Question about charging of API requests or Context Broker subscriptions

[edwinmat]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask a question, but I'll just try. I was wondering if the following two use cases are supported by RSS or will be supported in future:

• Charging of the use of an API ('protected' by a PEP proxy for example)
• Charging of the use of Context Broker information (pay per topic subscription, or pay per update)

I got the impression that current charging is mainly focussed on WStore transactions (selling / buying an app or widget), am I right?

Thank you in advance for your reply

[fdelavega]

Hi,

The two exposed functionalities are covered by WStore, which is the component in charge of the pay-per-use monetization.

¿Do you have an accounting system able to monitor the usage of your services?

We are working on a version of the PEP proxy which is able to authorize the access based on acquisitions, make the accounting of the usage made of the services, and feed WStore with this information so it is possible to charge the customers. Nevertheless this system is not finished yet:

https://github.com/conwetlab/Accounting-Proxy

[edwinmat]

Thanks for the reply. I have no particular accounting system in mind (yet). I have shortly looked into things like OpenRate, JSBilling and OSBilling.

What I see (and maybe that's incorrect) is that FiWare is primarily focusing on Open Data. Although I really believe having the ability to charge for service usage or data/information usage is key in enabling new (smart city) business models.

If I look at the WStore documentation, I primarily find functionality to charge for buying an app (or widget). To me it looks like a FiWare Appstore, like the ones from Apple, Google and Microsoft. Can you give me any directions to WStore examples or documentation on "the pay-per-use monetization"?

[fdelavega]

We absolutely agree with you regrading the selling of smart city data

It is possible to sell data in different ways. On the one hand, WStore is integrated with CKAN (which must be using private-datasets plugin) so it is possible to sell static datasets. In this case, only the one payment for the dataset is supported, since CKAN is not able to make the accounting of the data accessed.

On the other hand, its is possible to sell real time data streams (provided by the context broker) or in general any API service by using the accounting proxy. This compnent makes the accounting of the service and feeds WStore with this data, in order to charge.

In any case, you can make use of WStore for pay-per-use taking into account two requests.

• When an offering is acquired WStore it sends a notification with the customer data
• WStore exposed an API where it is possible to POST accounting information You can use these APIs to build you own service activation if you want.

The documentation of these requests is available in Apiary: http://docs.fiwarestore.apiary.io/#