CN108617036B

CN108617036B - Method and apparatus for managing Diameter sessions

Info

Publication number: CN108617036B
Application number: CN201611209545.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李向阳
Original assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2016-12-23
Filing date: 2016-12-23
Publication date: 2022-05-03
Anticipated expiration: 2036-12-23
Also published as: CN108617036A

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a method for managing a Diameter session and a corresponding apparatus. The method comprises the steps that in response to the UE attaching to a network, a PGW acquires a Diameter session termination timer from a PCRF; when uplink or downlink data of a preset threshold value is not detected within a preset time length, starting the Diameter session termination timer by the PGW; and responding to the timeout of the Diameter session termination timer, the PGW respectively sends a Diameter session termination request to the PCRF and the charging system, wherein the IP-CAN session corresponding to the UE is maintained from the attachment of the UE to the network. An apparatus capable of implementing the above method is also disclosed.

Description

Method and apparatus for managing Diameter sessions

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to communications technology and, more particularly, relate to a method for managing a Diameter session and a corresponding apparatus.

Background

The 4G LTE Network realizes Always-on IP Connectivity (Always-on IP Connectivity), and one IP-CAN Session (IP-Connectivity Access Network Session) is disconnected from the time when the UE attaches to the Network, which CAN be maintained for days or even months. According to the current standard, during the IP-CAN Session maintenance, its corresponding Diameter Session (Diameter Session) is maintained. Typically, there are 3 Diameter sessions for an IP-CAN session, which are:

1) a Policy Control Session (Policy Control Session) located between the PCEF (Policy and Charging implementation Function)/TDF (Traffic monitoring Function) and the PCRF (Policy and Charging Rule Function).

2) An Online Charging Session (Online Charging Session), which is located between the PCEF/TDF and the OCS (Online Charging System).

3) An Offline Charging Session (Offline Charging Session), which is located between the PCEF/TDF and the OFCS (Offline Charging System).

A Diameter session that is always on hold consumes resources constantly during IP-CAN session maintenance even if there is no active user data flow. For example, to ensure traffic Monitoring (Usage Monitoring), communications are still maintained between the PCEF/TDF and the PCRF. There is still a large amount of quota requests and allocations between PCEF/TDF and OCS. The PCEF/TDF will still periodically send CDRs (Charging Detail Record) to the OFCS. For example, in the application of an internet of things smart water meter and a smart electric meter, the sensor transmits small data to the LTE network, and the time interval of data acquisition is generally several hours or several days and the like. Because the internet of things has many devices, a large amount of network resources are consumed. Therefore, for an IP-CAN session without active user data stream for a long time, the Diameter session that is maintained always consumes a lot of resources, which results in resource waste.

However, according to the current standard, a Diameter session is tightly tied to an IP-CAN session, and if the Diameter session is closed, the corresponding IP-CAN session is also closed. This is clearly not desired by the operator and the user.

Therefore, how to optimize the existing Diameter session management, not only to avoid resource waste, but also not to affect the correct charging and policy management, is a problem to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

In general, embodiments of the present invention propose a method and corresponding apparatus for managing a Diameter session.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method in a PGW for managing a Diameter session, wherein the method includes: responding to the attachment of UE to a network, and respectively sending Diameter session establishment requests to a PCRF and a charging system, wherein the Diameter session establishment requests all contain first session identification; receiving a Diameter session establishment request response from the PCRF, wherein the Diameter session establishment request response comprises a Diameter session termination timer; starting the Diameter session termination timer when uplink or downlink data of a preset threshold value is not detected within a preset time length; responding to the timeout of the Diameter session termination timer, respectively sending Diameter session termination requests to the PCRF and the charging system, wherein the Diameter session termination requests are respectively used for terminating the Diameter sessions between the PGW and the PCRF and between the PGW and the charging system, and include indication information of IP-CAN session maintenance; and the IP-CAN session corresponding to the UE is maintained from the attachment of the UE to the network.

In certain embodiments, the method further comprises: responding to uplink or downlink data of a predetermined threshold value detected, respectively sending Diameter session establishment requests to the PCRF and the charging system, where the Diameter session establishment requests are respectively used to establish new Diameter sessions between the PGW and the PCRF and between the PGW and the charging system, where the Diameter session establishment requests both include subsequent session identifiers, and the subsequent session identifiers are used to indicate that the new Diameter sessions belong to the IP-CAN session.

In certain embodiments, the method further comprises: after starting the Diameter session termination timer and before the Diameter session termination timer times out, in response to detecting upstream or downstream data of a predetermined threshold, stopping the Diameter session termination timer.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method in a PCRF for managing a Diameter session, the method including: responding to a Diameter session establishment request from a PGW, wherein the Diameter session establishment request is triggered by a UE attaching to a network and contains a first session identification, starting policy control of an IP-CAN session corresponding to the UE and determining a Diameter session termination timer, wherein the policy control is carried out based on zero flow; sending a Diameter session establishment request response to the PGW, wherein the Diameter session establishment request response includes the Diameter session termination timer; in response to a Diameter session termination request from the PGW, wherein the termination Diameter session termination request includes indication information of IP-CAN session maintenance, terminating the Diameter session between the PGW and the PCRF and retaining PCC rules associated with the IP-CAN session; wherein the IP-CAN session is maintained from the UE attachment to the network.

In certain embodiments, the method further comprises: responding to a Diameter session establishment request from the PGW, wherein the Diameter session establishment request is used for establishing a new Diameter session between the PGW and the PCRF, a subsequent session identifier is included in the Diameter session establishment request, and the subsequent session identifier is used for indicating that the newly established Diameter session belongs to the IP-CAN session, and starting policy control on the IP-CAN session, and the policy control is carried out based on accumulated flow generated by the IP-CAN session.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for managing a Diameter session in a charging system, the method including: responding to a Diameter session establishment request from a PGW, wherein the Diameter session establishment request is triggered by a UE attaching to a network and contains a first session identifier, starting charging of an IP-CAN session corresponding to the UE, and the charging is started from zero; responding to a Diameter session termination request from the PGW, wherein the Diameter session termination request contains indication information of IP-CAN session maintenance, and terminating the Diameter session between the PGW and the charging system; wherein the IP-CAN session is maintained from the UE attachment to the network.

In certain embodiments, the method further comprises: responding to a Diameter session establishment request from the PGW, wherein the Diameter session establishment request is used for establishing a new Diameter session between the PGW and the charging system, a subsequent session identifier is included in the Diameter establishment request, the subsequent session identifier is used for indicating that the newly established Diameter session belongs to the IP-CAN session, and charging of the IP-CAN session is started, and the charging is carried out based on accumulated charges generated by the IP-CAN session.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for managing a Diameter session in a PGW, wherein the apparatus includes: the first sending device is used for responding to the attachment of the UE to the network and respectively sending Diameter session establishment requests to the PCRF and the charging system, wherein the Diameter session establishment requests comprise first session identifications; a first receiving device, configured to receive a Diameter session establishment request response from the PCRF, where a Diameter session termination timer is included; a timer starting device, configured to start the Diameter session termination timer when uplink or downlink data of a predetermined threshold is not detected within a predetermined time period; a second sending device, configured to send, in response to a timeout of the Diameter session termination timer, Diameter session termination requests to the PCRF and the charging system, where the Diameter session termination requests are used to terminate the Diameter sessions between the PGW and the PCRF and between the PGW and the charging system, respectively, and include indication information for maintaining an IP-CAN session; and the IP-CAN session corresponding to the UE is maintained from the attachment of the UE to the network.

In certain embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: a third sending device, configured to send, in response to detecting uplink or downlink data of a predetermined threshold, Diameter session establishment requests to the PCRF and the charging system, where the Diameter session establishment requests are used to establish new Diameter sessions between the PGW and the PCRF and between the PGW and the charging system, respectively, where the Diameter session establishment requests both include a subsequent session identifier, and the subsequent session identifier is used to indicate that the new Diameter session belongs to the IP-CAN session.

In certain embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: timer stopping means for stopping the Diameter session termination timer in response to detecting upstream or downstream data of a predetermined threshold after starting the Diameter session termination timer and before the Diameter session termination timer times out.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for managing a Diameter session in a PCRF, the apparatus including: a first policy control device, configured to respond to a Diameter session establishment request from a PGW, where the Diameter session establishment request is triggered by a UE attaching to a network and includes a first session identifier, initiate policy control on an IP-CAN session corresponding to the UE and determine a Diameter session termination timer, where the policy control is performed based on zero traffic; a fourth sending device, configured to send a Diameter session establishment request response to the PGW, where the Diameter session termination timer is included; first termination means, configured to, in response to a Diameter session termination request from the PGW, where the termination Diameter session termination request includes indication information of IP-CAN session maintenance, terminate the Diameter session between the PGW and the PCRF and retain PCC rules related to the IP-CAN session; wherein the IP-CAN session is maintained from the UE attachment to the network.

In certain embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: and a second policy control device, configured to respond to a Diameter session establishment request from the PGW, where the Diameter session establishment request is used to establish a new Diameter session between the PGW and the PCRF, and the Diameter session establishment request includes a subsequent session identifier, where the subsequent session identifier is used to indicate that the newly established Diameter session belongs to the IP-CAN session, and initiate policy control on the IP-CAN session, where the policy control is performed based on accumulated traffic that has been generated by the IP-CAN session.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus for managing a Diameter session in a charging system, the apparatus including: first charging means, configured to respond to a Diameter session establishment request from a PGW, where the Diameter session establishment request is triggered by a UE attaching to a network and includes a first session identifier, initiate charging for an IP-CAN session corresponding to the UE, where the charging is started from zero; a second terminating device, configured to respond to a Diameter session termination request from the PGW, where the Diameter session termination request includes indication information of IP-CAN session maintenance, and terminate the Diameter session between the PGW and the charging system; wherein the IP-CAN session is maintained from the UE attachment to the network.

In certain embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: and a second charging device, configured to respond to a Diameter session establishment request from the PGW, where the Diameter session establishment request is used to establish a new Diameter session between the PGW and the charging system, and the Diameter establishment request includes a subsequent session identifier, where the subsequent session identifier is used to indicate that the newly established Diameter session belongs to the IP-CAN session, and initiate charging of the IP-CAN session, where the charging is performed based on an accumulated cost that has been generated by the IP-CAN session.

As will be understood from the following description, according to the embodiments of the present invention, not only can the Diameter session be closed when there is no active user data flow in the network, resources used by a plurality of network elements such as PGW, OCS, PCRF and OFCS for maintaining the Diameter session be saved, and waste of resources be avoided, but also the Diameter session can be reestablished when an active user data flow occurs again in the network, and the correctness of policy control and charging is not affected.

It should be understood that the statements herein reciting aspects are not intended to limit the critical or essential features of any embodiment of the invention, nor are they intended to limit the scope of the invention. Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.

Drawings

The above and other features, advantages and aspects of various embodiments of the present invention will become more apparent by referring to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like or similar reference characters designate like or similar elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example network architecture in which embodiments of the invention may be implemented;

figure 2 shows a process diagram for managing a Diameter session according to one embodiment of the present invention;

figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of a process for managing a Diameter session according to another embodiment of the present invention;

figure 4 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for managing a Diameter session according to one embodiment of the present invention;

figure 5 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus for managing a Diameter session according to one embodiment of the present invention;

figure 6 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus for managing a Diameter session according to another embodiment of the present invention;

figure 7 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus for managing a Diameter session, according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numbers refer to the same or similar elements.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While certain embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present invention may be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein, but rather are provided for a more thorough and complete understanding of the present invention. It should be understood that the drawings and the embodiments of the present invention are illustrative only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

As used herein, the term "terminal device" or "user equipment" (UE) may include various information sensing devices (also referred to as IoT devices), such as radio frequency identification devices, infrared sensors, global positioning systems, laser scanners, and the like. A "terminal device" or "user equipment" (UE) may also include any terminal device capable of wireless communication with base stations or with each other, such as a Mobile Terminal (MT), a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station (PSS), a Mobile Station (MS) or an Access Terminal (AT), the above-mentioned devices in a vehicle, MTC devices, and so on. In the context of the present invention, the terms "terminal device" and "user equipment" may be used interchangeably for purposes of discussion convenience.

The terms "include" and variations thereof as used herein are inclusive and open-ended, i.e., "including but not limited to. The term "based on" is "based, at least in part, on". The term "one embodiment" means "at least one embodiment"; the term "another embodiment" means "at least one additional embodiment". Relevant definitions for other terms will be given in the following description.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of an architecture of an example communication system 100 in which embodiments of the present invention may be implemented. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that some functional entities in the system are omitted here for the purpose of convenience of description and not to obscure the technical solution of the present invention, and only the LTE based system is taken as an example here.

In particular, for the purpose of facilitating explanation of the principles and spirit of the present invention, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following description mainly with reference to 3GPP LTE/LTE-advanced (LTE-a), and specific terms in LTE/LTE-a are adopted, however, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention are by no means limited to the application environment of 3GPP LTE/LTE-a, but may be applied to any wireless communication system with similar problems, such as other communication systems developed in the future, and the like.

In the illustrated communication system 100, a UE101, an evolved node B (eNB)102, a Mobility Management Entity (MME)103, a Serving Gateway (SGW)104, a packet data network gateway (PGW)105, a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF)106, an Online Charging System (OCS)107, and an offline charging system (OFCS)108 are included. It is to be appreciated that certain network entities (e.g., SGW 104 and PGW105) may be physically implemented in one physical node or in separate nodes.

The UE101 accesses a network through a radio access network, such as an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), which communicates with a base station, such as the eNB 102, over an LTE-Uu interface to access the communication system 100 and use the services it provides. UE related control signalling is handled by MME 103 via interface S1-MME. The data traffic of the user is handled by the SGW 104 and PGW105, while the SGW 104 terminates the user plane to the access network. PGW105 interacts with PCRF106, OCS107, and OFCS108 through Gx, Gy, and Gz interfaces, respectively.

It should be noted that the communication network includes a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) and a Traffic Detection Function (TDF), a Charging Trigger Function (CTF) for detecting traffic data flow and application, performing policy and initiating a service or session charging function, and the like, and these functional entities are usually disposed on the PGW. For ease of illustration, these functional entities are considered herein as integral to the PGW105 as illustrated by the example communication system 100. In addition, the interfaces and communication modes between the network devices/functional entities are defined in detail in the existing 3GPP protocol, and are not described herein again.

As described above, in the prior art solution, when the UE101 attaches to the network, its corresponding IP-CAN session is always maintained, and during the IP-CAN session maintenance, even if there is no active data on the IP-CAN session, no cost is generated, its corresponding three Diameter sessions are maintained, which inevitably wastes a lot of resources. The invention provides a method for managing a Diameter session, which closes the Diameter session but maintains the IP-CAN session when no active user data stream exists during the maintenance of the IP-CAN session, and reestablishes the Diameter session when the active user data stream appears again. The method is described in detail below in conjunction with fig. 2-4.

Figure 2 shows a process diagram for managing a Diameter session according to one embodiment of the present invention. This process is described in detail below in conjunction with fig. 1.

The process starts at step S201.

First, the UE101 transmits (S201) an attach request to the eNB 102. Next, the eNB 102 sends (S202) a create session request to the MME 103 via a non-access stratum (NAS), and then the MME 103 forwards (S203) the create session request to the SGW 104, which the SGW 104 in turn forwards (S203) to the PGW 105.

Upon receiving the create session request from SGW 104, PGW105 sends Diameter session establishment requests to PCRF106, OCS107, and OFCS108 for establishing Diameter sessions between PGW105 and PCRF106, between PGW105 and OCS107, and between PGW105 and OFCS108, respectively.

PGW105 sends (S204) a Credit Control Request CCR [ initial ] (Credit Control Request [ initial ]), which includes the first session identity, to PCRF 106. The UE101, upon attaching to the network, establishes an IP-CAN Session1 that the IP-CAN Session1 remains since the UE101 attached to the network. The first Session identification is used to indicate that the Diameter Session established by the Diameter request is the first Diameter Session on the Gx interface in IP-CAN Session 1.

PGW105 sends (S206) a credit control request CCR [ initial ], which includes the first session identity, to OCS 107. The first Session identifier is used to indicate that the Diameter Session established by the Diameter request is the first Diameter Session on the Gy interface in IP-CAN Session 1.

PGW105 sends (S208) Accounting Request ACR [ start ] (Accounting Request [ start ]), which includes the first session identification, to OFCS 108. The first Session identification is used to indicate that the Diameter Session established by the Diameter request is the first Diameter Session on the Gz interface in IP-CAN Session 1.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the first session identification may be included in the above message in any suitable manner, for example, using a suitable Information Element (IE).

After receiving (S204) the request, PCRF106 may initiate policy control, such as traffic monitoring and the like, for IP-CAN Session1, where the policy control is performed based on zero traffic and determines a Diameter Session termination timer, and a duration of the timer may be determined according to at least one of the following factors: location of the UE101, time, access type, account balance, consumption limits, etc. PCRF106 then sends (S205) a Credit Control response CCA [ initial ] (Credit Control Answer [ initial ]) to PGW105, including the determined Diameter session termination timer.

OCS107 receives (S206) the request and initiates charging for Session1 of the IP-CAN Session, starting from zero. OCS107 then transmits (S207) a Credit Control response CCA [ initial ] (Credit Control Answer [ initial ]) to PGW 105.

After receiving (S208) the request, OFCS108 initiates charging for Session1 of the IP-CAN Session, starting from zero. Then, OFCS108 transmits (S209) Accounting response ACA [ start ] (Accounting Answer [ start ]) to PGW 105.

Subsequently, PGW105 sends (S210) a create session response to SGW 104, and accordingly SGW 104 forwards (S210) the create session response to MME 103. MME 103 sends (S211) a context setup request to eNB 102 in response to receiving the create session response. Subsequently, the eNB 102 sends (S212) an attach complete to the UE101, whereby the UE101 completes the initial attach procedure and the establishment of the IP-CAN Session1 described above is successful.

After the IP-CAN Session1 is established successfully, it is maintained, and the PGW105 monitors the traffic of the UE101, and if the traffic is lower than a threshold value within a predetermined time period, that is, the PGW105 does not detect the uplink or downlink data of the predetermined threshold value, the PGW105 starts (S213) the Diameter Session termination timer. When the Diameter session termination timer times out (S214), PGW105 considers that there is no traffic to or from UE101, and PGW105 sends Diameter session termination requests to PCRF106, OCS107, and OFCS108, respectively, to terminate the three Diameter sessions.

PGW105 sends (S215) a credit control request CCR [ terminate ] to PCRF106 for terminating the Diameter Session between PGW105 and PCRF106, the request including IP-CAN Session maintenance indication information indicating that termination of the Diameter Session does not result in termination of IP-CAN Session 1. PCRF106 receives the request, terminates the Diameter Session, and at the same time, retains PCC (Policy and Charging Control) rules associated with IP-CAN Session1, and sends a credit Control response CCA [ terminate ] to PGW 105. Upon receiving the response, PGW105 terminates the Diameter session.

PGW105 sends (S217) a credit control request CCR [ terminate ] to OCS107 for terminating the Diameter Session between PGW105 and OCS107, the request including an indication of IP-CAN Session maintenance indicating that termination of the Diameter Session does not result in termination of IP-CAN Session 1. OCS107 receives the request and terminates the Diameter session, and the indication is further sent to a charging System (Billing System) and a credit control response CCA [ terminate ] is sent to PGW 105. Upon receiving the response, PGW105 terminates the Diameter session. The cost generation system uses the indication information to aggregate the costs generated by different Diameter sessions in the IP-CAN Session 1.

PGW105 sends (S219) accounting request ACR stop to OFCS108 for terminating the Diameter Session between PGW105 and OFCS108, which includes indication information of IP-CAN Session maintenance indicating that termination of the Diameter Session does not result in termination of IP-CAN Session 1. After receiving the request, OFCS108 terminates the Diameter session, and the indication information is further sent to a charging System (Billing System) and sends an accounting response ACA [ stop ] to PGW 105. Upon receiving the response, PGW105 terminates the Diameter session. The cost generation system uses the indication information to aggregate the costs generated by different Diameter sessions in the IP-CAN Session 1.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above-described indication of IP-CAN session maintenance may be included in the above-described message in any suitable manner, for example, using a suitable Information Element (IE).

Figure 3 shows a process diagram for managing a Diameter session according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, UE101 has already attached to the network and has already established IP-CAN Session1, and while IP-CAN Session1 is maintained, PGW105 does not detect the uplink or downlink data, and to avoid the waste of resources, PGW105 terminates three Diameter sessions between PGW105 and PCRF106, between PGW105 and OCS107, and between PGW105 and OFCS 108.

This process is described in detail below in conjunction with fig. 1.

PGW105 may monitor traffic to or from UE101, and upon detecting (S301) that there is uplink or downlink data, PGW105 may reestablish three Diameter sessions between PGW105 and PCRF106, between PGW105 and OCS107, and between PGW105 and OFCS 108.

PGW105 sends (S302) a credit control request CCR [ initial ], including the subsequent session identity, to PCRF 106. The subsequent Session identification is used to indicate that the new Diameter Session established by the Diameter request is a subsequent Diameter Session on the Gx interface in IP-CAN Session 1.

PGW105 sends (S304) a credit control request CCR [ initial ], which includes the subsequent session identity, to OCS 107. The subsequent Session identifier is used to indicate that the new Diameter Session established by the Diameter request is a subsequent Diameter Session on the Gy interface in IP-CAN Session 1.

PGW105 sends (S306) accounting request ACR [ initial ] to OFCS108, including the identity of the subsequent session. The subsequent Session identification is used to indicate that the new Diameter Session established by the Diameter request is a subsequent Diameter Session on the Gz interface in IP-CAN Session 1.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the subsequent session identification may be included in the above message in any suitable manner, for example, using a suitable Information Element (IE).

After receiving (S302) the request, PCRF106 may initiate policy control, such as traffic monitoring and the like, for Session1 of the IP-CAN Session, where the policy control is performed based on the accumulated traffic that has been generated by Session1 of the IP-CAN Session. In the prior art, a new Diameter Session corresponds to a new IP-CAN Session, and in this embodiment, a newly introduced subsequent Session identifier is used to indicate that the newly established Diameter Session belongs to an existing IP-CAN Session 1. PCRF106 then transmits (S303) credit control response CCA [ initial ] to PGW 105.

Upon receiving (S304) the request, OCS107 initiates charging for Session1 of the IP-CAN Session based on the accumulated charges that have been incurred by Session1 of the IP-CAN Session. OCS107 then transmits (S305) a credit control response CCA [ initial ] to PGW 105.

After receiving (S306) the request, the OFCS108 initiates charging for the Session1 of the IP-CAN Session, which is based on the accumulated charges already generated by the Session1 of the IP-CAN Session. Then, OFCS108 transmits (S307) accounting response ACA [ initial ] to PGW 105.

Then, the PGW105 may monitor the traffic of the UE101, and if the traffic is lower than a threshold within a predetermined time period, that is, the PGW105 does not detect uplink or downlink data of the predetermined threshold, the PGW105 may start (S308) the Diameter session termination timer. Subsequently, as shown in fig. 2, when the Diameter session termination timer expires, PGW105 considers that there is no traffic to or from UE101, and PGW105 sends Diameter session termination requests to PCRF106, OCS107, and OFCS108, respectively, to terminate the three Diameter sessions.

It can be seen that the present invention not only can implement closing the Diameter session when there is no active user data flow in the network, avoiding the waste of resources, but also can implement reestablishing the Diameter session when there is active user data flow again in the network, and does not affect the correctness of policy control and charging.

Figure 4 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for managing a Diameter session in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. It is understood that the method may be implemented at a PGW (e.g., PGW 105). For convenience of description, the method will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 3.

First, in step S201, in response to the UE attaching to the network, PGW105 sends a Diameter session establishment request, which includes a first session identifier, to PCRF106 and a charging system (including OCS107 and OFCS 108).

The UE101 establishes an IP-CAN Session Session1 after attaching to the network. Attachment of UE101 may trigger PGW105 to send Diameter session establishment requests to PCRF106, OCS107, and OFCS108 to create three Diameter sessions between PGW105 and PCRF106, between PGW105 and OCS107, and between PGW105 and OFCS 108. The three Diameter session establishment requests each include a first session identifier, which is used to indicate: the newly created Diameter Session between PGW105 and PCRF106 is the first Diameter Session on the Gx interface of IP-CAN Session1 described above; the newly created Diameter Session between PGW105 and OCS106 is the first Diameter Session on the Gy interface of IP-CAN Session1 described above; the newly created Diameter Session between PGW105 and OFCS108 is the first Diameter Session on the Gz interface of IP-CAN Session1 described above.

Then, in step S402, PGW105 receives a Diameter session establishment response from PCRF106, which includes the Diameter session termination timer.

The establishment of the IP-CAN Session1 will be maintained until after success and the PGW105 will monitor the traffic of the UE 101.

In step S403, if the traffic is lower than a threshold for a predetermined time, that is, the PGW105 does not detect uplink or downlink data of the predetermined threshold, the PGW105 starts the Diameter session termination timer.

Next, in step S404, after the Diameter session termination timer expires, PGW105 considers that there is no traffic to or from UE101, and PGW105 sends a Diameter session termination request to PCRF106 and the charging system (including OCS107 and OFCS108) to terminate the three Diameter sessions.

PGW105 sends a Diameter Session termination request, such as credit control request CCR [ terminate ], to PCRF106 for terminating the Diameter Session between PGW105 and PCRF106, including indication information for IP-CAN Session maintenance, indicating that termination of the Diameter Session does not result in termination of IP-CAN Session 1.

PGW105 sends a Diameter Session termination request, such as credit control request CCR [ terminate ], to OCS107 for terminating the Diameter Session between PGW105 and OCS107, where the request includes indication information for IP-CAN Session maintenance, which indicates that termination of the Diameter Session does not result in termination of IP-CAN Session 1.

PGW105 sends a Diameter Session termination request, such as accounting request ACR, to OFCS108 for terminating the Diameter Session between PGW105 and OFCS108, where the request includes indication information of IP-CAN Session maintenance, and the indication information is used to indicate that the termination of the Diameter Session does not cause termination of IP-CAN Session 1.

In another embodiment, PGW105 may monitor traffic to or from UE101, and when detecting that there is uplink or downlink data, PGW105 may send Diameter session establishment requests to PCRF106 and a charging system (including OCS107 and OFCS108), respectively, and reestablish three Diameter sessions between PGW105 and PCRF106, between PGW105 and OCS107, and between PGW105 and OFCS 108.

PGW105 sends a Diameter session establishment request, such as credit control request CCR [ initial ], to PCRF106, including the subsequent session identity. The subsequent Session identification is used to indicate that the new Diameter Session established by the Diameter request is a subsequent Diameter Session on the Gx interface in IP-CAN Session 1.

PGW105 sends a Diameter session establishment request, such as a credit control request CCR [ initial ], to OCS107, which includes the identity of the subsequent session. The subsequent Session identifier is used to indicate that the new Diameter Session established by the Diameter request is a subsequent Diameter Session on the Gy interface in IP-CAN Session 1.

PGW105 sends a Diameter session establishment request, such as accounting request ACR initial, to OFCS108, which includes the subsequent session identification. The subsequent Session identification is used to indicate that the new Diameter Session established by the Diameter request is a subsequent Diameter Session on the Gz interface in IP-CAN Session 1.

In yet another embodiment, after PGW105 starts the Diameter session termination timer and before the Diameter session termination timer times out, PGW105 stops the Diameter session termination timer if PGW105 detects upstream or downstream data.

Figure 5 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus for managing a Diameter session, according to one embodiment of the present invention. It is to be appreciated that the apparatus 500 may be implemented at a PGW (e.g., PGW 105). The apparatus 500 comprises: a first sending means 501, a first receiving means 502, a timer starting means 503 and a second sending means 504.

The operation of the apparatus 500 is described in detail below with reference to fig. 1 to 3.

First, first sending device 501 sends a Diameter session establishment request, which includes a first session identifier, to PCRF106 and a charging system (including OCS107 and OFCS108) in response to the UE attaching to the network.

Then, the first receiving device 502 receives a Diameter session establishment response from the PCRF106, which includes the Diameter session termination timer.

If the traffic is below a threshold for a predetermined period of time, that is, the PGW105 does not detect uplink or downlink data of the predetermined threshold, the timer starting means 503 starts the Diameter session termination timer.

Then, when the Diameter session termination timer expires, PGW105 considers that there is no traffic to or from UE101, and second sending device 504 sends a Diameter session termination request to PCRF106 and the charging system (including OCS107 and OFCS108), respectively, for terminating the three Diameter sessions.

Second sending means 504 sends a Diameter Session termination request, such as a credit control request CCR [ terminate ], to PCRF106 for terminating the Diameter Session between PGW105 and PCRF106, where the request includes indication information of IP-CAN Session maintenance, and the indication information is used to indicate that the termination of the Diameter Session does not cause termination of IP-CAN Session 1.

Second sending means 504 sends a Diameter Session termination request, such as credit control request CCR [ terminate ], to OCS107 for terminating the Diameter Session between PGW105 and OCS107, where the request includes indication information of IP-CAN Session maintenance, and the indication information is used to indicate that the termination of the Diameter Session does not cause termination of IP-CAN Session 1.

Second sending means 504 sends a Diameter Session termination request, such as accounting request ACR [ terminate ], to OFCS108 for terminating the Diameter Session between PGW105 and OFCS108, where the request includes indication information of IP-CAN Session maintenance, and the indication information is used to indicate that the termination of the Diameter Session does not cause termination of IP-CAN Session 1.

In another embodiment, the apparatus 500 further comprises a third sending means (not shown in the figures).

After the three Diameter sessions are terminated, PGW105 may continue to monitor traffic to or from UE101, and when detecting that there is uplink or downlink data, the third sending device may send Diameter session establishment requests to PCRF106 and the charging system (including OCS107 and OFCS108), respectively, and reestablish three Diameter sessions between PGW105 and PCRF106, between PGW105 and OCS107, and between PGW105 and OFCS 108.

The third sending means sends a Diameter session establishment request, such as a credit control request CCR [ initial ], to PCRF106, which includes the subsequent session identity. The subsequent Session identification is used to indicate that the new Diameter Session established by the Diameter request is a subsequent Diameter Session on the Gx interface in IP-CAN Session 1.

A third sending means sends a Diameter session establishment request, such as a credit control request CCR [ initial ], to OCS107, which contains the subsequent session identity. The subsequent Session identifier is used to indicate that the new Diameter Session established by the Diameter request is a subsequent Diameter Session on the Gy interface in IP-CAN Session 1.

The third sending means sends a Diameter session establishment request, such as accounting request ACR initial, to OFCS108, where the subsequent session identity is included. The subsequent Session identification is used to indicate that the new Diameter Session established by the Diameter request is a subsequent Diameter Session on the Gz interface in IP-CAN Session 1.

In yet another embodiment, the apparatus 500 further comprises a timer stopping means (not shown in the figures). After PGW105 starts the Diameter session termination timer and before the Diameter session termination timer times out, if PGW105 detects that there is uplink or downlink data, the timer stopping means stops the Diameter session termination timer.

Figure 6 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus for managing a Diameter session, according to one embodiment of the present invention. It is to be appreciated that the apparatus 600 can be implemented at a PCRF (e.g., PCRF 106). The apparatus 600 comprises: a first policy control means 601, a fourth sending means 602, and a first terminating means 603.

The operation of the apparatus 600 is described in detail below with reference to fig. 1 to 3.

First, the first policy control device 601 responds to a Diameter session establishment request from the PGW105, such as: credit control request CCR [ initial ], wherein the Diameter Session establishment request is triggered by UE101 attaching to the network and contains a first Session identity, initiates policy control for UE 101's corresponding IP-CAN Session1, and determines a Diameter Session termination timer, wherein the policy control is based on zero traffic. Wherein the IP-CAN Session1 is maintained from the attachment of the UE101 to the network.

Then, the fourth sending means sends a Diameter session establishment request response to the PGW105, such as: the credit control request response CCA [ initial ] includes the above-mentioned Diameter session termination timer.

The first termination means is for, in response to a Diameter session termination request from PGW105, for example: credit control request CCR [ terminate ], wherein the terminating Diameter Session termination request includes indication information of IP-CAN Session maintenance, terminates the Diameter Session between PGW105 and PCRF106 and retains PCC rules related to IP-CAN Session1 Session.

In yet another embodiment, the apparatus 600 further comprises a second policy control means (not shown in the figures). The second policy control device responds to a Diameter session establishment request from PGW105, such as: a credit control request CCR [ initial ], wherein the Diameter Session establishment request is used to establish a new Diameter Session between PGW105 and PCRF106, and the Diameter Session establishment request includes a subsequent Session identifier, which is used to indicate that the newly established Diameter Session belongs to IP-CAN Session1, and initiate policy control on IP-CAN Session1, where the policy control is performed based on accumulated traffic that has been generated by IP-CAN Session 1.

Figure 7 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus for managing a Diameter session, according to one embodiment of the present invention. It is understood that apparatus 700 may be implemented at a charging system (e.g., OCS107 or OFCS 108). The apparatus 700 comprises: a first charging means 701 and a second terminating means 702.

The operation of the apparatus 700 is described in detail below with reference to fig. 1 to 3.

First charging apparatus 701 responds to a Diameter session establishment request from PGW105, such as: credit control request CCR [ initial ] or accounting request ACR [ start ], wherein the Diameter Session establishment request is triggered by UE101 attaching to the network and contains a first Session identity, initiates charging of IP-CAN Session1 corresponding to UE101, starting from zero. Wherein the IP-CAN Session1 is maintained from the attachment of the UE101 to the network.

Second terminating means 702 is configured to respond to a Diameter session termination request from PGW105, such as: credit control request CCR [ terminate ] or accounting request ACR [ terminate ], wherein the Diameter session termination request includes indication information of IP-CAN session maintenance, and terminates the Diameter session between PGW105 and the charging system.

In yet another embodiment, the apparatus 700 further comprises a second billing device. The second charging means is used for responding to a Diameter session establishment request from PGW105, such as: a credit control request CCR [ initial ] or an accounting request ACR [ start ], where the Diameter Session establishment request is used to establish a new Diameter Session between the PGW105 and the charging system, the Diameter establishment request includes a subsequent Session identifier, the subsequent Session identifier is used to indicate that the newly established Diameter Session belongs to the IP-CAN Session1, and charging of the IP-CAN Session1 is started, and the charging is performed based on the cumulative charges already generated by the IP-CAN Session 1.

In general, the various exemplary embodiments of this invention may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Certain aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of the embodiments of the invention may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

By way of example, embodiments of the invention may be described in the context of machine-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in devices on target real or virtual processors. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or divided between program modules as described. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within local or distributed devices. In a distributed facility, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage media.

Computer program code for implementing the methods of the present invention may be written in one or more programming languages. These computer program codes may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, cause the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks to be performed. The program code may execute entirely on the computer, partly on the computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server.

In the context of the present invention, a machine-readable medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. A machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination thereof. More detailed examples of a machine-readable storage medium include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

Additionally, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In some cases, multitasking or parallel processing may be beneficial. Likewise, while the above discussion contains certain specific implementation details, this should not be construed as limiting the scope of any invention or claims, but rather as describing particular embodiments that may be directed to particular inventions. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A method in a PGW for managing a Diameter session, wherein the method comprises:

responding to the attachment of UE to a network, and respectively sending first Diameter session establishment requests to a PCRF and a charging system, wherein the first Diameter session establishment requests all contain first session identification;

receiving a Diameter session establishment request response from the PCRF, wherein the Diameter session establishment request response includes a Diameter session termination timer, and the Diameter session termination timer is determined by the PCRF according to at least one of the following factors: location, time, access type, account balance, consumption limit of the UE;

starting the Diameter session termination timer when uplink or downlink data of a preset threshold value is not detected within a preset time length;

responding to the timeout of the Diameter session termination timer, respectively sending Diameter session termination requests to the PCRF and the charging system, wherein the Diameter session termination requests are respectively used for terminating the Diameter sessions between the PGW and the PCRF and between the PGW and the charging system, and include indication information of IP-CAN session maintenance;

responding to the detected uplink or downlink data of a predetermined threshold, respectively sending second Diameter session establishment requests to the PCRF and the charging system, where the second Diameter session establishment requests are respectively used to establish new Diameter sessions between the PGW and the PCRF and between the PGW and the charging system, where the second Diameter session establishment requests each include a subsequent session identifier, and the subsequent session identifiers are used to indicate that the new Diameter sessions belong to the IP-CAN session,

and the IP-CAN session corresponding to the UE is maintained from the attachment of the UE to the network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

after starting the Diameter session termination timer and before the Diameter session termination timer times out, in response to detecting upstream or downstream data of a predetermined threshold, stopping the Diameter session termination timer.

3. A method in a PCRF for managing Diameter sessions, the method comprising:

responding to a first Diameter session establishment request from a PGW, wherein the first Diameter session establishment request is triggered by a UE attaching to a network and contains a first session identification, starting first policy control of an IP-CAN session corresponding to the UE, and determining a Diameter session termination timer according to at least one of the position, time, access type, account balance and consumption limitation of the UE, wherein the first policy control is carried out based on zero flow;

sending a Diameter session establishment request response to the PGW, wherein the Diameter session establishment request response includes the Diameter session termination timer;

in response to a Diameter session termination request from the PGW, wherein the Diameter session termination request includes indication information of IP-CAN session maintenance, terminating the Diameter session between the PGW and the PCRF and maintaining PCC rules associated with the IP-CAN session;

in response to a second Diameter session establishment request from the PGW, wherein the second Diameter session establishment request is used to establish a new Diameter session between the PGW and the PCRF, the second Diameter session establishment request includes a subsequent session identifier indicating that the newly established Diameter session belongs to the IP-CAN session, initiating a second policy control for the IP-CAN session, the second policy control being based on accumulated traffic that the IP-CAN session has generated,

wherein the IP-CAN session is maintained from the UE attachment to the network.

4. A method in a charging system for managing a Diameter session, the method comprising:

responding to a first Diameter session establishment request from a PGW, wherein the first Diameter session establishment request is triggered by the attachment of a UE to a network and contains a first session identifier, starting the charging of an IP-CAN session corresponding to the UE, and the charging is started from zero;

responding to a Diameter session termination request from the PGW, wherein the Diameter session termination request contains indication information of IP-CAN session maintenance, and terminating the Diameter session between the PGW and the charging system;

in response to a second Diameter session establishment request from the PGW, wherein the second Diameter session establishment request is used to establish a new Diameter session between the PGW and the charging system, wherein the Diameter session establishment request includes a subsequent session identifier indicating that the newly established Diameter session belongs to the IP-CAN session, initiating charging of the IP-CAN session based on the accumulated charges that have been incurred for the IP-CAN session,

wherein the IP-CAN session is maintained from the UE attachment to the network,

wherein the Diameter session termination request is based on a Diameter session termination timer timeout, the Diameter session termination timer being determined by the PCRF based on at least one of the following factors: location of the UE, time, access type, account balance, consumption limit.

5. An apparatus in a PGW for managing a Diameter session, wherein the apparatus comprises:

the first sending device is used for responding to the attachment of the UE to the network and respectively sending a first Diameter session establishment request to the PCRF and the charging system, wherein the first Diameter session establishment request comprises a first session identifier;

a first receiving device, configured to receive a Diameter session establishment request response from the PCRF, where a Diameter session termination timer is included, and the Diameter session termination timer is determined by the PCRF according to at least one of the following factors: location, time, access type, account balance, consumption limit of the UE;

a timer starting device, configured to start the Diameter session termination timer when uplink or downlink data of a predetermined threshold is not detected within a predetermined time period;

a second sending device, configured to send, in response to a timeout of the Diameter session termination timer, Diameter session termination requests to the PCRF and the charging system, where the Diameter session termination requests are used to terminate the Diameter sessions between the PGW and the PCRF and between the PGW and the charging system, respectively, and include indication information for maintaining an IP-CAN session;

a third sending device, configured to send, in response to detecting uplink or downlink data of a predetermined threshold, second Diameter session establishment requests to the PCRF and the charging system, where the second Diameter session establishment requests are respectively used to establish new Diameter sessions between the PGW and the PCRF and between the PGW and the charging system, where the second Diameter session establishment requests both include a subsequent session identifier, and the subsequent session identifier is used to indicate that the new Diameter session belongs to the IP-CAN session,

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

timer stopping means for stopping the Diameter session termination timer in response to detecting upstream or downstream data of a predetermined threshold after starting the Diameter session termination timer and before the Diameter session termination timer times out.

7. An apparatus in a PCRF for managing Diameter sessions, the apparatus comprising:

a first policy control device, configured to respond to a first Diameter session establishment request from a PGW, where the first Diameter session establishment request is triggered by a UE attaching to a network and includes a first session identifier, initiate a first policy control on an IP-CAN session corresponding to the UE, and determine a Diameter session termination timer according to at least one of a location, a time, an access type, an account balance, and consumption restrictions of the UE, where the first policy control is performed based on zero flow;

a second policy control device, configured to respond to a second Diameter session establishment request from the PGW, where the second Diameter session establishment request is used to establish a new Diameter session between the PGW and the PCRF, and the second Diameter session establishment request includes a subsequent session identifier, where the subsequent session identifier is used to indicate that the newly established Diameter session belongs to the IP-CAN session, and initiate a second policy control on the IP-CAN session, where the second policy control is performed based on accumulated traffic that has been generated by the IP-CAN session;

a fourth sending device, configured to send a Diameter session establishment request response to the PGW, where the Diameter session termination timer is included;

first termination means, configured to, in response to a Diameter session termination request from the PGW, where the Diameter session termination request includes indication information of IP-CAN session maintenance, terminate the Diameter session between the PGW and the PCRF and retain PCC rules related to the IP-CAN session;

wherein the IP-CAN session is maintained from the UE attachment to the network.

8. An apparatus for managing a Diameter session in a charging system, the apparatus comprising:

first charging means, configured to respond to a first Diameter session establishment request from a PGW, where the first Diameter session establishment request is triggered by a UE attaching to a network and includes a first session identifier, initiate charging for an IP-CAN session corresponding to the UE, and the charging starts from zero;

second charging means, configured to respond to a second Diameter session establishment request from the PGW, where the second Diameter session establishment request is used to establish a new Diameter session between the PGW and the charging system, and the Diameter session establishment request includes a subsequent session identifier, where the subsequent session identifier is used to indicate that the newly established Diameter session belongs to the IP-CAN session, and initiate charging of the IP-CAN session, where the charging is performed based on accumulated charges that have been generated by the IP-CAN session;

a second terminating device, configured to respond to a Diameter session termination request from the PGW, where the Diameter session termination request includes indication information of IP-CAN session maintenance, and terminate the Diameter session between the PGW and the charging system;

wherein the IP-CAN session is maintained from the UE attachment to the network,