CN111327432A

CN111327432A - Charging processing method and device, storage medium and electronic device

Info

Publication number: CN111327432A
Application number: CN201811536396.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 谢连升
Original assignee: ZTE Corp
Current assignee: ZTE Corp
Priority date: 2018-12-14
Filing date: 2018-12-14
Publication date: 2020-06-23
Anticipated expiration: 2038-12-14
Also published as: CN111327432B; WO2020119325A1

Abstract

The invention provides a charging processing method and device, a storage medium and an electronic device. Wherein, the method comprises the following steps: receiving target identification information which is sent by a Session Management Function (SMF) entity and corresponds to a target session, wherein the target identification information is used for uniquely identifying the target session in the SMF entity; and performing charging processing on the target session based on the target identification information. The invention solves the problem of charging error for the charging of the session in the related technology, thereby achieving the effect of improving the accuracy of the session charging.

Description

Charging processing method and device, storage medium and electronic device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a charging processing method and apparatus, a storage medium, and an electronic apparatus.

Background

The 5G (the 5th Generation mobile communication technology, fifth Generation mobile communication technology) network is an extension of the LTE (Long Term Evolution) network as a fifth Generation mobile communication standard. ITU (International telecommunications Union ) defines three types of typical application scenarios for 5G networks, including: eMBBs (enhanced Mobile Broadband), mMTC (massive machine Type of Communication), uRLLCs (Ultra-Reliable Low latency Communication). The 5G network includes: UE (User Equipment), (R) AN (Radio) Access Network, CN (Core Network), and DN (Data Network), as shown in fig. 1.

The 5G core network includes the following entities of network functions: UPF (User Plane Function), SMF (Session Management Function), AMF (Access and mobility Management Function), AUSF (Authentication service Function), NSSF (Network Slice Selection Function), NEF (Network export Function), NRF (NF replication Function), PCF (Policy Control Function), UDM (Unified Management Function), AF (Application Function), wherein the SMF interacts with the AMF and the UPF to complete the collection of charging Data and provides the charging interface Function to the outside, as shown in fig. 2.

NS (Network Slice) is a key feature of NFV (Network Function Virtualization) applied to 5G networks. The network slice is a group of professional and special logic network sets, the sets serve as services, network differentiation is supported, diversified requirements of the vertical industry can be met, the network slice essentially divides a physical network of an operator into a plurality of virtual networks so as to flexibly deal with different network application scenes, and the network slices are mutually isolated, such as resources, safety, data, QoS (Quality of Service), reliability, charging, operation and maintenance isolation and the like.

NSI (Network Slice Instance) is an implementation of the Network Slice concept. An NSI is a logical network from end to end, comprising a set of network functions, resources, and connectivity relationships. An NSI generally spans multiple technology domains, including access networks, transport networks, and core networks, and may further include third party applications in the industry vertical, each NSI being differentiated by an S-NSSAI (Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, a Network Slice identifier), which may include: SST (Slice/Service type) for indicating network Slice behavior and SD (Slice differnient) for supplementing further information for distinguishing network slices in the same SST.

The charging function is an essential function of the 5G network and is related to the income of an operator. As shown in fig. 3, 5G Charging is performed in the core network, wherein a Charging Trigger Function (CTF) unit is embedded in the SMF entity, and the CTF unit collects Charging information related to usage of each UE with the wireless network and with the external data network. After collecting the Charging information, the CTF unit transfers the Charging information to a CHF (Charging Function) entity through an Nchf interface, where the CHF entity includes: a CDF (Charging Data Function) unit and an OCF (Online Charging Function). For offline Charging, the CDF unit constructs a call ticket and transmits the call ticket to a CGF (Charging gateway Function) entity, the CGF entity generates a CDR (Charging Detail Record, Charging Detail list) file and transmits the CDR file to a BD (Charging Domain), and the BD completes the final Charging of the user. For online charging, the OCF unit completes authorization of the user to use network resources, the OCF unit transmits a resource use request to an RF (Rating Function, for short) entity, the RF entity performs Rating on the requested resources, and returns a Rating result to the OCF unit, the OCF unit further approves Balance and Rating result through an ABMF (Account Balance Management Function) entity, and obtains a corresponding authorized quota, and the user can use corresponding network resources only after obtaining an authorization permission of the OCF unit.

When the network is deployed, one SMF entity can serve multiple network slices, and the network slices can be of different slice types and serve different services. In the application based on the network slices, service rates of different network slices are different, so that different network slices need to be distinguished for charging, and charging errors caused by mixing charging information of different network slices are avoided.

In practical applications, the SMF entity creates a PDU (Protocol Data Unit) session for each network slice, and generates a CID (Charging Identifier) for each PDU session, so that when multiple network slices share the same SMF entity, the Charging IDs of different network slices may be repeated. When a PDU session is on-line for a long time, multiple charging information can be generated due to factors such as data flow limitation, duration limitation and the like, the charging ID in the multiple charging information generated by the same PDU session is kept unchanged, the charging information of the same PDU session needs to be correlated during charging, and the charging ID is a main parameter for correlating the multiple charging information.

In the LTE conventional Network, a PGW (Packet Data Network Gateway) carries a uniformly allocated charging ID for an IP-CAN (Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network), the charging ID in one PGW is unique, and a charging system CAN perform charging information association according to the charging ID, as shown in fig. 4. Whereas in the 5G network slice-based application, the SMF entity generates a charging ID separately for each network slice, as shown in fig. 3, different network slice charging IDs may be duplicated. If the charging correlation is performed according to the charging ID, the charging information of different network slices is correlated together, and a charging error is caused.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a charging processing method and device, a storage medium and an electronic device, which are used for at least solving the problem of charging errors in charging for a session in the related art.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a charging processing method is provided, including: receiving target identification information which is sent by an SMF entity and corresponds to a target session, wherein the target identification information is used for uniquely identifying the target session in the SMF entity; and performing charging processing on the target session based on the target identification information.

Optionally, performing charging processing on the target session based on the target identification information includes: under the condition that the charging mode corresponding to the target session is offline charging, generating a target ticket corresponding to the target session according to the target identification information;

and transmitting the target call ticket to the BD so that the BD carries out charging processing on the target session according to the target call ticket.

Optionally, before generating a target ticket corresponding to the target session according to the target identification information, the method further includes: collecting one or more target CDR (CDR) call tickets generated by a CDF (compact disc framework) unit in a CHF (CHF) entity, wherein each target CDR call ticket in the one or more target CDR call tickets carries target identification information; generating a target call ticket corresponding to the target session according to the target identification information comprises: and according to the target identification information, carrying out call ticket combination on one or more target CDR call tickets to generate a target call ticket.

Optionally, according to the target identification information, combining the one or more target CDR call tickets, and generating the target call ticket includes: respectively extracting charging parameter information from each target CDR ticket of one or more CDR tickets, and combining to form a target combination keyword for combining the target CDR tickets, wherein the target combination keyword comprises target identification information; and carrying out call ticket combination on one or more target CDR call tickets corresponding to the target combination keywords to generate the target call ticket.

Optionally, according to the target identification information, combining the one or more target CDR call tickets, and generating the target call ticket includes: determining target identification information carried by each target CDR ticket in one or more target CDR tickets and a target service ID (identity) used for identifying a target service of a target session or a target application; and associating and combining one or more target CDR call tickets carrying the target identification information and the target service ID to generate the target call ticket.

Optionally, performing charging processing on the target session based on the target identification information includes: and under the condition that the charging mode corresponding to the target session is online charging, acquiring result information for identifying rating of the target session from the RF entity by using the target identification information, wherein the result information comprises at least one of the following information: the accumulated amount information of the service resources corresponding to the target session and the rate information of the service resources corresponding to the target session; using the target identification information, acquiring target account information of a target account corresponding to the target session from the ABMF entity, wherein the target account information at least comprises at least one of the following information: available value of accumulated amount of business resources corresponding to the target session, account balance information; and charging the target session according to the result information and the target account information.

Optionally, performing charging processing on the target session according to the result information and the target account information includes: determining the amount information of the service resources used by the target session according to the result information and the target account information; sending the limit information to an SMF entity, wherein the limit information is used for indicating the SMF entity to monitor service resources used in the target session process to obtain a monitoring result; receiving a target request sent by the SMF entity according to the monitoring result, wherein the target request is used for requesting to deduct the fee of a target account; and sending a target request to the ABMF entity, wherein the target request is used for instructing the ABMF entity to deduct the fee of the target account.

Optionally, the target identification information includes a charging identification ID corresponding to the target session and a slice differentiation parameter for differentiating a network slice generating the charging ID, or the target identification information includes a charging ID corresponding to the target session.

Optionally, the slice differentiation parameter comprises one of: S-NSSAI, NSI designation, slice name of network slice.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a charging processing apparatus including: the receiving module is used for receiving target identification information which is sent by the SMF entity and corresponds to the target session, wherein the target identification information is used for uniquely identifying the target session in the SMF entity; and the charging module is used for carrying out charging processing on the target session based on the target identification information.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, there is also provided a storage medium having a computer program stored therein, wherein the computer program is arranged to perform the steps of any of the above method embodiments when executed.

According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, there is also provided an electronic device, including a memory in which a computer program is stored and a processor configured to execute the computer program to perform the steps in any of the above method embodiments.

According to the invention, target identification information which is sent by a Session Management Function (SMF) entity and corresponds to a target session is received, wherein the target identification information is used for uniquely identifying the target session in the SMF entity; the target session is uniquely identified in the SMF entity by using the target identification information, and the charging information of the sessions of a plurality of network slices served by the SMF entity can be effectively distinguished by carrying out the charging processing on the target session based on the target identification information, so that the problem of charging errors in the charging of the sessions in the related art can be solved, and the technical effect of improving the accuracy of session charging is achieved.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the invention without limiting the invention. In the drawings:

fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network architecture in the related art;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a core network of a 5G network in the related art;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a charging function of a 5G network in the related art;

fig. 4 is a diagram of an LTE network charging function in the related art;

fig. 5 is a block diagram of a hardware structure of a network device of a charging method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a flowchart of an alternative charging processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of an alternative charging parameter delivery process according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of an alternative offline charging procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of an optional call ticket association and combination flow according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an alternative online charging procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a flowchart of another alternative charging processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a block diagram of a structure of a billing processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The invention will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in conjunction with embodiments. It should be noted that the embodiments and features of the embodiments in the present application may be combined with each other without conflict.

It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," and the like in the description and claims of the present invention and in the drawings described above are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order.

Example 1

The method provided in embodiment 1 of the present application may be executed in a network device, a computer device, or a similar computing device. Taking the operation on the network device as an example, fig. 5 is a hardware structure block diagram of the network device of the charging method according to the embodiment of the present invention, where the network device may be a PC, a server device, or a combination of devices, or may be a virtual device, and the network device is configured with a charging system. As shown in FIG. 5, network device 50 may include one or more processors 502 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 5) (processor 502 may include, but is not limited to, an MCU (Micro programmed control Unit) and a memory 504 for storing data. optionally, the network device may also include a transmission device 506 for communication functions and an input-output device 508. it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the architecture shown in FIG. 5 is merely illustrative and not limiting on the architecture of the network device.

The memory 504 may be used to store computer programs, for example, software programs and modules of application software, such as a computer program corresponding to the billing processing method in the embodiment of the present invention, and the processor 502 executes various functional applications and data processing by running the computer programs stored in the memory 504, that is, implementing the method described above. The memory 504 may include high-speed random access memory, and may also include non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic storage devices, flash memory, or other non-volatile solid-state memory. In some examples, memory 504 may further include memory located remotely from processor 502, which may be connected to network device 50 via a network. Examples of such networks include, but are not limited to, the internet, intranets, local area networks, mobile communication networks, and combinations thereof.

The transmission device 506 is used for receiving or transmitting data via a network. Specific examples of such networks may include a communication network provided by a communication provider of network device 50. In one example, the transmission device 506 includes a NIC (Network Interface Controller) that can be connected to other Network devices through a base station so as to communicate with the internet.

The embodiment of the present application may operate on the network architecture shown in fig. 3, as shown in fig. 3, the network architecture includes: a plurality of network slices, a charging system and a charging center.

In this embodiment, a charging processing method operating in the above network device or network architecture is provided, and fig. 6 is a flowchart of an optional charging processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 6, where the flowchart includes the following steps:

step S602, receiving target identification information corresponding to a target session sent by an SMF entity, wherein the target identification information is used for uniquely identifying the target session in the SMF entity;

step S604, based on the target identification information, performs charging processing on the target session.

Through the steps, the charging system receives target identification information which is sent by the SMF entity and corresponds to the target PDU session, wherein the target identification information is used for uniquely identifying the target session in the SMF entity; because the target session is uniquely identified in the SMF entity by using the target identification information and the target PDU session is charged based on the target identification information, the charging information of the sessions of a plurality of network slices served by the SMF entity can be effectively distinguished, the problem of charging errors in the charging of the sessions in the related art is solved, and the session charging accuracy is improved.

Alternatively, the executing body of the above steps may be a charging system, for example, CHF entities (CDF unit and OCF unit) in the charging system, CGF entity, or a combination thereof, and the like, but is not limited thereto.

Alternatively, the execution sequence of step S602 and step S604 may be interchanged, and step S604 may be executed first, and then step S602 may be executed. That is, the charging process may be performed multiple times.

Optionally, in this embodiment, target identification information corresponding to the target session and sent by the SMF entity is received, where the target identification information is used to uniquely identify the target session in the SMF entity.

The target identification information may be any information capable of uniquely identifying a target session (e.g., a PDU session) in the SMF entity, and using the target identification information, correct association of charging information may be ensured, so as to improve charging accuracy.

As an optional implementation, the target identification information may include: a charging ID corresponding to the target session and a slice differentiation parameter for differentiating the network slice generating the charging ID.

In order to distinguish the charging information of different network slices, a slice distinguishing parameter may be added to the charging information output by the SMF entity, where the slice distinguishing parameter is used to distinguish the charging information generated by different network slices, and may be an S-NSSAI, an NSI identifier, a slice name of a network slice, or other parameters that can distinguish different slices.

The SMF entity transmits the slice distinguishing parameter and the charging information to a charging system, and the charging system combines the slice distinguishing parameter and the charging ID to carry out charging correlation so as to complete the charging of the user. The newly added slice distinguishing parameter can be applied to an off-line charging scene and can also be applied to an on-line charging scene.

As another alternative, the target identification information may include: a charging ID corresponding to the target PDU session.

When a plurality of network slices share the SMF entity, the SMF entity may uniformly allocate charging IDs, that is, the charging IDs are unique in one SMF entity, and the charging system distinguishes different sessions by the charging IDs (or the charging IDs and the slice distinguishing parameters), thereby completing charging information association.

The SMF entity transmits the charging information (or the charging information and the slice distinguishing parameter) to a charging system, and the charging system performs charging correlation according to the charging ID (or the charging ID and the slice distinguishing parameter) to complete charging for the user. The charging ID uniformly allocated by the SMF entity may be applied to an offline charging scenario or an online charging scenario.

The target identification information received by the charging system may be sent via a target message. The target message may be a request message for creating a session management context, a request message for performing charging (e.g., rating request), or a message for transmitting charging information.

After receiving the target identification information, the charging system may perform charging processing on the target PDU session in a variety of ways. The charging mode corresponding to the charging processing may be offline charging or online charging.

As an optional implementation manner, in a case that the charging manner corresponding to the target session is offline charging, performing charging processing on the target session based on the target identification information may include: generating a target ticket corresponding to the target session according to the target identification information; and transmitting the target call ticket to the BD so that the BD carries out charging processing on the target session according to the target call ticket.

The target ticket may be a ticket generated based on one-time charging information, or may be a ticket generated based on multiple times of charging information.

As an optional implementation manner, after obtaining a ticket (a target ticket, e.g., a CDR ticket) generated based on the primary charging information, the charging system directly transmits the ticket to the BD, and the BD performs charging processing on the target session.

As another optional implementation manner, after acquiring a plurality of call tickets (e.g., CDR call tickets) generated based on the primary charging information, the charging system combines the call tickets to generate a target call ticket.

Optionally, before generating a target ticket corresponding to the PDU session according to the target identification information, and before generating a target ticket corresponding to the target session according to the target identification information, one or more target CDR tickets generated by a CDF unit in the CHF entity may be collected, where each target CDR ticket in the one or more target CDR tickets carries the target identification information; and according to the target identification information, carrying out call ticket combination on one or more target CDR call tickets to generate a target call ticket.

For offline charging, a CDF unit in a CHF entity of a charging system collects charging information sent by an SMF through an Nchf interface, fills all information in the charging information into corresponding positions of a preset call ticket, constructs and generates a CDR call ticket (SMF-CDR call ticket), and sends the generated CDR call ticket to a CGF entity.

And the CGF entity collects the CDR call ticket generated by the CDF unit. There may be multiple CDR tickets collected. The multiple CDR tickets may correspond to multiple PDU sessions, and there may be multiple pieces of collected identification information carried by the multiple CDR tickets. Each identification information is used to uniquely identify a PDU session within the SMF entity. The identification information carried by the CDR tickets contains target identification information.

In the plurality of CDR phone bills, the CDR phone bill carrying the target identification information is a target CDR phone bill, and the number of the target CDR phone bills can be one or more. And one or more target CDR call tickets in the plurality of CDR call tickets are subjected to call ticket combination, so that the target call tickets are generated.

Optionally, in addition to the identification information, the CGF unit may extract other charging parameter information from each CDR ticket of the multiple CDR tickets, and combine the charging parameter information to form a combining keyword (or called ticket keyword) for combining the CDR tickets. And for the target session, the corresponding merging keywords are target merging keywords which comprise target identification information. And the CDR ticket corresponding to the target combination keyword is the target CDR ticket. And combining one or more target CDR (CDR) bills corresponding to the target combination keywords (the one or more target CDR bills can be all the target CDR bills corresponding to the target combination keywords or part of the target CDR bills) to generate the target bills.

For example, the CGF entity may extract SUPI (Subscriber Permanent Identifier), charging ID, AMF address, SMF address, and access Type AN Type from the CDR ticket, and combine them to form a ticket keyword; and further extracting slice distinguishing parameters from the CDR phone bill, and combining the slice distinguishing parameters with the phone bill keywords to form a final combined keyword. And the CGF entity performs call ticket association and combination according to the final association keywords: if the keywords are the same, the call tickets are regarded as the same PDU session call tickets of the same slice, and the CGF combines the call tickets together to form a final call ticket.

Through the technical scheme of the embodiment of the invention, the target call ticket is generated by combining the call tickets of one or more target CDR (CDR) carrying the target identification information, so that the BD can conveniently charge the target session, and the processing burden of the BD is reduced.

To realize more accurate charging, a service ID parameter may be added to the charging information, where the service ID is used to identify different services or applications, such as HTTP service, multimedia message service, WAP browsing service, and video service. The charging system completes charging association by combining target identification information (for example, charging ID, or slice distinguishing parameter and charging ID) and service ID, and can realize accurate charging based on service type.

Optionally, the step of performing ticket merging on one or more target CDR tickets according to the target identification information, and generating the target ticket may include: determining target identification information carried by each target CDR ticket in one or more target CDR tickets and a target service ID (identity) used for identifying a target service of a target session or a target application; and associating and combining one or more target CDR (CDR) bills carrying target identification information and a target service ID (the one or more target CDR bills can be all target CDR bills corresponding to target combination keywords or part of the target CDR bills) to generate the target bills.

Through the technical scheme of the embodiment of the invention, the charging correlation is completed by combining the target identification information and the service ID, and accurate charging based on the service type can be realized.

As another optional implementation, when the charging mode corresponding to the target session is online charging, the CGF entity may obtain a rating result of rating the target session from the RF entity, obtain account balance information from the ABMF entity, and perform charging processing on the target session according to the rating result and the account balance information.

Optionally, when the charging manner corresponding to the target session is online charging, performing charging processing on the target session based on the target identification information may include: under the condition that the charging mode corresponding to the target session is online charging, obtaining result information for identifying the rating of the target session from a rating function RF entity by using target identification information, wherein the result information comprises at least one of the following information: the accumulated amount information of the service resources corresponding to the target session and the rate information of the service resources corresponding to the target session; using the target identification information, acquiring target account information of a target account corresponding to the target session from an Account Balance Management Function (ABMF) entity, wherein the target account information at least comprises at least one of the following information: available value of accumulated amount of business resources corresponding to the target session, account balance information; and charging the target session according to the result information and the target account information.

Through the technical scheme of the embodiment of the invention, the charging system respectively acquires the rating result and the target account information from the RF entity and the ABMF entity so as to perform charging processing on the target session, and charging based on the target identification information under an online charging scene can be realized.

According to the result information and the target account information, charging processing can be performed on the target session in various ways. For example, the quota of the service resource used by the target session may be reserved according to the result information and the target account information, and the service resource usage of the target session may be monitored. When the service resource amount used by the target session is less than the reserved amount and the difference value between the service resource amount and the reserved amount is less than the target threshold value, sending prompt information to UE corresponding to the target session to prompt that the account balance is insufficient and also prompt to save data; and when the service resource amount used by the target session is equal to the reserved limit or indication information of the target session is received, ending the target session, and sending a fee deduction application to the ABMF entity aiming at the target session so that the ABMF entity deducts the account number corresponding to the target session and updates account information.

The monitoring of the service resource usage may be performed by the SMF entity, and the resource reservation and the sending of the deduction application may be performed by the OCF unit.

Optionally, performing charging processing on the target session according to the result information and the target account information may include: determining the amount information of the service resources used by the target session according to the result information and the target account information; sending the limit information to an SMF entity, wherein the limit information is used for indicating the SMF entity to monitor service resources used in the target session process to obtain a monitoring result; receiving a target request sent by the SMF entity according to the monitoring result, wherein the target request is used for requesting to deduct the fee of a target account; and sending a target request to the ABMF entity, wherein the target request is used for instructing the ABMF entity to deduct the fee of the target account.

Through the technical scheme of the embodiment of the invention, the charging system carries out quota reservation on the service resource usage used by the target session, can avoid the service resource overused by the target session, and the SMF entity monitors the service resource usage, thereby reducing the interaction between network elements and ensuring the reliability and effectiveness of charging processing.

The following describes the above charging processing method with reference to the following application example. It should be noted that each application example can be applied to the 5G network architecture shown in fig. 3. In the following application example, SMF is SMF entity, AMF is AMF entity, UPF is UPF entity, CHF is CHF entity, CDF is CDF unit, OCF is PCF unit, CGF is CGF entity, RF is RF entity, ABMF is ABMF entity, and the target session is PDU session.

Application example 1

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of an alternative charging parameter delivery process according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the charging parameter delivery process may be applied to network slice-based charging parameter delivery in a 5G network. As shown in fig. 7, the above charging parameter delivery process includes the following steps:

in step S702, the UE sends a PDU session creation request to the AMF.

The UE accesses (R) the AN network and establishes a PDU session by sending a PDU Session creation Request (PDU Session creation Request) to the AMF.

In step S704, the AMF selects an SMF for the PDU session.

The AMF determines a final NSSAI according to the NSSAI provided by the UE and the contracted NSSAI, and determines the SMF serving the PDU session.

In step S706, the AMF sends a Namf _ pdusesion _ CreateSMContext Request to the SMF.

The Request message may be a Namf _ pdusesion _ CreateSMContext Request, which is used to create a session management context, and the Request message carries PDU session context information, which may include but is not limited to: SUPI, AMF address, access Type AN Type, slice differentiation parameter.

In step S708, the SMF sends Namf _ pdusesion _ CreateSMContext Response to the AMF.

The SMF identifies the slice serving the session, saves SUPI, AMF address, access Type AN Type, slice differentiation parameters, and assigns a charging ID to the PDU session based on the slice, and then responds to the AMF with a Namf _ pdusesion _ CreateSMContext Response message.

Step S710, the SMF establishes a session with the UPF.

After sending the response message to the AMF, the SMF establishes a Session with the UPF over N4Session Establishment.

Step S712, the UE triggers the service to generate uplink and downlink traffic.

The UE uses the service to trigger generation of UpLink Data traffic (UpLink Data traffic) and DownLink Data traffic (DownLink Data traffic).

In step S714, the SMF sends the charging information and the slice differentiation parameter to the CHF.

The SMF collects service usage information from the UPF, which may include, but is not limited to: service data flow, service use time and service use duration. And the SMF determines the charging information corresponding to the PDU session according to the collected service use information and transmits the charging information to a charging system through a target interface.

For example, the SMF passes the charging information (which may contain SUPI, charging ID, AMF address, SMF address, access Type AN Type, service usage information), and the slice differentiation parameter to the CHF over the Nchf interface.

Fig. 7 does not show the detailed flow of PDU session setup and service interaction of the UE.

Application example 2

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of an alternative offline charging procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the offline charging procedure may be applied to a charging procedure of a 5G network slice. As shown in fig. 8, the offline charging process includes the following steps:

step S802, UE triggers service, SMF generates charging information, SMF sends charging information and slice distinguishing parameter to CDF of CHF.

After the UE triggers the service, the SMF collects service usage information from the UPF and sends charging information and slice differentiation parameters to the CDF of CHF over the Nchf interface, where the charging information may include, but is not limited to: SUPI, charging ID, AMF address, SMF address, access Type AN Type, service usage information.

Step S804, the CDF collects the charging information sent by the SMF, fills the charging information into the call ticket, fills the slice distinguishing parameter into the call ticket, and constructs and generates the SMF-CDR call ticket.

Step S806, the CDF sends the SMF-CDR call ticket to the CGF.

Step S808, CGF extracts charging parameters from SMF-CDR phone bill, generates charging merging keywords, and merges part of phone bills of the same PDU conversation.

The above charging parameters may include, but are not limited to: charging information, slice differentiation parameters. And combining part of call tickets of the same PDU session according to the charging combination keywords is an optional step.

Step S810, the CGF saves the SMF-CDR ticket and generates a ticket file meeting the BD requirement.

Step S812, the CGF sends the ticket file to the BD, and the BD completes the charging of the user.

Application example 3

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of an optional call ticket association and combination flow according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the offline charging flow may be applied to a charging flow of a 5G network slice. As shown in fig. 9, the above-mentioned call ticket association and combination process includes the following steps:

step S902, the CGF collects SMF-CDR phone bills generated by the CDF in the CHF.

Step S904, the CGF extracts the call ticket parameters and generates a combined keyword.

The CGF extracts the SUPI, the charging ID, the AMF address and the SMF address from the call ticket, accesses the AN Type and combines the SUPI, the charging ID, the AMF address and the SMF address to form a key word of the call ticket.

Step S906, the CGF extracts the slice distinguishing parameter from the call ticket, and combines the extracted slice distinguishing parameter with the call ticket keyword to form the final combined keyword.

For example, the CGF may extract S-NSSAI (a slice differentiation parameter) from the call ticket, combine the S-NSSAI with the generated merged keyword, and generate the merged keyword based on the network slice finally.

Step S908, the CGF merges the tickets with the same merged keyword.

And if the keywords are the same, the PDU conversation ticket of the same slice is considered. And the CGF performs call ticket association and combination according to the final association key words, combines call tickets with the same key words together, forms a final call ticket and outputs the final call ticket to the BD.

Application example 4

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of an alternative online charging procedure, which may be applied to a charging procedure of a 5G network slice, according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 10, the online charging process includes the following steps:

step S1002, SMF sends online charging information and slice distinguishing parameters to CHF.

And the UE triggers the service, the SMF creates an online charging session and sends online charging information and the slice distinguishing parameter to the CHF.

In step S1004, the OCF interacts with the RF, sends a rating request to the RF, and receives a response from the RF.

The OCF of the CHF interacts with the RF, and the OCF sends a rating request to the RF, and the rating request carries the SUPI, the slice distinguishing parameters and the resource use request information. And the RF judges the session type according to the slice distinguishing parameters and provides corresponding accumulative amount information or rate information. And the RF completes rating processing according to the SUPI, the slice distinguishing parameters and the resource use request information.

Step S1006, the OCF interacts with the ABMF, sends an account balance query request to the ABMF, and receives a response from the ABMF.

The OCF of the CHF interacts with the ABMF, which sends an account balance query request to the ABMF, which returns the available values of the corresponding user account balance and cumulant to the OCF.

Step S1008, the OCF sends the reserved credit to the SMF to control the PDU session.

The OCF of CHF calculates the quota granted to the user based on the resource use request information and the service rate, and transfers the granted quota (reserved quota) to the SMF.

In step S1010, the SMF sends a fee deduction application to the ABMF via the OCF to complete the fee deduction.

And the SMF monitors the use of the execution unit according to the reserved quota of the OCF, sends a fee deduction application to the OCF, submits the fee deduction application to the ABMF, and updates the account of the ABMF.

Application example 5

Fig. 11 is a flowchart of another alternative charging processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a charging ID is uniformly assigned by an SMF. As shown in fig. 11, the charging processing method includes the following steps:

in step S1102, the AMF sends a Namf _ pdusesion _ CreateSMContext Request to the SMF.

The user accesses the network, triggers the service and establishes the PDU session.

The AMF sends a Namf _ PDUSESS _ CreateSCContext Request to the SMF, and the Request message carries PDU session context information including SUPI, AMF address, access Type AN Type and slice distinguishing parameter.

In step S1104, the SMF uniformly allocates a charging ID to the PDU session.

The SMF identifies a slice serving the session, stores SUPI, AMF address, access Type AN Type, slice differentiation parameters, uniformly assigns a charging ID (the charging ID is unique within the SMF range) to the PDU session, collects service usage information, and determines the charging information (which may include SUPI, charging ID, AMF address, SMF address, access Type AN Type, service usage information).

In step S1106, the SMF sends the charging information and the slice differentiation parameter to the CHF.

And the SMF sends the charging information and the slice distinguishing parameter to the CHF, and the CHF completes the subsequent charging processing.

Meanwhile, the charging processing method can also be applied to the charging of the Internet of things realized by adopting a network slicing mode.

By the application example, for the charging based on the network slice in the 5G network, the PDU sessions of different network slices can be distinguished through the slice distinguishing parameter and the charging ID, and the charging information of different service applications can be accurately distinguished by combining the service ID, so that the charging correlation can be accurately carried out, the charging information of different network slices is prevented from being correlated, and the charging accuracy is guaranteed.

Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the method according to the above embodiments can be implemented by software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and certainly can also be implemented by hardware, but the former is a better implementation mode in many cases. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium (e.g., ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) and includes instructions for enabling a terminal device (e.g., a mobile phone, a computer, a server, or a network device) to execute the method according to the embodiments of the present invention.

Example 2

In this embodiment, a charging processing apparatus is further provided, and the apparatus is used to implement the foregoing embodiments and preferred embodiments, and details of which have been already described are omitted. As used below, the term "module" may be a combination of software and/or hardware that implements a predetermined function. Although the means described in the embodiments below are preferably implemented in software, an implementation in hardware, or a combination of software and hardware is also possible and contemplated.

Fig. 12 is a block diagram of a configuration of a charging processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 12, the apparatus including:

a receiving module 1202, configured to receive target identification information corresponding to a target session, where the target identification information is used to uniquely identify the target session in an SMF entity, and is sent by the SMF entity;

and the charging module 1204, connected to the receiving module 1202, is configured to perform charging processing on the target session based on the target identification information.

As an alternative implementation, the charging module 1204 may include: the generating unit is used for generating a target ticket corresponding to the target session according to the target identification information under the condition that the charging mode corresponding to the target session is offline charging; and the sending unit is connected to the generating unit and used for transmitting the target call ticket to the BD, so that the BD carries out charging processing on the target session according to the target call ticket.

Optionally, the apparatus may further comprise a collecting module, and the generating unit may comprise a generating subunit, wherein,

the system comprises a collecting module, a charging function CHF entity and a charging data function CDF unit, wherein the collecting module is used for collecting one or more target charging detailed record CDR call tickets generated by the charging data function CDF unit in the charging function CHF entity before generating a target call ticket corresponding to a target session according to target identification information, and each target CDR call ticket in the one or more target CDR call tickets carries the target identification information;

and the generating subunit is used for carrying out call ticket combination on one or more target CDR call tickets according to the target identification information to generate the target call ticket.

Optionally, the generating subunit may include:

a combining submodule, configured to extract charging parameter information from each target CDR ticket of the one or more CDR tickets, and combine the charging parameter information to form a target combining keyword for combining the target CDR tickets, where the target combining keyword includes the target identification information;

and the first combining submodule is connected to the combining submodule and is used for carrying out call ticket combination on the one or more target CDR call tickets corresponding to the target combining keywords to generate the target call tickets.

Optionally, the generating subunit may include:

the determining submodule is used for determining target identification information carried by each target CDR ticket in one or more target CDR tickets and a target service ID (identity) used for identifying a target service of a target session or a target application;

and the second combining submodule is connected to the determining submodule and is used for associating and combining one or more target CDR (CDR) call tickets carrying the target identification information and the target service ID to generate the target call tickets.

As another alternative implementation, the charging module 1204 may include:

a first obtaining unit, configured to obtain, from the RF entity, result information for identifying rating of the target session, using the target identification information, where a charging manner corresponding to the target session is online charging, where the result information includes at least one of: the accumulated amount information of the service resources corresponding to the target session and the rate information of the service resources corresponding to the target session;

a second obtaining unit, connected to the first obtaining unit, configured to obtain, from the account balance management function ABMF entity, target account information of a target account corresponding to the target session using the target identification information, where the target account information at least includes at least one of: available value of accumulated amount of business resources corresponding to the target session, account balance information;

and the charging unit is connected to the second acquisition unit and used for charging the target session according to the result information and the target account information.

Alternatively, the charging unit may include:

the determining subunit is used for determining the amount information of the service resources used by the target session according to the result information and the target account information;

the first sending subunit is connected to the determining subunit and used for sending the quota information to the SMF entity, wherein the quota information is used for indicating the SMF entity to monitor the service resources used in the target session process to obtain a monitoring result;

the receiving subunit is connected to the first sending subunit and used for receiving a target request sent by the SMF entity according to the monitoring result, wherein the target request is used for requesting to deduct the fee of a target account;

and the second sending subunit is connected to the receiving subunit and is used for sending the target request to the account balance management function ABMF entity, wherein the target request is used for indicating the ABMF entity to deduct the fee of the target account.

Alternatively, the target identification information may include a charging ID corresponding to the target session and a slice distinguishing parameter for distinguishing a network slice generating the charging ID, or the target identification information includes a charging ID corresponding to the target session.

It should be noted that, the above modules may be implemented by software or hardware, and for the latter, the following may be implemented, but not limited to: the modules are all positioned in the same processor; alternatively, the modules are respectively located in different processors in any combination.

Example 3

Embodiments of the present invention also provide a storage medium having a computer program stored therein, wherein the computer program is arranged to perform the steps of any of the above method embodiments when executed.

Alternatively, in the present embodiment, the storage medium may be configured to store a computer program for executing the steps of:

s1, receiving target identification information corresponding to the target session sent by the SMF entity, wherein the target identification information is used for uniquely identifying the target session in the SMF entity;

s2, charging the target session based on the target identification information.

Optionally, the storage medium is further arranged to store a computer program for performing the steps of:

s1, generating a target call ticket corresponding to the target session according to the target identification information under the condition that the charging mode corresponding to the target session is offline charging;

and S2, transmitting the target call ticket to the BD, so that the BD carries out charging processing on the target session according to the target call ticket.

s1, before generating a target call ticket corresponding to the target session according to the target identification information, collecting one or more target charging CDR call tickets generated by a CDF unit in the CHF entity, wherein each target CDR call ticket in the one or more target CDR call tickets carries the target identification information;

and S2, according to the target identification information, combining the one or more target CDR call tickets to generate the target call ticket.

s1, extracting charging parameter information from each target CDR list of one or more CDR lists, combining to form a target combination keyword for target CDR list combination, wherein the target combination keyword comprises target identification information;

and S2, performing call ticket combination on one or more target CDR call tickets corresponding to the target combination keywords to generate target call tickets.

s1, determining target identification information carried by each target CDR ticket in one or more target CDR tickets and a target service identification ID used for identifying a target service of a target session or a target application;

s2, the target CDR phone bill or bills carrying the target identification information and the target service ID are combined in a correlation mode to generate the target phone bill.

s1, when the charging method corresponding to the target session is online charging, obtaining result information for identifying rating of the target session from the RF entity using the target identification information, wherein the result information includes at least one of: the accumulated amount information of the service resources corresponding to the target session and the rate information of the service resources corresponding to the target session;

s2, using the target identification information, obtaining target account information of a target account corresponding to the target session from the ABMF entity, where the target account information at least includes at least one of: available value of accumulated amount of business resources corresponding to the target session, account balance information;

and S3, charging the target session according to the result information and the target account information.

s1, determining the amount information of the service resource used by the target session according to the result information and the target account information;

s2, sending the quota information to the SMF entity, wherein the quota information is used for indicating the SMF entity to monitor the service resources used in the target session process to obtain a monitoring result;

s3, receiving a target request sent by the SMF entity according to the monitoring result, wherein the target request is used for requesting to deduct the fee of a target account;

and S4, sending a target request to the ABMF entity, wherein the target request is used for instructing the ABMF entity to deduct the fee of the target account.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the storage medium may include, but is not limited to: a variety of media that can store computer programs, such as a usb disk, a ROM (Read-only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a removable hard disk, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

Example 4

Embodiments of the present invention also provide an electronic device comprising a memory having a computer program stored therein and a processor arranged to run the computer program to perform the steps of any of the above method embodiments.

Optionally, the electronic apparatus may further include a transmission device and an input/output device, wherein the transmission device is connected to the processor, and the input/output device is connected to the processor.

Optionally, in this embodiment, the processor may be configured to execute the following steps by a computer program:

s2, charging the target session based on the target identification information.

Optionally, the specific examples in this embodiment may refer to the examples described in the above embodiments and optional implementation manners, and this embodiment is not described herein again.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the modules or steps of the present invention described above may be implemented by a general purpose computing device, they may be centralized on a single computing device or distributed across a network of multiple computing devices, and alternatively, they may be implemented by program code executable by a computing device, such that they may be stored in a storage device and executed by a computing device, and in some cases, the steps shown or described may be performed in an order different than that described herein, or they may be separately fabricated into individual integrated circuit modules, or multiple ones of them may be fabricated into a single integrated circuit module. Thus, the present invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.

The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention, and various modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made within the principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for processing charging, comprising:

receiving target identification information which is sent by a Session Management Function (SMF) entity and corresponds to a target session, wherein the target identification information is used for uniquely identifying the target session in the SMF entity;

and performing charging processing on the target session based on the target identification information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein performing charging processing for the target session based on the target identification information comprises:

under the condition that the charging mode corresponding to the target session is offline charging, generating a target ticket corresponding to the target session according to the target identification information;

and transmitting the target call ticket to a charging center BD, so that the BD carries out charging processing on the target session according to the target call ticket.

3. The method of claim 2,

before generating the target call ticket corresponding to the target session according to the target identification information, the method further includes: collecting one or more target charging detailed record CDR (CDR) call tickets generated by a Charging Data Function (CDF) unit in a CHF (CHF) entity, wherein each target CDR call ticket in the one or more target CDR call tickets carries the target identification information;

generating the target call ticket corresponding to the target session according to the target identification information comprises: and according to the target identification information, carrying out call ticket combination on the one or more target CDR call tickets to generate the target call ticket.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of combining the one or more target CDR tickets according to the target identification information to generate the target ticket comprises:

respectively extracting charging parameter information from each target CDR ticket of the one or more CDR tickets, and combining to form a target combination keyword for combining the target CDR tickets, wherein the target combination keyword comprises the target identification information;

and carrying out call bill combination on one or more target CDR call bills corresponding to the target combination keywords to generate the target call bills.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of combining the one or more target CDR tickets according to the target identification information to generate the target ticket comprises:

determining the target identification information carried by each target CDR ticket in the one or more target CDR tickets and a target service identification ID (identity) used for identifying a target service of a target session or a target application;

and associating and combining one or more target CDR call tickets carrying the target identification information and the target service ID to generate the target call ticket.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein performing charging processing for the target session based on the target identification information comprises:

under the condition that the charging mode corresponding to the target session is online charging, obtaining result information for identifying rating of the target session from a Rating Function (RF) entity by using the target identification information, wherein the result information comprises at least one of the following information: the accumulated amount information of the service resources corresponding to the target session and the rate information of the service resources corresponding to the target session;

using the target identification information, acquiring target account information of a target account corresponding to the target session from an Account Balance Management Function (ABMF) entity, wherein the target account information at least comprises at least one of the following information: available value of accumulated amount of business resources corresponding to the target session, account balance information;

and charging the target session according to the result information and the target account information.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein performing charging processing on the target session according to the result information and the target account information comprises:

determining the amount information of the service resources used by the target session according to the result information and the target account information;

sending the quota information to the SMF entity, wherein the quota information is used for indicating the SMF entity to monitor the service resources used in the target session process to obtain a monitoring result;

receiving a target request sent by the SMF entity according to the monitoring result, wherein the target request is used for requesting to deduct the fee of the target account;

sending the target request to the ABMF entity, wherein the target request is used for instructing the ABMF entity to deduct fees for the target account.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the target identification information comprises a charging identification ID corresponding to the target session and a slice differentiation parameter for differentiating a network slice generating the charging ID, or wherein the target identification information comprises a charging identification ID corresponding to the target session.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the slice differentiation parameter comprises one of: the method comprises the following steps of selecting auxiliary information S-NSSAI of a single network slice, identifying instance NSI of the network slice and the slice name of the network slice.

10. A charging processing apparatus, comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive target identification information corresponding to a target session, where the target identification information is used to uniquely identify the target session in an SMF entity, and is sent by the SMF entity;

and the charging module is used for carrying out charging processing on the target session based on the target identification information.

11. A storage medium, in which a computer program is stored, wherein the computer program is arranged to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 9 when executed.

12. An electronic device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory has stored therein a computer program, and wherein the processor is arranged to execute the computer program to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 9.