CN109495857B

CN109495857B - Charging method, mobile edge computing server, charging system and policy control rule network element

Info

Publication number: CN109495857B
Application number: CN201710823509.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 邓振杰
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-09-13
Filing date: 2017-09-13
Publication date: 2021-05-18
Anticipated expiration: 2037-09-13
Also published as: CN109495857A

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a charging method, a mobile edge computing server, a charging system and a policy control rule network element. The application provides a charging method, which comprises the following steps: the mobile edge computing MEC server acquires an MEC rule; the MEC server determines the service flow passing through the MEC server according to the MEC rule; the MEC server determines charging information of the service flow; and the MEC server sends the charging information to a charging system. The embodiment of the application can realize the collection and the report of the charging information of the service flow passing through the MEC server so as to meet the charging of the implementation scene with the MEC capability at the network edge.

Description

Charging method, mobile edge computing server, charging system and policy control rule network element

Technical Field

The present invention relates to communications technologies, and in particular, to a charging method, a mobile edge computing server, a charging system, and a policy control rule network element.

Background

Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) refers to deploying a general Server (MEC Server) on the radio access network side close to a Mobile user to meet various requirements of a communication system on throughput, delay, network scalability, intellectualization and the like. For example, for third parties such as application developers and content providers, wireless access with storage, computing, etc. capabilities can provide a low latency, high bandwidth, etc. business environment. Meanwhile, an Application Programming Interface (API) Interface of the mobile edge computing server is opened for a third party partner outside the mobile network, so that the third party partner can rapidly and agilely deploy applications and services facing mobile users, enterprises or vertical industries on the edge of the mobile network. Therefore, the content and the service can be closer to the user, so that the transmission delay can be reduced, the transmission of the content and the application can be accelerated, the network load of a core network can be reduced, and the user experience can be improved. On the other hand, by calling the API interface opened by the MECserver, the third party can sense the network condition and related information of the wireless access side, such as the location information of the user, the cellular load condition, and the like, and can dynamically adjust and optimize the transmission of the application and the service.

When the radio access network has the capability of moving edge calculation, when the terminal initiates a service request in the radio access network, the service request can be routed to the MEC Server, and the MEC Server directly responds to the service request and sends the content to the terminal. In this case, the traffic flows are transmitted between the terminal and the MEC Server, and the traffic flows do not pass through the core network. However, in the current communication system, a packet data Gateway (PDN Gateway, PGW) of a core network charges a service flow according to a Policy Charging Control (PCC) rule, and since the service flow in the implementation scenario does not pass through the PGW, the charging method of the current communication system cannot satisfy the service type charging in the implementation scenario.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a charging method, a mobile edge computing server, a charging system and a policy control rule network element, so as to realize the collection and report of charging information of a service flow passing through an MEC server.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging method, including: the method comprises the steps that a Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) server obtains an MEC rule, the MEC server determines a service flow passing through the MEC server according to the MEC rule, the MEC server determines charging information of the service flow, and the MEC server sends the charging information to a charging system.

In the implementation mode, the MEC server acquires the MEC rule, determines the service flow passing through the MEC server according to the MEC rule, determines the charging information of the service flow, and sends the charging information of the service flow to a charging system, so that the charging information of the service flow passing through the MEC server can be acquired and reported, and the charging of an implementation scene with MEC capability at the edge of a network is met.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the acquiring, by the MEC server, the MEC rule includes: pre-configuring an MEC rule on the MEC server, wherein the pre-configured MEC rule is used for determining charging information of a service flow of a service request directly responded to a terminal by the MEC server; or, the MEC server receives a mapping MEC rule from the PCRF, the mapping MEC rule being used to determine charging information for traffic flows routed to the MEC server via the core network.

In the implementation manner, the MEC rule is divided into the preconfigured MEC rule and the mapping MEC rule, the MEC server acquires the preconfigured MEC rule, the charging information of the service flow of the service request of the MEC server direct response terminal can be determined according to the preconfigured MEC rule, the MEC server acquires the mapping MEC rule, and the charging information of the service flow routed to the MEC server through the core network can be determined according to the mapping MEC rule.

With reference to the first aspect or one possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in another possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the charging information includes time information or traffic information.

In the implementation mode, the MEC server determines the time information or the flow information of the service flow according to the MEC rule, so that charging is realized according to the charging information.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect, in another possible implementation of the first aspect, the MEC rule includes at least one of an MEC rule identifier, implementation priority information of the MEC rule, service flow information, an IP address of the terminal, and rate group information, where the MEC rule identifier corresponds to a charging rule name of a policy and charging control PCC rule, the implementation priority information of the MEC rule is the same as the implementation priority information of the PCC rule, the service flow information corresponds to the PCC rule, and the rate group information is the same as the rate group information of the PCC rule.

In the implementation mode, the MEC server determines the charging information of the service flow according to the MEC rule, thereby realizing charging according to the charging information.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect, in another possible implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes: when the MEC server detects a service request message sent by a terminal, if the MEC server meets the service request of the terminal, the MEC server sends the service content corresponding to the service request to the terminal, and writes the generated charging information into a mobile edge computing-charging call ticket MEC-CDR.

In the implementation mode, the MEC server judges whether the service request of the terminal is met, if so, the MEC server provides the service content corresponding to the service request to the terminal, and in the process of providing the service content to the terminal, the MEC server determines the charging information of the service flow of the service request of the MEC server directly responding to the terminal according to the pre-configured MEC rule and generates the MEC-CDR according to the charging trigger event of the MEC server.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect, in another possible implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes: the MEC server receives a message which is sent by the policy control rule network element PCRF and generates a trigger event, and executes corresponding charging operation according to the message which generates the trigger event, wherein the trigger event comprises adding charging information to a packet data gateway-charging ticket PGW-CDR or closing the PGW-CDR.

In the implementation mode, the PGW can collect the charging information of the service flow from the core network through the MEC server and generate the PGW-CDR, the MEC server can also collect the charging information of the service flow from the core network through the MEC server and generate the MEC-CDR, the PGW triggering event is forwarded to the MEC server through the PCRF, and the charging information reported by the service flow from the core network through the MEC server at the PGW and the MEC server can be synchronized so as to solve the problem of inconsistent charging information.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect, in another possible implementation of the first aspect, when the triggering event is adding charging information to a PGW-CDR; the MEC server executes corresponding charging operation according to the message generating the trigger event, and the charging operation comprises the following steps: the MEC server adds charging information to the MEC-CDR.

In the implementation manner, the MEC server adds the charging information to the PGW-CDR and adds the charging information to the MEC-CDR according to the triggering event, thereby realizing synchronization of the charging information reported by the service flow from the core network via the MEC server in the PGW and the MEC server, and solving the problem of inconsistent charging information.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect, in another possible implementation of the first aspect, when the triggering event is to turn off the PGW-CDR; the MEC server executes corresponding charging operation according to the message generating the trigger event, and the charging operation comprises the following steps: the MEC server closes the MEC-CDR.

In the implementation mode, the MEC server closes the PGW-CDR and closes the MEC-CDR according to the trigger event, thereby realizing the synchronization of the charging call tickets reported by the service flow of the core network via the MEC server in the PGW and the MEC server, and solving the problem of inconsistent charging information.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect, in another possible implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes: the MEC server sets the charging correlation identification of the charging ticket generated by the service flow identified according to the mapping MEC rule as a first identification, and the MEC server sets the charging correlation identification of the charging ticket generated by the service flow identified according to the pre-configured MEC rule as a second identification.

In the implementation mode, the charging correlation identifier is set in the charging ticket, so that the charging system can distinguish the charging ticket generated by the service flow identified by the MEC server according to the mapping MEC rule and the charging ticket generated by the service flow identified by the MEC server according to the preconfigured MEC rule according to the charging correlation identifier in the charging ticket.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in another possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the obtaining, by the MEC server, a mapping MEC rule includes: the MEC server receives a re-authorization request message RAR sent by the PCRF, wherein the re-authorization request message RAR comprises the mapping MEC rule, and the mapping MEC rule is determined by the PCRF according to a PCC rule which needs to be executed by a packet data gateway (PGW).

In the implementation manner, the MEC server receives a re-authorization request message RAR sent by the PCRF, where the re-authorization request message RAR includes the mapping MEC rule, and realizes synchronization with the PCC rule that needs to be executed by the PGW, so as to realize synchronization of the charging tickets reported by the PGW and the MEC server from the service flow of the core network via the MEC server, so as to solve the problem of inconsistent charging information.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging method, including: the charging system receives a packet data gateway-charging call ticket PGW-CDR sent by a packet data gateway PGW, the charging system receives a mobile edge computing-charging call ticket MEC-CDR sent by a mobile edge computing MEC server, the charging system carries out association processing on the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR to generate an associated charging call ticket, and the charging system carries out charging according to the associated charging call ticket.

In the implementation mode, the charging system can perform correlation processing on the charging bill generated by the MEC service and the charging bill generated by the PGW so as to meet the charging of the implementation scene with the MEC capability at the network edge.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the performing, by the charging system, association processing on the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR includes: and the charging system carries out correlation processing on the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR according to the charging correlation identifier of the MEC-CDR.

With reference to the second aspect or one possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in another possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the associating processing is performed, by the charging system, on the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR according to the charging association identifier of the MEC-CDR, and includes: the charging system acquires a charging correlation identifier in the MEC-CDR, and respectively acquires a destination IP address in the PGW-CDR and a destination IP address in the MEC-CDR, when the charging correlation identifier of the MEC-CDR is a first identifier and the destination IP address in the PGW-CDR and the destination IP address in the MEC-CDR are the same, the charging system combines the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR into a charging ticket of the destination, and the first identifier is the charging correlation identifier of the charging ticket generated by the MEC server according to the service flow identified by the mapping MEC rule.

In the implementation manner, the charging system acquires a charging correlation identifier in the MEC-CDR, and when the charging correlation identifier of the MEC-CDR is a first identifier and a destination IP address in the PGW-CDR is the same as a destination IP address in the MEC-CDR, the charging system combines the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR into a charging ticket of the destination, so that the charging system determines the MEC-CDR generated by the service flow identified by the mapping MEC rule according to the charging correlation identifier, and further performs correlation processing on the MEC-CDR and the PGW-CDR generated by the service flow identified by the mapping MEC rule, thereby ensuring that the charging is consistent with the data consumed by the actual user.

With reference to the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect, in another possible implementation of the second aspect, the method further includes: and when the charging associated identifier of the MEC-CDR is a second identifier, the charging system charges according to the MEC-CDR, and the second identifier is the charging associated identifier of a charging ticket generated by the service flow identified by the MEC server according to the pre-configured MEC rule.

With reference to the second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in another possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the merging, by the charging system, the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR into a charging ticket of the destination includes: and when the identifiers of the rate groups in the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR and the starting timestamp and the ending timestamp of the trigger event are the same, combining the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR into a charging bill of the destination terminal.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging method, including: the method comprises the steps that a policy control rule network element PCRF determines a mapping Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) rule according to a Policy Charging Control (PCC) rule which needs to be executed by a packet data gateway (PGW), the mapping MEC rule is used for determining charging information of a service flow passing through an MEC server, and the PCRF sends the mapping MEC rule to the MEC server so that the MEC server determines the charging information of the service flow passing through the MEC server according to the mapping MEC rule.

In the implementation mode, the PCRF determines the mapping MEC rule according to the PCC rule to be executed by the PGW, and sends the mapping MEC rule to the MEC server, and the MEC server can determine the charging information of the service flow routed to the MEC server through the core network according to the mapping MEC rule, so that the charging information of the service flow passing through the MEC server can be acquired and reported, and the charging of the implementation scene with the MEC capability at the network edge can be met.

With reference to the third aspect, in a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the mapping MEC rule includes at least one of an MEC rule identifier, execution priority information of the MEC rule, service flow information, an IP address of the terminal, and rate group information, where the MEC rule identifier corresponds to a charging rule name of the PCC rule, the execution priority information of the MEC rule is the same as the execution priority information of the PCC rule, the service flow information corresponds to the PCC rule, and the rate group information is the same as the rate group information of the PCC rule.

With reference to the third aspect or one possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in another possible implementation manner of the third aspect, when the PGW adjusts the PCC rule, the PCRF determines an adjusted mapping MEC rule according to the adjusted PCC rule, and sends the adjusted mapping MEC rule to the MEC server, where the adjusting the PCC rule includes at least one of adding a PCC rule, modifying a PCC rule, and deleting a PCC rule.

In the implementation manner, when the PCC rules to be executed by the PGW are adjusted, the mapping MEC rules are also adjusted by the PCRF, and the adjusted mapping MEC rules are sent to the MEC server, and the MEC server can charge according to the adjusted mapping MEC rules, so that the mapping MEC rules are synchronized with the PCC rules of the PGW.

With reference to the third aspect or one possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in another possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the method further includes: the PCRF receives a message which is sent by the PGW and generates a trigger event, the PCRF forwards the message which generates the trigger event to the MEC server, and the message which generates the trigger event is used for indicating the MEC server to execute corresponding charging operation, wherein the trigger event comprises adding charging information to a packet data gateway-charging ticket PGW-CDR or closing the PGW-CDR.

In the implementation mode, the PCRF forwards the trigger event of the PGW to the MEC server, so that the PGW and the charging information reported by the MEC server are synchronous, and the charging system performs correlation processing on the MEC-CDR and the PGW-CDR, thereby avoiding inconsistency of charging and data consumed by actual users.

With reference to the third aspect or a possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in another possible implementation manner of the third aspect, when the triggering event is that charging information is added to the PGW-CDR, the charging operation of the MEC server is to add charging information to the mobile edge computing-charging ticket MEC-CDR, and when the triggering event is that the PGW-CDR is closed, the charging operation of the MEC server is to close the MEC-CDR.

With reference to the third aspect or one possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in another possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the sending, by the PCRF, the mapping MEC rule to the MEC server includes: the PCRF sends a re-authorization request message RAR to the MEC server, and the RAR comprises the mapping MEC rule.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a mobile edge computing MEC server, where the MEC server has a function of implementing the behavior of the MEC server in the foregoing method implementation manner. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a mobile edge computing MEC server, including: a processor, a memory, a bus, and a communication interface; the memory is used for storing computer execution instructions, the processor is connected with the memory through the bus, and when the MEC server runs, the processor executes the computer execution instructions stored in the memory, so that the mobile edge computing MEC server executes the charging method according to any one of the above first aspects.

In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer-readable storage medium for storing computer software instructions for the mobile edge computing MEC server, which when executed on a computer, enable the computer to perform the charging method of any one of the first aspects.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product containing instructions, which when run on a computer, enable the computer to perform the charging method of any one of the above first aspects.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging system, where the charging system has a function of implementing a behavior of the charging system in the foregoing method embodiment. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging system, including: a processor, a memory, a bus, and a communication interface; the memory is used for storing computer execution instructions, the processor is connected with the memory through the bus, and when the charging system runs, the processor executes the computer execution instructions stored in the memory, so that the charging system executes the charging method according to any one of the second aspects.

In a tenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer-readable storage medium for storing computer software instructions for the charging system, which when executed on a computer, enable the computer to perform the charging method of any one of the second aspects.

In an eleventh aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product containing instructions, which when run on a computer, enable the computer to perform the charging method of any one of the second aspects.

In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a PCRF, where the PCRF has a function of implementing a PCRF behavior in the foregoing method embodiment. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a policy control rule network element PCRF, including: a processor, a memory, a bus, and a communication interface; the storage is used for storing a computer execution instruction, the processor is connected with the storage through the bus, and when the PCRF is running, the processor executes the computer execution instruction stored in the storage, so that the PCRF executes the charging method according to any one of the third aspects.

In a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, configured to store computer software instructions for the PCRF, which, when running on a computer, enable the computer to perform the charging method in any one of the third aspects.

In a fifteenth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product containing instructions, which when run on a computer, enable the computer to perform the charging method of any one of the above third aspects.

In a sixteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, including: a memory and a processor; the memory to store program instructions; the processor configured to invoke the program instructions stored in the memory to implement the charging method according to any one of the first aspect.

In a seventeenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, including: a memory and a processor; the memory to store program instructions; the processor is configured to invoke the program instructions stored in the memory to implement the charging method according to any one of the second aspect.

In an eighteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, including: a memory and a processor; the memory to store program instructions; the processor is configured to invoke the program instructions stored in the memory to implement the charging method according to any one of the third aspects.

According to the charging method, the mobile edge computing server, the charging system and the policy control rule network element, the MEC server obtains the MEC rule, determines the service flow passing through the MEC server according to the MEC rule, determines the charging information of the service flow, and sends the charging information of the service flow to the charging system, so that the charging information of the service flow passing through the MEC server can be collected and reported, and charging of an implementation scene with MEC capacity at the edge of a network is met.

Drawings

Reference will now be made in brief to the accompanying drawings, which are needed for purposes of illustration and description of the prior art.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture according to the present application;

fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a charging method according to the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of another charging method according to the present application;

fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating another charging method according to the present application;

fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating another charging method according to the present application;

fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating another charging method according to the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of the MEC server of the present application receiving a message that generates a trigger event;

fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating another charging method according to the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a mobile edge computing MEC server according to the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a charging system according to the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a policy control rule network element PCRF according to the present application.

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.

First, some terms in the present application will be explained.

The MEC rule is a charging strategy rule in the MEC server, and the MEC server identifies the service flow passing through the MEC server according to the MEC rule and determines the charging information of the service flow.

In one implementation manner, the MEC rule specifically includes an MEC rule identifier (MEC rule identifier) field, a priority execution field, a terminal Address (UE Address) field, a Rating-Group field, and a traffic Flow Information (Flow-Information) field. See table 1 for a detailed description of the above-mentioned fields of the MEC rule of the present application.

Table 1 detailed definition table of each field of MEC rule

It should be noted that, in different application scenarios, the fields specifically included in the MEC rule may be flexibly set according to requirements, for example, one or more of the fields may be included. It can be understood that the terminal address field may also carry a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

The MEC rule may include a mapping MEC rule (Reflective MEC Rules) and a preconfigured MEC rule. The mapping MEC rule is determined according to a PCC rule which needs to be executed by a PGW, and is used for the MEC server to determine charging information of the service flow passing through the MEC server according to the mapping MEC rule. The pre-configured MEC rule is a rule pre-configured on the MEC server, and is used for the MEC server to determine the charging information of the service flow of the service request directly responded to the terminal by the MEC server according to the pre-configured MEC rule.

The charging information may include time information, or traffic information, or time information and traffic information, but it is understood that the charging information may also include other information, which is not illustrated here.

The present application relates to terminals, including wireless terminals or wired terminals, directed to devices (devices) providing voice and/or data connectivity to a user. The wireless terminal may be a handheld device having wireless connection capabilities, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a mobile terminal communicating with one or more core networks via a radio access network. For example, wireless terminals may be mobile telephones (or "cellular" telephones) and computers with mobile terminals. As another example, a wireless terminal may be a portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-included, or vehicle-mounted mobile device. For another example, the wireless terminal may be a Mobile Station (Mobile Station), an Access Point (Access Point), or a part of a User Equipment (UE).

The term "and/or" as referred to herein, describes an association relationship of associated objects, and means that there may be three relationships, for example, a and/or B, which may mean: a exists alone, B exists alone, and A and B exist at the same time.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture according to the present application, as shown in fig. 1, the communication system architecture may include a base station (eNodeB), AN MEC Server (MEC Server), a Serving Gateway (SGW), a PGW, a Policy Control Rule Network element (Policy Control and Rule Function, PCRF), a Charging system (Charging system), and a Remote Server (Remote Server), where the MEC Server is connected to the eNodeB, the MEC Server may receive a service request of a terminal through the eNodeB of AN Access Network (AN), and the MEC Server is further connected to the Charging system and the PCRF, respectively. The interface between the MEC server and the charging system is used for reporting the charging information of the MEC server, the interface between the MEC server and the PCRF is used for mapping the issuing of the MEC rule, and informing the MEC server of a trigger (triggers) event for charging from network elements such as a PGW (packet gateway). The MEC server is deployed at an access network side close to the terminal, namely at the edge of the network, and provides service content for the terminal through the MEC server, so that transmission delay can be effectively reduced, transmission reliability is improved, and user experience is improved. The MEC server may also optimize the transmission of traffic streams through the MEC server based on the available resources of the access network. The SGW is responsible for user data forwarding. The PGW is a gateway in which a terminal is connected to an external network, and is responsible for executing a charging policy, collecting and reporting charging information, and the like. The PCRF has the functions of policy activation, updating, deletion and the like. The charging system is used for collecting the charging information of each network element and carrying out charging processing.

The charging method can realize the collection and the report of the charging information of the service flow passing through the MEC server so as to meet the charging of the implementation scene with the MEC capability at the network edge. The specific implementation manner of the method can be seen in the specific explanation of the following embodiments.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a charging method according to the present application, and as shown in fig. 2, the method of this embodiment may include:

step 101, the MEC server obtains the MEC rule.

Specifically, the MEC server may obtain the mapping MEC rule from the PCRF, or may obtain an MEC rule preconfigured on the MEC server.

And step 102, the MEC server determines the service flow passing through the MEC server according to the MEC rule.

Wherein the MEC server can identify one or more traffic flows through the MEC server according to the MEC rules. The service flow may be a service flow in which the MEC server receives a service request from the terminal and directly responds to the service request to provide corresponding service content to the terminal. The service flow may also be a service flow in which the MEC server receives a service request from the terminal, sends the service request to the core network, and provides the terminal with corresponding service content by responding to the service request through the core network.

Step 103, the MEC server determines the charging information of the service flow.

Specifically, the MEC server charges one or more service flows identified according to the MEC rule, and determines charging information of the one or more service flows.

And step 104, the MEC server sends the charging information to a charging system.

And the charging system receives the charging information sent by the MEC server. The specific MEC server may send the billing information through an interface between the MEC server and the billing system. The charging information may specifically include time information, or traffic information, or time information and traffic information. For example, if the service flow is a service flow generated by a voice call, the charging information may include time information, for example, the time information is a start time and an end time, so that the charging system determines a call duration according to the start time and the end time, and further performs charging according to the call duration. The traffic information may be a traffic size.

In this embodiment, the MEC server may acquire the MEC rule, determine the service flow passing through the MEC server according to the MEC rule, determine the charging information of the service flow, and send the charging information of the service flow to the charging system, so as to realize the collection and report of the charging information of the service flow passing through the MEC server, so as to satisfy the charging of an implementation scenario with MEC capability at a network edge.

Fig. 3 is a schematic flow diagram of another charging method of the present application, and as shown in fig. 3, this embodiment specifically explains issuing of a mapping MEC rule, and the method of this embodiment may include:

step 201, the PCRF determines to map the mobile edge calculation MEC rule according to the policy charging control, PCC, rule that the PGW needs to execute.

The MEC rule is used to determine charging information of a service flow passing through the MEC server, and for a specific explanation of the MEC rule, reference may be made to the description of the above embodiment, which is not described herein again.

Step 202, the PCRF sends mapping MEC rules to the MEC server.

And the MEC server receives the mapping MEC rule sent by the PCRF.

Step 203, the MEC server determines the charging information of the service flow passing through the MEC server according to the mapping MEC rule.

Specifically, the MEC server may identify charging information for traffic flows routed from the core network to the MEC server according to the mapping MEC rule. For example, a service flow passes through a PGW of a core network, the PGW may identify the service flow for charging according to a PCC rule and report the service flow to a charging system, when the service flow passes through an MEC server, the MEC server may identify the service flow for charging according to a mapped MEC rule and report the service flow to the charging system, the charging system performs correlation processing according to a charging ticket reported by the PGW and a charging ticket reported by the MEC, and charges according to the charging ticket after the correlation processing. Because the charging information of the service flow is collected in the core network and the MEC server, even if the MEC server optimizes the service flow, for example, part of data packets are discarded, the charging can be ensured to be consistent with the actual consumption data of the user.

In this embodiment, the PCRF determines the mapping MEC rule according to the PCC rule that needs to be executed by the PGW, and sends the mapping MEC rule to the MEC server, and the MEC server may determine, according to the mapping MEC rule, charging information of a service flow routed to the MEC server through the core network, so that the charging information of the service flow passing through the MEC server may be collected and reported, so as to satisfy charging of an implementation scenario where the network edge has MEC capability.

Fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of another charging method of the present application, and as shown in fig. 4, this embodiment specifically explains the embodiment shown in fig. 3, where the method of this embodiment may include:

step 301, the terminal sends an IP-CAN session establishment request message to the PGW.

And the PGW receives an IP-CAN session establishment request message sent by the terminal, so that the core network establishes the IP-CAN session for the terminal according to the IP-CAN session establishment request message.

Step 302, the PGW determines that PCC authorization needs to be performed, and sends an indication of establishing an IP-CAN session to the PCRF.

Specifically, the PGW sends an instruction to establish an IP-CAN session to the PCRF, so as to request the PCRF for the corresponding PCC rule and authorization of the service flow.

Step 303, the PCRF determines the PCC rules that the PGW needs to execute.

Step 304, the PCRF sends an IP-CAN session establishment confirmation message to the PGW, where the IP-CAN session establishment confirmation message includes information for indicating the PCC rule that the PGW needs to execute.

Specifically, the PCRF indicates the activated PCC rule to the PGW, and the PGW receives an IP-CAN session establishment confirmation message sent by the PCRF and executes the corresponding PCC rule in the PGW.

Step 305, the PCRF determines the mapping MEC rule according to the PCC rule that the PGW needs to execute.

Specifically, the PCRF may determine, according to each PCC rule that the PGW needs to execute, an MEC rule corresponding to the PCC rule. The MEC rule is used for the MEC server to identify the service flow according to the MEC rule and determine the charging information. In particular for identifying the traffic flow routed to the MEC server via the core network and determining charging information.

Step 306, the PCRF sends a Re-Authorization Request message (RAR) to the MEC server, where the Re-Authorization Request includes mapping MEC rules.

Specifically, the PCRF pushes the mapping MEC rule to the MEC server through the Re-Authorization Request in the diameter protocol.

Step 307, the PGW executes the PCC rule issued by the PCRF.

Specifically, the PGW executes a PCC rule issued by the PCRF, and determines charging information of a service flow passing through the core network.

Step 308, the MEC server executes the mapping MEC rule.

Specifically, the MEC server executes the mapping MEC rule and determines charging information of the service flow routed to the MEC server through the core network.

Step 309, the MEC server sends Re-Authorization response message (RAA) to the PCRF, and the RAA is used to feed back the successful receiving and mapping MEC rule to the PCRF.

Specifically, the MEC server may respond to the PCRF that the MEC rule is successfully received through the RAA of the diameter protocol.

And step 310, the PGW sends an IP-CAN session establishment response message to the terminal.

The IP-CAN session establishment response message is used for indicating that the terminal IP-CAN session is successfully established, and the terminal receives the IP-CAN session establishment response message sent by the PGW.

Optionally, before step 203, the following steps may be further included: if the PCRF does not have the Subscription information related to the terminal, the PCRF may request the Subscription information of the terminal from a Subscription information database (SPR) to acquire the related information of the IP-CAN session. When the subscription information of the IP-CAN session changes, the PCRF may send a subscription information request message to the SPR or the SPR actively notifies the PCRF. The SPR responds to the request of the PCRF and sends the subscription information of the terminal to the PCRF.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of another charging method of the present application, and as shown in fig. 5, a difference between this embodiment and the embodiment shown in fig. 4 is that when the PCRF adjusts the PCC rules activated and executed in the PGW, the PCRF needs to synchronously adjust the mapping MEC rules of the MEC server, where the adjustment includes at least one of addition, modification, and deletion, and the method of this embodiment may include:

step 401, the PGW sends an IP-CAN session update request message to the PCRF, where the IP-CAN session update request message is used to request the PCRF to adjust the PCC rule activated and executed in the PGW.

Specifically, the PGW may set the REQUEST Type (REQUEST-Type) of the CCR message as an UPDATE REQUEST (UPDATE _ REQUEST) to REQUEST the PCRF to adjust the PCC rule activated to be executed in the PGW.

Step 402, the PCRF adjusts the PCC rules of the current IP-CAN conversation.

Step 403, the PCRF sends the adjusted PCC rule to the PGW.

Specifically, the PCRF may send the adjusted PCC rule to the PGW through the CCA message.

Step 404, the PCRF determines the adjusted mapping MEC rule according to the adjusted PCC rule.

Specifically, for the adjusted PCC rules, the PCRF determines that the MEC rules are mapped corresponding to the adjusted PCC rules.

Step 405, the PCRF sends an RAR to the MEC server, where the RAR carries the adjusted mapping MEC rule.

Specifically, the PCRF may send the adjusted mapping MEC rule to the MEC server through the RAR in the diameter protocol.

Step 406, the PGW executes the adjusted PCC rule.

Step 407, the MEC server executes the adjusted mapping MEC rule.

Step 408, the MEC server sends an RAA to the PCRF, where the RAA is used to feed back the mapping MEC rule after the successful reception adjustment to the PCRF.

Specifically, the MEC server may respond to the PCRF through the RAA of the diameter protocol that the adjusted mapping MEC rule is successfully received.

And step 409, the PGW sends an IP-CAN session establishment response message to the terminal.

The IP-CAN session establishment response message is used for indicating that the terminal IP-CAN session is successfully established.

In this embodiment, the PCRF determines the mapping MEC rule according to the PCC rule that needs to be executed by the PGW, and sends the mapping MEC rule to the MEC server, and the MEC server may determine, according to the mapping MEC rule, charging information of a service flow routed to the MEC server through the core network, so that the charging information of the service flow passing through the MEC server may be collected and reported, so as to satisfy charging of an implementation scenario where the network edge has MEC capability. When the PCC rules required to be executed by the PGW are adjusted, the mapping MEC rules are also adjusted, the adjusted mapping MEC rules are sent to the MEC server, and the MEC server can charge according to the adjusted mapping MEC rules, so that the mapping MEC rules are synchronous with the PCC rules of the PGW.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart of another charging method of the present application, and as shown in fig. 6, a difference between this embodiment and the embodiment shown in fig. 5 is that, in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, a PGW initiates PCC rule adjustment to a PCRF, and in this embodiment, the PCRF actively adjusts a PCC rule of the PGW, where the adjustment includes at least one of addition, modification, and deletion, and the method of this embodiment may include:

step 501, the PCRF acquires a trigger event for adjusting the PCC rules by different network elements.

Specifically, the PCRF may receive a trigger event (trigger) for adjusting the PCC rule by a different network element.

Step 502, the PCRF adjusts the PCC rules of the current IP-CAN session.

Step 503, the PCRF sends an RAR to the PGW, where the RAR carries the adjusted PCC rule.

Specifically, the PCRF pushes the adjusted PCC rule to the PGW through an RAR in the diameter protocol.

Step 504, the PGW executes the adjusted PCC rule.

Step 505, the PGW sends an RAA to the PCRF, where the RAA is used to feed back the PCC rules after successful reception adjustment to the PCRF.

Specifically, the PGW successfully receives the adjusted PCC rule through the RAA response of the diameter protocol.

Step 506, the PCRF determines the adjusted mapping MEC rule according to the adjusted PCC rule.

And step 507, the PCRF sends an RAR to the MEC server, wherein the RAR carries the adjusted mapping MEC rule.

Step 508, the MEC server executes the adjusted mapping MEC rule.

Step 509, the MEC server sends an RAA to the PCRF, where the RAA is used to feed back the mapping MEC rule after the successful reception adjustment to the PCRF.

For a detailed explanation of steps 506 to 509, refer to step 404, step 405, step 407, and step 408 in the embodiment shown in fig. 5, which are not described herein again.

The embodiments shown in fig. 3 to fig. 6 explain the issuing and adjusting of the MEC rule, after the MEC server obtains the MEC rule, the MEC server determines the service flow passing through the MEC server according to the MEC rule, charges the service flow, determines the Charging information of the service flow, and after determining the Charging information of the service flow, a manner that can be implemented is that the MEC server sends the Charging information of the service flow to a Charging Data Function (CDF), the CDF generates the MEC-CDR according to the Charging information, and the CDF sends the MEC-CDR to a Charging system for Charging.

The specific implementation manner of the MEC server generating the MEC-CDR according to the charging information may be that the MEC server generates the MEC-CDR according to the charging trigger event and the charging information of the MEC server.

The charging trigger event of the MEC server in the embodiment of the present application may include three types: triggering MEC-CDR to Open (trigger for MEC-CDR Open), triggering to add charging information (trigger for MEC-CDR Addition) to the MEC-CDR and triggering to close the MEC-CDR and reporting to a charging system (trigger for MEC-CDR close).

The conditions described above to trigger the MEC-CDR open: when the MEC server detects a service request or an indication message from the Radio Access Network (RAN) side.

When the condition for triggering the MEC-CDR to be opened is met, the MEC server opens the MEC-CDR.

The above conditions for triggering the addition of charging information to the MEC-CDR: and the PGW informs the MEC server of triggering the addition of the charging information to the PGW-CDR in the PGW through the indication message of the PCRF. In one implementation, the PGW forwards a message that generates a trigger event, where the trigger event is to add charging information to the PGW-CDR via the PCRF.

When the condition for triggering the addition of the charging information to the MEC-CDR is met, the MEC server adds the charging information to the MEC-CDR.

The condition for triggering closing of MEC-CDR and reporting to the charging system is as follows: (1) the RAN instructs the MEC Server, such as S1 bearer release or terminal move out of service range of the MEC Server; (2) preconfigured conditions such as time, CDR size, etc.; (3) the terminal no longer uses the MEC server to provide service, and the session is switched to the core network; (4) and the triggering event for closing the PGW-CDR is forwarded to the MEC server through the PCRF. Namely, the MEC server closes the MEC-CDR and reports the MEC-CDR to the charging system when any condition is met.

And when the condition that the MEC-CDR is closed and reported to the charging system is met, the MEC server closes the MEC-CDR.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of an MEC server receiving a message generating a trigger event, where as shown in fig. 7, a PGW of the present application sends a message generating a trigger event to a PCRF, and the PCRF sends the message generating a trigger condition to the MEC server, where the trigger event includes adding charging information to a PGW-CDR or closing the PGW-CDR.

The method comprises the steps that a PGW acquires charging information of service flow from a core network through an MEC server and generates a PGW-CDR, the MEC server also acquires charging information of the service flow from the core network through the MEC server and generates the MEC-CDR, and the PCRF forwards a trigger event of the PGW to the MEC server in the embodiment of the application, so that the charging information reported by the service flow from the core network through the MEC server on the PGW and the MEC server can be synchronized, and the problem that the charging information is inconsistent is solved. For example, a PGW-CDR addition is triggered in the PGW, the PGW sends a message generating a trigger event (PGW-CDR addition) to the PCRF, and the PCRF forwards the message generating the trigger event (PGW-CDR addition) to the MEC server, so that the MEC server also adds corresponding charging information to the MEC-CDR while adding charging information to the PGW-CDR.

An implementation scenario is that a service flow routed to an MEC server through a core network reaches a wireless access side, and then the MEC server optimizes the service flow according to actual network conditions or service requirements, such as congestion occurring at the wireless access network side, and discards some data packets with relatively low importance while ensuring basic service quality. For example, the MEC server adjusts the resolution of the video service stream according to the network congestion condition, and discards some data packets, so as to ensure the smoothness of the video application playing from the side of the terminal, reduce the probability of blocking, and improve the user experience of the application. For the service flow in the implementation scenario, by using the charging method of the embodiment of the present application, the PCRF forwards the trigger event of the PGW to the MEC server, so that the charging information reported by the PGW and the MEC server is synchronized, and the charging system performs association processing on the MEC-CDR and the PGW-CDR, thereby avoiding inconsistency between charging and data consumed by an actual user. This is illustrated below using a specific example.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating another charging method of the present application, and as shown in fig. 8, after any one of the embodiments in fig. 3 to fig. 6, the method of the present embodiment may further include:

step 701, the terminal sends a service request message and routes it to the MEC server.

The MEC server receives the service request message from the terminal.

Step 702, the MEC server opens a new MEC-CDR.

Specifically, the MEC server opens a new MEC-CDR after receiving the service request message according to the definition of the condition for triggering the MEC-CDR to be written in the charging information of the service flow.

Step 703, the MEC server determines whether the service request of the terminal is satisfied, if the service request of the terminal is satisfied, step 704a is executed, and if the service request of the terminal is not satisfied, step 704b is executed.

Step 704a, the MEC server sends the service content corresponding to the service request to the terminal.

And the terminal receives the service content corresponding to the service request sent by the MEC server. In the process that the MEC server provides the service content to the terminal, the MEC server determines the charging information of the service flow of the service request directly responded to the terminal by the MEC server according to the pre-configured MEC rule, and generates the MEC-CDR according to the charging trigger event of the MEC server, wherein the charging correlation identifier of the MEC-CDR is a second identifier, for example, a binary number 0. For example, the MEC server adds charging information to the MEC-CDR when a condition is met that triggers the addition of charging information to the MEC-CDR.

Step 704b, the MEC server routes the service request message to the PGW.

And the PGW receives a service request message of the terminal sent by the MEC server.

Step 705, the PGW writes the charging information into the PGW-CDR according to the trigger event for adding the charging information into the PGW-CDR.

Step 706, the PGW sends a message to the PCRF, where the message is generated to add charging information to the PGW-CDR.

And step 707, the PCRF sends a message for generating charging information to be added to the PGW-CDR to the MEC server.

Step 708, the MEC server adds charging information to the MEC-CDR.

Specifically, after receiving a message for generating charging information addition to the PGW-CDR, the MEC server satisfies a condition for triggering charging information addition to the MEC-CDR, and the MEC server adds charging information to the MEC-CDR. Thereafter, steps 706-708 are performed each time the PGW adds charging information to the PGW-CDR. When the eNodeB indicates that the PGW service flow no longer passes through the MEC server, or the eNodeB indicates that the PGW eNodeB does not have the capability of the MEC, steps 706 to 708 are no longer performed, and in this case, the PGW reports the charging information separately, and does not need to be associated with the charging information of the MEC server.

Specifically, the adding, by the MEC server, charging information to the MEC-CDR includes determining, by the MEC server, charging information of a service flow routed to the MEC server through the core network according to the mapping MEC rule, and adding the charging information to the MEC-CDR, where a charging correlation identifier of the MEC-CDR is a first identifier, for example, binary number 1.

Step 709, IP-CAN session release.

And step 710, when the PGW detects that the IP-CAN session is released, writing the charging information into the PGW-CDR and triggering to close the PGW-CDR.

Step 711, the PGW sends the PGW-CDR to the charging system.

And the charging system receives the PGW-CDR sent by the PGW.

If the terminal does not move out of the service range of the MEC server, steps 712 to 715 are performed.

Step 712, the PGW sends a message to the PCRF to generate a PGW-CDR shutdown.

Step 713, the PCRF forwards the message for generating the closed PGW-CDR to the MEC server.

Step 714, the MEC server writes the charging information into the MEC-CDR and closes the MEC-CDR according to the message for generating the closed PGW-CDR.

Step 715, the PGW sends the PGW-CDR to the charging system.

And step 716, the charging system processes the MEC-CDR and the PGW-CDR.

Specifically, the charging system performs individual processing on the MEC-CDR generated in the step 704a, and the charging system performs association processing on the MEC-CDR and the PGW-CDR generated in the step 704b and the subsequent steps, and charges according to the associated charging ticket. Specifically, the charging system may distinguish the MEC-CDR generated by performing step 704a from the MEC-CDR generated by performing step 704b and subsequent steps according to the charging correlation Id of the MEC-CDR.

An implementation manner is that a charging system obtains a charging correlation identifier in an MEC-CDR, the charging system obtains a destination IP address in a PGW-CDR and a destination IP address in the MEC-CDR respectively, when the charging correlation identifier of the MEC-CDR is a first identifier and the destination IP address in the PGW-CDR and the destination IP address in the MEC-CDR are the same, the charging system combines the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR into a charging ticket of the destination, and the first identifier is the charging correlation identifier of the charging ticket generated by a service flow identified by the MEC server according to a mapping MEC rule.

And when the charging associated identifier of the MEC-CDR is a second identifier, the charging system charges according to the MEC-CDR, and the second identifier is the charging associated identifier of the charging ticket generated by the service flow identified by the MEC server according to the pre-configured MEC rule.

Optionally, the charging system combines the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR into a charging ticket of the destination, which may specifically be: and when the identifiers of the rate groups in the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR and the starting timestamp and the ending timestamp of the trigger event are the same, combining the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR into a charging bill of the destination terminal.

In an implementation manner, the MEC-CDR in the embodiment of the present application may specifically include a destination IP address and a service data list (list of service data), where the service data list (list of service data) may specifically include the following fields:

rate Group (Rating Group)

MEC Rule Base Name (MEC Rule Base Name)

Variation (Change condition)

Change time (Change time)

Start timestamp (Start timestamp)

Termination timestamp (Stop timestamp)

Upstream Data flow (Data volume uplink)

Downstream Data flow (Data downlink)

Charging correlation identification (charting correlation Id)

The charge rate group field is used for carrying the identifier of the charge rate group and corresponds to a charging key value (charging key); the MEC rule basic name field is used for carrying an identification of the MEC rule; the change situation field is used for carrying the reporting condition of the charging event; the change time field is used for carrying the time triggered by the charging event; the starting timestamp and the ending timestamp fields are used for carrying a starting timestamp and an ending timestamp of the current charging event; the uplink data flow and downlink data flow fields are used for carrying the uplink and downlink flows of the current charging event.

The charging system selects the MEC-CDR and the PGW-CDR which are sent to a specified terminal according to the IP address of the terminal in the charging list, selects the charging list with the charging association identifier as a second identifier in the MEC-CDR, associates the charging list with the PGW-CDR, and processes the charging list with the charging association identifier as a first identifier independently without being associated with the PGW-CDR. And the charging system performs correlation processing on the MEC-CDR and the PGW-CDR according to the start time frame, stop time frame and rating group fields in the list of service data in the charging ticket for performing correlation processing. For example, when the rate group, start time and stop time of the MEC-CDR and the PGW-CDR are all equal, comparing whether the traffic sizes of the MEC-CDR and the PGW-CDR are the same, if not, the charging system may make a corresponding solution policy, such as charging by using the traffic size in the MEC-CDR. It is understood that other solution strategies may be made, which are not illustrated in the embodiments of the present application.

In this embodiment, a PCRF determines a mapping MEC rule according to a PCC rule that a PGW needs to execute, and sends the mapping MEC rule to an MEC server, the MEC receives a service request sent by a terminal, the MEC server determines whether the service request of the terminal is satisfied, if so, the MEC server sends a service content corresponding to the service request to the terminal, if not, the MEC server forwards the service request to the PGW, and provides the service content corresponding to the service request to the terminal through a core network, in a process of transmitting a service flow corresponding to the service content to the terminal through the MEC server, the MEC server may determine charging information of the service flow of the service request of the terminal directly responded by the MEC server according to the preconfigured MEC rule, the MEC server may determine charging information of the service flow routed to the MEC server through the core network according to the mapping MEC rule, so as to acquire and report the charging information of the service flow passing through the MEC server, to satisfy the charging of the implementation scenario with MEC capability at the network edge.

And forwarding a message for generating charging information added to the PGW-CDR through the PCRF, so that the MEC server adds the charging information to the MEC-CDR according to the message, thereby realizing the synchronization of the charging information in the charging bill reported by the PGW and the MEC server.

And the MEC server sets the charging correlation identifier of the MEC-CDR generated by the service flow identified according to the mapping MEC rule as a first identifier, and sets the charging correlation identifier of the MEC-CDR generated by the service flow identified according to the preconfigured MEC rule as a second identifier, so that the charging system determines the MEC-CDR generated by the service flow identified by the mapping MEC rule according to the charging correlation identifier, and further performs correlation processing on the MEC-CDR and the PGW-CDR generated by the service flow identified by the mapping MEC rule, and the charging can be ensured to be consistent with the data consumed by the actual user.

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a mobile edge computing MEC server according to the present application, and as shown in fig. 9, the apparatus of this embodiment may include: the system comprises a processing module 11 and a sending module 12, wherein the processing module 11 is configured to obtain an MEC rule, determine a service flow passing through the MEC server according to the MEC rule, and determine charging information of the service flow, and the processing module 11 is further configured to send the charging information to a charging system through the sending module 12.

Optionally, the MEC server according to the embodiment of the present application may further include a receiving module 13.

Optionally, the processing module 11 is configured to obtain the MEC rule, and specifically may include: pre-configuring an MEC rule on the MEC server, wherein the pre-configured MEC rule is used for determining charging information of a service flow of a service request directly responded to a terminal by the MEC server; or, receiving, by the receiving module 13, a mapping MEC rule from the PCRF, where the mapping MEC rule is used to determine charging information of a traffic flow routed to the MEC server through a core network.

Optionally, the processing module 11 is further configured to: when the MEC server detects a service request message sent by a terminal, if the MEC server meets the service request of the terminal, the MEC server sends the service content corresponding to the service request to the terminal through the sending module, and writes the generated charging information into a mobile edge computing-charging call ticket MEC-CDR.

Optionally, the processing module 11 is further configured to receive, through a receiving module, a message that is sent by the PCRF and used for generating a trigger event; executing corresponding charging operation according to the message generating the trigger event; the triggering event comprises adding charging information to a packet data gateway-charging ticket PGW-CDR or closing the PGW-CDR.

Optionally, when the trigger event is adding charging information to the PGW-CDR; the processing module 11 is configured to execute a corresponding charging operation according to the message generating the trigger event, and specifically may include: charging information is added to the MEC-CDR.

Optionally, when the triggering event is the closing of the PGW-CDR; the processing module 11 is configured to execute a corresponding charging operation according to the message generating the trigger event, and specifically may include: the MEC-CDR is turned off.

Optionally, the processing module 11 is further configured to: setting a charging correlation identifier of a charging ticket generated by the service flow identified according to the mapping MEC rule as a first identifier; and setting the charging correlation identifier of the charging ticket generated by the service flow identified according to the pre-configured MEC rule as a second identifier.

The apparatus of this embodiment may be configured to implement the technical solutions of the above method embodiments, and the implementation principles and technical effects are similar, which are not described herein again.

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a charging system according to the present application, and as shown in fig. 10, the apparatus of this embodiment may include: the receiving module 21 is configured to receive a packet data gateway-charging ticket PGW-CDR sent by a packet data gateway PGW, the receiving module 21 is further configured to receive a mobile edge computing-charging ticket MEC-CDR sent by a mobile edge computing MEC server, and the processing module 22 is configured to perform association processing on the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR, generate an associated charging ticket, and perform charging according to the associated charging ticket.

Optionally, the processing module 22 is configured to perform association processing on the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR, and specifically may include: and performing association processing on the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR according to the charging association identifier of the MEC-CDR.

Optionally, the processing module 22 is configured to perform association processing on the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR according to the charging association identifier of the MEC-CDR, and specifically may include: acquiring a charging correlation identifier in the MEC-CDR; respectively acquiring a destination IP address in the PGW-CDR and a destination IP address in the MEC-CDR; and when the charging correlation identifier of the MEC-CDR is a first identifier and the destination IP address in the PGW-CDR is the same as the destination IP address in the MEC-CDR, combining the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR into a charging bill of the destination, wherein the first identifier is the charging correlation identifier of the charging bill generated by the MEC server according to the service flow identified by the mapping MEC rule.

Optionally, the processing module 22 is further configured to: and when the charging associated identifier of the MEC-CDR is a second identifier, charging according to the MEC-CDR, wherein the second identifier is the charging associated identifier of the generated charging ticket of the service flow identified by the MEC server according to the pre-configured MEC rule.

Optionally, the processing module 22 is configured to combine the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR into a charging ticket of the destination, and specifically may include: and when the identifiers of the rate groups in the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR and the starting timestamp and the ending timestamp of the trigger event are the same, combining the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR into a charging bill of the destination terminal.

Fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a policy control rule network element PCRF according to the present application, and as shown in fig. 11, the apparatus in this embodiment may include: the apparatus includes a processing module 31 and a sending module 32, where the processing module 31 is configured to determine a mapping mobile edge computing MEC rule according to a policy charging control PCC rule that needs to be executed by a packet data gateway PGW, the mapping MEC rule is used to determine charging information of a service flow passing through an MEC server, and the sending module 32 is configured to send the mapping MEC rule to the MEC server, so that the MEC server determines the charging information of the service flow passing through the MEC server according to the mapping MEC rule.

Optionally, when the PGW adjusts the PCC rule, the processing module 31 is further configured to determine an adjusted mapping MEC rule according to the adjusted PCC rule, and the sending module is further configured to send the adjusted mapping MEC rule to the MEC server; wherein the adjusting the PCC rules includes at least one of adding a PCC rule, modifying a PCC rule, and deleting a PCC rule.

Optionally, the PCRF may further include: a receiving module 33, where the receiving module 33 is configured to receive a message that is sent by the PGW and generates a trigger event, and the sending module 32 is further configured to forward the message that generates the trigger event to the MEC server, where the message that generates the trigger event is used to instruct the MEC server to perform a corresponding charging operation; the triggering event comprises adding charging information to a packet data gateway-charging ticket PGW-CDR or closing the PGW-CDR.

Optionally, the sending module 32 is configured to send the mapping MEC rule to the MEC server, and specifically may include: sending a re-authorization request message RAR to the MEC server, wherein the RAR comprises the mapping MEC rule.

It should be noted that the sending module 12 of the mobile edge computing MEC server in the embodiment shown in fig. 9 may correspond to a sender of the MEC server, or may correspond to a transceiver of the MEC server. The receiving module 13 of the MEC server may correspond to a receiver of the MEC server, or may correspond to a transceiver of the MEC server. The Processing module 11 may correspond to a processor of the MEC server, where the processor may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), or an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or one or more Integrated circuits that implement the embodiments of the present Application. The MEC server may further include a memory for storing instruction codes, and the processor calls the instruction codes of the memory to control the sending module 12 and the receiving module 13 in the embodiment of the present application to perform the above operations.

It should be noted that the sending module 31 of the billing system of the embodiment shown in fig. 10 may correspond to a sender of the access and billing system, and may also correspond to a transceiver of the billing system. The charging system may further include a receiving module, and the receiving module may correspond to a receiver of the charging system and may also correspond to a transceiver of the charging system. The processing module 22 may correspond to a processor of the billing system, where the processor may be a CPU, or an ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits that implement embodiments of the present application. The charging system may further include a memory for storing instruction codes, and the processor calls the instruction codes of the memory to control the processing module 22 and the receiving module 21 in the embodiment of the present application to perform the above operations.

It should be noted that the sending module 32 of the PCRF of the policy control rule network element in the embodiment shown in fig. 11 may correspond to a sender of the PCRF of the policy control rule network element, and may also correspond to a transceiver of the PCRF of the policy control rule network element. The receiving module 33 of the PCRF may correspond to a receiver of the PCRF, or may correspond to a transceiver of the PCRF. The processing module 31 may correspond to a processor of the policy control rule network element PCRF, where the processor may be a CPU, or an ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits implementing the embodiments of the present application. The PCRF may further include a memory, where the memory is configured to store instruction codes, and the processor invokes the instruction codes of the memory to control the sending module 32 and the receiving module 33 in this embodiment of the present application to perform the above operations.

When at least a part of the functions of the charging method in the embodiments of the present application is implemented by software, the embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, which is used to store computer software instructions for the MEC server, and when the computer-readable storage medium is run on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute various possible charging methods in the embodiments of the method. The processes or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the present application may be generated in whole or in part when the computer-executable instructions are loaded and executed on a computer. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium by wireless (e.g., cellular, infrared, short-range wireless, microwave, etc.) transmission to another website site, computer, server, or data center. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device, such as a server, a data center, etc., that incorporates one or more of the available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy Disk, hard Disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.

When at least a part of the functions of the charging method in the embodiments of the present application are implemented by software, the embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, which is used to store computer software instructions for the charging system, and when the computer-readable storage medium is run on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute various possible charging methods in the embodiments of the method. The processes or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the present application may be generated in whole or in part when the computer-executable instructions are loaded and executed on a computer. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium by wireless (e.g., cellular, infrared, short-range wireless, microwave, etc.) transmission to another website site, computer, server, or data center. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device, such as a server, a data center, etc., that incorporates one or more of the available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., SSD), among others.

When at least a part of the functions of the charging method in the embodiments of the present application is implemented by software, the embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, where the computer-readable storage medium is used to store computer software instructions for the PCRF, and when the computer-readable storage medium is run on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute various possible charging methods in the embodiments of the method. The processes or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the present application may be generated in whole or in part when the computer-executable instructions are loaded and executed on a computer. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium by wireless (e.g., cellular, infrared, short-range wireless, microwave, etc.) transmission to another website site, computer, server, or data center. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device, such as a server, a data center, etc., that incorporates one or more of the available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., SSD), among others.

Furthermore, the present application also provides a computer program product, i.e. a software product, containing instructions, which when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute various possible charging methods in the above method embodiments. The implementation principle and the technical effect are similar, and the detailed description is omitted here.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used for illustrating the technical solutions of the present application, and not for limiting the same; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some or all of the technical features may be equivalently replaced; and the modifications or the substitutions do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions depart from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A charging method, comprising:

the mobile edge computing MEC server acquires an MEC rule;

the MEC server determines the service flow passing through the MEC server according to the MEC rule;

the MEC server determines charging information of the service flow;

the MEC server sends the charging information to a charging system;

wherein the MEC server obtains the MEC rule, including:

the MEC server receives a re-authorization request message RAR sent by a policy control rule network element PCRF, wherein the RAR comprises a mapping MEC rule, the mapping MEC rule is determined by the PCRF according to a Policy Charging Control (PCC) rule which needs to be executed by a packet data gateway (PGW), and the mapping MEC rule is used for determining charging information of a service flow which is routed to the MEC server through a core network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the MEC server obtains MEC rules, further comprising:

and pre-configuring an MEC rule on the MEC server, wherein the pre-configured MEC rule is used for determining charging information of a service flow directly responding to a service request of a terminal by the MEC server.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the charging information comprises time information or traffic information.

4. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the MEC rule includes at least one of an MEC rule identification, execution priority information of the MEC rule, traffic flow information, IP address of the terminal, and rating group information;

the MEC rule identifier corresponds to a charging rule name of a Policy Charging Control (PCC) rule, execution priority information of the MEC rule is the same as the execution priority information of the PCC rule, the service flow information corresponds to the PCC rule, and the rate group information is the same as the rate group information of the PCC rule.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method further comprises:

when the MEC server detects a service request message sent by a terminal, if the MEC server meets the service request of the terminal, the MEC server sends the service content corresponding to the service request to the terminal, and writes the generated charging information into a mobile edge computing-charging call ticket MEC-CDR.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

the MEC server receives a message which is sent by the PCRF and generates a trigger event;

the MEC server executes corresponding charging operation according to the message generating the trigger event;

the triggering event comprises adding charging information to a packet data gateway-charging ticket PGW-CDR or closing the PGW-CDR.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein when the triggering event is adding charging information to a PGW-CDR;

the MEC server executes corresponding charging operation according to the message generating the trigger event, and the charging operation comprises the following steps:

the MEC server adds charging information to the MEC-CDR.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein when the triggering event is the turning off of a PGW-CDR;

the MEC server closes the MEC-CDR.

9. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

the MEC server sets a charging correlation identifier of a charging ticket generated by a service flow identified according to the mapping MEC rule as a first identifier;

and the MEC server sets the charging correlation identifier of the charging ticket generated by the service flow identified according to the pre-configured MEC rule as a second identifier.

10. A charging method, comprising:

a charging system receives a packet data gateway-charging ticket PGW-CDR sent by a packet data gateway PGW;

the charging system receives a mobile edge calculation-charging call ticket MEC-CDR sent by a mobile edge calculation MEC server;

the charging system carries out association processing on the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR according to the charging association identifier of the MEC-CDR and generates a charging bill after association;

the charging system charges according to the associated charging ticket;

wherein, the charging system performs association processing on the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR according to the charging association identifier of the MEC-CDR, including:

the charging system acquires a charging correlation identifier in the MEC-CDR;

the charging system respectively acquires a destination IP address in the PGW-CDR and a destination IP address in the MEC-CDR; when the charging correlation identifier of the MEC-CDR is a first identifier, and the destination IP address in the PGW-CDR is the same as the destination IP address in the MEC-CDR, the charging system combines the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR into a charging bill of the destination, the first identifier is the charging correlation identifier of the charging bill generated by the MEC server according to the service flow identified by the mapping MEC rule, and the mapping MEC rule is used for determining the charging information of the service flow routed to the MEC server through the core network.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

and when the charging associated identifier of the MEC-CDR is a second identifier, the charging system charges according to the MEC-CDR, the second identifier is a charging associated identifier of a charging ticket generated by a service flow identified by the MEC server according to a pre-configured MEC rule, and the pre-configured MEC rule is used for determining the charging information of the service flow directly responding to the service request of the terminal by the MEC server.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of the charging system combining the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR into a charging ticket for the destination comprises:

and when the identifiers of the rate groups in the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR and the starting timestamp and the ending timestamp of the trigger event are the same, combining the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR into a charging bill of the destination terminal.

13. A charging method, comprising:

a policy control rule network element PCRF determines a mapping Mobile Edge Calculation (MEC) rule according to a Policy Charging Control (PCC) rule to be executed by a packet data gateway (PGW), wherein the mapping MEC rule is used for determining charging information of a service flow passing through an MEC server;

the PCRF sends the mapping MEC rule to the MEC server so that the MEC server determines charging information of the service flow passing through the MEC server according to the mapping MEC rule and sends the charging information of the service flow to a charging system.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the mapping MEC rule includes at least one of an MEC rule identification, execution priority information of MEC rule, traffic flow information, IP address of terminal, and rating group information;

the MEC rule identifier corresponds to a charging rule name of the PCC rule, the execution priority information of the MEC rule is the same as the execution priority information of the PCC rule, the service flow information corresponds to the PCC rule, and the rate group information is the same as the rate group information of the PCC rule.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein when the PGW adjusts the PCC rules, the PCRF determines adjusted mapping MEC rules according to the adjusted PCC rules, and sends the adjusted mapping MEC rules to the MEC server;

wherein the adjusting the PCC rules includes at least one of adding a PCC rule, modifying a PCC rule, and deleting a PCC rule.

16. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the method further comprises:

the PCRF receives a message which is sent by the PGW and generates a trigger event;

the PCRF forwards the message for generating the trigger event to the MEC server, wherein the message for generating the trigger event is used for indicating the MEC server to execute corresponding charging operation;

17. The method of claim 16, wherein when the triggering event is adding charging information to a PGW-CDR, the charging operation of the MEC server is adding charging information to a mobile edge computing-charging ticket MEC-CDR;

and when the trigger event is the closing of the PGW-CDR, the charging operation of the MEC server is the closing of the MEC-CDR.

18. The method of claim 13 or 14, wherein the PCRF sends the mapping MEC rules to the MEC server, including:

and the PCRF sends a re-authorization request message RAR to the MEC server, wherein the RAR comprises the mapping MEC rule.

19. A mobile edge computing, MEC, server, comprising:

the processing module is used for acquiring the MEC rule;

the processing module is further configured to determine a service flow passing through the MEC server according to the MEC rule;

the processing module is further configured to determine charging information of the service flow;

the processing module is further used for sending the charging information to a charging system through a sending module;

wherein, the processing module is used for obtaining the MEC rule and comprises:

receiving a re-authorization request message RAR sent by a policy control rule network element PCRF through a receiving module, wherein the RAR comprises a mapping MEC rule, the mapping MEC rule is determined by the PCRF according to a Policy Charging Control (PCC) rule which needs to be executed by a packet data gateway (PGW), and the mapping MEC rule is used for determining charging information of a service flow which is routed to the MEC server through a core network.

20. The MEC server of claim 19, wherein the processing module is configured to obtain MEC rules, further comprising:

21. The MEC server according to claim 19 or 20, wherein the processing module is further configured to:

when the MEC server detects a service request message sent by a terminal, if the MEC server meets the service request of the terminal, the processing module sends the service content corresponding to the service request to the terminal through the sending module, and writes the generated charging information into a mobile edge computing-charging call ticket MEC-CDR.

22. The MEC server of claim 20, wherein the processing module is further configured to

Receiving a message which is sent by the PCRF and generates a trigger event through a receiving module;

executing corresponding charging operation according to the message generating the trigger event;

23. The MEC server of claim 22, wherein when the triggering event is adding charging information to a PGW-CDR;

the processing module is used for executing corresponding charging operation according to the message for generating the trigger event, and comprises:

charging information is added to the MEC-CDR.

24. The MEC server of claim 22, wherein when the triggering event is a PGW-CDR shutdown;

the MEC-CDR is turned off.

25. The MEC server of claim 20, wherein the processing module is further configured to:

setting a charging correlation identifier of a charging ticket generated by the service flow identified according to the mapping MEC rule as a first identifier;

and setting the charging correlation identifier of the charging ticket generated by the service flow identified according to the pre-configured MEC rule as a second identifier.

26. A charging system, comprising:

the receiving module is used for receiving a packet data gateway-charging ticket PGW-CDR sent by a packet data gateway PGW;

the receiving module is also used for receiving a mobile edge computing-charging call ticket MEC-CDR sent by the mobile edge computing MEC server;

the processing module is used for performing association processing on the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR according to the charging association identifier of the MEC-CDR and generating an associated charging ticket;

the processing module is used for charging according to the associated charging ticket;

wherein the processing module is configured to perform association processing on the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR according to the charging association identifier of the MEC-CDR, and includes:

acquiring a charging correlation identifier in the MEC-CDR;

respectively acquiring a destination IP address in the PGW-CDR and a destination IP address in the MEC-CDR;

wherein the processing module is further configured to:

when the charging correlation identifier of the MEC-CDR is a first identifier, and the destination IP address in the PGW-CDR is the same as the destination IP address in the MEC-CDR, the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR are combined into a charging bill of the destination, the first identifier is the charging correlation identifier of the charging bill generated by the MEC server according to the service flow identified by the mapping MEC rule, and the mapping MEC rule is used for determining the charging information of the service flow routed to the MEC server through the core network.

27. The billing system of claim 26, wherein the processing module is further configured to:

and when the charging associated identifier of the MEC-CDR is a second identifier, charging according to the MEC-CDR, wherein the second identifier is the charging associated identifier of a charging ticket generated by a service flow identified by the MEC server according to a pre-configured MEC rule, and the pre-configured MEC rule is used for determining the charging information of the service flow directly responding to the service request of the terminal by the MEC server.

28. The charging system of claim 26, wherein the processing module is configured to combine the PGW-CDR and the MEC-CDR into a charging ticket for the destination, and the processing module is configured to:

29. A policy control rules network element PCRF comprising:

the system comprises a processing module, a Policy Charging Control (PCC) module and a Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) module, wherein the processing module is used for determining a mapping MEC rule according to a PCC rule which needs to be executed by a packet data gateway (PGW), and the mapping MEC rule is used for determining charging information of a service flow passing through an MEC server;

a sending module, configured to send the mapping MEC rule to the MEC server, so that the MEC server determines, according to the mapping MEC rule, charging information of a service flow passing through the MEC server, and sends the charging information of the service flow to a charging system.

30. The PCRF of claim 29, wherein when the PGW adjusts the PCC rules, the processing module is further configured to determine adjusted mapping MEC rules according to the adjusted PCC rules, and the sending module is further configured to send the adjusted mapping MEC rules to the MEC server;

31. The PCRF as claimed in claim 29 or 30, further comprising: a receiving module;

the receiving module is configured to receive a message that is sent by the PGW and used for generating a trigger event;

the sending module is further configured to forward the message generating the trigger event to the MEC server, where the message generating the trigger event is used to instruct the MEC server to perform a corresponding charging operation;

32. The PCRF as claimed in claim 29 or 30, wherein the sending module is configured to send the mapping MEC rule to the MEC server, and comprises:

sending a re-authorization request message RAR to the MEC server, wherein the RAR comprises the mapping MEC rule.

33. A mobile edge computing, MEC, server, comprising: a memory and a processor;

the memory to store program instructions;

the processor for invoking the program instructions stored in the memory to implement a charging method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9.

34. A charging system, comprising: a memory and a processor;

the memory to store program instructions;

the processor for invoking the program instructions stored in the memory to implement a charging method as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 12.

35. A policy control rules network element PCRF comprising: a memory and a processor;

the memory to store program instructions;

the processor for invoking the program instructions stored in the memory to implement a charging method as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 18.