In telecommunications, an IP Detail Record (IPDR) provides information about Internet Protocol (IP)-based service usage and other activities that can be used by Operational Support Systems (OSS) and Business Support Systems (BSS). The content of the IPDR is determined by the service provider, Network/Service Element vendor, or any other community of users with authority for specifying the particulars of IP-based services in a given context. The IPDR specifications were originally produced by the Internet Protocol Detail Record Organization, Inc. (aka IPDR.org). In 2007 the IPDR.org organization was acquired by the TM Forum, an industry association of more than 700 global members in over 75 countries from across the converging industries of telecom, cable, media and the Internet. The IPDR specifications include requirements for IPDR collection, encoding and transport protocols to exchange IPDR records, the IPDR service specification design guidance, and several sample IPDR Service Definition Documents. The IPDR specs are maintained and continue to evolve at the TM Forum Interface Program. The IPDR team leader at the time that IPDR was folded into the TM Forum was Amit Kleinmann of Amdocs.
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During the summer of 1999, while the Communications Industry was grappling with massive growth in the use of Internet Protocol based networks for voice and data communications, a group of industry veterans formed the IPDR Organization to begin to establish standards for use in operational and business support systems used by the communications carriers.[1] Originally formed as an informal confederation of about 60 industry experts from 20 companies, including Narus, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, AT&T and others who were active in the industry, the organization quickly matured into a formal structure, tackling a range of technical issues associated with the deployment of systems to support the growth of IP Protocol based communications services.
By 2002, the group was involving industry specific software development companies to perform inter-operability testing and encompassed working forums around five distinct tracks of industry challenges, had hired a staff, and appointed Aron Heintz as President to guide the quickly growing body of technical work being conducted within the largely volunteer organization.[2]
IPDR had also established a formal Board of Directors structure[3] , enlisting a range of industry experts from industry players in the United States and Canada to oversee the development of the standards and protocols being developed by the group, including Martin Demers of Ace*comm, Mark Farmer of Amdocs, Tal Givoly of Xacct Technologies, Matthew Lucas of Telestrategies, Jeff Meyer of Hewlett-Packard, Kevin McCoy of Cisco, Mike Norris of Telus, Steve O'Neal of Sprint PCS and Pankaj Patel of Convergys.
CableLabs has included IPDR as part of the DOCSIS OSS definitions. It was first included in an ECN to the DOCSIS 1.1 operations support system interface in 2004. CableLabs has also included IPDR/SP as part of its OCAP 1.1 in 2007.