KR19980050165A - Internet billing processing method of mass communication processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for charging an information usage fee that can be used when a subscriber of a telephone network connects to a system of an information provider connected to the Internet by using a mass communication processing system. According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the cost of the information provider to collect the unpaid charges by mobilizing the manpower by performing the information charge recovery agency in a large-scale communication processing system. In addition, there is no problem in security because the information charge is added to the telephone number to be accessed. Moreover, the billing-related information is managed by the local management device connected to the system's internal switch, so that it can reduce the load on the sub-system providing the Internet access service. The billing structure and method used will be used by ISDN and PSDN subscribers in the future. Designed to accommodate

Description

Method for Internet Billing Processing of Advanced Communication Processing System

The present invention relates to a method for processing Internet information fee billing to be provided in a mass communication processing system currently under development.

In Korea, the Internet and service providers are planning to provide open Internet access service to secure a competitive market.In addition, the information providers who provided free Internet information around the world provide high value-added information. As it starts to do so, it is gradually becoming paid.

At present, the small-capacity communication processing system provides the information service fee billing service to 01410, the information provider registered in the infoshop for the service network. However, the detailed billing method for this information usage fee is targeted at subscribers of the telephone network and information providers connected to the packet network. Since the system is not directly connected to the Internet, it is difficult to accommodate information providers on the Internet. In addition, the information charging protocol ported to the information provider system cannot be used in the system of the Internet information provider due to its structure.

Currently, the Internet charge collection methods such as electronic money and card payment methods, but for security reasons, users have not yet received a great response. In addition, most information providers use their own billing methods to charge users and collect their own.

However, such a billing processing method is inconvenient to increase the amount of the fee to be paid by the more information providers from the information user's point of view, and the fee collection fee increases as the number of users increases. For example, the recovery rate of information usage fee of existing PC communication service companies is known to be only 70-80%, and private BBS is 10-20%. The main reason for the low information collection rate is that if the user does not pay the fee, the service provider has no alternative but to revoke the ID. The use of manpower to recover unpaid fees is also impractical because it is expected to cost more.

Currently, most Internet service providers provide the following Internet access services. Most users of modems use SLIP / PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) service, and they are subscribed (pay monthly fee) and assigned a user account to access the Internet.

However, since the burden of monthly fee is heavy for users who want to use sometimes, it is not a situation that anyone can easily use the Internet.

Therefore, there is a growing demand for open Internet access and services, which can be easily accessed by ordinary users, especially beginners, and pay only for them.

In response to these demands, Korean PC communication has recently begun to provide services that can use the Internet without a user account. Korea PC Communication connects its Internet host to Hinet-P network and provides Internet access service through its Opentel communication service, Hitel InfoShop Service. To access the InfoShop service, dial the 01410 via the dial-up modem, connect to the Hinet-P network, and select Hitel InfoShop from the menu screen. Users who want an open Internet service can access the Internet without a user account by selecting the Internet menu on the InfoShop home screen. The usage fee is 30 won per minute and is included in the telephone bill.

In Japan, a service that allows users to use the Internet for those who do not have a user account for 300 yen for a single connection (no time limit) or 10 yen per minute has become very popular. That is, like the existing 700 service (voice information providing service), non-membership system provides an open Internet access service by calling a service provider, using the service, and paying a service fee later.

On the other hand, information providers (CP), which have provided free Internet information all over the world, are gradually becoming paid using electronic money or card payment methods.

Therefore, the method of recovering the fee for using or accessing information has emerged as a very important problem for Internet service providers who want to provide open access service rates and information providers who want to monetize. In order to provide services, it is very inefficient at the national level to build and operate the billing function independently by each Internet service provider and information provider. In addition, there is a difficulty in management due to the increase of the user, and it is difficult to spend a lot of money to solve the problem of non-payment of the usage fee.

Accordingly, the present invention has been devised in response to this era, and a processing method that can charge a fee for information provided by an Internet information provider (CP) connected to a mass communication processing system on behalf of the information provider. By providing it, it is intended to systematically and collectively perform functions such as generation of billing information to domestic Internet service providers and information providers who want to provide paid information.

1 is a block diagram of a large capacity communication processing system and service network to which the present invention is applied.

2 is a block information processing block diagram inside a system to which the present invention is applied.

3 is a block diagram of an internet matching device and an internet network to which the present invention is applied.

4 is a functional block diagram of an internet matching device to which the present invention is applied.

5 is a detailed structural diagram of a data frame to which the present invention is applied.

6 is an overall processing flowchart of the Internet charging processing method according to the present invention.

7 is a detailed flowchart of the communication processing system connection step in FIG.

8 is a detailed flowchart of the Internet service and billing processing step in FIG. 6;

9 is a detailed flowchart of a release step of the communication processing system in FIG.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is connected to a communication processing system that receives a call connection request from an Internet user through a telephone network matching device, and connects with a mass communication processing system that extracts a user's calling number and processes it as a billing target. And after the call connection is completed, a user selects an Internet service from a menu to perform a PPP connection, and then selects an Internet service to which an Internet Protocol (IP) address is assigned; Internet service and billing step of performing a billing process with the extracted user's caller number after the Internet service, and when the user's Internet service is terminated after the Internet service, the mass communication processing system and the user is disconnected Characterized in that the communication processing system release step.

Preferably, the Internet service step, if the IP address is a normal user address, the process of extracting an IP datagram from a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) frame received from the user, and the extracted IP datagram Extracting information about the transmission path by routing the information, and transmitting the information to the Ethernet LAN, and analyzing the destination address of the transmitted IP datagram, and the information provider address of the information provider that wants the information fee recovery service. And generating initial information for billing, wherein the billing processing step includes receiving and routing IP datagrams from Ethernet to analyze the source address of the IP datagrams, and if the address of the information provider is the IP datagram. Recording the reception time and data length of the data in initial information for billing; Filling an IP datagram in the information field of the PPP frame to transmit to the PP user, and transmitting the PPP frame to the telephone network matching device through the internal switch.

Using the billing processing method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the information charge recovery agent can be performed in a large-scale communication processing system can reduce the cost of information providers to collect the unpaid fees by mobilizing personnel. In addition, unlike the payment method of the Internet usage fee such as electronic money or card payment method, the information fee is added to the telephone number to be accessed, thus providing security that user's personal information is not leaked. In addition, since the large-capacity communication processing system provides an open service that anyone can access the Internet service by accessing a single number of 014XY without a user account, using the billing processing method of the present invention, the user pays only the fee as long as he uses the Internet. Therefore, it is possible to provide more reasonable fee service.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In order to access the Internet through a dial-up modem using a telephone network and obtain desired information, a device for connecting a subscriber to the Internet is required. The mass communication processing system to which the present invention is applied is a device for providing an Internet access service rule using a PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol), unlike a conventional method of using the Internet by paying a monthly amount and obtaining a user account. Without this, anyone can access the internet service by accessing a single number of 014XY. The only charge for Internet access is the information fee calculated on the bill for the telephone number you access.

The billing processing method of the present invention is performed in the subscriber network matching device (telephone network matching device), the service network matching device (internet matching device), and the local management device, which are part of the mass communication processing system, and use the Internet using the telephone network. To provide users with a billing service for the information fee to summarize the summary as follows.

First, a user connects to a large capacity communication processing system with a 014XY number by using a dial-up modem and selects an Internet service menu to perform a PPP connection. If the user is normally connected to the network matching device in the system, the user can use the Internet from this point on. If the user connects to the information provider's system for the information fee collection agency, the billing information for the time used and the amount of data received is generated in the Internet matching device. When the user finally stops using the Internet, the internet matching device connects the billing information of the total internet service time and the billing information of the effective time and data amount of the use of the information provider system by the internal high speed switch. Send to The billing information collected by the regional management system is calculated and sent to the user's telephone bill as an information fee.

1 shows the overall configuration of a mass communication processing system and service network to which the present invention is applied.

The mass communication processing system (1-9) that provides the information retrieval network service has a function of acting as a gateway between the user PC (1-1) connected to the user network and the information provider (1-10) connected to the Internet. It is divided into and function that performs it smoothly. If the information user (1-1) wants to access the large-capacity communication processing system through the telephone network (1-2) in order to use the Internet service, the telephone network matching device (1-3) and the internet matching device (1-5), which are subscription network matching devices, are required. ) Operates to perform a smooth call connection function. At this time, the telephone network matching device tracks the source number of the service access call in the call connection process and processes it as the subject of billing.

When the user connected to the telephone network matching device wants to use the Internet service, it is connected to the internet matching device by using an internal switch or high speed switching fabric (HSSF) (1-4) to connect the Internet network (1-6). Is connected to the information provider (1-10). The Local Operation and Management System (LOMS) (1-8), which manages parts of the mass communication processing system, is connected to an internal switch (OSAS) through the Operational Network Access Subsystem (ONAS) (1-7). It is connected to 1-4) and performs the billing information management function and configuration management function.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining the detailed configuration of the mass communication processing system 1-9 in FIG. As described above, the large-capacity communication processing system 1-9 includes the Internet matching device 1-5, the internal switch 1-4, the operating network matching device 1-7, and the billing information processing unit in the regional management device. It consists of (1-8).

The Internet matching device 1-5 includes a service processor 2-1, which is in charge of user call processing and billing information processing, a billing transmission queue 2-2, a billing transmission queue processor 2-3, and an internal switch. It consists of a communication part 2-4.

The operation network matching device 1-7 connecting the internal switch 1-4 and the local management device 1-8 includes an internal switch communication unit 2-5, a LAN communication unit 2-7 and these. It consists of a protocol matching part 2-6 which functions as a control and protocol matching function between them.

The billing information processing section in the regional management device (1-8) is a LAN communication section (2-8), a billing reception queue (2-9), a billing processing section (2-10), an operator command queue (2-11), an operator command It consists of a processor (2-12), a backup file (2-13), a billing database (2-14), and a billing magnetic tape (2-15). It performs the function of recording and reporting in.

3 shows a connection configuration between the Internet matching device 1-5 and the Internet network 1-6 to which the present invention is applied.

The Internet matching device (1-5), which provides the user with Internet access and billing functions, includes a Switch Access Board (HSNA: High Speed Network Adapter) (3-1), for connection with the internal switch (HSSF) (1-4), It consists of a Board Processor Assembly (BPA) (3-2) with an Ethernet interface for Internet access. The internet matching device (1-5) and the internal switch (HSSF) use a 100Mbps taxi interface (TAXI I / F), and the board interface in the internet matching device communicates through the VME bus.

In practice, a physical connection with the Internet network requires an Internet connection service provider's connection to the Internet line. Therefore, a high speed data modem 3-4 is used to connect a physical Internet network (for example, KORNET) 3-5 to T1 level, and the processor board (BPA) in the router 3-3 and the internet matching device. ) Is connected to a 10Mbps Ethernet LAN. Routers and high-speed data modems are connected by V.35.

4 shows a detailed configuration of the function of the Internet matching device 1-5 to which the present invention is applied. Description of each function is as follows.

* Service management and billing (4-1)

It manages the services of the Internet matching device as a whole and performs the function of retrieving the data sent and received when the PPP user accesses the Internet service, and then generates the corresponding billing information and transmits it to the local management device connected by the internal switch.

* ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) (4-2)

It provides dynamic address resolution between the hardware (MAC) address of 48bit Ethernet and the IP address of 32bit. IP addresses and hardware addresses are managed in the ARP table, and information that has not been used for a certain period of time is automatically deleted.

* IP (Internet Protocol) (4-3)

IP is a protocol that defines the delivery mechanism for connectionless data on the Internet. It defines the basic units and formats of data delivery, how packets are handled, and how errors are handled. It also defines the connectionless, non-guaranteed delivery scheme and packet routing. IP like this has the following features.

1) Packet routing is performed using an IP address consisting of a 32-bit destination address and a source address.

2) It provides a life time check function where packets can exist on the network.

3) It provides data partitioning and concatenation to accommodate 1,518 octets, the maximum length of an Ethernet frame.

In order to connect to the Internet using Ethernet, a unique IP address is required. This address is defined at system initialization. When the IP address needs to be changed, the system is changed through re-initialization. It also allows you to specify a default router so that datagrams can be delivered even if the system has no routing information.

* Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) (4-4)

A protocol used to report information about datagram processing and related errors. It performs the functions of Echo and Destination Unereachable.

* Link Control Rrotocol (LCP) (4-5)

LCP automatically negotiates PPP encapsulation format options with the other party, providing the flexibility to adapt to changing communication environments. To establish communication on a point-to-point link, each end of the PPP link must exchange LCP packets to establish and test the data link. Once the exchange is complete, PPP arrives at the network protocol state and NCP packets are exchanged to select and configure one or more network protocols.

* Internet Protocol Control Protocol (IPCP) (4-6)

IPCP is one of the NCPs available in a PPP environment and provides the ability to configure, operate, and halt IP protocol modules across point-to-point links. IPCP uses the same packet exchange as LCP and is exchanged when PPP reaches the network layer protocol level. When the configuration of the selected network layer protocol is completed in this way, the IP packet is encapsulated in the information field of the PPP data link layer frame and sent on the link.

* Internet Protocol Address Manager (IPAM) (4-7)

IPAM requires an IP address as a negotiation option when a PPP user accesses the system and performs IPCP protocol negotiation. In this case, IPAM assigns an IP address. Logically, the maximum number of IP addresses that can be assigned by IPAM is 253.

* LLD (Link Layer Driver) (4-8)

LLD provides the function of transmitting PPP frame originating from IP, LCP and IPCP and delivering PPP frame received from HSNA to IP, LCP and IPCP. In addition, while managing the state of the PPP ports, it controls the transmission of PPP frames according to the transmission and reception of the port setting and release commands. In the LLD, frame data similar to HDLC is configured as a PPP frame or vice versa.

* HSNA Driver (4-9)

HSNA Driver is responsible for data transmission / reception with switch connection board for internal switch and interface, and includes routing information for internal switch routing, ID information, status detection function of switch connection board, and data transmission / reception using queue. have.

* MAC / LLC (Media Access Control / Link Layer Control) (4-10)

It corresponds to the data link layer of an Ethernet LAN and is performed by the AMD7990 LANCE Chip.

* Ethernet Driver (4-11)

A driver responsible for transmitting and receiving Ethernet frames, and is operated by interrupts.

5 is a detailed structure of a data frame to which the present invention is applied, where 5 (a) shows a PPP frame and 5 (b) shows an IP datagram.

Referring to fifth (a), the PPP frame is a data structure exchanged between the user 1-1 and the Internet matching device 1-5, and has a form similar to the HDLC format used in existing data communication. This frame contains flag delimiters (5-1, 5-7), address major (5-2), control delimiters (5-3), protocol delimiters (5-4), information fields (5-5), and errors. It is a check separator (5-6).

When a user connects to the internet matching device using PPP, the information corresponding to the information field is recorded as a protocol determined by the protocol identifier. That is, when a user performs an PPP connection and is assigned an IP address (4-7), the user can receive information on the information providers on the Internet. In this state, the protocol identifier indicates that the search information is carried in the information field in the form of an IP datagram.

The Internet matching device to which the present invention is applied analyzes this IP datagram and generates billing information for the user's Internet service.

The IP datagram is an important data structure containing information necessary for charging, referring to fifth (b). The IP version 5-5, the length of the IP header 5-9, and the service type 5-10. , Total number of bytes of datagram (5-11), identification information (5-12), flag (5-13), fragment offset (5-14), lifetime (5-15), protocol (5-16) , Header error check field 5-17, source address 5-18, destination address 5-19, options 5-20, and fill field 5-21.

The information needed for charging in an IP datagram is the total number of bytes of the datagram, the source address, and the destination address. In addition, information on the time at which the IP datagram occurred is required for charging the service valid time. If the user connects to the information provider's system (1-10), the information requested by the user from the Ethernet port connected to the Internet interface is loaded into the IP datagram.

The billing processing module of the Internet matching device to which the present invention is applied extracts information about the user from the IP datagram using the destination address, and grasps the information of the information provider using the source address.

Using the information obtained in this way, the information retrieved from the corresponding information provider is charged. If the billing type is part-time billing, the time when the IP datagram comes from the information provider that the user accesses is calculated and recorded using the system time of the Internet matching device. In addition, if the billing type uses the amount of data, the total number of bytes is extracted from the information provider and continuously added to generate the final billing information.

The charging information generated in this way is reconstructed in the form of a ticket and transmitted to the regional management apparatus 1-8 through the internal switch 1-4. The transmitted information is recorded and organized in the DB and displayed on the telephone bill at the end of the month as an information fee and sent to the user 1-1.

6 is a flowchart illustrating the overall processing of the Internet charging processing method according to the present invention.

The present invention starts by requesting a call connection to a mass communication processing system and is roughly divided into a mass communication processing system connection step 6-1, an Internet service and billing step 6-2, and a system release step 6-3. Each step defined in FIG. 6 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9.

FIG. 7 specifically illustrates the connection step 6-1 of the mass communication processing system in FIG. It is a flowchart for explanation.

First, the PPP user starts by inputting 014XY (7-1) to request a call connection to the telephone network matching device.

The telephone network matching device extracts the user's field number during the call connection process (7-2) and processes the billing subject for the use of open Internet service. When the call connection is completed, the Internet service is selected from the menu 7-3 displayed on the initial access screen and connected to the Internet matching device 1-5 in the mass communication processing system (7-4). When negotiation is made between the user's PPP (1-1) and the Internet access device's PPP using the connected channel (7-5), the user has an IP address (4- 7) are granted.

Next, the process of the Internet service and the charging step 6-2 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 8A illustrates a user's Internet access process. First, it is determined whether the channel state and the access address of the user's IP address are allowed or not (8-1). If the user's IP address is normal, IP datagrams (5-21 to 5-21) are extracted from the PPP frames (5-1 to 5-7) received from the user (8-2).

Next, the IP datagram is routed to send the extracted datagram to the destination (8-3).

Through the above process, information about the transmission path 8-3 is obtained from the routing table, and the IP datagram is transmitted to the Ethernet LAN (8-4).

At this time, if the destination address (5-19) in the IP datagram is the address of the information provider (1-10) who wants the information fee collection service, a ticket for billing is generated together with the calling party number extracted in the communication processing system access step. (8-5)

8 (b) shows a process of processing an IP datagram transmitted from an information provider, and when receiving an IP datagram (8-6) from an Ethernet port, the destination address is extracted to enable routing of the current IP datagram. Determine whether it is a user address (8-7).

If there is no problem, if the source address in the IP datagram is the address of the information provider who wants the information collection agency service, the reception time and the data length of the IP datagram are recorded in the generated billing ticket (8-8). On the other hand, since normal IP datagrams cannot be sent directly to the PP user, fill in the information field of the PPP frame with the IP datagram received from the information provider's system (8-9).

The generated PPP frame is transmitted (8-10) to the telephone network matching device through the internal switch (1-4) to reach the user.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a process of processing the release step 6-3 of the mass communication processing system according to the present invention.

If the user (1-1) wants to terminate the Internet service (9-1), a call release request is received (9-2) to the telephone network matching device (1-3), and the telephone network matching device receiving the call is connected to the Internet matching device (1). Cut the call with the user, sending a termination signal to -5) (9-3).

On the other hand, the internet matching device stores a ticket that stores the valid time for accessing the system of the information provider (1-10) and charges for the amount of data received until the call release is requested. In step 9-4, it is transmitted to the billing processing unit. After receiving the charging information, the charging processing unit stores the charging information in the database 2-14 and the magnetic tape 2-15 (9-5), and outputs the resulting message to the operator (9-6). Through the above process, the internet charging process according to the present invention is completed.

As described above, when the billing processing method of the present invention is applied to a large-capacity communication processing system, it is possible to provide an information fee recovery service to Internet information providers, and to the Internet service companies that support the Internet access line. A recovery agency can be accepted.

That is, the information provider can reduce the cost of using the manpower to recover the unpaid fees, and reduce the difficulty of managing the increased user. In addition, if the billing function of the present invention is carried out in a system called a large capacity communication processing system, it is possible to systematically manage billing in the Internet business, and users can provide a more reasonable fee service because they pay only the fee for using the Internet. have. Therefore, Internet service providers who want to provide open Internet access services, information providers who want to collect information fees, and users who want to use the Internet at a low price will benefit. In addition, anyone can easily access and use the Internet.

An object of the present invention is to provide a billing processing method that can provide a service fee recovery service to the Internet information providers, and can accommodate the Internet service fee recovery agency to network operators that support the Internet access line. In other words, it develops a telephone network matching device that accommodates subscribers and a internet matching device that can provide Internet access service to a large capacity communication processing system, thereby providing a charging function for Internet access and user information use.

Claims (4)

A communication processing system access step of receiving a call connection request from an internet user through a telephone network matching device and extracting the user's calling number and connecting it with a mass communication processing system for processing it as a billing target. Select the Internet service from the menu to perform the PPP connection, the Internet service selection step of receiving an Internet Protocol (IP) address, the Internet service according to whether the IP address is allowed to access and then the extracted caller number of the extracted user Internet service and billing processing step of performing the billing processing, and if the user terminates the Internet service after the Internet service mass communication characterized in that consisting of a communication processing system release step of releasing the connection between the mass communication processing system and the user How the system handles Internet billing. The method of claim 1, wherein the Internet service step comprises: extracting an IP datagram from a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) frame received from a user when the IP address is a user address having no abnormality; The process of extracting the information about the transmission path by routing the datagram and transmitting this information to the Ethernet LAN, and analyzing the destination address of the transmitted IP datagram, and sending the user if the information provider address is desired for the information fee recovery service. Internet billing processing method characterized in that it consists of the process of generating the initial information for billing with a number. According to claim 1 and 2, wherein the billing step, after receiving the IP datagram from the Ethernet and routed to analyze the source address of the IP datagram, if the address of the information provider, the receiving time and data length of the IP datagram Recording in the information for billing, converting the IP datagram into a PPP frame and transmitting to the telephone network matching device through an internal switch. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of releasing the communication system comprises: receiving a call release request through which the user wants to terminate the Internet service through the telephone network matching device, and transmitting the received call release request to the Internet matching device to transmit a call with the user. Cutting, transmitting the billing information of the valid time for accessing the system of the information provider and the amount of data transmitted until the internet matching device requests the call release, and the receiving unit. And storing the received charging information in a database and a magnetic tape, and outputting a result message to the operator.