Patent ID: 7610371

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for mediating event records between a generation layer of events and an operation system layer of events in a communications network by means of a mediation layer of events, which includes at least one first self-contained component, at least one second self-contained component, and at least one third self-contained component, which first, second, and third self-contained components operate independently of each other, and wherein the mediation layer of events further comprises at least one buffer, the method comprising passing the event records through a processing chain of the at least three self-contained components, starting from one of the first self-contained components, then through one of the third self-contained components, and finally through one of the second self-contained components, and for said mediating and passing, the method further comprising: collecting the event records from an element of the generation layer of events substantially continuously as a stream, by the first self-contained component in the processing chain, processing the collected event records substantially continuously in the processing chain, wherein the step of processing includes: writing the event records output from each preceding self-contained component in the processing chain into one of said at least one buffer, reading said buffer substantially continuously by the subsequent self-contained component in the processing chain for reading the event records as input for said subsequent self-contained component from the buffer, after reading any of the event records from the buffer by any subsequent self-contained component in the processing chain, retaining a copy of said read event record in the buffer, and removing the retained copy of the event record from the buffer after successfully outputting the event record from the subsequent self-contained component in the processing chain, and delivering the processed event records to an element of the operation system layer of events substantially continuously as a stream, by the second self-contained component in the processing chain, the method further comprising: providing each of the self-contained components with its own individual settings, each of the self-contained components functioning according to its own individual settings, wherein said individual settings of each of the self-contained components include a node base part of the settings, which is identical to the node base parts of the other self-contained components within the mediation layer, and a node application part of the settings, which contain custom processing rules and which is different to the node application parts of at least most of the other self-contained components within the mediation layer.