
		=== The Cherry Project ===

Q: WHAT IS THIS ?

A: Well, this is our attempt to design a uniform well grained multi-service, multi-user, multi-provider, modular and completely web-based open source billing system for internet and telephone service providers with elements of distributed calculus. 


Q: WHAT ARE THE KEY FEATURES ?

A: Basicaly, we want to implement the following features:

	- 100% open source product following the good traditions of UNIX canons.

	- The whole-way modularity: the system must be easily expendable as well as reducible to nothing (any new functionality must be easily addable, unused or undesired functionality must be easily removeble).

	- Complete web-based user's and administrator's interfaces. As more administrative operations must be hold on the web (except, perhaps the installation process itself).

	- Flexible way of permissions control taking in account a multi-user operation. Each operator (user who operates the system) can be separetely configured to allow his/her own specific operations. Operators must be able to join into groups etc. 

	- The system must be multi-lingual. The must be an easy way of adding new language dictionaries.

	- A single instance of the system must support multiple service providers with all their individual subscribers, services, network access devices and billing rules. Operators must be able to serve more than one service provider at a time. Also proper way of permissions and restrictions must be able to apply.

	- Real-time "hot" billing operations.

	- System must be easily expansible. When more computing power is needed to perform proper operations of real-time billing, adding new billing process running on other unix system must solve the problem. For this, a proper inter-billing-process communication protocol must be designed.

	- Support for most communication devices and network access protocols and service types, like: dialup, voip, pppoe, vpn, leased-lines, what-so-ever communication industry protocols and services will be invented to meet current and future customers' needs.

	- Database independancy. The system must we designed to use standard SQL92 database query language. All the database operations must be done modular making it possible to use any well-known open source database (MySQL, Postgres, etc). 

	- Lots more!



Q: WHAT IS THE PROJECT STATE ? WHAT IS ALREADY DONE ?

A: Check our project dedicated web site at http://cherry.t72.ru/. See also the HISTORY part of this document below.



Q: IN WHAT PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE IT IS GOING TO BE WRITTEN ?

A: We are trying to do it in Perl5. Some little of shell and C can be used too.



A: WHY "CHERRY" PROJECT ?

A: Why not ? :-)



Q: WHO ARE YOU ?

A: A bunch of individuals working in telecommunication industry who are tired of using all the over-bloated money-consuming and hell-designed billing systems available on the markerplace, which are completely impossible to support and use. 



Q: CAN I JOIN THE PROJECT ?

A: At least you can try, if you do have some spare time to waste  :-)



Q: HOW CAN I CONTACT YOU ?

A: The project master site is available at: http://cherry.t72.ru/. You can also try to e-mail us:

Ruslan Zalata, rz@t72.ru
Eugene Korolenko, ugin@t72.ru


===============================================================================

RELEASE HISTORY:

2002-09-21	rz	Project Cherry started!

2003-03-07	rz	Lots of things been done. Mostly VoIP features. User's interface part has progressed well, but still too far to the first release.


===============================================================================

$Author: rz $
$Date: 2005/11/25 09:26:16 $
$Header: /home/vvk/RPM/SOURCES/Project_Cherry/CVSROOT/cherry/html/www/README,v 2.0.0.1 2005/11/25 09:26:16 rz Exp $
$Id: README,v 2.0.0.1 2005/11/25 09:26:16 rz Exp $
$Locker:  $
$Log: README,v $
Revision 2.0.0.1  2005/11/25 09:26:16  rz
Project Cherry release 2.0

Revision 1.1.1.1  2003/07/30 08:31:28  rz
Project CHerry: imported from RCS

Revision 1.1  2003/03/08 19:42:49  rz
Initial revision


