Accounting statistics collection

Description

Accounting statistics provide packet and octet throughput information for queues that are associated with the following objects:

• SAPs or SDPs, which provide service accounting statistics

• network ports, which provide network accounting statistics

• subscriber profiles, which provide subscriber accounting statistics

• subscribers, SAPs, and spoke SDP bindings, which provide application assurance, or AA, accounting statistics

See the NSP NFM-P Classic Management User Guide for information about AA accounting statistics. See the Accounting statistics volume in this guide for lists of the MIB-based accounting statistics that the NFM-P supports.

To collect accounting statistics, you need to create and apply the following:

• an accounting policy

• a file policy

• a statistics policy

See Chapter 2, Statistics collection for a description of each policy type.

Note: Not all managed NEs collect accounting statistics. See the Accounting statistics volume of this guide for information about NEs that collect accounting statistics.

OSS retrieval of accounting statistics by policy

Multiple OSS applications may collect accounting statistics from the same object using different policies. To enable the OSS filtering and retrieval of statistics associated with a specific policy, you can configure the NFM-P to include the accounting policy ID in the header of each accounting statistics file.

When the accounting policy ID is included in a statistics file, an OSS client can use XML API registerLogToFile and JMS filters to retrieve only the statistics files associated with the policy.

See the system preferences configuration procedure in the NSP System Administrator Guide for information.

Queue filters

Modifying the server configuration can have serious consequences that can include service disruption.

Contact technical support before you attempt to modify a server configuration file.

You can use the NFM-P to configure queue filters for accounting statistics so that NEs use queues that do not have to be monitored. The NEs generate accounting data files that include all of the configured queues. When you configure a queue filter, the queue of each statistics record is checked; the queues that do not match the filter are discarded and are not processed.

You can specify a queue filter in the NFM-P main server configuration file. For example, you can enable the processing of queues 1 and 2 for combinedServiceEgressOctets and completeSubscriberIngressPacketOctets, and queues 1, 2, and 3 for completeSubscriberEgressPacketOctets:

<accountingStatsFilter

combinedServiceEgressOctets="1,2"

completeSubscriberEgressPacketOctets="1,2,3"

completeSubscriberIngressPacketOctets="1,2" />

Custom accounting records

You can customize the record in an accounting policy to contain only the accounting data that you require. This reduces the statistics-collection processing load and the volume of data that collection generates. Custom accounting records allow you to specify the following in an accounting policy:

• the counters to include in each record, for example, packet but not octet counters

• the queues or policers to monitor for collection

• significant-change criteria that define when an NE saves the data to a file:

  • significant change threshold

  • reference counters

  • reference queues and policers

• HSMDA scheduler override counters and queues

The following accounting policy types support custom records:

• Custom Record Service

• Custom Record Subscriber

• Custom Record AA Subscriber

Note: In a Custom Record AA Subscriber accounting policy, you can specify optional attributes to include in each record; for example, the application profile or ASO associated with an AA subscriber.

Dynamic periodic accounting statistics calculations

You can define periodic value calculations for accounting statistics data and dynamically apply them. Periodic values, which represent the difference between the current and previous counter values, are available for functions such as reporting by the NSP Analytics.

Note: The periodic data values persist through NFM-P system upgrades.

Note: The periodic data values are not retrievable using the NFM-P XML API.

The dynamic calculation definitions for one or more statistics classes must be specified in an XML file that has the format shown in Figure 4-1, Dynamic periodic calculation definition format.

Figure 4-1: Dynamic periodic calculation definition format

<classes>

   <className name="accounting statistics class name"

              periodicFields="counters for which to calculate periodic values"

              dataFields="list of additional fields to include in periodic tables"/>

</classes>

Note: The dataFields entry is optional, and specifies data fields to include other than counters that are required for reports or data aggregations; for example, a SAP or port ID.

Figure 4-2, Dynamic periodic definition example shows a periodic calculation definition example that defines periodic values to calculate for four statistics classes.

Figure 4-2: Dynamic periodic definition example

<classes>

   <className name="service.CompleteServiceEgressPacketOctets"

              periodicFields="inProfilePktsOffered,inProfilePktsForwarded,inProfilePktsDropped"

              dataFields="svcId,sapId,portId"/>

   <className name="service.CompleteServiceIngressPacketOctets"

              periodicFields="inProfilePktsOffered,inProfilePktsForwarded,inProfilePktsDropped "

              dataFields="svcId,sapId,portId"/>

   <className name="service.ServiceEgressOctets"

              periodicFields="allOctetsForwarded,allOctetsDropped,allOctetsOffered"

              dataFields="svcId,sapId"/>

   <className name="service.ServiceIngressOctets"

              periodicFields="allOctetsForwarded,allOctetsDropped"

              dataFields="svcId,sapId"/>

</classes>

The following sample periodic calculation file is available on an NFM-P main server:

/opt/nsp/nfmp/server/nms/config/accountingPeriodicSample.xml

Creating and managing definitions

After you create a definition file, you must use a main server configuration utility to apply the definitions in the file. Subsequently, you can modify and re-apply the file to update the existing definitions, or remove definitions. See To create and manage periodic accounting statistics calculations for information.

Note: If you re-apply a definition for a statistics class that has a statically defined periodic calculation, any additional columns in the definition are added, but no statically defined columns are removed.

You can view and manage static and dynamically defined periodic calculations using the Periodic Counters Manager in the client GUI.