There have been too many cases of late rollovers because the system was selected for a school network project over the years. Some buy cheap goods, half-yearly billing logic is not back, operators are not getting the same balance; others choose large and full platforms, so the operator simply doesn’t understand it, and the monthly checkout is done overtime.
Let's find out who this campus network is for.
That sounds like bullshit, but when we actually do the project, many of the firms that have not even figured out how to do it start recommending a programme.
The scenes are very different in higher and secondary schools.——The staff area needs to be stable, and the flow model is similar to that of the enterprise network. Two user groups must design their billing strategies separately.
Primary and secondary schools are different. The main users are teaching staff, students usually have a clear window of time (information technology class, self-study room opening) online, and the Education Department has a compliance requirement for green access, and the billing system is linked to the management of Internet behaviour."Flow-based fees + bandwidth control"The programme is used for primary and secondary schools, and its functions and needs are not matched.
There's some special scenes.——Like a training room in a vocational college or a whole-house system for private schools.——The flow model is different. The first step in the selection is not to look at a list of product functions, but to figure out how users are drawing and flow models on this campus network. This is wrong, and all the configurations behind it are patches based on errors.
The flexibility of the costing strategy is more important than the number of functions
Some of the product lists are written in a very small way: support is provided on time, by flow, bandwidth, month, year, step, blend.……The list of functions draws two pages. But when you really do it, you find that these billing patterns cannot be freely combined or that the configuration interface is so complicated that it takes a week to get started.
I've had this in a high-level college project."Global coverage"The first check was made by a two-day reconciliation of data by the carrier, and it was found that two dormitories were misconstrued with parameters and that the monthly bill was all reworked.
A really good campus network billing system. The costing strategy should be configured to:"Select role+strategy template+reciprocal parameters"The bottom logic is that the system has already set up a costing model for common campuses (higher-education dormitories, higher-level offices, primary and secondary schools, vocational colleges), you choose a template and then you adjust several key parameters to the reality. There is no need to build blocks from scratch.
You need to get a clear check on the coupling with the authentication system.
The relationship between the billing system and the certification system, each manufacturer's treatment is different. Some of them are a tight coupling.——The billing module is embedded in the certification system and upgrades to authenticate solids are needed to update the costing strategy; some of them are loose coupling——The billing is run as an independent service and interacts with NATSHEL_AUTH_GATEWAY through API.
The advantage of a tight coupling is that it is simple to deploy, one equipment handles authentication plus billing, and the carrier does not have to handle two systems. The bad side is also clear: the logical change in the calculation involves a significant risk for certification equipment; and the problem in the certification is also connected with the failure of the crediting system.
NATSHEL_AUTH_GATEWAY (usually 802.1X or Portal) is responsible for user access and identification, and the billing system is independent. Communications are conducted through standard protocols (Radius Billing, REST API).
When selecting a model, it is important to ask the manufacturer: Is the billing module tight or loose? If you want to change the billing strategy later, do you want to use the authentication device? If the billing machine is running, does certification work?
The operator's not all that good at matching.
In the campus network, a fee-paying system also has an important role: to connect with operators’ broadband resources. Many schools are not-for-profit (regulating only and not charging students), but many private schools and vocational colleges are charged for their own.——Students pay a fee for the Internet, partly for broadband and partly for school management services.
In this scenario, the billing system needs support."Multi-operator dial"Function: Students can choose to travel by telecommunications, connections or moves, and the billing system is based on the choice of automatic route to the BRAS of the corresponding operator.
I've seen a project where the factory claims to be supporting multiple operator dialling and actually finds only support when deployed."Approximate operator by account number"Not supported"Student self-help selection operator"The result is: operator A has a free bandwidth, operator B has a full bandwidth and the school needs to customize it manually."Supported but not realized"The function must be measured during the selection phase.
Is the account unit enough to clear the financials?
The campus network billing system is ultimately used for financial and operator reconciliations.
A good billing system should be possible: aggregated by building/story/houseship number, split by operator, supporting export Excel and PDF formats, historical bills retroactive (not to keep only the last three months)."Additional Functions", is in use for high frequency operations.
When you choose, it's recommended that the manufacturer demonstrate."From user online to billing", focus on the format and content of the bill output. If the demonstration is made by the manufacturer,"This is a custom."The manufacturer is either immature or not transparent.