CN109361526B

CN109361526B - Policy-controlled routing method, PCRF/PCF and DRA

Info

Publication number: CN109361526B
Application number: CN201811260311.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 穆佳; 王光全; 马瑞涛; 任驰; 马泽芳; 魏群; 李延斌
Original assignee: China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd
Current assignee: China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-10-26
Filing date: 2018-10-26
Publication date: 2021-07-13
Anticipated expiration: 2038-10-26
Also published as: CN109361526A

Abstract

The invention discloses a policy-controlled routing method, a PCRF/PCF and a DRA, relates to the technical field of communication, and aims to solve the technical problem that the DRA is difficult to realize the routing based on the policy control of a single user when a 4G user migrates from a 4G network to a 5G network. The method comprises the following steps: the DRA determines a PCRF/PCF corresponding to the user identification according to the user identification in the received policy control request message, acquires a first destination host name of the PCRF/PCF and sends a first Gx interface session message carrying the user identification and the first destination host name to the PCRF/PCF; the PCRF/PCF judges whether the user is a 4G user or not according to the user identification; and if so, the PCRF/PCF acquires a second destination host name according to the user identifier, modifies the first destination host name into the second destination host name, returns a second Gx interface session message carrying the second destination host name to the DRA, and sends the second Gx interface session message to the destination PCRF corresponding to the second destination host name by the DRA. The invention is used for routing the session request sent by the 4G user when the 4G user migrates from the 4G network to the 5G network.

Description

Policy-controlled routing method, PCRF/PCF and DRA

Technical Field

The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of communication, in particular to a routing method for policy control, a PCRF/PCF and a DRA.

Background

With the introduction of 5G networks and services, operators face a situation where multiple networks such as 4G and 5G coexist. Currently, different users need to access different networks according to different user attributes and service attributes, for example: the 4G user accesses to the 4G network, the 5G user accesses to the 5G network, and the 4G/5G converged user accesses to the 4G/5G converged network; meanwhile, the 4G network and the 5G network respectively adopt respective policy and charging control systems and carry out policy control based on the respective policy and charging control systems.

In a 4G network, in order to implement load balancing, a plurality of PCRF (Policy and Charging Rules Function) are usually set, a session request sent by a user is routed to a corresponding PCRF by a DRA (Diameter Routing Agent), and the PCRF formulates and dynamically issues a control and Charging Policy for the user according to the session request to perform Policy control. In practical situations, the DRA can route the user to the corresponding PCRF based on the IMSI number segment or the MSISDN number segment of the user, that is, route the user of the same IMSI number segment or MSISDN number segment to the corresponding PCRF, but it is difficult to implement the routing function based on a single user. When a single 4G user migrates from a 4G network to a 5G network to become a 4G/5G converged user, in order to facilitate the user to perform uniform policy control during 4G/5G interoperation, a session request initiated by the 4G/5G converged user needs to be routed to a PCRF/PCF that supports both 4G and 5G policy control functions, which requires modification of routing configuration information on the DRA about the single user. However, configuring routing configuration information based on a single user in the DRA requires that the DRA meets higher storage capacity requirements and requires higher operation and maintenance costs, so that it is difficult to implement policy-controlled routing based on a single user on the current DRA.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide a policy-controlled routing method, a PCRF/PCF, and a DRA, which are used for solving a technical problem in the prior art that, when a 4G user migrates from a 4G network to a 5G network, the DRA is difficult to implement routing based on policy control of a single user.

In a first aspect, a policy-controlled routing method is provided, including:

the routing agent node DRA receives a policy control request message which is sent by a user through a policy and charging enforcement function PCEF and carries a user identifier of the user, and determines a PCRF/PCF corresponding to the user identifier according to a preset corresponding relation between the user identifier and a policy and charging rule function/policy control function fusion network element PCRF/PCF;

DRA obtains the first destination host name of PCRF/PCF;

DRA sends a first Gx interface session message to PCRF/PCF; the first Gx interface session message carries a user identifier of a user and a first destination host name;

the PCRF/PCF judges whether the user is a 4G user or not according to the user identification;

if the judgment result is yes, the PCRF/PCF acquires a second destination host name according to the user identification;

the PCRF/PCF modifies the first target host name into a second target host name;

the PCRF/PCF returns a second Gx interface session message to the DRA, wherein the second Gx interface session message carries a second destination host name;

and the DRA sends the second Gx interface session message to a destination PCRF corresponding to a second destination host name.

Therefore, in the policy control routing method provided by the invention, in a scenario based on the migration of a 4G user from a 4G network to a 5G network, when the DRA receives a first Gx interface session message, the DRA does not distinguish the 4G user from a 4G/5G fusion user according to the IMSI or MSISDN number any more, but forwards the first Gx interface session message to the PCRF/PCF; the PCRF/PCF adds the functions of judging, modifying and redirecting aiming at the user, namely, the PCRF/PCF judges that the user is a 4G user or a 4G/5G fusion user according to the user identification in the first Gx interface session message, when the user is the 4G user, the PCRF/PCF obtains a second destination host name corresponding to the 4G user from the local and modifies the first destination host name into the second destination host name so as to realize the purpose of supporting the routing of the single user policy control. Therefore, the invention converts the execution main body for executing the route based on the policy control of the single user from the DRA into the PCRF/PCF, solves the technical problem that the DRA is difficult to realize the route based on the policy control of the single user when the 4G user is migrated from the 4G network to the 5G network in the prior art, avoids the influence on the storage capacity of the DRA caused by the newly added route configuration information based on the policy control of the single user in the DRA, and reduces the operation and maintenance management cost.

Optionally, if the determination result is negative, the PCRF/PCF executes policy control according to the first Gx interface session message.

Optionally, the acquiring, by the PCRF/PCF, the second destination host name according to the user identifier is specifically:

and the PCRF/PCF acquires the destination PCRF corresponding to the user identification according to the preset corresponding relation between the user identification and the PCRF, and acquires a second destination host name according to the destination PCRF corresponding to the user identification.

Optionally, after the PCRF/PCF returns the second Gx interface session message to the DRA, the method further includes:

the DRA updates the binding information in the PCRF binding record of the user according to the second Gx interface session message;

the binding information contains at least the following information: a user identification, a user IP address, and a first destination host name.

Optionally, the PCRF/PCF determines, according to the user identifier, whether the user is a 4G user, specifically:

PCRF/PCF inquires whether 5G subscription information corresponding to the user identification exists on a user attribute storage/user data register fusion database SPR/UDR;

if not, the user is judged to be a 4G user.

In a second aspect, a PCRF/PCF is provided, comprising:

the receiving module is used for receiving a first Gx interface session message sent by the DRA; the first Gx interface session message carries a user identifier of a user and a first destination host name;

the judging module is used for judging whether the user is a 4G user or not according to the user identifier;

the first processing module is used for acquiring a second destination host name according to the user identifier if the judgment result of the judging module is positive;

the first processing module is also used for modifying the first destination host name into a second destination host name;

and the sending module is used for returning a second Gx interface session message to the DRA according to the processing result of the first processing module, wherein the second Gx interface session message carries a second destination host name.

Optionally, the PCRF/PCF further comprises:

and the second processing module is used for executing policy control according to the first Gx interface session message if the judgment result of the judging module is negative.

Optionally, the first processing module is specifically configured to:

and acquiring a destination PCRF corresponding to the user identifier according to the preset corresponding relation between the user identifier and the PCRF, and acquiring a second destination host name according to the destination PCRF corresponding to the user identifier.

Optionally, the determining module is specifically configured to:

inquiring whether 5G subscription information corresponding to the user identification exists on the SPR/UDR;

if not, the user is judged to be a 4G user.

In a third aspect, there is provided a DRA comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive a policy control request message carrying a user identifier of a user and sent by the user through a PCEF;

the processing module is used for determining the PCRF/PCF corresponding to the user identification according to the preset corresponding relation between the user identification and the PCRF/PCF and acquiring a first destination host name of the PCRF/PCF;

the sending module is used for sending the first Gx interface session message to the PCRF/PCF according to the processing result of the processing module; the first Gx interface session message carries a user identifier of a user and a first destination host name;

the receiving module is further used for receiving a second Gx interface session message returned by the PCRF/PCF, wherein the second Gx interface session message carries a second destination host name;

and the sending module is further configured to send the second Gx interface session message to a destination PCRF corresponding to the second destination host name.

Optionally, the DRA further comprises:

the updating module is used for updating the binding information in the PCRF binding record of the user according to the second Gx interface session message;

In a fourth aspect, a PCRF/PCF is provided, the PCRF/PCF including a processor and a memory, the memory coupled to the processor, the memory for storing program instructions and data necessary for the PCRF/PCF, and the processor for executing the program instructions stored in the memory, so that the PCRF/PCF performs the policy controlled routing method as described above.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a DRA comprising a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory being configured to store program instructions and data necessary for the DRA, and the processor being configured to execute the program instructions stored in the memory such that the DRA performs the policy-controlled routing method as described above.

A sixth aspect provides a storage medium storing instruction codes for executing the policy-controlled routing method as described above.

In a seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided, which comprises instruction codes for executing the policy-controlled routing method as described above.

It can be understood that, the PCRF/PCF, the DRA, the storage medium, and the computer program product provided above are used to execute the method corresponding to the first aspect provided above, and therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved by the PCRF/PCF, the DRA, the storage medium, and the computer program product may refer to the beneficial effects of the method of the first aspect above and the beneficial effects of the corresponding schemes in the following detailed description, and are not described herein again.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, and it is apparent that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and the drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating preferred embodiments and are not to be considered as limiting the present invention.

FIG. 1a is a diagram of a policy and charging control system architecture for a 4G network;

FIG. 1b is a block diagram of a policy and charging control system of a 5G network;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method of policy-controlled routing provided by the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method of policy-controlled routing according to the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic functional structure diagram of a PCRF/PCF provided in the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic functional structure diagram of a PCRF/PCF provided in the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a functional structure of a DRA according to the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a functional structure of a DRA according to the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, but not all, embodiments of the present application. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application. The use of the terms first, second, etc. do not denote any order, and the terms first, second, etc. may be interpreted as names of the objects described. In the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "e.g.," is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, use of the word "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present concepts related in a concrete fashion.

Before introducing the present invention, a policy and charging control system of a 4G (the 4Generation mobile communication technology, abbreviated as 4G) network and a 5G (5-Generation mobile communication technology, abbreviated as 5G) network, and a routing method in the current DRA will be briefly introduced.

Referring to fig. 1a, the policy and charging control system of the 4G network includes: PCRF, AF (Application Function), SPR (Subscription Profile Repository), PCEF (Policy and Charging implementation Function), OCS (online Charging system), OFCS (offline Charging system), Gx reference point, and Rx reference point. The AF carries out information interaction with the PCRF through an Rx interface and is used for providing service information to the PCRF; the SPR is used to store and manage policy control subscription information related to the subscriber, such as services allowed by the subscriber, a category of the subscriber, QoS (Quality of Service) of the subscriber, charging, and the like, and provide the subscription information to the PCRF through the Sp interface; the PCRF is used for formulating and dynamically issuing a control and charging policy to the PCEF according to the information provided by the AF, the SPR and the PCEF, and the PCEF is used for detecting the service data flow and executing service-based control and charging according to the policy acquired from the PCRF; PCEF is typically deployed in a gateway gw (gateway); OCS is used for online charging and OFCS is used for offline charging. The PCRF carries out information interaction with the PCEF through the Gx reference point, dynamically controls the PCC (Policy and Charging Control) behavior in the PCEF, and transmits PCC decision-making information, such as initiating and maintaining a connection IP-CAN session, the PCEF requests a PCC decision from the PCRF, the PCRF provides the PCC decision to the PCEF, and the connection IP-CAN session is terminated; and the AF carries out information interaction with the PCRF through the Rx reference point so as to transmit application layer session information such as an identifier of an upper-layer service application to the PCRF, and the application layer session information is used for the PCRF to carry out PCC decision.

Referring to fig. 1b, the policy and charging control system of the 5G network includes: PCF, UDR (User Data register), AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function), SMF (Session Management Function), NEF (Network Access Function), NWDAF (Network Data analysis Function), AF, UDSF, and OCS. The PCF is a core Network element in a policy and charging control system of the 5G Network, and is configured to formulate and dynamically issue a control and charging policy to a corresponding NF Network element for execution according to information provided by other NF (Network Function) Network elements. The PCF in the 5G network may be set separately, or may be set in combination with the PCRF. In order to facilitate unified policy control of the 5G user during 4G/5G interoperation, the PCF may have the function of PCRF at the same time. In the embodiment of the invention, the PCF with the function of the PCRF is the PCRF/PCF. The UDR is used for storing and managing policy control subscription information related to the subscriber, such as service allowed by the subscriber, category of the subscriber, QoS of the subscriber, charging and the like, and providing the subscription information to the PCF through an N25 interface; similar to PCF and PCRF/PCF, UDR may have the function of SPR at the same time for convenience of unified policy control when a 5G subscriber performs 4G/5G interoperation, in the embodiment of the present invention, UDR having the function of SPR is SPR/UDR. The specific functions of the AF and the OCS are the same as those of the policy and charging control system related to the 4G network, and specific reference may be made to the corresponding descriptions of the functions related to the AF and the OCS, which are not described herein again. The PCF supports an interface of UDR (N25 interface), an interface of AMF (N15 interface), an interface of SMF (N7 interface), an interface of NEF (N30 interface), an interface of NWDAF (N23 interface), an interface of AF (N5 interface), and an interface of OCS (N23 interface), and the PCF transmits session messages of NF network elements corresponding to each interface through each interface.

The session request sent by the user to the PCRF through the AF and the PCEF can be formulated and dynamically issued to the corresponding PCRF through DRA routing. Specifically, DRA is set between the AF and the PCRF and between the PCEF and the PCRF, and routes requests sent by the AF and the PCEF to the corresponding PCRF. In DRA, the routing configuration information between the user and the PCRF may be configured according to an MSISDN (Mobile Subscriber International ISDN (Integrated Service Digital Network, Integrated Service Digital Network) Number, Mobile station International Subscriber identity) Number segment or an IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber identity) Number segment of the user. Wherein, MSISDN is CC + NDC + SN; CC (country code) is a country code, and CC of China is 86; ndc (national Destination code) is a network access number, and consists of 3 bits to N1N2N3, such as 130, 156, 186, etc.; SN (subscriber number) is a user code consisting of 8 bits, H0H1H2H3XXXX, wherein H0H1H2H3 is uniformly distributed by an operator; XXXX is a serial number, self-assigned by the operator subscriber database.

And when routing the user by the DRA based on the MSISDN, routing the user based on the routing configuration information configured for the user according to the MSISDN number segment. The routing configuration information may configure a corresponding PCRF for the user according to the MSISDN number segment CC + NDC + H0H1H2H3, and users with the same CC + NDC + H0H1H2H3 correspond to the same PCRF.

IMSI is MCC + MNC + MSIN; wherein, mcc (mobile Country code) is a mobile Country number, which is composed of 3 digits and is used for uniquely identifying the Country to which the mobile user belongs; the MNC (Mobile Network code) is a mobile Network number and is used for identifying the mobile Network to which the user belongs; the MSIN (Mobile Subscriber Identification number) is an Identification number of a mobile Subscriber and is used for uniquely identifying the mobile Subscriber in a 2G/3G/4G mobile network, and the MSIN adopts 10-bit coding: H1H2H3H0AXXXXX, H0H1H2H3 are the same as H0H1H2H3 in MSISDN, A takes value corresponding to NDC in MSISDN, and the last 5 bits of MSIN are sequence number which is self-distributed by the service area where the user is located.

And when routing the user by the DRA based on the IMSI, routing the user based on the routing configuration information configured for the user according to the IMSI number segment. The routing configuration information may configure a corresponding PCRF for the user according to the IMSI number segment MCC + MNC + H1H2H3H0A, and users with the same MCC + MNC + H1H2H3H0A correspond to the same PCRF.

Therefore, in the DRA, the routing configuration information is configured according to the IMSI number segment or MSISDN number segment of the user so as to reduce the configuration workload and reduce the storage capacity requirement of the DRA at present. Since the routing configuration information does not include a complete serial number capable of identifying a single user, in this case, the DRA only supports routing users of the same IMSI number segment or the same MSISDN number segment to a corresponding PCRF, but does not support routing addressing based on the single user, that is, when a single 4G user migrates from a 4G network to a 5G network to become a 4G/5G converged user, the DRA cannot route a session request issued by the 4G user to the corresponding PCRF; however, if the configuration mode of the routing configuration information in the DRA is changed, a corresponding PCRF is configured for each user by using an IMSI number and an MSISDN number that can uniquely identify the user, although the purpose of supporting the routing addressing of a single user can be achieved, the amount of routing configuration information configured based on the IMSI number and the MSISDN number of the user is huge, and meanwhile, a huge workload is required in the configuration process, and the implementation process of the configuration method has high requirements on the storage capacity of the DRA, requires high operation and maintenance costs, and is difficult to implement; meanwhile, the migration of 4G users to the 5G network mostly occurs according to the personal actual situation of the users, the randomness is high, and the configuration process of the routing configuration information is irregular and can be followed; in addition, the DRA is used as a backbone network element responsible for information routing switching, and if route configuration information is frequently modified on the DRA, the stability and robustness of the network element are not facilitated, once a problem occurs in the operation process, routing work of a local network or the whole network can be easily caused to be abnormal, and the risk of normal development of services is increased.

Based on the existing problems, the present invention provides a policy-controlled routing method, as shown in fig. 2, including:

step S201: the DRA receives a policy control request message carrying a user identifier of a user, determines a PCRF/PCF corresponding to the user identifier, and acquires a first destination host name of the PCRF/PCF.

Specifically, a preset PCRF/PCF routing policy may be configured in advance on the DRA, where the preset PCRF/PCF routing policy sets a correspondence between the user identifier and the first destination host name, that is: the PCRF/PCF routing strategy does not distinguish 4G and 4G/5G fused user number segments any more, and first target host names corresponding to all 4G and 4G/5G fused user number segments are set as the host names of PCRF/PCF fused network elements. The DRA inquires a preset PCRF/PCF routing strategy which is configured in advance on the local DRA according to the IMSI number segment or the MSISDN number segment in the user identification, and determines a first destination host name corresponding to the user identification according to the corresponding relation between the IMSI number segment and the first destination host name or the corresponding relation between the MSISDN number segment and the first destination host name in the preset PCRF/PCF routing strategy. The corresponding relationship between the user identifier and the first destination host name may be set by those skilled in the art according to actual situations, which is not limited in the present invention.

Step S202: and the DRA sends the first Gx interface session message to the PCRF/PCF.

The first Gx interface session message carries a user identifier of a user and a first destination host name. The subscriber identity may be an IMSI number segment or an MSISDN number segment of the subscriber. The IMSI number segment may be the MCC + MNC + H1H2H3H0A number segment, and the MSISDN number segment may be the CC + NDC + H0H1H2H3 number segment. For example, if the MSISDN of the user is 861860110XXXX, the MSISDN number segment is 861860110.

The first destination hostname may include: the name of the mobile network device (including the number of the mobile network device, such as PCRF01, etc.), city information of the mobile network device, province information of the mobile network device, MNC, MCC, etc. In a specific implementation, the naming format of the first destination host name is as follows:

PCRF equipment host name: pcrf (number) < city abbreviation > [ province abbreviation ]. pcrf.epc.mnc < MNC >. MCC >.3 gpnetwork.org;

for example, the host name of a certain PCRF device in beijing may be named as: pcrf01.bj. pcrf. epc. mnc001.mcc460.3gppnetwork. org.

In addition, the first Gx interface session message may further include: user IP address, etc. Wherein, the user IP address is the IP address allocated by the mobile network to the user when the user uses the packet data service. The user IP address is used for accessing the packet data service, and can be divided into a user IPv4 address, a user IPv6 address and a user IPv4v6 address according to different address types.

Step S203: the PCRF/PCF judges whether the user is a 4G user or not according to the user identification, and if the judgment result is negative, the step S204 is executed; if yes, go to step S206.

The PCRF/PCF adds a function of judging the user, namely judging the user to be a 4G user or a 4G/5G converged user.

Specifically, there may be multiple ways for the PCRF/PCF to determine whether the user is a 4G user according to the user identifier, and in a preferred way, when the 4G user migrates from the 4G network to the 5G network to become a 4G/5G converged user, the 5G subscription information corresponding to the user identifier of the user is correspondingly stored in the SPR/UDR of the 4G/5G converged network. Therefore, when executing this step, it may be queried whether 5G subscription information corresponding to the user identifier exists on the SPR/UDR, and if so, it is determined that the user corresponding to the user identifier is a 4G/5G converged user, that is, the user may access the 4G/5G converged network, then step S204 is executed; if the user identifier does not exist, it is determined that the user corresponding to the user identifier is a 4G user, that is, the user can only access the 4G network, and step S206 is executed.

Step S204: and the PCRF/PCF executes policy control according to the first Gx interface session message.

And when the user is a 4G/5G converged user, the PCRF/PCF executes policy control according to the first Gx interface session message, and executes step S205 after the execution of the policy control is completed.

Step S205: and the PCRF/PCF returns a policy control response message to the DRA.

After the PCRF/PCF returns the policy control response message to the DRA, step S211 may be further performed.

Step S206: and the PCRF/PCF acquires the second destination host name according to the user identifier.

Specifically, a preset PCRF routing policy may be configured in advance on the PCRF/PCF, where the preset PCRF routing policy sets a correspondence between the user identifier and the second destination host name. And the PCRF/PCF inquires a preset PCRF routing strategy which is locally pre-configured on the PCRF/PCF according to the IMSI number segment or the MSISDN number segment in the user identification, and determines a second target host name corresponding to the user identification according to the corresponding relation between the IMSI number segment and the second target host name or the corresponding relation between the MSISDN number segment and the second target host name in the preset PCRF routing strategy. The setting manner of the second destination host name is the same as that of the first destination host name, which may be referred to the related description of the first destination host name, and is not described herein again. The corresponding relationship between the user identifier and the second destination host name may be set by those skilled in the art according to actual situations, which is not limited in the present invention.

For example, if the user a is a 4G user, and the PCRF corresponding to the number segment where the user a uses the number in the preset PCRF routing policy is the second destination host name of the PCRF01, the PCRF/PCF obtains the second destination host name of the PCRF01 as:

pcrf01.bj.bj.pcrf.epc.mnc001.mcc460.3gppnetwork.org。

step S207: and the PCRF/PCF modifies the first destination host name into a second destination host name.

Specifically, the PCRF/PCF in the present invention adds a modification function for the first destination host name of the user, modifies the first destination host name in the first Gx interface session message to the second host name, and executes step S208.

For example, if the user a is a 4G user, a first destination host name included in a first Gx interface session message sent by the user a to the PCRF/PCF via the DRA is:

pcrfpcf.bj.bj.pcrf.epc.mnc001.mcc460.3gppnetwork.org；

the second destination host name acquired by the PCRF/PCF is:

pcrf01.bj.bj.pcrf.epc.mnc001.mcc460.3gppnetwork.org；

pcrfcfbj. bj. pcrf. epc. mnc001.mcc460.3gppnetwork. org is modified to pcrf01.bj. pcrf. epc. mnc001.mcc460.3gppnetwork.

Step S208: and the PCRF/PCF returns a second Gx interface session message to the DRA, wherein the second Gx interface session message carries a second destination host name.

Specifically, the PCRF/PCF in the present invention adds a function for user redirection, that is: and the PCRF/PCF returns a second Gx interface session message to the DRA so that the DRA routes the 4G user to the PCRF corresponding to the second destination host name according to the second destination host name in the second Gx interface session message, and step S209 is executed.

For example, if the second destination host name is:

pcrf01.bj. pcrf. epc. mnc001.mcc460.3gppnetwork. org, then the 4G user is routed to pcrf01.

Step S209: and the DRA sends the second Gx interface session message to a destination PCRF corresponding to a second destination host name.

Optionally, after performing step S209, the embodiment of the present invention may further perform the following steps:

step S210: and the destination PCRF executes policy control and returns a policy control response message to the DRA.

Step S211: the DRA returns a policy control response message to the PCEF.

Optionally, if the user is a 4G user, after step S209 is executed, the DRA may further update the binding information in the PCRF binding record of the user according to the second Gx interface session message.

Specifically, after the DRA receives the first Gx interface session message, the DRA may further obtain a user identifier (for example, IMSI or MISDN), a user IP address, and a first destination host name in the first Gx interface session message, and store a correspondence among the user identifier, the user IP address, and the first destination host name as a PCRF binding record, so as to ensure that session request messages sent by the same user from different interfaces such as a Gx interface and an Rx interface can be routed to the same PCRF, ensure that control and charging policies for the user are formulated and issued by the same PCRF, and ensure correct issuance and execution of the policies.

In this step, the DRA updates the binding information in the PCRF binding record of the user in the DRA according to the received second Gx interface session message. The binding information at least comprises the following information: a user identification, a user IP address, and a first destination host name.

In a specific implementation, the DRA may update the first destination host name in the original binding record to the second destination host name, so as to update information in the first destination host name. For example, if the PCRF of the first destination host name in the binding record stored in the DRA is PCRF/PCF, and if the PCRF of the second destination host name in the second Gx interface session message is PCRF01, the DRA may update the PCRF/PCF in the binding information to PCRF01 by updating the first destination host name to the second destination host name.

The update of the binding information can ensure that the DRA can route the Rx interface session request message to a correct PCRF according to the updated PCRF binding record in the session process of the Rx interface, so as to complete the session process of the Rx interface. Specifically, the session flow of the Rx interface shown in fig. 3 is as follows:

step S1: the DRA receives an Rx interface session request sent by a user through the AF; which carries the IP address of the user.

Step S2: and the DRA determines the PCRF corresponding to the IP address of the user according to the IP address of the user.

And the DRA determines the PCRF corresponding to the IP address of the user from the PCRF binding record locally stored by the DRA according to the IP address of the user. And the PCRF binding record is the PCRF binding record updated by the DRA according to the second destination host name carried in the received second Gx interface session message.

Step S3: and the DRA sends an Rx interface session request to the PCRF corresponding to the IP address of the user.

Step S4: and the DRA receives an Rx interface session response message returned by the PCRF corresponding to the IP address of the user.

Step S5: the DRA sends an Rx interface session response message to the AF.

Therefore, the DRA can route the Rx interface session request message to the correct PCRF through the updated PCRF binding record, so as to complete the session procedure of the Rx interface.

Therefore, in the routing method for policy control provided by the invention, in a scenario based on migration of a 4G user from a 4G network to a 5G network, when the DRA receives a policy control request message, the DRA does not distinguish the 4G user from a 4G/5G converged user according to the IMSI or MSISDN number any more, but sends a first Gx interface session message to the PCRF/PCF in a unified manner; the PCRF/PCF adds the functions of judging, modifying and redirecting aiming at the user, namely, the PCRF/PCF judges that the user is a 4G user or a 4G/5G fusion user according to the user identification in the first Gx interface session message, when the user is the 4G user, the PCRF/PCF obtains a second destination host name corresponding to the 4G user from the local and modifies the first destination host name into the second destination host name so as to realize the purpose of supporting the routing of the single user policy control. Therefore, the invention converts the execution main body for executing the route based on the policy control of the single user from the DRA into the PCRF/PCF, solves the technical problem that the DRA is difficult to realize the route based on the policy control of the single user when the 4G user is migrated from the 4G network to the 5G network in the prior art, avoids the influence on the storage capacity of the DRA caused by the newly added route configuration information based on the policy control of the single user in the DRA, and reduces the operation and maintenance management cost. In addition, in the invention, when receiving the first Gx interface session message, the DRA can further save the corresponding relation among the user identifier, the IP address of the user and the host name of the PCRF as the binding record of the PCRF, and can update the binding record of the PCRF according to the second Gx interface session message returned by the PCRF/PCF, thereby effectively ensuring that in the session process of the Rx interface, the DRA can route the Rx interface session request message to the correct PCRF according to the updated binding record of the PCRF, so as to complete the session process of the Rx interface.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a PCRF/PCF, and as shown in fig. 4, the PCRF/PCF includes:

a receiving module 41, configured to receive a first Gx interface session message sent by the DRA; the first Gx interface session message carries the user identifier of the user and the first destination host name.

And the judging module 42 is configured to judge whether the user is a 4G user according to the user identifier.

The determining module 42 may specifically be configured to: and inquiring whether the 5G subscription information corresponding to the user identification exists on the SPR/UDR.

If not, judging that the user is a 4G user; and if so, judging that the user is a 4G/5G fusion user.

And a first processing module 43, configured to, if the determination result of the determining module 42 is yes, obtain a second destination host name according to the user identifier.

Specifically, the first processing module 43 obtains the destination PCRF corresponding to the user identifier according to the preset correspondence between the user identifier and the PCRF, and obtains the second destination host name according to the destination PCRF corresponding to the user identifier.

The first processing module 43 is further configured to modify the first destination host name into a second destination host name.

And the second processing module 44 is configured to, if the determination result of the determining module 42 is negative, perform policy control according to the first Gx interface session message.

And a sending module 45, configured to return a second Gx interface session message to the DRA according to the processing result of the first processing module, where the second Gx interface session message carries a second destination host name. In addition, the sending module 45 may also return a Gx interface session response message to the DRA according to the processing result of the second processing module 44.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a PCRF/PCF, as shown in fig. 5, including: the device comprises a storage unit, a processing unit and an interface unit. The processing unit is configured to control and manage actions of the PCRF/PCF, for example, the processing unit is configured to support the PCRF/PCF to perform the steps in fig. 2 and fig. 3. The interface unit is used for interaction between the PCRF/PCF and other devices; and the storage unit is used for storing the PCRF/PCF codes and data.

For example, the processing unit is a processor, the storage unit is a memory, and the interface unit is a communication interface. The PCRF/PCF refers to fig. 5, and includes a communication interface 501, a processor 502, a memory 503, and a bus 504, where the communication interface 501 and the processor 502 are connected to the memory 503 through the bus 504.

The processor 502 may be a general-purpose Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or one or more Integrated circuits configured to control the execution of programs in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure.

The Memory 503 may be a Read-Only Memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a Random Access Memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), a Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM) or other optical Disc storage, optical Disc storage (including Compact Disc, laser Disc, optical Disc, digital versatile Disc, blu-ray Disc, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to these. The memory may be self-contained and coupled to the processor via a bus. The memory may also be integral to the processor.

The memory 503 is used for storing application program codes for executing the scheme of the application, and the processor 502 controls the execution. The communication interface 501 is used to support interaction between the PCRF/PCF and other devices. The processor 502 is configured to execute application program code stored in the memory 503 to implement the methods of embodiments of the present invention.

All relevant contents of the steps related to the above method embodiments may be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and the functions thereof are not described herein again.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a DRA, as shown in fig. 6, including:

the receiving module 61 is configured to receive a policy control request message carrying a user identifier of a user and sent by the user through the PCEF.

And the processing module 62 is configured to determine, according to a preset correspondence between the user identifier and the PCRF/PCF, the PCRF/PCF corresponding to the user identifier, and obtain a first destination host name of the PCRF/PCF.

And a sending module 63, configured to send the first Gx interface session message to the PCRF/PCF according to the processing result of the processing module 62.

The receiving module 61 is further configured to receive a second Gx interface session message returned by the PCRF/PCF, where the second Gx interface session message carries a second destination host name.

The sending module 63 is further configured to send the second Gx interface session message to a destination PCRF corresponding to the second destination host name.

Of course, it can be understood that, corresponding to the above method embodiment, receiving the policy control response message returned by the destination PCRF may be performed by the receiving module 61; the return of the policy control response message to the PCEF may be performed by the sending module 63.

Optionally, the DRA further comprises: and the updating module 64 is configured to update the binding information in the PCRF binding record of the user according to the second Gx interface session message of the receiving module.

The present invention also provides a DRA, as shown in fig. 7, comprising: the device comprises a storage unit, a processing unit and an interface unit. The processing unit is configured to control and manage an action of the DRA, and for example, the processing unit is configured to support the DRA to perform each step in fig. 2 and fig. 3. The interface unit is used for interaction of the DRA and other devices; and the storage unit is used for storing DRA codes and data.

For example, the processing unit is a processor, the storage unit is a memory, and the interface unit is a communication interface. The DRA, as shown in fig. 7, includes a communication interface 701, a processor 702, a memory 703 and a bus 704, where the communication interface 701 and the processor 702 are connected to the memory 703 through the bus 704.

The processor 702 may be a general-purpose Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or one or more Integrated circuits configured to control the execution of programs in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure.

The Memory 703 may be a Read-Only Memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a Random Access Memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), a Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disk storage, optical disk storage (including Compact Disc, laser Disc, optical Disc, digital versatile Disc, blu-ray Disc, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to these. The memory may be self-contained and coupled to the processor via a bus. The memory may also be integral to the processor.

The memory 703 is used for storing application program codes for executing the present application, and is controlled by the processor 702. Communication interface 701 is used to support interaction of the DRA with other devices. The processor 702 is configured to execute application program code stored in the memory 703 to implement the methods of embodiments of the present invention.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the disclosure herein may be embodied in hardware or in software instructions executed by a processor. For example: the processing module may be implemented by a processor, and the obtaining module may be implemented by a transceiver or other circuits with signal receiving function. Embodiments of the present invention also provide a storage medium, which may include a memory for storing computer software instructions for a set-top box, including program code designed to perform policy-controlled routing methods. Specifically, the software instructions may be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules may be stored in a Random Access Memory (RAM), a flash Memory, a Read Only Memory (ROM), an Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), a register, a hard disk, a removable hard disk, a compact disc Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium may also be integral to the processor.

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer program, where the computer program may be directly loaded into the memory and contains a software code, and the computer program is loaded and executed by a computer, so as to implement the policy-controlled routing method.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that, in one or more of the examples described above, the functions described in this invention may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A policy-controlled routing method, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a routing agent node DRA receives a policy control request message which is sent by a user through a policy and charging enforcement function PCEF and carries a user identifier of the user, and the PCRF/PCF corresponding to the user identifier is determined according to the corresponding relation between the preset user identifier and a policy and charging rule function/policy control function fusion network element PCRF/PCF;

the DRA acquires a first destination host name of the PCRF/PCF;

the DRA sends a first Gx interface session message to the PCRF/PCF; the first Gx interface session message carries the user identification and the first destination host name of the user;

the PCRF/PCF modifies the first destination host name into the second destination host name;

the PCRF/PCF returns a second Gx interface session message to the DRA, wherein the second Gx interface session message carries the second destination host name;

and the DRA sends the second Gx interface session message to a destination PCRF corresponding to the second destination host name.

2. The policy controlled routing method according to claim 1, wherein if the determination result is negative, the PCRF/PCF executes policy control according to the first Gx interface session message.

3. The policy-controlled routing method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the acquiring, by the PCRF/PCF, the second destination host name according to the user identifier is specifically:

4. The policy-controlled routing method according to claim 1, wherein after the PCRF/PCF returns a second Gx interface session message to the DRA, the method further comprises:

the binding information at least comprises the following information: the user identification, the user IP address and the first destination host name.

5. The policy-controlled routing method according to claim 1, wherein the PCRF/PCF determines, according to the user identifier, whether the user is a 4G user, specifically:

the PCRF/PCF inquires whether 5G subscription information corresponding to the user identification exists on a user attribute storage/user data register fusion database SPR/UDR;

and if not, judging that the user is a 4G user.

6. A PCRF/PCF, comprising:

the first processing module is also used for modifying the first destination host name into the second destination host name;

and the sending module is used for returning a second Gx interface session message to the DRA according to the processing result of the first processing module, wherein the second Gx interface session message carries the second destination host name.

7. The PCRF/PCF of claim 6, wherein the PCRF/PCF further comprises:

and the second processing module is used for executing policy control according to the first Gx interface session message if the judgment result of the judgment module is negative.

8. The PCRF/PCF of claim 6, wherein the first processing module is specifically configured to:

and acquiring a destination PCRF corresponding to the user identifier according to a preset corresponding relation between the user identifier and the PCRF, and acquiring a second destination host name according to the destination PCRF corresponding to the user identifier.

9. The PCRF/PCF of claim 6, wherein the determination module is specifically configured to:

and if not, judging that the user is a 4G user.

10. A PCRF/PCF comprising a processor and a memory coupled to said processor, said memory for storing program instructions and data necessary for said PCRF/PCF, said processor for executing program instructions stored in said memory so that said PCRF/PCF performs the policy controlled routing method of any of claims 1-5.

11. A DRA, comprising a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory being configured to hold program instructions and data necessary for the DRA, and the processor being configured to execute the program instructions stored in the memory to cause the DRA to perform the policy-controlled routing method of any of claims 1-5.

12. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium stores instruction code for executing the policy-controlled routing method according to any one of claims 1-5.