Store In Gzip Format check box.

By default this check box is unchecked. If this check box is enabled, the files are stored in GZip format in the configured output directory. Otherwise, files are not zipped.

Non-blocking CDRs

During the time when CDR database is down/slow, CDR attempts be logged in the Policy Server (QNS) logger (to its best but not 100% writes) and not in database, so that live traffic can be served. CDR can be made non-blocking and non-guaranteed (best effort to make it available), so that policy engine performance does not get degraded. CPS does best try to preserve CDR, however there is no guarantee.


Note

Cisco recommends disabling blocking CDRs and enable compression.

Procedure

Step 1

Configure non-blocking CDR: Non-blocking CDR do not block the processing threads when CDR writing takes time. This prevents performance degradation of live traffic.

  1. Add the following parameter in /etc/broadhop/qns.conf file:

    -Dcisco.cdr.disableBlocking=true

  2. In Cluster Manager, execute the following command to synchronize the changes to the VM nodes:

    copytoall.sh /etc/broadhop/qns.conf /etc/broadhop/qns.conf

  3. Execute the following commands to publish configuration and restart CPS:

    /var/qps/bin/control/restartall.sh 

    restartall.sh script process will prompt for either Y/N to restart process. Enter Y to restart the process.
    Caution 

    Executing restartall.sh will cause messages to be dropped.

Step 2

Configure CDR compression: CDR compression is used to compress CDR records and adds padding to improve the write performance. It also helps in preventing database lock (%) to grow over period.

  1. Add the following parameter in /etc/broadhop/qns.conf file:

    -Dcisco.cdr.compression=true

  2. In Cluster Manager, execute the following command to synchronize the changes to the VM nodes:

    copytoall.sh /etc/broadhop/qns.conf /etc/broadhop/qns.conf

  3. Execute the following commands to publish configuration and restart CPS:

    /var/qps/bin/control/restartall.sh 

    restartall.sh script process will prompt for either Y/N to restart process. Enter Y to restart the process.
    Caution 

    Executing restartall.sh will cause messages to be dropped.

Step 3

Configure CDR mongo parameters:

  1. Add the following parameters in /etc/broadhop/qns.conf file: 

    
-Dcisco.cdr.disableBlocking=true
-Dcisco.cdr.compression=true
-Dcisco.cdr.batch=1000
-DdbSocketTimeout.cdrrep=10000
-DdbConnectTimeout.cdrrep=1200
-Dmongo.client.thread.maxWaitTime.cdrrep=1200
-Dmongo.connections.per.host.cdrrep=10
-Dmongo.threads.allowed.to.wait.for.connection.cdrrep=10
-DdbSocketTimeout.cdr=10000
-DdbConnectTimeout.cdr=1200
-Dmongo.client.thread.maxWaitTime.cdr=1200
-Dmongo.connections.per.host.cdr=10
-Dmongo.threads.allowed.to.wait.for.connection.cdr=10
-Dcisco.cdrrep.corePoolSize=5
-Dcisco.cdrrep.maxPoolSize=5
    Note 

    You must change -Dcisco.cdr.compression=false if the CDR size is less than 400 bytes (or less than 10 fields).

  2. In Cluster Manager, execute the following command to synchronize the changes to the VM nodes:

    copytoall.sh /etc/broadhop/qns.conf /etc/broadhop/qns.conf

  3. Execute the following commands to publish configuration and restart CPS:

    /var/qps/bin/control/restartall.sh 

    restartall.sh script process will prompt for either Y/N to restart process. Enter Y to restart the process.
    Caution 

    Executing restartall.sh will cause messages to be dropped.

Step 4

Configure logger, to see dropped message. When non-blocking CDR is configured, CDR may dropped.

Note 

Configuring logger does not make sure that 100% records will be captured in logs. Writing too many logs impacts the performance.

  1. Edit the /etc/broadhop/controlcenter/logback.xml file and add the following in appender section: 

    <appender name="CONSOLIDATED-REPORTING"
					    class="ch.qos.logback.core.rolling.RollingFileAppender">
					    <file>${com.broadhop.log.dir:-/var/log/broadhop}/consolidated-reporting.log</file>
					    <rollingPolicy
					      class="ch.qos.logback.core.rolling.FixedWindowRollingPolicy">
					      <fileNamePattern>
					        ${com.broadhop.log.dir:-/var/log/broadhop}/consolidated-reporting.%i.log.gz
					      </fileNamePattern>
					      <minIndex>1</minIndex>
					      <maxIndex>5</maxIndex>
					    </rollingPolicy>
					    <triggeringPolicy
					      class="ch.qos.logback.core.rolling.SizeBasedTriggeringPolicy">
					      <maxFileSize>100MB</maxFileSize>
					    </triggeringPolicy>
					    <encoder>
					         <pattern>%property{HOSTNAME}  ${DEFAULT_PATTERN}</pattern>
					    </encoder>
					</appender>

  2. Edit the /etc/broadhop/controlcenter/logback.xml file and add the following in logger section: 

    <logger name="remote.com.broadhop.reporting.errors" level="info" additivity="false">
					    <appender-ref ref="CONSOLIDATED-REPORTING" />
					</logger>

  3. Edit the /etc/broadhop/logback.xml file and add the following in logger section: 

    <logger name="com.broadhop.reporting.errors" level="info" additivity="false">
					    <appender-ref ref="SOCKET" />
					</logger>

  4. Copy logger files to all VMs.

    copytoall.sh /etc/broadhop/logback.xml /etc/broadhop/logback.xml

    copytoall.sh /etc/broadhop/controlcenter/logback.xml /etc/broadhop/controlcenter/logback.xml

Step 5

Configure grafana to see the average number of CDR drops and writes.

Jmx counters:

  • cdr.drop: CDR has dropped.

  • cdr.write: CDR has written.

Sample grafana query: groupByNode(cisco.quantum.qps.*qns*.node1.counters.cdr.*, 6, 'sum')

Charging Characteristics AVP in Diameter GY CDR's

Cisco Policy Suite(CPS) provides the ability to produce reports on Gy Charging Characteristics AVP in Call Data Records (EDR/CDRs).

When a Gy session takes place, PS-Information in the AVPs is processed from the Gy CDR messages and populated in the reporting records. The Policy Builder is configured to populate the CDRs with the required fields, when a Gy Session is initiated.

This section covers the following topics:

  • Add Variables to Policy Reporting Field Types

  • Create Call Data Record (CDR) for a Gy Session

  • Define Conditions for a Gy Session

Add Variables to Policy Reporting Field Types

To add variable to a non-default Policy Reporting Field Type, perform the following steps:

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to Policy Builder.

Step 2

Click Reference Data > Policy Reporting > Policy Reporting Field Types. A summary window appears on the right side.

Step 3

In the summary window, click Policy Reporting Field Type to create a non-default policy reporting field type.

Step 4

Provide a name for the policy reporting field type in the Name field.

Step 5

In the Policy Reporting Fields table, click Add to add a variable.

Step 6

To create the CDR for the Gy Session, the AVP (variables) need to be added.

  1. Enter the variable name in the Code column.

  2. Enter the database field name in the Db Field Name column.

  3. Select the database type from the Db Type drop-down list. By default, the database type is set to VARCHAR.

  4. Enter the value of precision in the Precision column.

Step 7

Click Add to add more variables to the Policy Reporting Field Type.

Figure 11. Add Variables to Policy Reporting Field Types
Step 8

Click the Save icon to save the new policy reporting field type.

Create Call Data Record (CDR) for a Gy Session

To create a CDR for a Gy session, perform the following steps:

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to Policy Builder.

Step 2

Click Reference Data > Policy Reporting > Policy Cdr. A summary window appears on the right side.

Step 3

In the summary window, click Policy Cdr to create a new report.

Step 4

Provide name and table name to the new report in the Name field and the Table Name field respectively.

Step 5

Enter a value for the Version field.

Step 6

In the Reporting Cdr Columns table, add the variables required as defined in the Policy Reporting Field Types created for the Gy session. To add required the required variables:

  1. Click Add to add a new row to the table.

  2. Enter the variable name in the Code column. The variable being added should be the same as the variable defined in the Policy Reporting Field Type.

  3. Set the Cdr Field Type value by selecting a type from the drop-down list. By default, the value is Literal.

  4. Set the Type using the values from the drop-down list. By default, the value is key.

After the addition of all the required variables in the Reporting Cdr Columns table, the variables need to be associated to its field defined in the Policy Reporting Field Type.
Step 7

To associate the variables with the Policy Reporting Field Type:

Repeat the following steps for all the variables defined in Reporting Cdr Columns table.

  1. Select the variable from the Reporting Cdr Column to be associated.

  2. In the Reporting Column Details > Data > Field, click select. A window is displayed.

  3. Select the field to which the variable needs to be associated with and click OK.

    Important 

    Field is active only for those reporting CDR column entries for which Cdr Field Type is Data.

Define Conditions for a Gy Session

When a Gy session is initiated the Policy Report defined in the above sections is populated with the Call Data Records (CDR).

In order to populate the policy report when a Gy session is initiated, conditions are needed to be defined. These conditions are defined under the Policies tab. When a Gy session is initiated if the conditions is matched, the policy report is populated for the required fields in the CDR.

To define a condition, perform the following steps:

Procedure

Step 1

Click on the Policies Tab, a summary window is displayed.

Step 2

In the left pane, click Initial Blueprint > Post outbound message policies > GyCDR .

Step 3

In the Policypage, select Conditions tab.

Step 4

Select the required condition from the Conditions tab.

A list of available input variables are displayed, which can be assigned to the condition in the Actions tab, where all the defined conditions are executed.

Step 5

Select Actions tab and click Add to add an action. A window is displayed requesting the user to select an Action Phrase.

Step 6

Select Add reporting data and click OK. For the selected action, assign the Input Variables, Type and Operator Value.

Step 7

For the input variable, IReportingState, assign the output variable type from the drop-down list. Select Output. A window displaying the available output variables is displayed. Select the required output variable and click OK.

Step 8

For the input variable, Value, assign the output variable type from the drop-down list. Select Output. A window displaying the available output variables is displayed. Select the required output variable and click OK.

Step 9

For the input variable, Name, enter the field name such that the field name is matched with the Gy field name created in Policy Cdr field.

The output field name defined for Name should be the same as defined in the Policy Cdr to populate the column in the policy report accordingly.

When a Gy session is initiated, the condition A Gy V8 session exists is checked. If the condition is matched, the values that are defined in the Actions tab are executed and the fields in the policy report are populated respectively.

Remove MySQL JDBC Connectors from Standard Load Line-up

Procedure

Step 1

Add the following entry to qns.conf file on all the Cisco Policy Suite boxes.

-DmysqlDriver=file:///var/broadhop/jdbc/jdbc_5_1_6.jar

Step 2

Download MySQL jdbc 5.1.6 binary jar from http://ebr.springsource.com (search for com.springsource.com.mysql.jdbc and download version 5.1.6 from the link).

Step 3

Rename the downloaded jar file to jdbc_5_1_6.jar and copy the jar file to /var/broadhop/jdbc/ directory on all the system boxes.

Step 4

Synchronize all the boxes and then restart the system.

Configuration File Parameters

In addition to the configurations mentioned in the above sections, the following parameters need to be set in qns.conf file.

  • Parameter disableCdrReplication in qns.conf file:

    This flag is used to specify whether the process should participate in doing CDR replication or not.

    • If disableCdrReplication is set to true (as disableCdrReplication=true) then the processes using corresponding configuration file will not participate in CDR replication.

    • If disableCdrReplication is set to false (as disableCdrReplication=false) then the processes using corresponding configuration file will participate in CDR replication.

    • If disableCdrReplication is not specified then disableCdrReplication=false will be used as default and corresponding behavior is applicable.

    By default, this flag is set as false. Configuration is applicable only for processes for which com.broadhop.policyintel.service.feature is installed. It does not have any effect on other processes.

    Example:

    • With disableCdrReplication=true in /var/broadhop/qns.conf file, none of the processes will participate in CDR replication as /var/broadhop/qns.conf is used by all processes.

    • With disableCdrReplication=true in /etc/broadhop/pcrf/qns.conf file, Policy Server (QNS) VMs processes will not participate in CDR replication as /etc/broadhop/pcrf/qns.conf is used by process on Policy Server VMs.

    For synchronizing configuration files from Cluster Manager to VM, refer to CPS Installation Guide for 9.0.0 and prior releases or CPS Installation Guide for VMware for 9.1.0 and later releases.

  • Parameter oracleDriver in qns.conf file.

    This flag is used to specify the oracle driver to be used for replication to database.

    Configuration is applicable only for processes that have com.broadhop.policyintel.service.feature installed and are participating in database replication. It does not have any effect for other processes.

    Example:

    -DoracleDriver=file:///var/broadhop/odbc7.jar

    Oracle ODBC jar can be downloaded from http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/features/jdbc/.

    Downloaded jar may need to be renamed to the name specified in configuration and needs to be copied to all required VMs at the same path that is specified in above configuration.

Enabling Redis Reporting

You can add the following parameters in the qns.conf file to enable Redis for reporting purposes. When you enable these parameters, the current Mongo storage is bypassed, and each Policy Server node writes the CDRs to a Redis queue.

  • The enableRedisReporting parameter enables Redis reporting and bypasses Mongo when set to true. This parameter should be configured on each Policy Server and Policy Director. Possible values are true and false. If this parameter is not present in the qns.conf file, the default value is false.

    Example:

    -DenableRedisReporting=true

  • The reporting.redisSLA parameter sets the time an incoming message from the Redis server remains in the reporting queue before being dropped. This parameter should be configured on all Policy Director nodes, or on any node that is performing replication. The value is in milliseconds, and the default value is 500. You may want to increase this value based on your requirements.

    Example:

    -Dreporting.redisSLA=1000