CN109120417B

CN109120417B - Charging message copying method and device, charging server and access equipment

Info

Publication number: CN109120417B
Application number: CN201811269308.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 周英; 章靠
Original assignee: New H3C Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: New H3C Information Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-10-29
Filing date: 2018-10-29
Publication date: 2021-11-02
Anticipated expiration: 2038-10-29
Also published as: CN109120417A

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method and an apparatus for copying a charging packet, a charging server and an access device, including: receiving a charging message; acquiring path information of the copying path carried by the charging message; determining a charging server to be copied positioned at the downstream of the charging server according to the path information; and sending the charging message to the charging server to be copied. The method provided by the application can realize dynamic copying of the charging message.

Description

Charging message copying method and device, charging server and access equipment

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of computer communications, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for copying a charging packet, a charging server, and an access device.

Background

RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial In User Service) employs a typical C/S (Client/Server) architecture including at least one RADIUS Client and RADIUS Server.

The access device can operate as a RADIUS client, and the user terminal can establish connection with the access device and access the RADIUS server through the access device. The RADIUS server is used for authentication, authorization, accounting and the like for the user terminal.

The charging message copying is a backup mode of charging data under an RADIUS architecture. The charging message copying is to send the same charging message to a plurality of RADIUS servers (charging servers for short) with charging function, so as to achieve the purpose that a plurality of charging servers backup charging data, thereby improving the stability of the charging data.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, the present disclosure provides a method and an apparatus for copying a charging packet, a charging server, and an access device.

Specifically, the present disclosure is realized by the following technical solutions:

according to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method for copying a charging packet is provided, where the method is applied to a charging server, the charging server is any one of charging servers on a copying path, and the copying path is used to direct forwarding of the charging packet, and the method includes:

receiving a charging message;

acquiring path information of the copying path carried by the charging message;

determining a charging server to be copied positioned at the downstream of the charging server according to the path information;

and sending the charging message to the charging server to be copied.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method for copying a charging packet is provided, where the method is applied to an access device, and the method includes:

obtaining path information of a copying path for guiding the copying of the charging message;

sending the charging message carrying the path information of the copying path to a first reachable charging server on the copying path, so that the first reachable charging server determines a charging server to be copied positioned at the downstream of the charging server according to the path information, and sending the charging message to the charging server to be copied.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a device for copying a charging packet, where the device is applied to a charging server, the charging server is any one of charging servers on a copying path, and the copying path is used to direct forwarding of the charging packet, and the device includes:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a charging packet;

an obtaining unit, configured to obtain path information of the copying path carried by the charging packet;

a determining unit, configured to determine, according to the path information, a charging server to be copied and located downstream of the charging server;

and the sending unit is used for sending the charging message to the charging server to be copied.

According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a device for copying a charging packet is provided, where the device is applied to an access device, and the device includes:

an obtaining unit, configured to obtain path information of a copying path for guiding copying of the charging packet;

and the sending unit is used for sending the charging message carrying the path information of the copying path to a first reachable charging server on the copying path, so that the first reachable charging server determines a charging server to be copied positioned at the downstream of the charging server according to the path information, and sends the charging message to the charging server to be copied.

According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a charging server comprising a processor and a machine-readable storage medium storing machine-executable instructions executable by the processor, the processor being caused by the machine-executable instructions to perform the method of the first aspect.

According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon machine-executable instructions which, when invoked and executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method of the first aspect.

According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an access device comprising a processor and a machine-readable storage medium storing machine-executable instructions executable by the processor, the processor being caused by the machine-executable instructions to perform the method of the second aspect.

According to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon machine-executable instructions that, when invoked and executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method of the second aspect.

As can be seen from the above description, the access device encapsulates the path information of the copy path of the charging packet in the charging packet, and sends the charging packet to a charging server on the copy path. The charging server can copy the charging message according to the copy path, so that the charging message can be dynamically copied to each charging server.

The charging server only needs to send one charging message to the charging server aiming at one charging message of one user, and the charging server carries out copying according to the copying path carried in the charging message, so that the charging message sending rate of the access device is the same as the user online and offline rates, and the user online and offline rates are not influenced.

In addition, as the access device only needs to send one charging message to one charging server aiming at one charging message of one user, the number of the charging messages processed by the access device is greatly reduced, the workload of the access device can be effectively reduced, and the congestion of a link between the access device and a RADIUS server cluster can be reduced.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional charging message copying;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a charging message carbon copy according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a RADIUS message format in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4a is a flowchart illustrating a method for copying a charging packet according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4b is a flowchart illustrating a method for copying a charging packet according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5a is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for copying a charging packet according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5b is a schematic diagram illustrating another charging packet copying method according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure;

fig. 5c is a schematic diagram illustrating another charging packet copying method according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure;

fig. 6 is a hardware configuration diagram of a billing server according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 is a block diagram of a charging message copying apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 is a hardware block diagram of an access device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 9 is a block diagram of a charging message copying apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, like numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements unless otherwise indicated. The implementations described in the exemplary embodiments below are not intended to represent all implementations consistent with the present disclosure. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with certain aspects of the present disclosure, as detailed in the appended claims.

The terminology used in the present disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used in this disclosure and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It is to be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various information, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one type of information from another. For example, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at … …" or "when … …" or "in response to a determination", depending on the context.

Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional charging message carbon copy.

The existing copy mode of the charging message is as follows: the access device sends the charging message to a plurality of charging servers at the same time.

As shown in fig. 1, the dotted line in fig. 1 represents the copying manner of the charging message. Assume that there are 3 billing servers, which are billing server 1, billing server 2, and billing server 3.

The access device sends the charging message to the charging server 1, the charging server 2 and the charging server 3 at the same time.

The disadvantages of this paper-making method are:

1) affecting the user's up and down line rates.

For one user, assume that there are M billing servers. When a user starts charging online, the access device needs to send a charging start message for the user to M charging servers at the same time. When the user is off-line, the access device needs to send a charging stop message to the M charging servers. Therefore, the sending rate of the charging message (no matter the charging start message or the charging stop message) sent by the access equipment is M times of the online and offline rate of the user. The message sending rate of the access device has a certain limit, so the user's up-line and down-line rates can only be 1/M of the maximum message sending rate, and the user's up-line and down-line rates are greatly reduced.

2) Increasing device load of access device

The access device needs to send the charging messages to the M charging servers and receive the charging response messages returned by the M charging servers, and the number of the charging messages to be sent and the number of the charging response messages to be processed by the access device are greatly increased by the copying mode, so that the device load of the access device is greatly increased.

3) Increasing the link load of the link between the access device and the RADIUS server cluster

The access device needs to send accounting messages to M accounting servers (RADIUS servers with accounting functions in the RADIUS cluster), and also needs to receive accounting response messages returned by the M accounting servers. When a large number of users exist, the interactive message volume between the access device and the M accounting servers is more than M times of the number of the users, so that a large number of accounting messages and accounting response messages are borne by a link between the access device and the RADIUS server cluster, and the link between the access device and the RADIUS server cluster is blocked.

In view of this, the present disclosure provides a method for copying a charging packet, in which an access device encapsulates path information of a copying path of the charging packet in the charging packet, and sends the path information to a charging server on the copying path. The charging server can copy the charging message according to the copy path, so that the charging message can be dynamically copied to each charging server.

Before introducing the method for copying a charging message provided by the present disclosure, some concepts related to the present disclosure will be described below.

1) A copy path:

the copying path is used for guiding the copying of the charging message. Each path node on the carbon copy path is a charging server. The path information on the carbon copy path comprises the address of each charging server. The address of each billing server may be an IP address (e.g., IPv4 address, IPv6 address, etc.) or a MAC address, and is not particularly limited herein.

As shown in fig. 2, fig. 2 includes 3 charging servers, which are charging server 1, charging server 2, and charging server 3, respectively.

The charging server 1- > the charging server 2- > the charging server 3 can form a copying path, wherein the charging server 1 is a first node on the copying path, the charging server 3 is a last node on the copying path, and the charging server 2 is an intermediate node on the copying path.

The path information of the carbon copy path may include the address of the charging server 1, the address of the charging server 2, and the address of the charging server 3. The path information of the copy path may be carried in a charging message.

2) Copying a mark:

the present disclosure configures a copy flag for each charging server on the copy path, where the copy flag is used to indicate whether the charging server corresponding to the copy flag is a charging server to be copied. When the value of the copying mark is a first preset value, the charging server corresponding to the copying mark is indicated as a charging server to be copied, and when the value of the copying mark is a second preset value, the charging server corresponding to the copying mark is indicated as not being the charging server to be copied.

In this disclosure, the charging message may carry a copy flag corresponding to each charging server on the copy path.

3) The proxy address is as follows:

the present disclosure configures proxy addresses for each charging server on the copy path. The proxy address may be an IP address (e.g., IPv4 address, IPv6 address, etc.), or may be other types of addresses such as a MAC address, and is not specifically limited herein.

It should be noted that the proxy address corresponding to the charging server is not the address of the charging server, but is an address used by the sender of the charging packet received by the charging server when sending the charging packet.

For example, as shown in fig. 2, assume that the carbon copy path is charging server 1, charging server 2, and charging server 3.

The address of the access device is 211.1.1.1;

the address of the charging server 1 is 212.1.1.1/1813, and the proxy address is 211.1.1.1;

the address of the charging server 2 is 213.1.1.1/1813, and the proxy address is 212.1.1.1;

the address of the billing server 3 is 214.1.1.1/1813, and the proxy address is 213.1.1.1.

Regarding the charging server 2, the proxy address corresponding to the charging server 2 is an address used when the charging server 1 sends the charging message to the charging server 2, that is, the source address of the charging message sent by the charging server 1 to the charging server 2 is the proxy address.

The reason for this is that: taking the charging server 1 as an example, the charging server 1 usually has a plurality of ports, each port has one address, that is, the charging server 1 has a plurality of addresses, and the proxy address corresponding to the charging server 2 is one of the plurality of addresses of the charging server 1. The proxy address is used for indicating the address used by the charging server 1 when copying the charging message.

4) And (3) secret key:

in order to ensure the security of data carried by the charging message, the charging message is usually encrypted and decrypted. For example, before sending the charging message to the charging server 1, the access device needs to encrypt the charging message with a key corresponding to the charging server 1, and then sends the encrypted charging message to the charging server 1, and after receiving the charging message, the charging server can decrypt the charging message with the key of the charging server 1.

The present disclosure configures a secret key for each charging server on the copy path. The access device can encapsulate the keys configured for each charging server in the charging message to be sent.

It should be noted that, the address of the charging server, the copy flag, the proxy address, and the key in the path information may be encapsulated in the charging packet.

The following describes a carrying manner of the charging packet carrying and encapsulating the above four information, which is only an exemplary description of the carrying manner.

Referring to fig. 3, fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a RADIUS message format.

The RADIUS message format includes: a Code field, an Identifier field, a Length field, an Authenticator field, and an Attribute field.

Wherein, the Code domain: the length is 1 byte, and is used for explaining the type of the RADIUS message. For example, if the Code field value is 1, it indicates the authentication request packet of the RADIUS packet, and if the Code field value is 4, it indicates that the RADIUS packet is an accounting request packet (also referred to as an accounting packet).

Identifier field: length of 1 byte, for matching request messages and response messages, and for detecting request messages retransmitted over a period of time.

Length field: the Length is 2 bytes, which represents the Length of the RADIUS message (including Code, Identifier, Length, Authenticator and Attribute), and the unit is byte.

The Authenticator domain: the length of the message is 16 bytes, and the message is used for verifying the response message of the RADIUS server and is also used for encrypting the user password.

Attribute field: indefinite length, used to carry special authentication, authorization and accounting information. The Attribute field may include a plurality of attributes, each of which is represented using a structure of Type-Length-Value triplets.

The RADIUS protocol has good expandability, and the Attribute number 26 (vector-Specific) of the Attribute field defined in RFC 2865 is used for extending the RADIUS to realize functions which are not defined by the standard RADIUS.

The present disclosure expands a plurality of extended attribute groups in the number 26 attribute, and each extended attribute group corresponds to each charging server on the copy path one to one. Each extended attribute group comprises four attributes, namely a flag attribute, an IP attribute, a NASIP attribute and a Key attribute.

The flag attribute represents the copy flag, when the value of the flag is 1, the charging server corresponding to the flag attribute is the charging server to be copied, and when the value of the flag is 0, the charging server corresponding to the flag attribute is not the charging server to be copied;

the IP attribute is used for carrying the address of the charging server;

NASIP attribute for carrying proxy address;

and Key attribute used for carrying a Key.

Taking the charging server 1 as an example, the extended attribute group corresponding to the charging server 1 is as follows:

the Flag attribute value is 1 (indicating that the charging server 1 is a charging server to be copied);

IP attribute: 212.1.1.1/1813 (IP address of billing Server 1);

NASIP attributes: 211.1.1.1 (proxy address corresponding to billing server 1, also IP address of access device);

key attribute: test1 (key of billing server 1).

It should be noted that the path information described in the present disclosure includes: and the charging server address recorded by the IP attribute in each extended attribute group.

The above is merely an exemplary illustration of four information carrying manners, and of course, the four information may also be carried in other extensible attributes or fields, and the disclosure is not particularly limited.

Referring to fig. 4a, fig. 4a is a flowchart of a method for copying a charging message according to the present disclosure. The method can be applied to the access equipment and can comprise the following steps.

Step 401: the access equipment acquires path information of a copying path for guiding the copying of the charging message.

The Access device refers to a device for accessing a user terminal, and the device may be a BRAS (Broadband Remote Access Server), or a stacking device, a forwarding device, and the like with an Access function, where the Access device is merely described as an example, and is not specifically limited.

The charging message refers to a message related to charging, and may include a charging start message, a charging update message, a charging stop message, and the like, where the charging message is only described as an example, and is not specifically limited.

When implemented, the access device may read path information of the preconfigured carbon copy path on a local or other device.

Of course, the access device may also receive path information of the carbon copy path input by the user, which is only illustrated by way of example and is not specifically limited.

Step 402: the access equipment sends the charging message carrying the path information of the copying path to a first reachable charging server on the copying path, so that the first reachable charging server determines a charging server to be copied positioned at the downstream of the charging server according to the path information, and sends the charging message to the charging server to be copied.

The address of each charging server is carried in the path information.

The implementation of step 402 is described in detail below by the following steps.

Step 4021: the access device can add the path information in the charging message, and add a key and a proxy address which are in one-to-one correspondence with each charging server address in the path information.

For example, the access device may expand an extended attribute group corresponding to each charging server one by one in the number 26 attribute of the charging packet. The access device adds the address, the key and the proxy address of the charging server corresponding to the extended attribute group in each extended attribute group.

Step 4022: and according to the accessibility of each charging server on the copying path, marking the reachable charging servers to be copied except the first reachable charging server in the charging message, and adjusting the added proxy address.

When the method is realized, the access equipment can add the copy marks corresponding to the charging servers one by one in the charging message. For example, the access device may add a one-to-one copy flag for each charging server in each extended attribute group. The copying mark is used for indicating whether the charging server corresponding to the copying mark is a charging server to be copied.

When the value of the copying mark is a first preset value, the charging server corresponding to the copying mark is the charging server to be copied, and when the value of the copying mark is a second preset value, the charging server corresponding to the copying mark is not the charging server to be copied.

In addition, the access device can also check whether each charging server on the carbon copy path is reachable.

If all the charging servers on the copying path can reach, setting the value of the copying mark corresponding to the first reachable charging server as a second preset value, and setting the values of the copying marks of other charging servers as first preset values in the charging message, and not modifying the proxy address of each charging server.

For example, as shown in fig. 2, it is assumed that path nodes on the carbon copy path are the charging server 1, the charging server 2, and the charging server 3 in this order.

The access device may set the copy flag of the charging server 1 to the second preset value, and set the copy flags of the charging server 2 and the charging server 3 to the first preset value. Then, the access device does not adjust the proxy address corresponding to each charging server.

If the unreachable charging server exists on the copying path, the values of the copying mark corresponding to the first reachable charging server and the copying mark of the unreachable charging server are set to be a second preset value in the charging message, the values of the copying marks of other charging servers are set to be a first preset value, and the proxy address corresponding to the next reachable charging server of the unreachable charging server is modified to be the proxy address corresponding to the unreachable charging server.

For example, as shown in fig. 2, it is assumed that path nodes on the carbon copy path are the charging server 1, the charging server 2, and the charging server 3 in this order. It is assumed that the charging server 1 is not reachable.

It is assumed that, in step 4021, in the charging message, the proxy address of the charging server 1 is the address of the access device, the proxy address corresponding to the charging server 2 is an address of the charging server 1, and the proxy address corresponding to the charging server 3 is an address of the charging server 2.

When the access equipment detects that the charging server 1 is unreachable, the access equipment sets the copy flag of the charging server 1 to be a second preset value, sets the copy flags of the charging server 2 and the charging server 3 to be a first preset value, and modifies the proxy address of the charging server 2 (namely, the next reachable charging server of the unreachable charging server) to be the proxy address of the charging server 1 (namely, the unreachable charging server).

If the access device detects that the charging server 2 is not reachable and other charging servers are reachable, the charging device may set the values of the copying flags of the charging server 1 and the charging server 2 to the second preset value, set the copying flag of the charging server 3 to the first preset value, and modify the proxy address of the charging server 3 to the proxy address of the charging server 2.

Step 4023, the access device modifies the source address of the charging message into the proxy address corresponding to the first reachable charging server, modifies the destination address into the address of the first reachable charging server, encrypts the message by using the key corresponding to the first reachable charging server, and sends the encrypted charging message to the first reachable charging server.

In addition, when detecting that a certain charging server is unreachable, the access device can mark the unreachable charging server in the charging message, so that the charging server on the copying path can bypass the unreachable charging server when copying the charging message.

In this embodiment of the present disclosure, the indicating the charging server to copy the charging packet may include: each charging server on the copying path can send the charging message to the next charging server according to the path information, and the next charging server copies the charging message to the next charging server, so that the charging message is copied to the last charging server on the copying path finally.

For example, as shown in fig. 5a, the dotted line in fig. 5a represents the transmission manner of the charging message.

After receiving the charging message of the access device, the charging server 1 can copy the charging message to the charging server 2, and the charging server 2 copies the charging message to the charging server 3.

Of course, when the performance of any charging server on the above-mentioned copying path is high enough, the charging server may copy the charging message to all charging servers to be copied, instead of copying the charging message to the next charging server.

For example, as shown in fig. 5b, the dotted line in fig. 5b represents the transmission manner of the charging message.

Assuming that the performance of the charging server 1 is high enough, the charging server 1 may send the charging message 1 to the charging server 2 and the charging server 3 after receiving the charging message sent by the access device.

For another example, as shown in fig. 5c, the dotted line in fig. 5c represents the transmission manner of the charging packet.

Assuming that the performance of the charging server 2 is strong enough, the charging server 4 is also included in the carbon copy path, and the charging server 4 is the next charging server of the charging server 3.

After receiving the charging message sent by the access device, the charging server 1 may send the charging message to the charging server 2. The charging server 2 can copy the charging message to the charging server 3 and the charging server 4 at the same time.

If the charging server 3 is powerful enough, its forwarding is also shown as the charging server 2, and will not be described here.

How the charging server is caused to implement the carbon copy process described above is described in detail below.

Referring to fig. 4b, fig. 4b is a flowchart of a method for copying a charging packet according to the present disclosure. The method can be applied to any charging server (denoted as target charging server for convenience of description) on the carbon copy path, and can comprise the following steps.

Step 411: the target charging server receives the charging message;

and when the target charging server is the first reachable charging server on the copying path, the target charging server can charge the charging message sent by the access equipment.

When the target charging server is not the first reachable charging server, the target charging server may receive the charging message sent by the last charging server of the target charging server.

Step 412: and the target charging server acquires the path information of the copying path carried by the charging message.

When the method is realized, the target charging server can decrypt the charging message by using the recorded key corresponding to the charging server, and reads the path information of the copying path carried by the charging message in the decrypted charging message.

Step 413: and the target charging server determines a charging server to be copied positioned at the downstream of the charging server according to the path information.

The charging server to be copied may be the next charging server on the copying path of the charging server, and of course, the charging server to be copied may also be N charging servers located downstream of the charging server.

It should be noted that N is an integer greater than 1, and the value of N is smaller than the number of all charging servers located downstream of the charging server. The best value of N is the number of all billing servers. For example, if the number of all charging servers located downstream from the charging server is 5, then 1< N <5, N is preferably 5.

In addition, the charging message also carries a copy flag corresponding to the identifier of each charging server, and the copy flag of the charging server is used for indicating whether the charging server is a charging server to be copied.

When determining the charging server to be copied located at the downstream of the charging server, if the charging server to be copied is the next charging server to be copied on the copying path of the charging server, the access device may search, according to the path sequence of the copying path, for the charging server with the first copying mark having the value of the first preset value as the next charging server to be copied.

If the charging server to be copied is N charging servers to be copied located at the downstream of the charging server, the access device may determine the addresses of the N charging servers with the copying mark having the value of the first preset value as the addresses of the N charging servers to be transmitted.

Step 414: and the target charging server sends the charging message to the charging server to be copied.

The charging message carries the path information including the addresses of the charging servers on the copying path, and the charging message also carries keys and proxy addresses corresponding to the addresses of the charging servers one to one; the proxy address of the charging server is the sender address of the charging message received by the charging server.

When the charging message is sent to the charging server to be copied, if the charging server to be copied is the next charging server to be copied on the copying path of the charging server, the target charging server can determine the key and the proxy address corresponding to the next charging server to be copied in the keys and the proxy addresses corresponding to the charging servers one by one, modify the source address of the charging message into the determined proxy address, modify the destination address into the address of the next charging server to be copied, encrypt the address by adopting the determined key, and copy the encrypted charging message to the next charging server to be copied.

If the charging server to be copied is N charging servers to be copied located at the downstream of the charging server, the target charging server can determine the keys respectively corresponding to the N charging servers to be copied and the proxy address corresponding to the next charging server to be copied on the copying path of the charging server in the keys and the proxy addresses corresponding to the charging servers to be copied in the one-to-one correspondence of the charging servers.

The target charging server can copy the charging message by N parts, respectively modify the source addresses of the N charging messages into the determined proxy addresses, respectively modify the destination addresses into the addresses of the N charging servers to be copied, respectively encrypt the N charging messages by adopting keys respectively corresponding to the N charging servers to be copied, and respectively send the encrypted N charging messages to the N charging servers to be copied.

In addition, before sending the charging message to the charging server to be copied, the target charging server may also modify a value of a copy flag corresponding to the charging server to be copied to a second preset value in the charging message.

For example, when the charging server to be copied is the charging server to be copied next to the charging server, the target charging server may modify the value of the copy flag corresponding to the charging server to be copied next in the charging message to a second preset value.

When the charging server to be copied is N charging servers located at the downstream of the charging server, the target charging server can modify the values of the copying marks corresponding to the N charging servers in the N charging messages into a second preset value.

In this embodiment of the present disclosure, if the target charging server determines that there is no unrendered charging server according to the path information, the target charging server may end the charging copying.

When the target charging server determines that the values of the copying marks corresponding to the charging servers on the copying path are the second preset values, it is determined that no charging server which is not copied exists.

It can be known from the above description that, when the performance of the charging server on the copying path is high enough, the charging server can copy the charging message to N charging servers located at the downstream of the charging server, thereby improving the copying efficiency of the charging message.

Certainly, each charging server on the copying path can copy the charging message to the next charging server, so that the charging messages are copied to each charging server one by one along the charging servers on the copying path, and the equipment load of the charging servers can be reduced by adopting the one-by-one copying mode.

The following describes in detail the charging packet copying method provided by the present disclosure, taking an access device as a BRAS device as an example, and referring to fig. 2.

Fig. 2 includes an access device (i.e., BRAS device), a charging server 1, a charging server 2, and a charging server 3, and it is assumed that the carbon copy path is charging server 1- > charging server 2- > charging server 3.

Suppose the IP address of the BRAS device is: 211.1.1.1;

the IP address of the charging server 1 is: 212.1.1.1/1813, the key is test1, and the proxy address corresponding to the charging server 1 is: 211.1.1.1 (the proxy address is the address of the BRAS device);

the IP address of the charging server 2 is: 213.1.1.1/1813, the key is test2, and the proxy address corresponding to the charging server 2 is: 212.1.1.1 (the proxy address is one of the IP addresses of the billing server 1);

the IP address of the charging server 3 is: 214.1.1.1/1813, the key is test3, and the proxy address corresponding to the charging server 3 is: 213.1.1.1 (the proxy address is one of the IP addresses of the billing server 2).

Step 1: and the BRAS equipment acquires path information of a copying path for guiding the copying of the charging message.

The BRAS device may read path information of the pre-configured carbon copy path locally or on other devices. The path information is 212.1.1.1/1813 (IP address of billing server 1) - >213.1.1.1/1813 (IP address of billing server 2) - >214.1.1.1/1813 (IP address of billing server 3).

Step 2: the BRAS equipment can add the path information, and the key, the proxy address and the copying mark which are in one-to-one correspondence with each charging server on the copying path in the charging message to be sent, and sets the copying mark and the proxy address according to the accessibility of each charging server.

For example, the BRAS device may extend 3 extended attribute groups from the 26-number attribute of the charging packet, where the extended attribute groups are extended attribute group 1, extended attribute group 2, and extended attribute group 3, where the extended attribute group 1 corresponds to the charging server 1, the extended attribute group 2 corresponds to the charging server 2, and the extended attribute group 3 corresponds to the charging server 3.

The BRAS device may add an address of the billing server 1 (i.e., 212.1.1.1/1813), a proxy address (211.1.1.1), a key (i.e., test1), and a carbon copy flag in the extended attribute group 1;

adding the address (i.e. 213.1.1.1/1813), the proxy address (212.1.1.1), the key (i.e. test2) and the carbon copy flag of the charging server 2 in the extended attribute group 2;

the address of the charging server 3 (i.e., 2141.1.1/1813), the proxy address (213.1.1.1), the key (i.e., test3), and the carbon copy flag are added to the extended attribute group 3.

When the charging server 1, the charging server 2 and the charging server 3 are all reachable, the access device may set the value of the copy flag of the charging server 1 to 0. The copy flags of the charging server 2 and the charging server 3 are set to 1. Wherein, 1 represents that the charging server corresponding to the copying mark is the charging server to be copied, and 0 represents that the charging server corresponding to the copying mark is not the charging server to be copied.

In addition, the BRAS device does not modify the proxy addresses respectively corresponding to the billing servers.

When the charging server 1 to the charging server 3 are all reachable, the information of 3 extended attribute groups in the charging message is shown in example 1.

Example 1:

extended attribute group 1: (corresponding to the charging server 1)

flag attribute (i.e., copy flag): 0;

IP attribute (i.e. IP address of charging server): 212.1.1.1/1813 (IP address of billing Server 1);

NASIP attribute (i.e. proxy address corresponding to charging server): 211.1.1.1 (IP address of BRAS device);

key attribute (i.e. Key corresponding to charging server): test1 (key for billing server 1).

Extended attribute group 2: (corresponding to the billing Server 2)

flag attribute: 1;

IP attribute: 213.1.1.1/1813 (IP address of billing Server 2);

NASIP attributes: 212.1.1.1 (one of the IP addresses of the billing server 1);

key attribute: test2 (key for billing server 2).

Extended attribute group 3: (corresponding to the charging server 3)

flag attribute: 1;

IP attribute: 214.1.1.1/1813 (IP address of billing Server 3);

NASIP attributes: 213.1.1.1 (one of the IP addresses of the billing server 2);

key attribute: test3 (key for billing server 2).

It should be noted that 3 extended attribute groups are carried in the charging message according to the sequence of the copy path, and the sequence of the extended attribute groups is extended attribute group 1, extended attribute group 2, and extended attribute group 3 in sequence.

When the BRAS device detects that an unreachable charging server exists on the carbon copy path, for example, the charging server 2 is unreachable. At this time, the access device may set the copy flags of the charging server 1 and the charging server 2 to 0 and the copy flag of the charging server 3 to 1 in the charging message, and then modify the proxy address corresponding to the charging server 3 to the proxy address corresponding to the charging server 2.

When the charging server 2 is not reachable, example 2 of the information of 3 extended attribute groups in the charging message is shown.

Example 2:

extended attribute group 1: (corresponding to the charging server 1)

flag attribute (i.e., copy flag): 0;

Extended attribute group 2: (corresponding to the billing Server 2)

flag attribute: 0;

IP attribute: 213.1.1.1/1813 (IP address of billing Server 2);

NASIP attributes: 212.1.1.1 (one of the IP addresses of the billing server 1);

key attribute: test2 (key for billing server 2).

Extended attribute group 3: (corresponding to the charging server 3)

flag attribute: 1;

IP attribute: 214.1.1.1/1813 (IP address of billing Server 3);

NASIP attributes: 212.1.1.1 (one of the IP addresses of the billing server 1);

key attribute: test3 (key for billing server 2).

It should be noted that, in this example, it is assumed that the charging server 1, the charging server 2, and the charging server 3 are all reachable.

And step 3: the BRAS device sets the source address of the charging message as a proxy address (211.1.1.1) corresponding to the charging server 1, modifies the destination address into an address of the charging server 1 (212.1.1.1/1813), encrypts the address by using a key (test 1) corresponding to the charging server 1, and sends the encrypted charging message to the charging server 1.

And 4, step 4: the charging server 1 receives the charging message sent by the BRAS equipment.

And 5: the charging server 1 decrypts the charging message by using test1, and then obtains the path information carried in the charging message, and the key, the proxy address and the copy flag which are in one-to-one correspondence with the addresses of the charging servers on the path information.

For example, the charging server decrypts the charging packet by using test1, and then reads the extended attribute group 1, the extended attribute group 2, and the extended attribute group 3 carried in the charging packet.

If the charging server 1, the charging server 2, and the charging server 3 are all reachable, the obtained information in the extended attribute group 1, the extended attribute group 2, and the extended attribute group 3 is as shown in example 1, and is not described herein again.

Step 6: the charging server 1 determines the charging server to be copied and sends the charging message to the charging server to be copied.

1) The charging server 1 can send the charging message to the charging server 2, and the charging server 2 copies the charging message.

In implementation, the charging server 1 may first determine the next charging server (i.e., the charging server 2) of the charging server 1.

When determining, the charging server 1 may traverse the extended attribute group 1, the extended attribute group 2, and the extended attribute group 3 according to the path sequence, and then find the extended attribute group whose first flag attribute value is 1.

As can be seen from the information carried by each extended attribute group in example 1, in this example, the determined extended attribute group with the first flag attribute value of 1 is an extended attribute group 2. The address described in the IP attribute in the extended attribute group 2 is the IP address of the billing server 2.

Then, the charging server 1 may obtain the proxy address and the key corresponding to the charging server 2. Upon acquisition, the billing server 1 may read the proxy address of the NASIP attribute record in the extended attribute group 2 (i.e., 212.1.1.1), and the key corresponding to the billing server 2 (i.e., test 2).

The charging server 1 may modify the source address of the charging packet to the determined proxy address (i.e. 212.1.1.1), extend the address of the charging server 2 recorded by the IP attribute in the attribute group 2 of the destination address (i.e. 213.1.1.1/1813), and modify the flag attribute in the extended attribute group to 0. The charging server 1 may then encrypt the charging message using test2 and send the encrypted charging message to the charging server 2.

2) The charging server 1 copies the charging message to the charging server 2 and the charging server 3 at the same time.

In implementation, the charging server 1 may determine all charging servers located downstream from the charging server 1, i.e. the charging server 2 and the charging server 3.

When determining, the charging server 1 may determine the extended attribute group whose flag attribute value is 1. In this example, the determined extended attribute groups are extended attribute group 2 and extended attribute group 3, and the addresses described by the IP attributes in extended attribute group 2 and extended attribute group 3 are the IP addresses of charging server 2 and charging server 3.

Then, the charging server 1 may obtain the key (i.e., test2) and the proxy address (i.e., 211.1.1.1) corresponding to the charging server 2 in the extended attribute group 2, and obtain the key (i.e., test3) corresponding to the charging server 3 in the extended attribute group 3.

Then, the charging server 1 may copy the charging message by 2 shares, modify the source address of the first charging message into the proxy address (i.e. 212.1.1.1) corresponding to the charging server 2, modify the destination address into the address (i.e. 213.1.1.1/1813) corresponding to the charging server 2, encrypt the first charging message by using the key (i.e. test2) corresponding to the charging server 2, and send the encrypted first charging message to the charging server 2.

The charging server may modify the source address of the second charging message into a proxy address (i.e. 2121.1.1) corresponding to the charging server 2, modify the destination address into an address (i.e. 214.1.1.1/1813) of the charging server 3, encrypt the first charging message with a key (i.e. test3) corresponding to the charging server 3, and send the encrypted second charging message to the charging server 3.

The processing mode of the charging server 2 and the charging server 3 for receiving the charging message is the same as the processing mode of the charging server 1 for receiving the charging message.

For example, after the charging server 2 and the charging server 3 receive the charging message, if it is determined that there is no charging server to be copied according to the extended attribute group recorded in the charging message (i.e., it is determined that the flag attributes of the 3 extended attribute groups are all 0), the charging server 2 and the charging server 3 may end the charging copying.

If the charging server 2 and the charging server 3 determine that the charging server is still to be copied, the charging server 2 and the charging server 3 can copy the charging message by adopting the methods described in the steps 4 to 6, which is not described herein again.

Referring to fig. 6, fig. 6 is a hardware structure diagram of a billing server according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

The charging server includes: a communication interface 601, a processor 602, a machine-readable storage medium 603, and a bus 604; wherein the communication interface 601, the processor 602, and the machine-readable storage medium 603 communicate with each other via a bus 604. The processor 602 may execute the above-described billing message copying method by reading and executing the machine-executable instructions corresponding to the billing message copying control logic in the machine-readable storage medium 603.

The machine-readable storage medium 603 referred to herein may be any electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical storage device that can contain or store information such as executable instructions, data, and the like. For example, the machine-readable storage medium may be: volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or similar storage media. In particular, the machine-readable storage medium 603 may be a RAM (random Access Memory), a flash Memory, a storage drive (e.g., a hard drive), a solid state drive, any type of storage disk (e.g., a compact disk, a DVD, etc.), or similar storage medium, or a combination thereof.

Referring to fig. 7, fig. 7 is a block diagram of a charging message copying apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The apparatus may be applied to a billing server as shown in fig. 6, and may include the following elements.

A receiving unit 701, configured to receive a charging packet;

an obtaining unit 702, configured to obtain path information of the copy path carried in the charging packet;

a determining unit 703, configured to determine, according to the path information, a charging server to be copied and located downstream of the charging server;

a sending unit 704, configured to send the charging packet to the charging server to be copied.

Optionally, the path information includes addresses of charging servers on the carbon copy path; the charging message also carries a key and an agent address which respectively correspond to the charging server addresses; the proxy address of the charging server is the sender address of the charging message received by the charging server;

if the charging server to be copied is the next charging server to be copied on the copying path of the charging server, the sending unit 704 is specifically configured to determine, in the key and the proxy address respectively corresponding to each charging server, the key and the proxy address corresponding to the next charging server to be copied; and modifying the source address of the charging message into the determined proxy address, modifying the destination address into the address of the charging server to be copied next, encrypting by adopting the determined key, and copying the encrypted charging message to the charging server to be copied next.

if the charging server to be copied is N charging servers to be copied located downstream of the charging server, the sending unit 704 is specifically configured to determine, in the key and the proxy address respectively corresponding to each charging server, the key respectively corresponding to each of the N charging servers to be copied and the proxy address corresponding to the next charging server to be copied on the copying path of the charging server; copying the charging message by N shares; respectively modifying the source addresses of the N charging messages into the determined proxy addresses, respectively modifying the destination addresses into the addresses of the N charging servers to be copied, respectively encrypting the N charging messages by adopting keys respectively corresponding to the N charging servers to be copied, and respectively sending the encrypted N charging messages to the N charging servers to be copied; wherein N is an integer greater than 1.

Optionally, the charging message further carries a copy flag corresponding to the identifier of each charging server, where the copy flag is used to indicate whether the charging server is a charging server to be copied;

if the charging server to be copied is the next charging server to be copied on the copying path of the charging server, the determining unit 703 is specifically configured to search, according to the path sequence of the copying path, the charging server whose first copying flag takes the value of the first preset value as the next charging server to be copied;

if the charging server to be copied is N charging servers to be copied located downstream of the charging server, the determining unit 703 is specifically configured to determine addresses of the N charging servers to be sent, where the addresses of the N charging servers are located downstream of the charging server and the copying flag of the charging server takes a value of a first preset value, as addresses of the N charging servers to be sent;

the device further comprises:

a setting unit 705, configured to set, in the charging message, a value of a copy flag corresponding to the charging server to be copied as a second preset value;

the first preset value is used for indicating that the charging server corresponding to the copying mark is a charging server to be copied; and the second preset value is used for indicating that the charging server corresponding to the copying mark is not the charging server to be copied.

Referring to fig. 8, fig. 8 is a hardware structure diagram of an access device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

The charging server includes: a communication interface 801, a processor 802, a machine-readable storage medium 803, and a bus 804; wherein the communication interface 801, the processor 802 and the machine-readable storage medium 803 communicate with each other via a bus 804. The processor 802 may perform the above-described charging packet copying method by reading and executing the machine-executable instructions corresponding to the charging packet copying control logic in the machine-readable storage medium 803.

The machine-readable storage medium 803 referred to herein may be any electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical storage device that can contain or store information such as executable instructions, data, and the like. For example, the machine-readable storage medium may be: volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or similar storage media. In particular, the machine-readable storage medium 803 may be a RAM (random Access Memory), a flash Memory, a storage drive (e.g., a hard drive), a solid state drive, any type of storage disk (e.g., a compact disk, a DVD, etc.), or similar storage medium, or a combination thereof.

Referring to fig. 9, fig. 9 is a block diagram of another charging message copying apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The apparatus may be applied to a billing server as shown in fig. 8, and may include the following elements.

An obtaining unit 901, configured to obtain path information of a copying path for guiding copying of the charging packet;

a sending unit 902, configured to send the charging packet carrying the path information of the copy path to a first reachable charging server on the copy path, so that the first reachable charging server determines, according to the path information, a charging server to be copied that is located downstream of the charging server, and sends the charging packet to the charging server to be copied.

Optionally, the path information includes addresses of charging servers;

the sending unit 902 is specifically configured to add the path information in the charging packet, and add a key and a proxy address that are one-to-one corresponding to each charging server address in the path information; according to the accessibility of each charging server on the copying path, the reachable charging servers to be copied except the first reachable charging server are marked in the charging message, and the added proxy addresses are adjusted; setting a source address of the charging message as a proxy address corresponding to the first reachable charging server, setting a destination address as an address of the first reachable charging server, encrypting by adopting a secret key corresponding to the first reachable charging server, and sending the encrypted charging message to the first reachable charging server; the proxy address of the charging server is the sender address of the charging message received by the charging server.

Optionally, the sending unit 902 is specifically configured to add, in the charging packet, a copy flag corresponding to each charging server one to one when the reachable charging servers except the first reachable charging server are marked in the charging packet according to the reachability of each charging server on the copy path and an added proxy address is adjusted; the copying mark is used for indicating whether the charging server is a charging server to be copied;

if an unreachable charging server exists on the copying path, setting values of a copying mark corresponding to the first reachable charging server and values of copying marks of unreachable charging servers as second preset values in the charging message, setting values of copying marks of other charging servers as first preset values, and modifying an agent address corresponding to a next reachable charging server of the unreachable charging server into an agent address corresponding to the unreachable charging server;

if all the charging servers on the copying path can reach, setting the value of the copying mark corresponding to the first reachable charging server as a second preset value, setting the values of the copying marks of other charging servers as first preset values in the charging message, and not modifying and adjusting the proxy address of each charging server. The first preset value is used for indicating that the charging server corresponding to the copying mark is a charging server to be copied; and the second preset value is used for indicating that the charging server corresponding to the copying mark is a charging server which does not need copying.

The implementation process of the functions and actions of each unit in the above device is specifically described in the implementation process of the corresponding step in the above method, and is not described herein again.

For the device embodiments, since they substantially correspond to the method embodiments, reference may be made to the partial description of the method embodiments for relevant points. The above-described embodiments of the apparatus are merely illustrative, and the units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the modules can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the disclosed solution. One of ordinary skill in the art can understand and implement it without inventive effort.

The above description is only exemplary of the present disclosure and should not be taken as limiting the disclosure, as any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present disclosure should be included in the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for copying a charging message is characterized in that the method is applied to a charging server, the charging server is any one charging server on a copying path, and the copying path is used for guiding the forwarding of the charging message, and the method comprises the following steps:

receiving a charging message;

acquiring path information of the copying path carried by the charging message; the path information comprises addresses of all charging servers on the copying path; the charging message also carries copying marks which are in one-to-one correspondence with the identifications of the charging servers; the copying mark is used for indicating whether the charging server is a charging server to be copied;

and sending the charging message to the charging server to be copied.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the charging message further carries a key and a proxy address corresponding to each charging server address; the proxy address of the charging server is the sender address of the charging message received by the charging server;

if the charging server to be copied is the next charging server to be copied on the copying path of the charging server, sending the charging message to the charging server to be copied, including:

determining a key and a proxy address corresponding to the next charging server to be copied in the keys and the proxy addresses respectively corresponding to the charging servers;

and modifying the source address of the charging message into the determined proxy address, modifying the destination address into the address of the charging server to be copied next, encrypting by adopting the determined key, and copying the encrypted charging message to the charging server to be copied next.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the charging message further carries a key and a proxy address corresponding to each charging server address; the proxy address of the charging server is the sender address of the charging message received by the charging server;

if the charging server to be copied is N charging servers to be copied located at the downstream of the charging server, the step of sending the charging message to the charging server to be copied comprises the following steps:

determining the keys respectively corresponding to the N charging servers to be copied and the proxy address corresponding to the next charging server to be copied on the copying path of the charging server in the keys and the proxy addresses respectively corresponding to the charging servers;

copying the charging message by N shares;

respectively modifying the source addresses of the N charging messages into the determined proxy addresses, respectively modifying the destination addresses into the addresses of the N charging servers to be copied, respectively encrypting the N charging messages by adopting keys respectively corresponding to the N charging servers to be copied, and respectively sending the encrypted N charging messages to the N charging servers to be copied; wherein N is an integer greater than 1.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein if the charging server to be copied is a charging server to be copied next on the copying path of the charging server, the determining a charging server to be copied located downstream of the charging server includes:

according to the path sequence of the copying path, searching a charging server with the first copying mark value as a first preset value as the next charging server to be copied;

if the charging server to be copied is the N charging servers to be copied located at the downstream of the charging server, the determining the charging server to be copied located at the downstream of the charging server includes:

determining addresses of N charging servers with the downstream of the charging server and the reading mark value as a first preset value as the addresses of the N charging servers to be sent;

before sending the charging message to the charging server to be copied, the method further includes:

in the charging message, setting the value of the copying mark corresponding to the charging server to be copied as a second preset value;

5. A method for copying a charging message is applied to an access device, and the method comprises the following steps:

obtaining path information of a copying path for guiding the copying of the charging message; the path information comprises addresses of all charging servers on the copying path; the charging message also carries copying marks which are in one-to-one correspondence with the identifications of the charging servers; the copying mark is used for indicating whether the charging server is a charging server to be copied;

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the sending the charging packet carrying the path information of the carbon copy path to a first reachable charging server on the carbon copy path comprises:

adding the path information, and adding a key and a proxy address which are in one-to-one correspondence with the addresses of the charging servers in the path information into the charging message;

according to the accessibility of each charging server on the copying path, the reachable charging servers to be copied except the first reachable charging server are marked in the charging message, and the added proxy addresses are adjusted;

setting a source address of the charging message as a proxy address corresponding to the first reachable charging server, setting a destination address as an address of the first reachable charging server, encrypting by adopting a secret key corresponding to the first reachable charging server, and sending the encrypted charging message to the first reachable charging server;

the proxy address of the charging server is the sender address of the charging message received by the charging server.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the marking out, in the charging packet, reachable charging servers to be copied except for the first reachable charging server according to the reachability of each charging server on the copying path, and adjusting the added proxy address comprises:

adding copying marks corresponding to the charging servers one to one in the charging message; the copying mark is used for indicating whether the charging server is a charging server to be copied;

if all the charging servers on the copying path can reach, setting the value of the copying mark corresponding to the first reachable charging server as a second preset value in the charging message, setting the values of the copying marks of other charging servers as a first preset value, and not modifying and adjusting the proxy address of each charging server;

the first preset value is used for indicating that the charging server corresponding to the copying mark is a charging server to be copied; and the second preset value is used for indicating that the charging server corresponding to the copying mark is a charging server which does not need copying.

8. A device for copying a charging message is applied to a charging server, the charging server is any one charging server on a copying path, the copying path is used for guiding the forwarding of the charging message, and the device comprises:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a charging packet;

an obtaining unit, configured to obtain path information of the copying path carried by the charging packet; the path information comprises addresses of all charging servers on the copying path; the charging message also carries copying marks which are in one-to-one correspondence with the identifications of the charging servers; the copying mark is used for indicating whether the charging server is a charging server to be copied;

9. A device for copying a charging message is characterized in that the device is applied to an access device, and the device comprises:

an obtaining unit, configured to obtain path information of a copying path for guiding copying of the charging packet; the path information comprises addresses of all charging servers on the copying path; the charging message also carries copying marks which are in one-to-one correspondence with the identifications of the charging servers; the copying mark is used for indicating whether the charging server is a charging server to be copied;

10. A charging server comprising a processor and a machine-readable storage medium storing machine-executable instructions executable by the processor, the processor being caused by the machine-executable instructions to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 4.

11. A machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon machine-executable instructions which, when invoked and executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 4.

12. An access device comprising a processor and a machine-readable storage medium storing machine-executable instructions executable by the processor, the processor being caused by the machine-executable instructions to perform the method of any one of claims 5 to 7.

13. A machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon machine-executable instructions which, when invoked and executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method of any of claims 5 to 7.