UTM 5: Universal ISP Billing System

Basic Billing Solutions

Billing System Overview

The ISP billing system NetUP UTM consists of five principal components: the Core, database server, RADIUS server, Web server and network access server (NAS). Also additional components exist: NDSAD traffic probe, Get-XYZ statistics converter, and auxillary tools: utm5_unif, utm5_flowgen, utm5_radgen, utm5_backup.sh, utm5_load_tc.pl
For detailed information concerning UTM modules go here.
If a subscriber authorization is not necessary, the scheme may be essentially simplified.

Service Accounting, Tariffing and Billing in case of using Network Access Servers (NAS)

Network Access Server (NAS) is a unit responsible for subscriber authorization according to data stored in the billing system. Authorization runs in the following order:

1. A client tries to establish connection with NAS;
2. NAS requests NetUP RADIUS server for client authorization;
3. NetUP RADIUS, having asked the core, either accepts or denies the authorization.

Various devices may play a NAS role: PC routers, hardware routers, gatekeepers, wireless access points, modem pools, etc. One billing system Core can serve several Network Access Servers simultaneously.

Network Access Servers Manifold

Besides authorization, a device rendering services to a subscriber should calculate usage statistics and send it to the billing system core. The core accepts statistics in Netflow (v5) format, also it is possible to send it via RADIUS protocol using RADIUS accounting technology. The most preferrable is the first variant. By using an auxillary tool Get-XYZ it is possible to collect statistics (convert it in Netflow v5 or save it in a file) from MikroTik and Revolution routers (or in Cisco IP accounting format). By using NDSAD traffic probe it is possible to collect statistics from PC router interfaces and export it in Netflow stream.

Various popular high-performance ISP billing solutions may be realized by using Network Access Servers: ISP billing, Hotspot billing, Web hosting billing, VoIP billing, etc. It is recommended to use RADIUS protocol for authorization only, and for traffic usage statistics collecting Netflow technology is most preferable. Detailed documentation can be found here.

ISP billing solutions - statistics collected via Netflow protocol

Service Accounting, Tariffing and Billing without Authorization

The most simple is a scheme when headers of all packets coming from the Internet to computers of a local area network (LAN) and back are analyzed and calculated by a sniffing server connected to the same root switch with a central router (Internet gateway).

Another variant is when statistics is collected via Netflow v5 protocol from a hardware router (or a PC-based router with a traffic probe installed). If a router supports any other statistics format (e.g. for MikroTik, Revolution, or Cisco IP accounting) it may be converted to Netflow v5.

Statistics may be collected from a PC router with a traffic probe installed (NDSAD or ipcad) and exported in Netflow stream to the ISP billing server. At light loads the core of the billing system "UTM 5" may be installed directly on the router.