PortaOne Delivers New Features in PortaSwitch Maintenance Release 55

Maintenance release 55 is a long-life release, so the software builds for it will continue to be issued for close to a year. It supersedes the MR50 long-life release (although 2 more builds will be issued for MR50).

SMS routing with HLR lookup - when PortaSwitch processes an SMS message it sends a lookup request via the web services API to the SS7 network. The request is routed to the HLR (Home Location Registry) of the mobile carrier that owns the subscriber, which returns the correct information about the destination number. This allows the message to be correctly routed to the mobile operator (identified by MCC - Mobile Country Code and MNC - Mobile Network Code) which owns the number, including ported numbers, etc. - so the routing is efficient and all charges are 100% correct.

To simplify the rate management for SMS services, the rate sheet upload using the MCC/MNC combination is also supported.

Message processing logs - Along with call logs, the administrator can view message logs with the SIP Log Viewer tool; this applies to messages processed entirely using SIP as well as messages where SMPP was used (e.g. to deliver the PortaSwitch messages to the mobile carrier).

Data Porter Tool - Using the Porter data transfer tool, you can transfer existing customer records (with their balances, configuration settings, etc.) to a different PortaSwitch system (e.g. a staging system or other virtual environment) and immediately run services there with minimum reconfiguration effort.
Porter is a set of scripts with which you export a customer's service and billing configuration and all of their dependent entities (accounts, products, service features, xDRs, invoices, etc.) from the previous "source" system and then import them into the target using the API.

Extended ACL Possibilities - The access control list (ACL) defines which features a PortaSwitch administrator or end-user can view and modify on the web interface. In previous releases, an administrator could only define the access level for an entire service feature (e.g. Call Forwarding) and all of its attributes. Now he can do it for each service feature field. This provides extended opportunities for fine-tuning the ACLs and optimizing the web interface view for different PortaBilling users.

Alcatel-Lucent Service Router Integration - PortaBilling is now integrated with the Alcatel-Lucent Service Router (SR), which can be deployed as a DSL access point within a service provider's network. PortaBilling acts as an OCS (Online Charging System). It communicates with the Alcatel-Lucent SR via the RADIUS protocol to authorize end users when they connect to the Internet, supplies permissible bandwidth information to the SR, charges for data transfer, and disconnects the session once the customer uses up his quota or balance.

DID Inventory Enhancements - The Administrator can now download a spreadsheet with number information from the PortaBilling web GUo and upload the DID list to update the existing numbers (e.g. if the DID vendor adjusted the pricing). API methods for adding / updating DIDs have also been created. This permits the provisioning of DIDs from an external application or script.

PortaSIP Service Policy Extension - Service Policies allow for flexibly adjusting PortaSIP behavior to accommodate whichever peculiarities exist with a specific IP phone / gateway or network. Two new parameters: on_hold_media_direction and sdp_time_remove have been added to allow for easier interoperability with other types of equipment.