System Attributes
System attributes are custom properties you can attach to product offers, price components, rate tables, and rate table rows to add metadata to the object in the pricing database. They contain a mapping of attribute values to MATRIXX Data Container (MDC) fields. The MDC fields get populated with the attribute values during rating and returned to the network in an MDC message.
You can use system attributes to provide additional information about the event to other systems, such as customer care systems and billing systems. For example, you can add a system attribute to a rate table that will get assigned to an event being rated. After the event transaction is complete, the system attribute value, if configured to do so, will be added to the message returned to the network. This value can then be used to influence other post-rating operations.
System attributes are examined hierarchically during rating. If a sub-level system attribute is set for a pricing item, it overrides the higher-level system attribute. For example, you can attach an system attribute to a rate table that affects all rows in the rate table by default. If you set a different system attribute for one of the rows in the rate table, that system attribute is added to the event instead of the system attribute defined at the rate table level.
When an attribute impacts usage from one offer and authorization from a different offer, the MDC field in the EDR reflects the attribute value from the usage. The following rules apply for system attributes:
- For authorization only, the attribute value in the EDR is determined during authorization.
- For usage only, the attribute value in the EDR is determined during usage rating.
- For usage and authorization, the attribute value in the EDR is determined during usage rating.
MDCs
When creating a system attribute, you must specify the MDC and the field in which to copy the attribute value. All available MDCs, including custom MDCs, are listed. After selecting the MDC, all available fields in that MDC are listed.