CN113923064A - Charging method and device - Google Patents

Charging method and device Download PDF

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Publication number
CN113923064A
CN113923064A CN202010664273.1A CN202010664273A CN113923064A CN 113923064 A CN113923064 A CN 113923064A CN 202010664273 A CN202010664273 A CN 202010664273A CN 113923064 A CN113923064 A CN 113923064A
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China
Prior art keywords
data
service data
indication information
network element
network
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CN202010664273.1A
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Chinese (zh)
Inventor
黄曲芳
马景旺
杨伟强
魏岳军
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Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
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Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
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Priority to CN202010664273.1A priority Critical patent/CN113923064A/en
Publication of CN113923064A publication Critical patent/CN113923064A/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
    • H04L12/02—Details
    • H04L12/14—Charging, metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
    • H04L12/1432—Metric aspects
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
    • H04L12/02—Details
    • H04L12/14—Charging, metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
    • H04L12/1403—Architecture for metering, charging or billing

Abstract

The application provides a charging method and a charging device, relates to the technical field of communication, and can reduce the management burden of access network equipment on data volume information. The method comprises the following steps: the access network equipment receives first service data from a User Plane Function (UPF) network element. The first service data is to be transmitted to the terminal device. And then, the access network equipment sends target indication information to the UPF network element according to at least one of the preset target time period, the first service data and the second service data. The second service data is discarded by the access network device, and the service data in the second service data belongs to the first service data. The target indication information is used for the UPF network element to count the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment in the first service data.

Description

Charging method and device
Technical Field
The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a charging method and an apparatus.
Background
The terminal device performs data transmission with a Data Network (DN) through AN Access Network (AN) device and a User Plane Function (UPF) network element. The UPF network element belongs to a Core Network (CN) network element, and is used for managing charging of service data. Taking "the service data is implemented as video data" as an example, the amount of video data flowing through the UPF network element is 100 KB. Due to the deterioration of the radio channel conditions, the access network device transmits only 60KB of video data to the terminal device. If the UPF network element still charges according to the video data volume of 100KB, the charging is not accurate.
In the related art, after receiving a data traffic report request (data traffic report request) from a core network device, an access network device sends a data traffic report (data traffic report) to the core network device. The data flow report indicates the data volume of the service data actually transmitted by the access network equipment to the terminal equipment, so as to improve the charging accuracy of the core network equipment.
However, the access network device sends the data traffic report to the core network device after receiving the data traffic report request. Therefore, the access network device needs to store the data volume information for a long time, so that the management burden of the access network device on the data volume information is increased, and the storage resource overhead of the access network device is increased.
Disclosure of Invention
The embodiment of the application provides a charging method and a charging device, which can reduce the management burden of access network equipment on data volume information and reduce the storage resource overhead of the access network equipment.
In order to achieve the above purpose, the embodiment of the present application adopts the following technical solutions:
in a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging method, where an execution main body of the method may be an access network device, or may be a chip applied to the access network device. The following description will be given taking an example in which the execution subject is an access network device. The method comprises the following steps: the access network equipment receives first service data from a User Plane Function (UPF) network element. The first service data is to be transmitted to the terminal device. And then, the access network equipment sends target indication information to the UPF network element according to at least one of the preset target time period, the first service data and the second service data. The second service data is discarded by the access network device, and the service data in the second service data belongs to the first service data. The target time period may be configured for the access network by the SMF network element or the PCF network element. The target indication information is used for the UPF network element to count the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment in the first service data. For example, the target indication information indicates the data volume or the data packet quantity of the second service data discarded by the access network device, or the target indication information indicates the data volume or the data packet quantity of the third service data received by the terminal device, so that the UPF network element counts the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal device.
Therefore, under the condition that the UPF network element provides the first service data to the terminal equipment through the access network equipment, the access network equipment can send the target indication information to the UPF network element so that the UPF network element can count the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment. And the access network equipment can determine the sending time of the target indication information according to at least one of the preset target time period, the first service data and the second service data, and can send the target indication information to the UPF network element without waiting for receiving the data traffic report request. Therefore, the access network equipment does not need to store the data volume information for a long time, the management burden of the access network equipment on the data volume information is reduced, and the storage resource overhead of the access network equipment is reduced.
In one possible design, the sending, by the access network device, the target indication information to the UPF network element according to at least one of the preset target time period, the first service data, and the second service data includes: and if at least one of the first service data and the second service data meets a preset condition, the access network equipment sends target indication information to the UPF network element. Wherein the preset condition comprises at least one of the following conditions:
the number of the data packets corresponding to the first item and the first service data is greater than or equal to a first data packet threshold value.
And the second item, the data volume of the first service data is greater than or equal to the first data volume threshold.
And the number of the data packets corresponding to the third item and the second service data is greater than or equal to the threshold value of the second data packet.
And the data volume of the fourth item and the second service data is greater than or equal to the second data volume threshold.
The fifth entry, the first value is greater than or equal to the third packet threshold. The first numerical value is a numerical value determined based on the number of data packets corresponding to the first service data and the second service data respectively.
And the sixth term and the second numerical value are greater than or equal to the third data volume threshold. The second value is a value determined based on data volumes corresponding to the first service data and the second service data, respectively.
Here, the threshold (e.g., the first packet threshold, the first data amount threshold, the second packet threshold, the second data amount threshold, the third packet threshold, and the third data amount threshold) in the preset condition may be that the SMF network element or the PCF network element is configured for the access network device.
That is to say, the access network device does not need to wait for receiving the data traffic report request, and sends the target indication information to the UPF network element when the preset condition is met, so as to simplify the management burden of the access network device on the data volume information and save the storage resource overhead of the access network device.
In one possible design, the target indication information indicates a data amount or a data packet number of the second service data. Alternatively, the destination indication information indicates the data amount or the packet number of the third service data. The third service data is data received by the terminal device.
In one possible design, the data indicated by the target indication information is data that has not been network coded. Alternatively, the data indicated by the target indication information is network-encoded data.
In one possible design, the access network equipment comprises a concentration unit CU and a distribution unit DU. The second traffic data is discarded by the DU. The method for sending the target indication information to the UPF network element by the access network equipment according to at least one of the preset target time period, the first service data and the second service data comprises the following steps: and the DU sends first indication information to the CU according to at least one of a preset target time period, the first service data and the second service data, and the CU sends target indication information to the UPF network element. Or, the DU sends the first indication information to the CU, and the CU sends the target indication information to the UPF network element according to at least one of the preset target time period, the first service data and the second service data. The first indication information indicates the data volume or the data packet quantity of the second service data, or indicates the data volume or the data packet quantity of the third service data, and the third service data is data received by the terminal device. The target indication information is determined based on the first indication information.
Thus, when the access network device includes a CU and a DU, the sending timing of the target indication information may be controlled by the DU, or by the CU, or by both the CU and the DU, so as to ensure that the UPF network element obtains the "data transmission status between the access network device and the terminal device", and also simplify the management burden of the access network device on the data amount information.
In a possible design, the charging method according to the embodiment of the present application further includes: the DU determines the data amount of the first encoded data. The first coded data is data coded by a network. The first encoded data belongs to data discarded by the DU or to data received by the terminal device. Then, the DU determines the data amount of the data indicated by the first indication information according to the redundancy rate and the data amount of the first encoded data. The redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits before network coding to the number of bits after network coding.
In this way, in the case where "the access network device includes CU and DU" and "the object targeted by the DU is data encoded by the network", the DU can perform a "conversion process" to obtain the data amount of the data that is not encoded by the network, and report the data amount to the UPF network element.
In a possible design, the charging method according to the embodiment of the present application further includes: the CU determines a data amount of the first encoded data. The first coded data is data coded by a network. The first encoded data belongs to data discarded by the DU or to data received by the terminal device. Then, the CU determines the data amount of the data indicated by the target indication information, based on the redundancy rate and the data amount of the first encoded data. The redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits before network coding to the number of bits after network coding.
In this way, in the case where "the access network device includes CUs and DUs" and "the object targeted by the CUs is network-encoded data", the CUs can perform a "conversion process" to obtain the data amount of the data that has not been network-encoded, and report the data amount to the UPF network element.
In a possible design, the charging method according to the embodiment of the present application further includes: and the access network equipment sends the redundancy rate to the UPF network element. The redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits before network coding to the number of bits after network coding, and the redundancy rate is used for the UPF network element to determine the data volume of the service data in the data indicated by the target indication information. The data indicated by the target indication information is network coded data.
In this way, when the data indicated by the target indication information is the data volume or the number of data packets of the data encoded by the network, "the UPF network element can perform the" conversion process "to obtain the data volume of the service data received by the terminal device.
In a possible design, the charging method according to the embodiment of the present application further includes: and the access network equipment receives the fourth service data from the UPF network element. The fourth service data is data to be transmitted to the terminal device after the first service data, and a video coding mode of the fourth service data is determined based on the target indication information.
That is, the UPF network element can also determine the video coding mode of the service data to be transmitted subsequently based on the target indication information, so as to improve the data transmission efficiency.
In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging method, where an execution main body of the method may be a terminal device, and may also be a chip applied in the terminal device. The following description will be given taking as an example that the execution main body is a terminal device. The method comprises the following steps: and the terminal equipment receives the third service data from the access network equipment. And then, the terminal equipment sends target indication information to a user plane function UPF network element according to at least one of a preset target time period and third service data. And the target indication information is used for the UPF network element to determine the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data in the third service data. For example, the target indication information indicates the data volume or the number of data packets of the third service data received by the terminal device, so that the UPF network element counts the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal device.
Therefore, under the condition that the UPF network element provides the first service data to the terminal equipment through the access network equipment, the terminal equipment can send the target indication information to the UPF network element, so that the UPF network element counts the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment, the access network equipment is not required to send the target indication information to the UPF network element, the management burden of the access network equipment on the data volume information is reduced, and the storage resource overhead of the access network equipment is reduced.
In one possible design, the sending, by the terminal device, the target indication information to the UPF network element according to at least one of a preset target time period and third service data includes: and if the third service data meets the preset conditions, the terminal equipment sends target indication information to the UPF network element. Wherein the preset condition comprises at least one of the following conditions:
the number of data packets corresponding to the first item of service data and the third item of service data is greater than or equal to a first data packet threshold value;
the data volume of the second item and the third service data is greater than or equal to the first data volume threshold.
That is to say, the terminal device sends the target indication information to the UPF network element when determining that the third service data meets the first preset condition, so that the UPF network element can determine the data volume of the service data received by the terminal device without the need for the access network device to store the data volume information for a long time.
In one possible design, the target indication information indicates a data amount or a data packet number of the third service data before network decoding. Or, the target indication information indicates the data volume or the data packet number of the third service data after network decoding.
In one possible design, the target indication information indicates a data amount of the third service data after decoding by the network. The charging method in the embodiment of the application further comprises the following steps: and the terminal equipment determines the data volume of the third service data before network decoding. And then, the terminal equipment determines the data volume of the third service data after network decoding according to the redundancy rate and the data volume of the third service data before network decoding. Wherein, the redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits after network decoding to the number of bits before network decoding.
That is, in the case that the access network device provides the terminal device with the network-coded third service data, the terminal device can perform a "conversion process" to obtain a network-decoded data volume, and report "the network-decoded data volume of the third service data" to the UPF network element.
In a possible design, the charging method according to the embodiment of the present application further includes: and the terminal equipment receives the fifth service data from the access network equipment. The fifth service data is received after the third service data, and the video coding mode of the fifth service data is determined based on the target indication information.
In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging method, where an execution main body of the method may be a user plane function UPF network element, and may also be a chip applied to the UPF network element. The following description takes the execution main body as an example, which is a UPF network element. The method comprises the following steps: the UPF network element receives the target indication information. Wherein the data indicated by the target indication information includes at least one of the second service data and the third service data. The second service data is discarded by the access network device, and the third service data is the data received by the terminal device. And the service data in the second service data and the third service data belong to the first service data. The first service data is data to be transmitted to the terminal device through the access network device. And then, the UPF network element determines the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment according to the target indication information.
In one possible design, the receiving, by the UPF network element, the target indication information includes: and the UPF network element receives the target indication information from the access network equipment. Wherein the data indicated by the target indication information includes at least one of the second service data and the third service data. The second service data is data before network coding or data after network coding. The third service data is network coded data.
In one possible design, the receiving, by the UPF network element, the target indication information includes: and the UPF network element receives the target indication information from the terminal equipment. Wherein, the data indicated by the target indication information comprises third service data. The third service data is data before network decoding or data after network decoding.
In one possible design, the data indicated by the target indication information is network coded data. The UPF network element determines the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment according to the target indication information, and the method comprises the following steps: and the UPF network element acquires the redundancy rate. The redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits before network coding to the number of bits after network coding. And the UPF network element determines the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment according to the redundancy rate and the target indication information. And the UPF network element calculates the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment.
In one possible design, the determining, by the UPF network element, the data size of the service data received by the terminal device according to the redundancy rate and the target indication information includes: the UPF network element determines the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment according to the redundancy rate, the first service data and the second service data; the data indicated by the target indication information includes second service data.
In a possible design, the charging method according to the embodiment of the present application further includes: and the UPF network element determines a video coding mode according to the target indication information. And the UPF network element performs video coding on the service data to be transmitted to the terminal equipment in a video coding mode to obtain fourth service data. And the UPF network element sends the fourth service data to the access network equipment.
In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging method, where an execution main body of the method may be an access and mobility management function AMF network element, or a chip applied to the AMF network element. The following description will be given taking an example in which the execution subject is an AMF network element. The method comprises the following steps: and the AMF network element acquires the charging and deduction requirements of the service data. The service data comprises a plurality of data packet detection rules PDR. And the AMF network element determines the mapping relation between the PDRs and the QoS flow according to the charging and deduction requirements. And then, the AMF network element sends a mapping relation to a User Plane Function (UPF) network element, and the UPF network element is enabled to map a plurality of PDRs to the QoS flow according to the mapping relation.
Thus, in the process of determining the mapping relation between the PDR and the QoS flow, the reference factor of the charging rule is added to meet the charging requirements of different PDRs.
In one possible design, each PDR in the plurality of PDRs corresponds to a billing rate. PDRs corresponding to the same charging rate in the multiple PDRs have a mapping relation with the same QoS flow.
In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging apparatus, where the charging apparatus includes: means for performing the steps of any of the above aspects. The charging apparatus may be the access network device in any one of the above first aspect or the possible designs of the first aspect, or a chip that implements the function of the access network device. The charging device comprises modules, units or means (means) corresponding to the implementation of the method, and the modules, units or means can be implemented by hardware, software or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions.
In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging apparatus, including a processor and an interface circuit, where the processor is configured to communicate with other apparatuses through the interface circuit, and execute the charging method provided in any one of the above aspects. The processor includes one or more. The charging apparatus may be the access network device in any one of the above first aspect or the possible designs of the first aspect, or a chip that implements the function of the access network device.
In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging apparatus, including: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store computer instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the charging apparatus to perform the method of any of the above aspects. The charging apparatus may be the access network device in any one of the above first aspect or the possible designs of the first aspect, or a chip that implements the function of the access network device.
In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging apparatus, including: a processor; the processor is configured to be coupled to the memory, and after reading the instructions in the memory, perform the method according to any one of the above aspects. The charging apparatus may be the access network device in any one of the above first aspect or the possible designs of the first aspect, or a chip that implements the function of the access network device.
In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging apparatus, where the charging apparatus includes: means for performing the steps of any of the above aspects. The charging apparatus may be a terminal device in any one of the possible designs of the second aspect or the second aspect, or a chip that implements the function of the terminal device. The charging device comprises modules, units or means (means) corresponding to the implementation of the method, and the modules, units or means can be implemented by hardware, software or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions.
In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging apparatus, including a processor and an interface circuit, where the processor is configured to communicate with other apparatuses through the interface circuit, and execute the charging method provided in any one of the above aspects. The processor includes one or more. The charging apparatus may be a terminal device in any one of the possible designs of the second aspect or the second aspect, or a chip that implements the function of the terminal device.
In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging apparatus, including: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store computer instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the charging apparatus to perform the method of any of the above aspects. The charging apparatus may be a terminal device in any one of the possible designs of the second aspect or the second aspect, or a chip that implements the function of the terminal device.
In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging apparatus, including: a processor; the processor is configured to be coupled to the memory, and after reading the instructions in the memory, perform the method according to any one of the above aspects. The charging apparatus may be a terminal device in any one of the possible designs of the second aspect or the second aspect, or a chip that implements the function of the terminal device.
In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging apparatus, where the charging apparatus includes: means for performing the steps of any of the above aspects. The charging apparatus may be a UPF network element in any one of the possible designs of the third aspect or the third aspect, or a chip that implements the function of the UPF network element. The charging device comprises modules, units or means (means) corresponding to the implementation of the method, and the modules, units or means can be implemented by hardware, software or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions.
In a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging apparatus, including a processor and an interface circuit, where the processor is configured to communicate with other apparatuses through the interface circuit, and execute the charging method provided in any one of the above aspects. The processor includes one or more. The charging apparatus may be a UPF network element in any one of the possible designs of the third aspect or the third aspect, or a chip that implements the function of the UPF network element.
In a fifteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging apparatus, including: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store computer instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the charging apparatus to perform the method of any of the above aspects. The charging apparatus may be a UPF network element in any one of the possible designs of the third aspect or the third aspect, or a chip that implements the function of the UPF network element.
In a sixteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging apparatus, including: a processor; the processor is configured to be coupled to the memory, and after reading the instructions in the memory, perform the method according to any one of the above aspects. The charging apparatus may be a UPF network element in any one of the possible designs of the third aspect or the third aspect, or a chip that implements the function of the UPF network element.
In a seventeenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging apparatus, including: means for performing the steps of any of the above aspects. The charging apparatus may be the AMF network element in any one of the possible designs of the fourth aspect or the fourth aspect, or a chip implementing the function of the AMF network element. The charging device comprises modules, units or means (means) corresponding to the implementation of the method, and the modules, units or means can be implemented by hardware, software or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions.
In an eighteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging apparatus, including a processor and an interface circuit, where the processor is configured to communicate with other apparatuses through the interface circuit, and execute the charging method provided in any one of the above aspects. The processor includes one or more. The charging apparatus may be the AMF network element in any one of the possible designs of the fourth aspect or the fourth aspect, or a chip implementing the function of the AMF network element.
In a nineteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging apparatus, including: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store computer instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the charging apparatus to perform the method of any of the above aspects. The charging apparatus may be the AMF network element in any one of the possible designs of the fourth aspect or the fourth aspect, or a chip implementing the function of the AMF network element.
In a twentieth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging apparatus, including: a processor; the processor is configured to be coupled to the memory, and after reading the instructions in the memory, perform the method according to any one of the above aspects. The charging apparatus may be the AMF network element in any one of the possible designs of the fourth aspect or the fourth aspect, or a chip implementing the function of the AMF network element.
In a twenty-first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer-readable storage medium, which stores instructions that, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to perform the charging method of any one of the above aspects.
In a twenty-second aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a computer, enable the computer to perform the charging method of any one of the above aspects.
In a twenty-third aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a circuit system, which includes a processing circuit configured to execute the charging method according to any one of the above aspects.
In a twenty-fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, where the chip includes a processor, and the processor is coupled to a memory, where the memory stores program instructions, and when the program instructions stored in the memory are executed by the processor, the charging method in any one of the above aspects is implemented.
In a twenty-fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging system, where the charging system includes the access network device, the terminal device, and the UPF network element in any one of the first aspect or the first aspect, or includes the terminal device, the access network device, and the UPF network element in any one of the second aspect or the second aspect.
The technical effects brought by any design of the fifth aspect to the twenty-fifth aspect can refer to the beneficial effects in the corresponding methods provided above, and are not described herein again.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;
fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a charging method according to an embodiment of the present application;
fig. 3(a) is a schematic flowchart of another charging method provided in an embodiment of the present application;
fig. 3(b) is a schematic flowchart of another charging method provided in the embodiment of the present application;
fig. 3(c) is a schematic flowchart of another charging method provided in the embodiment of the present application;
fig. 3(d) is a schematic flowchart of another charging method provided in the embodiment of the present application;
fig. 3(e) is a schematic flowchart of another charging method provided in the embodiment of the present application;
fig. 3(f) is a schematic flowchart of another charging method provided in this embodiment of the present application;
fig. 3(g) is a schematic flowchart of another charging method provided in the embodiment of the present application;
fig. 3(h) is a schematic flowchart of another charging method provided in this embodiment of the present application;
fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating another charging method according to an embodiment of the present application;
fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating another charging method according to an embodiment of the present application;
fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating another charging method according to an embodiment of the present application;
fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating another charging method according to an embodiment of the present application;
fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating another charging method according to an embodiment of the present application;
fig. 9 is a flowchart illustrating another charging method according to an embodiment of the present application;
fig. 10 is a schematic view of a scenario of a charging method according to an embodiment of the present application;
fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a charging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;
fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of another charging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;
fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of another charging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application.
Detailed Description
The terms "first" and "second" and the like in the description and drawings of the present application are used for distinguishing different objects or for distinguishing different processes for the same object, and are not used for describing a specific order of the objects. Furthermore, the terms "including" and "having," and any variations thereof, as referred to in the description of the present application, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not limited to only those steps or elements but may alternatively include other steps or elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. In the embodiments of the present application, "a plurality" includes two or more, "a system" may be replaced with "a network". In the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "e.g.," is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, use of the word "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present concepts related in a concrete fashion.
The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various communication systems. The communication system may be a communication system supporting a fifth generation (5G) mobile communication technology, such as a New Radio (NR) access technology; alternatively, the communication system may also be a communication system supporting multiple radio technologies, such as a communication system supporting Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology and NR access technology. In addition, the communication system may also be adapted for future-oriented communication technologies.
Referring to fig. 1, a network architecture of a communication system supporting 5G mobile communication technology is described as an example. Network elements in the 5G network architecture include a terminal device, AN Access Network (AN) device, AN access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a Session Management Function (SMF) network element, a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element, a User Plane Function (UPF) network element, AN independent data management (UDM) network element, AN authentication service function (AUSF) network element, AN AUSF network element, a Data Network (DN), AN application function (application function, AF) network element, a network storage function (nsf) network element, a network exposure function (network exposure function, NEF) network element, a network slice selection function (nsf) network element, and the like.
The terminal device, also called a terminal apparatus, a User Equipment (UE), a Mobile Station (MS), a Mobile Terminal (MT), etc., is a device for providing voice/data connectivity to a user, for example, a handheld device or a vehicle-mounted device with a wireless connection function. The terminal device may specifically be: a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a palm top computer, a Mobile Internet Device (MID), a wearable device, a Virtual Reality (VR) device, an Augmented Reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in self driving (self driving), a wireless terminal in remote surgery (remote medical supply), a wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in transportation safety (smart security), a wireless terminal in city (smart city), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), a terminal in a future 5G communication network or a communication network after 5G, and the like, which are not limited in this embodiment.
The access network device may also be a Radio Access Network (RAN) device, which is a device deployed in a radio access network to provide a wireless communication function. Optionally, the RAN device according to the embodiments of the present application includes, for example and without limitation, macro base stations, micro base stations (also referred to as small stations), relays, Transmission Reception Points (TRPs), next generation network nodes (g Node bs, gnbs), evolved Node bs (ng-enbs) connected to a next generation core network, and RAN devices of non-third generation partnership project (3 GPP) systems, such as Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access devices.
In a possible manner, the RAN device in the embodiment of the present application may be composed of a Central Unit (CU) and one or more Distributed Units (DU). CUs and DUs can be understood as the division of RAN equipment from a logical functional point of view. The CU and the DU may be physically separated or disposed together, which is not limited in this embodiment of the application. The CU and DU may be connected via an interface, such as an F1 interface. CUs and DUs may be partitioned according to protocol layers of the wireless network. For example, the functions of a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol layer, a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) protocol layer, and a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocol layer are provided in the CU, and the functions of a Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol layer, a Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol layer, a Physical (PHY) protocol layer, and the like are provided in the DU. It is understood that the division of the CU and the DU processing functions according to the protocol layers is only an example, and may be performed in other manners, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.
Alternatively, a CU may be composed of a CU control plane (CU-CP) and a CU user plane (CU-UP), and the CU-CP and the CU-UP may be understood as dividing the CU from the perspective of a logical function. The CU-CP and the CU-UP may be divided according to protocol layers of a wireless network, for example, functions of a PDCP protocol layer corresponding to an RRC protocol layer and a Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB) are set in the CU-CP, and a function of a PDCP protocol layer corresponding to a Data Radio Bearer (DRB) is set in the CU-UP. In addition, the functions of the SDAP protocol layer may also be located in the CU-UP.
The AMF network element has the functions of mobility management, registration management, connection management, lawful monitoring, Session Management (SM) information supporting transmission between the UE and the SMF, access authentication, access authorization and the like of the terminal equipment.
The SMF network element has the functions of session management, roaming and the like. Among them, session management functions, such as session establishment, modification, and release. Roaming functions may include charging data collection, signaling to support authentication/authorization with an external Data Network (DN).
The PCF network element includes a user subscription information management function, a policy control function, a charging policy control function, quality of service (QoS) control, and the like.
The UPF network element is a functional network element of the user plane, and is mainly responsible for connecting an external network and processing user messages, such as forwarding, charging, lawful monitoring and the like. Optionally, data may also be received.
The UDM network element has the functions of certificate authentication, user identification, access authorization, registration and mobility management, subscription management, short message management and the like.
The AUSF network element has an authentication service function.
The DNs are networks that provide services for the terminal devices, and some DNs provide internet access functions for the terminal devices, and other DNs provide short message functions for the terminal devices, for example.
The AF network elements may interact with a 3GPP core network. The AF network element may specifically be an application server, and may be configured to interact with a PCF network element and customize a policy for an application.
The NRF network element is a logic network element used for storing and maintaining information of a Network Function (NF) instance, and when receiving a service request of a user, the NF instance may obtain other NF instances capable of providing the network service requested by the user by querying the NRF network element, thereby determining a next hop route.
The network functions that can be provided by the NEF network element include externally providing the services, capabilities, and application functions of the network element and edge computing. Optionally, the NEF element also provides an application function for providing information to the 3GPP core network, such as a mobility mode and a communication mode. In this case, the NEF network element may also provide network functions that authenticate, authorize and limit the above-mentioned application functions.
The NSSF network element is mainly responsible for selecting a network slice instance for the terminal device according to a single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI). When the NSSF network element acquires the S-NSSAI sent by the terminal equipment, the NSSF network element selects a Network Slice Instance (NSI) and/or a Network Slice Subnet Instance (NSSI) serving the terminal equipment according to the S-NSSAI.
The terminal equipment communicates with the AMF network element through an N1 interface, the RAN equipment communicates with the AMF network element through an N2 interface, the RAN equipment communicates with the UPF network element through an N3 interface, the UPF network element communicates with the SMF network element through an N4 interface, the UPF network element accesses a data network through an N6 interface, and different UPF network elements communicate through an N9 interface. The AF network element provides services for other network elements (such as UDM network elements and PCF network elements) through the Naf interface. The UDM network element provides services for other network elements (such as AF network elements and PCF network elements) through a Nudm interface. The PCF network element provides services to other network elements (e.g. UDM network elements, NRF network elements) through the Npcf interface. The NRF network element provides services for other network elements (such as NEF network elements and PCF network elements) through the Nnrf interface. The NEF network element provides services for other network elements (such as NRF network elements and NSSF network elements) through the Nnef interface. The NSSF network element provides service for other network elements (such as NEF network elements and NRF network elements) through an Nnssf interface. The AUSF network element provides service for other network elements (such as AMF network element and NEF network element) through a Nausf interface. The AMF network element provides services for other network elements (such as AUSF network elements and SMF network elements) through a Namf interface. The SMF network element provides services for other network elements (such as AUSF network elements and AMF network elements) through the Nsmf interface.
The communication system and the service scenario described in the embodiment of the present application are for more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application. As can be known to those skilled in the art, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.
The following specifically explains the charging method provided in the embodiment of the present application.
It should be noted that, in the following embodiments of the present application, names of messages between network elements or names of parameters in messages are only an example, and other names may also be used in specific implementations. In the embodiment of the present application, the data to be provided to the terminal device by the UPF network element is described as "first service data". After the access network device receives the "first service data" from the UPF network element, in the process of transmitting the first service data between the access network device and the terminal device, due to the deterioration of the radio channel condition, the data discarded by the access network device is described as "second service data", and the data received by the terminal device is described as "third service data". And the service data in the second service data and the third service data belong to the first service data. The description is unified here and will not be repeated below.
The embodiment of the application provides a first charging method, which is applied to a charging deduction process. Referring to fig. 2, the charging method includes the following steps:
s201, the UPF network element sends the first service data to the access network equipment. Correspondingly, the access network equipment receives the first service data from the UPF network element.
The first service data is data to be transmitted to the terminal device.
Illustratively, taking a video service introducing a "layered coding" technique as an example, the first service data may be video data and audio data to be provided to the terminal device. Taking video data as an example, at the data source end, the video data is divided into data of a Base Layer (BL) and data of an Enhanced Layer (EL). For the terminal device, if the terminal device correctly receives the video data of the base layer, the most basic resolution requirement of the user on the display interface of the terminal device can be met. If the terminal equipment correctly receives the video data of the enhancement layer, the terminal equipment can display an interface with higher definition. Here, the first service data may include video data of a base layer, video data of an enhancement layer, and video data of the base layer and video data of the enhancement layer.
S202, the access network equipment sends third service data to the terminal equipment. Correspondingly, the terminal equipment receives the third service data from the access network equipment.
And the third service data is data received by the terminal equipment. In the embodiment of the present application, since the radio channel condition becomes poor, the data discarded by the access network device is described as "second traffic data". Illustratively, the access network device determines the data volume of the third service data to be transmitted according to the data volume and the air interface capacity of the first service data to be transmitted. In the scenario of the embodiment of the present application, the most important reference factor of the access network device is "air interface capacity". If the wireless channel condition is good and no data discard occurs, the data volume of the third service data may be equal to the data volume of the first service data, and the data packet number of the second service data is equal to zero. If the wireless channel condition becomes poor and a phenomenon of data discarding occurs, the data volume of the third service data may be smaller than the data volume of the first service data, and the data packet number of the second service data may be greater than zero.
In a case where the access network device does not perform network coding, the second service data and the third service data are data that is not network-coded. The data amount of the first service data is equal to the sum of the data amount of the second service data and the data amount of the third service data.
And under the condition that the access network equipment executes network coding, the second service data and the third service data are both data subjected to network coding. The service data in the second service data and the third service data belong to the first service data, and the data volume of the first service data is less than the sum of the data volume of the service data in the second service data and the data volume of the service data in the third service data.
S203, the access network equipment sends target indication information to the UPF network element according to at least one of the preset target time period, the first service data and the second service data. Correspondingly, the UPF network element receives the target indication information from the access network equipment.
The target indication information is used for the UPF network element to count the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment in the first service data. In the following, "target indication information" is described in terms of "content reported by the target indication information" and "trigger condition for sending the target indication information":
in a first aspect, for content reported by the target indication information, data indicated by the target indication information includes at least one of second service data and third service data. For example, the target indication information indicates a data amount of the second service data or a data packet number corresponding to the second service data, or the target indication information indicates a data amount of the third service data or a data packet number corresponding to the third service data, or the target indication information indicates a data amount of the second service data and a data amount of the third service data (or a corresponding data packet number), or the target indication information indicates a data packet number corresponding to the second service data and a data amount of the third service data (or a corresponding data packet number).
The data indicated by the target indication information may be data that has not been network-encoded. For example, the destination indication information indicates the amount of data or the number of packets of data that have not been network-encoded. The data indicated by the target indication information may also be network coded data. For example, the destination indication information indicates the data amount or the packet number of the data encoded by the network. The following is specifically described by "case one and case two":
in case one, the data indicated by the target indication information is data that has not been network-encoded.
If the access network device does not include the CU and the DU and the access network device does not perform network coding, the access network device may count the data amount or the data packet amount of the second service data that is not subjected to network coding. The data indicated by the target indication information comprises second service data, and the target indication information indicates the data quantity or the data packet quantity of the second service data which is not subjected to network coding. Of course, the access network device may also count the data amount or the data packet amount of the third service data that is not network-coded, and the target indication information indicates "the data amount or the data packet amount of the third service data that is not network-coded". On the contrary, if the access network device performs network coding, referring to fig. 3(a), the access network device performs the following process:
s20301, the access network equipment determines the data volume of the first coded data.
The first coded data is data coded by a network. Here, the first encoded data may be the second service data encoded by the network, or may be the third service data encoded by the network. For example, the first encoded data may be "second service data discarded by the access network device and subjected to network encoding" in the target time period, or may also be "third service data received by the terminal device and subjected to network encoding" in the target time period. For the relevant description of the "target time period", reference may be made to the relevant description of "example one of the second aspect", and details are not repeated here.
S20302, the access network equipment determines the data volume of the data indicated by the target indication information according to the redundancy rate and the data volume of the first coded data.
The redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits before network coding to the number of bits after network coding.
Illustratively, the data amount of the first encoded data is 100KB, and the redundancy rate is 4/5. In this case, the access network apparatus determines that the data amount of the data indicated by the target indication information is 80 KB. Here, if the first encoded data is the second service data, the destination indication information indicates the data amount or the packet number of the second service data before network encoding. If the first coded data is third service data, the target indication information indicates the data volume or the data packet number of the third service data before network coding.
Thus, under the condition that the access network equipment executes the network coding and the statistical object of the access network equipment is the data subjected to the network coding, the access network equipment can execute a conversion process to obtain the data volume of the data which is not subjected to the network coding, and then report the data volume of the second service data which is not subjected to the network coding or the data volume of the third service data which is not subjected to the network coding to the UPF network element.
If the access network equipment comprises a CU and a DU, the transmission conditions among the DU, CU and UPF network elements are as follows: the DU sends first indication information to the CUs. Accordingly, the CU receives the first indication information from the DU. Thereafter, the CU sends the destination indication information to the UPF network element. Wherein the target indication information is determined based on the first indication information. The above "transmission status between DU, CU and UPF network elements" may refer to the description of "example three, example four or example five of the second aspect", and is not described herein again.
In a case where the DU and the CU do not perform network coding, the second service data and the third service data are data that is not network-coded, the data indicated by the target indication information includes at least one of the second service data and the third service data, and the target indication information indicates a data amount or a data packet number of the second service data that is not network-coded, or the target indication information indicates a data amount or a data packet number of the third service data that is not network-coded. For example, the DU counts the amount of discarded second service data or the number of packets, and then indicates "the amount of second service data or the number of packets that have not been network-coded" to the CU through the first indication information. The CU may send the first indication information as target indication information to the UPF network element. Alternatively, the CU may determine the target indication information based on a preset number of first indication information. For example, the CU obtains the data amount of the second traffic data which is not network-coded and indicated by the target indication information based on summing up the data amounts indicated by the 5 pieces of first indication information. Or, the CU may further determine a data amount of third service data according to the first indication information and the data amount of the first service data, and indicate the data amount of the third service data that is not network-coded by the target indication information. Of course, the DU may also count the data volume or the number of packets of the third service data, and indicate the CU by the first indication information, so that the CU determines the target indication information reported to the UPF network element based on the first indication information.
In a case where the network coding is performed by the DU, the second service data and the third service data are network-coded data, and the data indicated by the target indication information includes at least one of the second service data and the third service data. In this case, the DU or CU performs a "conversion process", i.e., the amount of "network-uncoded data" is derived from the amount of "network-coded data". As a possible implementation, referring to fig. 3(b), fig. 3(b) shows the specific processing steps of the DU to perform the "conversion process":
s20303 and DU determine the data amount of the first encoded data.
The first coded data is data coded by a network. Here, the first encoded data may belong to data discarded by the DU, i.e., the first encoded data includes the second service data. The first encoded data may also belong to data received by the terminal device, i.e. the first encoded data includes the third service data.
For example, the first encoded data may be "second service data discarded by DU" in the target time period, or "third service data received by the terminal device" in the target time period. For the target time period, reference may be made to the description of "example one of the second aspect", and details are not repeated here.
S20304 and the DU determines the data amount of the data indicated by the first indication information according to the redundancy rate and the data amount of the first encoded data.
The redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits before network coding to the number of bits after network coding. Here, the redundancy rate may be configured by the CU, or may be configured by the CU with a value range, and the DU determines the redundancy rate according to the value range configured by the CU. In case a CU configures a "value range", as a possible implementation, the CU sends configuration information to the DU. Accordingly, the DU receives configuration information from the CUs. Wherein the configuration information indicates a value range of the redundancy rate. After the DU receives the configuration information, the DU selects a numerical value as a value of the redundancy rate in the value range indicated by the configuration information.
Illustratively, the data amount of the first encoded data is 100KB, and the redundancy rate is 4/5. In this case, the DU determines that the data amount of the data indicated by the first indication information is 80 KB. Here, if the first encoded data is the second service data, the first indication information indicates a data amount of the second service data before network encoding. If the first coded data is third service data, the first indication information indicates the data volume of the third service data before network coding.
In this way, in the case where "the access network device includes CU and DU" and "the object targeted by the DU is data encoded by the network", the DU can perform a "conversion process" to obtain the data amount of the data that is not encoded by the network, and report the data amount to the UPF network element. For the CU, after obtaining the first indication information, the CU can determine the target indication information based on the first indication information, and a specific implementation process may refer to a specific processing process of the CU in a case where "the DU and the CU do not perform network coding", which is not described herein again.
As another possible implementation, referring to fig. 3(c), fig. 3(c) shows the specific processing steps of the CU performing the "conversion process":
s20305, the CU determines the data amount of the first encoded data.
For a description of the "first encoded data", reference may be made to the description of S20303, and details are not described here.
Illustratively, in a case where the CU performs a "conversion process", the data indicated by the first indication information is network-coded data. For example, the first indication information indicates a data amount of the second service data after being network-coded, or the first indication information indicates a data amount of the third service data after being network-coded. After the CU receives the first indication information from the DU, the CU takes the data amount indicated by the first indication information as the data amount of the first encoded data.
S20306, the CU determines the data amount of the data indicated by the target indication information, based on the redundancy rate and the data amount of the first encoded data.
The redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits before network coding to the number of bits after network coding. Here, the "configuration process of the redundancy rate" may refer to the related description of S20304, and is not described herein again. In the case where the CU configures the "value range", the DU determines the value of the redundancy rate, and then transmits the redundancy rate information to the CU. Accordingly, the CU receives redundancy rate information from the DU. Wherein the redundancy rate information indicates a value of the redundancy rate.
Illustratively, the data amount of the first encoded data is 100KB, and the redundancy rate is 4/5. In this case, the CU determines that the data amount of the data indicated by the target indication information is 80 KB. Here, the target indication information may indicate a data amount of the second service data before network coding, and may also indicate a data amount of the third service data before network coding.
In this way, in the case where "the access network device includes CUs and DUs" and "the object targeted by the CUs is network-encoded data", the CUs can perform a "conversion process" to obtain the data amount of the data that has not been network-encoded, and report the data amount to the UPF network element.
In a case where the CU performs network coding, the second service data and the third service data are still data subjected to network coding, and the data indicated by the target indication information includes at least one of the second service data and the third service data. In this case, the CU executes a "conversion process", that is, obtains the data amount of the "data not subjected to network coding" from the data amount of the "data subjected to network coding", which may specifically refer to the processing step shown in fig. 3(c), and is not described herein again.
In the processing shown in fig. 3(a), 3(b), and 3(c), the "conversion process" will be described by taking only the "data amount" as an example. In the actual application process, the "number of packets" may also be used as the granularity, and the "conversion process" is executed, and the specific implementation process is the same as the processing process shown in the above three diagrams (fig. 3(a), fig. 3(b), and fig. 3(c)), and is not described again here.
In case two, the data indicated by the target indication information is network coded data.
If the access network device does not include the CU and the DU and the access network device performs network coding, the access network device may count the data volume or the data packet volume of the second service data. The second service data is data after network coding, the data indicated by the target indication information includes the second service data, and the target indication information indicates the data volume or the data packet number of the second service data after network coding. Of course, the access network device may also count the data volume or the data packet quantity of the third service data, and the target indication information indicates "the data volume or the data packet quantity of the third service data after being encoded by the network". On the contrary, if the access network device does not perform network coding, referring to fig. 3(d), the access network device performs the following process:
s20307, the access network device determines a data amount of the second service data.
Wherein the second service data is data that is not network coded. For example, the second traffic data may be "second traffic data dropped by the access network device" within the target time period. For the relevant description of the "target time period", reference may be made to the relevant description of "example one of the second aspect", and details are not repeated here.
S20308, the access network equipment determines the data volume of the data indicated by the target indication information according to the redundancy rate and the data volume of the second service data.
The redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits before network coding to the number of bits after network coding. Here, there is a certain redundancy in the network-coded data. For example, in the first service data, the service data in one data packet becomes two data packets after being network coded.
Illustratively, the data size of the second service data is 80KB, and the redundancy rate is 4/5. In this case, the access network device determines that the data size of the second service data after network coding is 100 KB. Accordingly, the target indication information indicates that the data size of the network-coded second service data is 100 KB.
Thus, under the condition that the access network equipment does not execute the network coding, the access network equipment can execute a conversion process, namely, the data volume of the data which is subjected to the network coding is obtained from the data volume of the data which is not subjected to the network coding, so as to obtain the data volume of the data which is subjected to the network coding, and then the converted data volume is reported to the UPF network element.
If the access network device includes a CU and a DU, the "transmission status between the DU, the CU, and the UPF network element" may refer to the description of "example three, example four, or example five of the second aspect", and is not described herein again.
In a case where the DU and the CU do not perform network coding, the second service data and the third service data are data that has not been network coded, and the data indicated by the target indication information includes at least one of the second service data and the third service data. In this case, the DU or CU performs a "conversion process", i.e., the amount of "network encoded data" is derived from the amount of "network unencoded data". Exemplarily, referring to fig. 3(e), fig. 3(e) shows the specific processing steps of the DU performing the "conversion procedure":
s20309 and the DU determines a data amount of the second service data.
Wherein the second service data is data that is not network coded.
For example, the second traffic data may be "DU discarded second traffic data" within the target time period. For the target time period, reference may be made to the description of "example one of the second aspect", and details are not repeated here.
S20310, determining, by the DU, the data amount of the data indicated by the first indication information according to the redundancy rate and the data amount of the second service data.
The redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits before network coding to the number of bits after network coding.
Illustratively, the data size of the second service data is 80KB, and the redundancy rate is 4/5. In this case, the DU determines that the data amount of the network-coded second service data is 100 KB. Here, the first indication information may indicate "a data amount of the second service data after being network-coded". Or, the DU obtains the data volume of the third service data that is not network-coded based on the data volume of the first service data and the data volume of the second service data that is not network-coded. And the DU obtains the data volume of the third service data after the network coding by combining the redundancy rate and the data volume of the third service data which is not subjected to the network coding, and reports the data volume of the third service data after the network coding to the CU by indicating the 'data volume of the third service data after the network coding' by the first indication information.
In this way, in the case where the "access network device includes the CU and the DU" and the "subject of the DU statistics is data that is not network-encoded", the DU can perform the "conversion process" to obtain the data amount of the data that is network-encoded. For the CU, after acquiring the first indication information, the CU can determine target indication information based on the first indication information. For example, the CU reports the first indication information as target indication information to the UPF network element. Alternatively, the CU may determine the target indication information based on a preset number of first indication information. For example, the CU obtains the data amount of the network-coded second service data indicated by the target indication information based on summing up the data amounts indicated by the 5 pieces of first indication information. Or, the CU may further determine a data volume of the third service data according to the first indication information and the data volume of the first service data, indicate the data volume of the third service data after being encoded by the network through the target indication information, and report the data volume to the UPF network element through the target indication information.
Illustratively, referring to fig. 3(f), fig. 3(f) shows the specific processing steps of the CU to perform the "conversion process":
s20311, the CU determines the data amount of the second service data.
For a description of the "second service data", reference may be made to the related description of S20309, and details are not described here. Here, in a case where the CU performs the "conversion process", the data amount indicated by the first indication information is the data amount of the second service data that has not been network-encoded. After the CU receives the first indication information from the DU, the CU can determine the data amount of the second service data that has not been network-coded.
S20312, the CU determines the data amount of the data indicated by the target indication information according to the redundancy rate and the data amount of the second service data.
The redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits before network coding to the number of bits after network coding.
Illustratively, the data size of the second service data is 80KB, and the redundancy rate is 4/5. In this case, the CU determines that the data amount of the second service data after the network coding is 100 KB. Here, the target indication information may indicate that the data amount of the network-coded second service data is 100 KB. Or, the CU obtains a data amount of third service data that is not network-coded based on the data amount of the first service data and the data amount of the second service data that is not network-coded. And the CU obtains the data volume of the third service data after the network coding by combining the redundancy rate and the data volume of the third service data which is not subjected to the network coding, and reports the data volume of the third service data after the network coding to the UPF network element by indicating the data volume of the third service data after the network coding by the target indication information.
In this way, in the case where the "access network device includes the CU and the DU" and the "CU is directed to the data that is not network-encoded", the CU can perform the "conversion process" to obtain the data amount of the network-encoded data and report the data amount to the UPF network element.
In the case where the network coding is performed by the DU or the CU, the second service data and the third service data are still data subjected to the network coding, and the data indicated by the target indication information includes at least one of the second service data and the third service data. In this case, the first indication information indicates the data amount or the data packet amount of the second service data after being network-coded, or the first indication information indicates the data amount or the data packet amount of the third service data after being network-coded. After receiving the first indication information, the CU determines the target indication information based on the first indication information, which may specifically refer to a specific processing procedure of the CU shown in fig. 3(e), and is not described herein again.
In the processing flows shown in fig. 3(d), 3(e), and 3(f), the "conversion process" will be described by taking only the "data amount" as an example. In the actual application process, the "number of packets" may also be used as the granularity, and the "conversion process" is executed, and the specific implementation process is the same as the processing process shown in the above three diagrams (fig. 3(d), fig. 3(e), and fig. 3(f)), and is not described again here. Similarly, in the processing flows shown in fig. 3(d), fig. 3(e), and fig. 3(f), only the "second service data" is taken as an example for explanation, the three processing procedures may also be adapted to a scenario where the processing object is "third service data", the specific processing procedures are the same, and the target indication information indicates "the data amount or the data packet number of the third service data after being network coded", which is not described herein again.
In addition, in a scenario of "the data indicated by the target indication information is network coded data", the access network device further sends the redundancy rate to the UPF network element. Accordingly, the UPF network element receives the redundancy rate from the access network device. And then, the UPF network element can determine the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment according to the redundancy rate and the data volume indicated by the target indication information. The redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits before network coding to the number of bits after network coding. That is to say, in the scenario that the data indicated by the target indication information is the data after being encoded by the network, "the UPF network element performs the" conversion process, "which may specifically refer to the relevant description of" case two in S204, "and is not described herein again.
In the second aspect, as for the trigger condition for sending the target indication information, there may be multiple trigger conditions for sending the target indication information to the UPF network element by the access network device. In the following, the explanation is made by the following five examples of "example one to example five":
in an example, the access network device sends target indication information to the UPF network element according to a preset target time period. Correspondingly, the UPF network element receives the target indication information from the access network equipment.
The preset target time period may be a working period configured by core network equipment (such as an SMF network element or a PCF network element). The target indication information indicates the data amount of the second service data or the corresponding data packet number in the target time period, or the target indication information indicates the data amount of the third service data or the corresponding data packet number in the target time period.
Illustratively, the preset target time period is 5 minutes, in this case, the access network device sends the target indication information to the UPF network element every 5 minutes. For example, in a "09: 55', the access network equipment sends a target indication message to the UPF network element. In the region of "10: 00 ", the access network equipment sends another piece of target indication information to the UPF network element. Here, the target time period is a time period of "09: 55 to 10: 00". The destination indication information transmitted at the time of "10: 00" indicates the data amount of the second service data or the corresponding data packet number in the time period of "09: 55 to 10: 00", or indicates the data amount of the third service data or the corresponding data packet number in the time period of "09: 55 to 10: 00".
Illustratively, when the access network device sends a first data packet to the terminal device, a timer is started, and when the timer is overtime, the access network device sends target indication information to the UPF network element. And simultaneously, the access network equipment starts the timer again, and the process is circulated until the access network equipment stops sending the data packet to the terminal equipment.
In this way, the access network device sends the target indication information to the UPF network element according to the preset target time period to indicate the data transmission status in the target time period, so that the UPF network element can determine the data volume of the service data received by the terminal device in the target time period. That is, the access network device may send the target indication information to the UPF network element without waiting for receiving the data traffic report request. The access network equipment does not need to store the data volume information for a long time, so that the management burden of the access network equipment on the data volume information is simplified, and the storage resource overhead of the access network equipment is saved.
In a second example, if at least one of the first service data and the second service data meets a first preset condition, the access network device sends target indication information to the UPF network element. Correspondingly, the UPF network element receives the target indication information from the access network equipment.
Wherein the first preset condition comprises at least one of the following:
the number of data packets corresponding to the first item and the first service data is greater than or equal to a data packet threshold value T1，P. Wherein "T" represents a threshold, subscript "1" represents first traffic data, and subscript "P" represents a packet.
The second item, the data volume of the first service data is greater than or equal to the data volume threshold T1，B. Where "T" represents a threshold, subscript "1" represents first traffic data, and subscript "B" represents a data amount.
The number of data packets corresponding to the third item and the second service dataThe amount is greater than or equal to the packet threshold T2，P. Wherein "T" represents a threshold, subscript "2" represents second traffic data, and subscript "P" represents a packet.
The data volume of the fourth item and the second service data is greater than or equal to the data volume threshold T2，B. Where "T" represents a threshold, subscript "2" represents second traffic data, and subscript "B" represents a data amount.
Fifth, the first value is greater than or equal to the packet threshold T12，P. Where "T" represents the threshold, subscript "12" represents the first value, and subscript "P" represents the packet. The first value is a value determined based on the number of packets corresponding to the first service data and the second service data, respectively. For example, the first value is a ratio of "the number of packets corresponding to the second service data" to "the number of packets corresponding to the first service data".
The sixth item, the second numerical value is greater than or equal to the data volume threshold T21，B. Where "T" represents the threshold, subscript "21" represents the second value, and subscript "B" represents the data volume. The second value is a value determined based on the data amounts corresponding to the first service data and the second service data, respectively. For example, the second value is a ratio of "the amount of data corresponding to the second service data" and "the amount of data corresponding to the first service data".
Here, the threshold value in the first preset condition (e.g., the packet threshold value T)1，PData amount threshold T1，BData packet threshold T2，PData amount threshold T2，BData packet threshold T12，PData amount threshold T21，B) May be configured by an SMF network element or a PCF network element.
Under the condition that the first preset condition is actually the first item or the second item, the access network equipment takes the first service data as a judgment basis, and when the number of the data packets of the first service data reaches a certain degree (for example, is greater than or equal to the data packet threshold value T)1，P) Or the data amount of the first service data reaches a certain degree (e.g., greater than or equal to the data amount threshold T)1，B) In case of access network device UPAnd the F network element sends the target indication information to report the transmission condition of the first service data to the UPF network element.
When the first preset condition is realized as the third item or the fourth item, the access network device uses the "second service data" as the judgment basis, and when the number of the data packets of the second service data reaches a certain degree (for example, is greater than or equal to the threshold value of the data packets T)2，P) Or the data amount of the second service data reaches a certain degree (e.g., greater than or equal to the data amount threshold T)2，B) Under the condition, the access network equipment sends target indication information to the UPF network element so as to report the transmission condition of the first service data to the UPF network element.
When the first preset condition is implemented as the fifth item or the sixth item, the access network device determines, based on the "discarding status of the access network device for data", that the discarded packet ratio reaches a certain degree (for example, the number of discarded packets in each 100 packets reaches 10, that is, the first value is greater than or equal to the packet threshold T)12，P) Or the ratio of the discarded data amount reaches a certain degree (for example, the discarded data amount reaches 10KB per 100KB of the first traffic data, i.e. the second value is greater than or equal to the threshold T21，B) Under the condition, the access network equipment sends target indication information to the UPF network element so as to report the transmission condition of the first service data to the UPF network element.
In this way, the access network device sends the target indication information to the UPF network element to indicate the transmission status of the first service data when determining that the first preset condition is met, so that the UPF network element can determine the data volume of the service data received by the terminal device. That is, the access network device may send the destination indication information to the UPF network element without waiting for receiving the "data traffic report request". The access network equipment does not need to store the data volume information for a long time, so that the management burden of the access network equipment on the data volume information is simplified, and the storage resource overhead of the access network equipment is saved.
In some embodiments, the access network equipment may consist of a CU and one or more DUs. The above description of the first example and the second example also applies, and specifically, the CU may control the transmission timing of the target indication information according to the trigger condition, the DU may control the transmission timing of the target indication information according to the trigger condition, or the CU and the DU may control the transmission timing of the target indication information together. The following is illustrated by three examples of "example three, example four, and example five":
and example three, controlling the sending time of the target indication information by the DU according to the triggering condition. Referring to fig. 3(g), the specific implementation process of S203 includes S20313a, S20313b, and S20314:
s20313a, determining, by the DU, whether to send the first indication information according to at least one of the preset target time period, the first service data, and the second service data.
If the DU determines that the first indication information does not need to be transmitted, the DU proceeds to S20313 a. If the DU determines that the first indication information needs to be sent, the DU performs S20313 b:
s20313b, DU sends first indication information to CU. Accordingly, the CU receives the first indication information from the DU.
The first indication information indicates the data volume of the second service data or the data packet number corresponding to the second service data, or the first indication information indicates the data volume of the third service data or the data packet number corresponding to the third service data.
For example, the DU sends, according to a preset target time period, first indication information to the CU to indicate "the data volume or the data packet number of the second service data discarded by the DU" or "the data volume or the data packet number of the third service data received by the terminal device" in the target time period, which may be specifically referred to in the description of example one, and is not described herein again. Or, if at least one of the first service data and the second service data meets the first preset condition, the DU sends the first indication information to the CU to indicate "the data amount or the data packet number of the second service data discarded by the DU" or "the data amount or the data packet number of the third service data received by the terminal device", which may specifically refer to the relevant description of example two and is not described herein again.
S20314, the CU sends the target indication information to the UPF network element. Accordingly, the UPF network element receives the destination indication information from the CU.
Wherein the target indication information is determined by the CU based on the first indication information.
For example, the target indication information and the first indication information may be the same, for example, the target indication information and the first indication information indicate "the data amount or the data packet amount of the second service data discarded by the DU" in the target time period. Or, the target indication information and the first indication information indicate "the data amount or the data packet amount of the third service data received by the terminal device" in the target time period.
The target indication information may be different from the first indication information, for example, the first indication information indicates "data amount or data packet amount of the second traffic data discarded by the DU" in the target time period. And the CU determines the data volume or the data packet number of the third service data received by the terminal equipment in the target time period according to the first indication information and the first service data. In this case, the destination indication information indicates "the data amount or the data packet number of the third service data received by the terminal device" in the destination time period. Or, conversely, the first indication information indicates "the data volume or the data packet number of the third service data received by the terminal device" in the target time period. The CU determines the data volume or the data packet quantity of the second service data discarded by the DU in the target time period according to the first indication information and the first service data. In this case, the target indication information indicates "the data amount or the packet amount of the second traffic data discarded by the DU" in the target time period.
Therefore, under the condition that the access network equipment comprises the CU and the DU, the DU can control the sending time of the target indication information, the UPF network element can be ensured to acquire the data transmission condition between the access network equipment and the terminal equipment, and the management burden of the DU on the data volume information can be simplified.
And fourthly, controlling the sending time of the target indication information by the CU according to the triggering conditions. Referring to fig. 3(h), the specific implementation process of S2030 includes S20315, S20316a, and S20316 b:
s20315, the DU sends the first instruction information to the CU. Accordingly, the CU receives the first indication information from the DU.
The first indication information indicates the data volume of the second service data or the data packet number corresponding to the second service data, or the first indication information indicates the data volume of the third service data or the data packet number corresponding to the third service data. Here, the transmission timing of the first indication information is controlled by the DU and is set independently of the timing of the CU transmitting the target indication information to the UPF network element. That is, the transmission timing of the first indication information and the transmission timing of the target indication information are set independently of each other and are not associated with each other.
Illustratively, the DU determines a timing to send the first indication information according to its own condition, for example, the DU sends the first indication information to the CU according to a preset first time period to indicate "the data amount or the data packet amount of the second service data discarded by the DU" or "the data amount or the data packet amount of the third service data received by the terminal device" in the first time period. The first time period and the target time period are set independently, and there may be no correlation between the two. For another example, in a case where the DU determines that the first traffic data of a preset data amount (e.g., 100KB) is received, the DU transmits first indication information to the CU to indicate "transmission status of the first traffic data". Alternatively, in a case where the DU determines that the data amount of the discarded second traffic data reaches a preset data amount (e.g., 20KB), the DU transmits first indication information to the CU to indicate "transmission status of the first traffic data".
S20316a, the CU determines whether to send the destination indication information according to at least one of the preset destination time period, the first service data, and the second service data.
S20316b, the CU sends the destination indication information to the UPF network element. Accordingly, the UPF network element receives the destination indication information from the CU.
For example, the CU sends target indication information to the UPF network element according to a preset target time period to indicate "the data volume or the data packet number of the second service data discarded by the DU" or "the data volume or the data packet number of the third service data received by the terminal device" in the target time period, which may be specifically referred to the relevant description of example one and is not described herein again. Or, if at least one of the first service data and the second service data meets the first preset condition, the CU sends target indication information to the UPF network element to indicate "the data volume or the data packet number of the second service data discarded by the DU" or "the data volume or the data packet number of the third service data received by the terminal device", which may specifically refer to the relevant description of example two, and is not described herein again.
Therefore, under the condition that the access network equipment comprises the CU and the DU, the CU can control the sending time of the target indication information, the UPF network element can be ensured to acquire the data transmission condition between the access network equipment and the terminal equipment, and the management burden of the CU on the data volume information can be simplified.
Example five, the transmission timing of the target indication information is controlled by the CU and the DU in common. Taking the processing procedure shown in fig. 3(h) as an example:
s20315, the DU sends the first instruction information to the CU. Accordingly, the CU receives the first indication information from the DU.
For a description of the first indication information, reference may be made to the description in example four, which is not described herein again.
Illustratively, the DU sends first indication information to the CU according to a preset first time period, so as to indicate "the data volume or the data packet quantity of the second service data discarded by the DU" or "the data volume or the data packet quantity of the third service data received by the terminal device" in the first time period. Wherein the first time period is determined based on the target time period. For example, the duration of the first time period is a divisor of the duration of the target time period. Or, if at least one of the first service data and the second service data meets a second preset condition, the DU sends first indication information to the CU to indicate "the data volume or the data packet number of the second service data discarded by the DU" or "the data volume or the data packet number of the third service data received by the terminal device". Wherein the second preset condition comprises at least one of the following:
the number of data packets corresponding to the first item and the first service data is greater than or equal to a data packet threshold value t1，P. Where "t" represents a threshold, subscript "1" represents first traffic data, and subscript "P" represents a packet. Here, the packet threshold t1，PIs a packet threshold T1，PThe divisor of (d).
The second item, the data volume of the first service data is greater than or equal to the data volume threshold t1，B. Where "t" represents a threshold, subscript "1" represents first traffic data, and subscript "B" represents a data volume. Here, the data amount threshold t1，BIs a data volume threshold T1，BThe divisor of (d).
The number of the data packets corresponding to the third item and the second service data is greater than or equal to the threshold value t of the data packets2，P. Where "t" represents a threshold, subscript "2" represents second traffic data, and subscript "P" represents a packet. Here, the packet threshold t2，PIs a packet threshold T2，PThe divisor of (d).
The data volume of the fourth item and the second service data is greater than or equal to the data volume threshold t2，B. Where "t" represents a threshold, subscript "2" represents second traffic data, and subscript "B" represents a data amount. Here, the data amount threshold t2，BIs a data volume threshold T2，BThe divisor of (d).
Fifth, the first value is greater than or equal to the packet threshold t12，P. Where "t" represents the threshold, the subscript "12" represents the first value, and the subscript "P" represents the packet. The first value is a value determined based on the number of packets corresponding to the first service data and the second service data, respectively. For example, the first value is a ratio of "the number of packets corresponding to the second service data" to "the number of packets corresponding to the first service data". Here, the packet threshold t12，PIs a packet threshold T12，PThe divisor of (d).
The sixth item, the second numerical value is greater than or equal to the data volume threshold t21，B. Where "t" represents a threshold, subscript "21" represents a second value, and subscript "B" represents dataAmount of the compound (A). The second value is a value determined based on the data amounts corresponding to the first service data and the second service data, respectively. For example, the second value is a ratio of "data amount of the second service data" and "data amount of the first service data". Here, the data amount threshold t21，BIs a data volume threshold T21，BThe divisor of (d).
S20316a, the CU determines whether to send the destination indication information according to at least one of the preset destination time period, the first service data, and the second service data.
S20316b, the CU sends the destination indication information to the UPF network element. Accordingly, the UPF network element receives the destination indication information from the CU.
Therefore, under the condition that the access network equipment comprises the CU and the DU, the CU and the DU can jointly control the sending time of the target indication information, the UPF network element can be ensured to acquire the data transmission condition between the access network equipment and the terminal equipment, and the management burden of the CU and the DU on the data volume information can be simplified.
And S204, the UPF network element determines the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment according to the target indication information.
The service data received by the terminal device belongs to the first service data.
The data indicated by the target indication information may be data that is not network-encoded, or may be network-encoded data. In the following, the description is divided into two cases:
in case one, in the case where "the data indicated by the target indication information is data that has not been network-coded", the UPF network element determines the data amount of the service data received by the terminal device based on the target indication information. For example, the target indication information indicates the data volume of the third service data, and the UPF network element takes the "data volume indicated by the target indication information" as the "data volume of the service data received by the terminal device".
In case two, in the case where the data indicated by the target indication information is the data after being network-coded, the UPF network element performs a "conversion process", that is, the data amount of the "data without being network-coded" is obtained from the data amount of the "data after being network-coded". Referring to fig. 4, S204 is implemented as the following specific processing procedure:
s2041, the UPF network element obtains the redundancy rate.
The redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits before network coding to the number of bits after network coding.
Illustratively, the access network device sends the redundancy rate to the UPF network element. Accordingly, the UPF network element receives the redundancy rate from the access network device.
S2042, the UPF network element determines the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment according to the redundancy rate and the target indication information.
Illustratively, if the target indication information indicates the data volume or the data volume quantity of the third service data, the UPF network element determines the data volume of the service data received by the terminal device based on the redundancy rate and the target indication information. For example, the data amount of the data indicated by the target indication information is 100 KB. The redundancy ratio is 4/5. In this case, the UPF network element determines that the data volume of the service data received by the terminal device is 80 KB.
And if the target indication information indicates the data volume or the data volume quantity of the second service data, the UPF network element determines the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment based on the redundancy rate, the first service data and the second service data. For example, the data size of the first service data is 120 KB. The data size of the second service data after network coding is 50KB, and the value of the redundancy rate is 4/5, that is, the data size of the service data valid in the second service data is 40 KB. In this case, the UPF network element determines that the data volume of the service data received by the terminal device is 80 KB.
Therefore, no matter the target indication information indicates the data volume of the second service data discarded by the access network equipment or indicates the data volume of the third service data received by the terminal equipment, the UPF network element can execute a conversion process to obtain the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment.
And S2043, calculating the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment by the UPF network element.
The service data received by the terminal device includes one or more Packet Detection Rules (PDRs). The charging rules of different PDRs may be the same or different for different PDRs. Here, among the PDRs, PDRs corresponding to the same billing rate have a mapping relationship with the same QoS flow. The charging rules for a PDR may be as follows: no billing is required for checking; a charge accounting is required and the charge rate is N dollars/MB. Wherein N is greater than zero. The specific process of mapping PDRs corresponding to the same charging rate among multiple PDRs to the same QoS flow may refer to the description in fig. 8, and is not described herein again.
Illustratively, the UPF network element charges at the granularity of "PDR". And under the condition that the service data received by the terminal equipment comprises 5 PDRs and the 5 PDRs all need to be charged and subtracted, determining the QoS flow where the 5 PDRs are located by the UPF network element. For example, the above 5 PDRs are mapped to 3 QoS flows. And for the QoS flow where the service data of the terminal equipment is located, the UPF network element counts the data volume of the service data in each QoS flow and the charging rule of the QoS flow, so that the charge corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment is determined.
In the charging method provided in the embodiment of the present application, when the UPF network element provides the first service data to the terminal device through the access network device, the access network device may send target indication information to the UPF network element, where the target indication information indicates a data volume or a data packet number of the second service data discarded by the access network device, or the target indication information indicates a data volume or a data packet number of the third service data received by the terminal device, so that the UPF network element counts a cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal device. And the access network equipment can determine the sending time of the target indication information according to at least one of the preset target time period, the first service data and the second service data, and can send the target indication information to the UPF network element without waiting for receiving the data traffic report request. Therefore, the access network equipment does not need to store the data volume information for a long time, the management burden of the access network equipment on the data volume information is reduced, and the storage resource overhead of the access network equipment is reduced.
In some embodiments, referring to fig. 5, the charging method in the embodiments of the present application further includes the following processing steps:
and S205, the UPF network element determines a video coding mode according to the target indication information.
Illustratively, the UPF network element determines that the data volume of the third service data exceeds a preset data volume threshold according to the target indication information. That is, in the execution of S202, the radio channel condition between the access network device and the terminal device is good. Under the condition that the service data is realized as video data, the UPF network element can improve the coding compression degree of the video data, and the video data to be transmitted is coded by adopting a video coding mode with higher coding compression degree so as to remove the redundancy of the video data to be transmitted. Otherwise, the UPF network element determines that the data volume of the third service data does not exceed the preset data volume threshold according to the target indication information. That is, in the process of S202 execution, the radio channel condition between the access network device and the terminal device becomes poor. Under the condition that the service data is realized as video data, the UPF network element can reduce the encoding compression degree of the video data, and the video data to be transmitted is encoded by adopting a video encoding mode with lower encoding compression degree.
And S206, the UPF network element performs video coding on the service data to be transmitted to the terminal equipment by adopting the video coding mode to obtain fourth service data.
Illustratively, the video coding mode adopted by the UPF network element is a Motion Joint Photographic Experts Group (MJPEG) technology. And the UPF network element performs video coding on the service data to be transmitted by adopting an MJPEG algorithm to obtain fourth service data.
And S207, the UPF network element sends the fourth service data to the access network equipment. Correspondingly, the access network equipment receives the fourth service data from the UPF network element.
The fourth service data is data sent to the access network device by the UPF network element after performing S201. Here, the degree of encoding compression of the fourth service data may be the same as or different from that of the first service data. For example, in a case that the UPF network element determines that the data amount of the third service data exceeds the preset data amount threshold, the degree of code compression of the fourth service data is higher than that of the first service data. And under the condition that the UPF network element determines that the data volume of the third service data does not exceed the preset data volume threshold, the encoding compression degree of the fourth service data is lower than that of the first service data, or the encoding compression degree of the fourth service data is the same as that of the first service data.
And S208, the access network equipment sends the fifth service data to the terminal equipment. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the fifth service data from the access network device.
In the process of transmitting the fourth service data between the access network device and the terminal device, a phenomenon of data discarding exists. Here, the fifth service data refers to data received by the terminal device. The sixth service data refers to data discarded by the access network device. And the service data in the fifth service data and the sixth service data belong to the fourth service data. Illustratively, the access network device determines the data volume of the fifth service data to be transmitted according to the data volume and the air interface capacity of the fourth service data to be transmitted. If the wireless channel condition is good and no data discard occurs, the data volume of the fifth service data may be equal to the data volume of the fourth service data, and the data packet number of the sixth service data is equal to zero. If the wireless channel condition becomes poor and a phenomenon of data discarding occurs, the data volume of the fifth service data may be smaller than the data volume of the fourth service data, and the data packet number of the sixth service data may be greater than zero. The fifth service data and the sixth service data may be data that is not network-encoded or data that is network-encoded.
In this way, the UPF network element can also determine the video coding mode of the service data to be transmitted subsequently based on the target indication information. For example, when the UPF network element determines that the data size of the third service data is larger based on the target indication information, the UPF network element may increase the video coding compression degree of the fourth service data to reduce the data transmission size. Due to the hysteresis effect of human eyes, if video data in a short period is lost, the human eyes can hardly perceive the video data, and the subjective experience of a user and the normal service flow of the terminal equipment are not influenced. Otherwise, when the UPF network element determines that the data volume of the third service data is smaller based on the target indication information, the UPF network element may reduce the video coding compression degree of the fourth service data, and ensure the normal service flow of the terminal device.
The embodiment of the application provides a second charging method, which is applied to a charging deduction process. Referring to fig. 6, the charging method includes the following steps:
s601, the UPF network element sends the first service data to the access network equipment. Correspondingly, the access network equipment receives the first service data from the UPF network element.
The first service data is data to be transmitted to the terminal device, and for a description of the "first service data", reference may be made to the description of S201, which is not described herein again.
S602, the access network device sends third service data to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal equipment receives the third service data from the access network equipment.
For a specific implementation process of S602, reference may be made to the relevant description of S202, which is not described herein again.
S603, the terminal equipment sends the target indication information to the UPF network element according to at least one of the preset target time period and the third service data. Correspondingly, the UPF network element receives the target indication information from the terminal equipment.
Wherein, the data indicated by the target indication information comprises third service data. The third service data may be data before network decoding or data after network decoding. In the following, "target indication information" is described in terms of "content reported by the target indication information" and "trigger condition for sending the target indication information":
in a first aspect, for the content reported by the target indication information, the target indication information may indicate the data amount or the data packet amount of the data before network decoding, and the target indication information may also indicate the data amount or the data packet amount of the data after network decoding. In the following, the description is made by "case one and case two":
in case one, the target indication information indicates the data amount or the data packet amount of the data before network decoding.
In this case, if the data received by the terminal device is the data after being network coded, and correspondingly, the third service data is the data after being network coded, the terminal device may count the data volume or the data packet number of the third service data before network decoding, and then report the transmission status of the "third service data" to the UPF network element through the target indication information.
And in case two, the target indication information indicates the data volume or the data packet quantity of the data decoded by the network.
In this case, if the data received by the terminal device is the data after being network coded, and correspondingly, the third service data is the data after being network coded, the terminal device may count the data volume or the data packet number of the third service data after being network decoded, and report the transmission status of the "third service data" to the UPF network element through the target indication information. Or, the terminal device may also count the data amount or the data packet amount of the third service data before network decoding, and then perform a "conversion process", that is, obtain the data amount of the "data after network encoding" from the data amount of the "data before network decoding". Referring to fig. 7, the specific process is as follows:
s6031, the terminal device determines a data amount of the third service data before network decoding.
Illustratively, the terminal device counts the data size of the third service data to be 100KB before network decoding.
S6032, the terminal device determines the data size of the third service data after the network decoding according to the redundancy rate and the data size of the third service data before the network decoding.
Wherein, the redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits after network decoding to the number of bits before network decoding.
Illustratively, the data size of the third service data before network decoding is 100KB, and the redundancy rate is 4/5. In this case, the terminal device determines that the data amount of the third service data after network decoding is 80 KB.
That is, in the case that the access network device provides the terminal device with the network-coded third service data, the terminal device can perform a "conversion process" to obtain a network-decoded data volume, and report "the network-decoded data volume of the third service data" to the UPF network element.
In the second aspect, as for the trigger condition for sending the target indication information, there may be a plurality of trigger conditions for sending the target indication information from the terminal device to the UPF network element. In the following, the description is made by the following two examples of "example one and example two":
in an example, a terminal device sends target indication information to a UPF network element according to a preset target time period. Correspondingly, the UPF network element receives the target indication information from the terminal equipment.
The preset target time period may be a working period set by the terminal device, or a working period preset by the core network device (e.g., a UPF network element). The target indication information indicates the data amount of the third service data or the corresponding data packet number in the target time period.
Illustratively, the preset target time period is 5 minutes, in this case, the terminal device sends the target indication information to the UPF network element every 5 minutes. For example, in a "09: 55 ", the terminal equipment sends a target indication message to the UPF network element. In the region of "10: 00 ", the terminal equipment sends another piece of target indication information to the UPF network element. Here, the target time period is a time period of "09: 55 to 10: 00". The destination indication information transmitted at the time of "10: 00" indicates the data amount of the third service data or the corresponding data packet number in the time period of "09: 55 to 10: 00".
In this way, the terminal device sends the target indication information to the UPF network element according to the preset target time period to indicate the data transmission status in the target time period, so that the UPF network element can determine the data volume of the service data received by the terminal device in the target time period.
In example two, if the third service data meets the first preset condition, the terminal device sends target indication information to the UPF network element. Correspondingly, the UPF network element receives the target indication information from the terminal equipment.
Wherein the first preset condition comprises at least one of the following:
the number of the data packets corresponding to the first and third service data is greater than or equal to the threshold value T of the data packets3，P. Where "T" represents a threshold, subscript "3" represents third traffic data, and subscript "P" represents a packet.
The data volume of the second item and the third service data is greater than or equal to the data volume threshold T3，B. Where "T" represents a threshold, subscript "3" represents third traffic data, and subscript "B" represents a data amount.
Here, in the case that the first preset condition is actually the first item or the second item, the terminal device determines that the number of packets of the third service data reaches a certain degree (for example, greater than or equal to the packet threshold T) based on the "third service data"3，P) Or the data amount of the third service data reaches a certain degree (e.g., greater than or equal to the data amount threshold T)3，B) And under the condition, the terminal equipment sends target indication information to the UPF network element so as to report the data volume or the data packet quantity of the third service data to the UPF network element.
In this way, the terminal device sends the target indication information to the UPF network element to indicate the transmission status of the third service data when determining that the third service data meets the first preset condition, so that the UPF network element can determine the data volume of the service data received by the terminal device.
S604, the UPF network element determines the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment according to the target indication information. Here, the specific implementation process of S604 may refer to the related description of S204, and is not described herein again.
The target indication information may indicate a data amount or a data packet amount of data before network decoding, or may indicate a data amount or a data packet amount of data after network decoding. Accordingly, the specific implementation process of S604 is described in the following two cases:
in case one, the target indication information indicates the data amount or the data packet amount of the data before network decoding. In this case, the UPF network element performs a "conversion process", that is, obtains the data amount of the "data after network coding" from the data amount of the "data before network decoding", which may specifically refer to the processing process shown in fig. 4, and is not described herein again.
And in case two, the target indication information indicates the data volume or the data packet quantity of the data decoded by the network.
In this case, the UPF network element uses the "data amount indicated by the destination indication information" as the "data amount of the service data received by the terminal device", or the UPF network element uses the "number of packets indicated by the destination indication information" as the "number of packets of the service data received by the terminal device".
In the scenarios described in the first and second cases, after the UPF network element determines the data volume of the service data received by the terminal device, the UPF network element performs S2043, which is not described herein again.
In the charging method provided by the embodiment of the application, when the UPF network element provides the first service data to the terminal device through the access network device, the terminal device can send target indication information to the UPF network element, for example, the target indication information indicates a data volume or a data packet number of the third service data received by the terminal device, so that the UPF network element counts a cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal device, and the access network device is not required to send the target indication information to the UPF network element. Therefore, the access network equipment does not need to store the data volume information for a long time, the management burden of the access network equipment on the data volume information is reduced, and the storage resource overhead of the access network equipment is reduced.
In some embodiments, the UPF network element may determine, based on the target indication information from the terminal device, a video coding method of the fourth service data to be subsequently transmitted, which may specifically refer to the processing procedure shown in fig. 5, and is not described herein again.
The above description is made for the transmission process of the "target indication information". In the following, a specific process of "PDRs corresponding to the same charging rate in multiple PDRs are mapped to the same QoS flow" is described, for example, as shown in fig. 8, fig. 8 shows a possible process step:
s801, the AMF network element obtains the charging and deduction requirements of the service data.
Wherein the service data comprises a plurality of PDRs. The charging rules for a PDR may be as follows: no billing is required for checking; a charge accounting is required and the charge rate is N dollars/MB. Wherein N is greater than zero. Accordingly, the charging accounting requirement of the service data includes the charging rule of each PDR in the PDRs.
For example, referring to fig. 9, the process of the AMF network element "obtaining the charging accounting reduction requirement of the service data" is as follows:
step one, the terminal equipment sends a PDU session modification request to the AMF network element. Correspondingly, the AMF network element receives a PDU session modification request from the terminal equipment.
Wherein the PDU session modification request includes service information. For example, the traffic information includes the number of PDRs, the number of QoS flows, and PDR charging rules.
Illustratively, referring to fig. 10, the PDU session modify request includes 5 PDRs and 3 QoS flows. Since the PDU session modification request includes the PDR charging rules. That is, the terminal device can suggest charging rules for the PDR to the AMF network element.
Step two, the AMF network element sends a PDU session update context (Nsmf _ PDU session _ update SM context) to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the PDU session update context from the AMF network element.
And the PDU session update context is used for requesting the SMF network element to update the context of the PDU session.
And step three, the PCF network element sends the PDR charging rule to the SMF network element. Correspondingly, the SMF network element receives the PDR charging rule from the PCF network element.
And step four, the SMF network element determines the PDR charging rule in the PDU session modification request according to the PDR charging rule provided by the PCF network element and the PDR charging rule provided by the terminal equipment.
Illustratively, if the PDR charging rule provided by the PCF network element is consistent with the PDR charging rule provided by the terminal device, the charging rule of the PDR in the PDU session is the charging rule of the PDR in the PDU session modification request.
And step five, the SMF network element sends the charging rule of the PDR to the AMF network element. Correspondingly, the AMF network element receives the charging rule of the PDR from the SMF network element.
Wherein, the charging rule of the PDR is determined by the SMF network element by performing step four. The charging rule of the PDR is carried in a PDU session update context (Namf _ PDU session _ update SM context) sent by the SMF network element to the AMF network element.
S802, the AMF network element determines the mapping relation between the PDRs and the QoS flow according to the charging and deduction requirements.
Illustratively, for the PDRs requiring charging deduction, the AMF network element determines the mapping relationship between the PDRs and the QoS flow according to the charging rate of each PDR. Here, PDRs with the same charging rate are mapped to the same QoS flow, and PDRs with different charging rates are mapped to different QoS flows. Illustratively, referring to fig. 10,5 PDRs are mapped to 3 QoS flows.
And S803, the AMF network element sends the mapping relation to the UPF network element. Correspondingly, the UPF network element receives the mapping relation from the AMF network element.
Wherein the mapping relationship is determined by the AMF network element by performing S802. The mapping relationship includes a mapping relationship between the PDRs and the QoS flow.
For example, taking the scenario shown in fig. 10 as an example, the mapping relationship sent by the AMF network element to the UPF network element is "the mapping relationship between the above 5 PDRs and 3 QoS flows".
And S804, the UPF network element maps the PDRs to the QoS flow according to the mapping relation.
Exemplarily, taking the scenario shown in fig. 10 as an example, the UPF network element maps the above 5 PDRs to 3 QoS streams according to the mapping relationship from the AMF network element. In fig. 10, the access network equipment maps 3 QoS flows into two radio bearers.
In the charging method provided by the embodiment of the application, after the AMF network element obtains the charging subtraction requirement of the PDR, the mapping relationship between the PDR and the QoS stream is determined according to the charging rule of the PDR, so that the UPF network element maps the PDR to the QoS stream based on the mapping relationship determined by the AMF network element. That is, in the process of determining the "mapping relationship between the PDR and the QoS flow", the reference factor of the "charging rule" is added to meet the charging requirements of different PDRs.
The above-mentioned scheme provided by the embodiment of the present application is introduced mainly from the perspective of interaction between network elements. Correspondingly, the embodiment of the present application further provides a charging device, where the charging device may be a network element in the foregoing method embodiment, or a device including the foregoing network element, or a component that can be used for the network element. It is understood that the billing device includes hardware structures and/or software modules corresponding to the respective functions in order to implement the above functions. Those of skill in the art would readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.
Fig. 11 shows a schematic structural diagram of a charging apparatus 1100. The charging apparatus 1100 includes a transceiving unit 1101 and a processing unit 1102.
For example, taking the charging apparatus 1100 as the access network device in fig. 2 in the foregoing method embodiment as an example, the transceiver 1101 is configured to receive the first service data from a user plane function UPF network element. The first service data is to be transmitted to the terminal device. The processing unit 1102 is configured to control the transceiver unit 1101 to send the target indication information to the UPF network element according to at least one of a preset target time period and the first service data and the second service data. The second service data is discarded by the access network device, and the service data in the second service data belongs to the first service data. The target indication information is used for the UPF network element to count the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment in the first service data.
In one possible design, the processing unit 1102 is specifically configured to: if at least one of the first service data and the second service data meets a preset condition, controlling the transceiver unit 1101 to send the target indication information to the UPF network element, where the preset condition includes at least one of: the number of data packets corresponding to the first service data is greater than or equal to a first data packet threshold; the data volume of the first service data is greater than or equal to a first data volume threshold value; the number of the data packets corresponding to the second service data is greater than or equal to a second data packet threshold value; the data volume of the second service data is greater than or equal to a second data volume threshold; the first value is greater than or equal to the third packet threshold. The first numerical value is a numerical value determined based on the number of data packets corresponding to the first service data and the second service data respectively. The second value is greater than or equal to a third data volume threshold. The second value is a value determined based on data volumes corresponding to the first service data and the second service data, respectively.
In one possible design, the transceiver unit 1101 is also configured to send the redundancy rate to a UPF network element. The redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits before network coding to the number of bits after network coding, and the redundancy rate is used for the UPF network element to determine the data volume of the service data in the data indicated by the target indication information. The data indicated by the target indication information is network coded data.
In one possible design, the transceiver unit 1101 is further configured to receive fourth service data from a UPF network element. The fourth service data is data to be transmitted to the terminal device after the first service data, and a video coding mode of the fourth service data is determined based on the target indication information.
In one possible design, referring to fig. 12, the charging apparatus 1100 includes a concentration unit 1104 and a distribution unit 1105. The second traffic data is discarded by the distribution unit 1105. The processing unit 1102 is specifically configured to: the distribution unit 1105 is configured to send first indication information to the concentration unit 1104 according to at least one of a preset target time period, the first service data, and the second service data, and the concentration unit 1104 is configured to send the target indication information to the UPF network element. Or, the distributing unit 1105 is configured to send the first indication information to the concentrating unit 1104, and the concentrating unit 1104 is configured to send the target indication information to the UPF network element according to at least one of the preset target time period, the first service data, and the second service data. The first indication information indicates the data volume or the data packet quantity of the second service data, or indicates the data volume or the data packet quantity of the third service data, and the third service data is data received by the terminal device. The target indication information is determined based on the first indication information.
In one possible design, distribution unit 1105 is also used to determine the data amount of the first encoded data. The first coded data is data which is subjected to network coding; the first encoded data belongs to data discarded by the distribution unit 1105 or to data received by the terminal device. The distribution unit 1105 is further configured to determine the data amount of the data indicated by the first indication information according to the redundancy rate and the data amount of the first encoded data. The redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits before network coding to the number of bits after network coding.
In one possible design, the concentration unit 1104 is further configured to determine a data amount of the first encoded data. The first coded data is data coded by a network. The first encoded data belongs to data discarded by the distribution unit 1105 or to data received by the terminal device. The concentration unit 1104 is also configured to determine the data amount of the data indicated by the target indication information, based on the redundancy rate and the data amount of the first encoded data. The redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits before network coding to the number of bits after network coding.
For example, taking the charging apparatus 1100 as the terminal device in fig. 6 in the foregoing method embodiment as an example, the transceiver 1101 is configured to receive the third service data from the access network device. The processing unit 1102 is configured to control the transceiver unit 1101 to send the destination indication information to the user plane function UPF network element according to at least one of a preset destination time period and the third service data. And the target indication information is used for the UPF network element to determine the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data in the third service data.
In one possible design, the processing unit 1102 is specifically configured to: if the third service data meets the preset condition, the control transceiving unit 1101 sends the target indication information to the UPF network element. Wherein the preset condition comprises at least one of the following conditions: the number of data packets corresponding to the third service data is greater than or equal to the first data packet threshold; the data amount of the third traffic data is greater than or equal to the first data amount threshold.
In one possible design, the target indication information indicates a data amount of the third service data after decoding by the network. The processing unit 1102 is further configured to determine a data amount of the third service data before network decoding. The processing unit 1102 is further configured to determine a data amount of the third service data after network decoding according to the redundancy rate and the data amount of the third service data before network decoding. Wherein, the redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits after network decoding to the number of bits before network decoding.
In one possible design, the transceiver unit 1101 is further configured to receive fifth service data from the access network device. The fifth service data is received after the third service data, and the video coding mode of the fifth service data is determined based on the target indication information.
For example, taking the charging apparatus 1100 as the UPF network element in fig. 2 or fig. 6 in the foregoing method embodiment as an example, the transceiver 1101 is configured to receive the target indication information. Wherein the data indicated by the target indication information includes at least one of the second service data and the third service data. The second service data is discarded by the access network device, and the third service data is the data received by the terminal device. And the service data in the second service data and the third service data belong to the first service data. The first service data is data to be transmitted to the terminal device through the access network device. The processing unit 1102 is configured to determine, according to the target indication information, a cost corresponding to a data amount of the service data received by the terminal device.
In one possible design, the transceiver unit 1101 is specifically configured to: target indication information is received from the access network device. Wherein the data indicated by the target indication information includes at least one of the second service data and the third service data. The second service data is data before network coding or data after network coding. The third service data is network coded data.
In one possible design, the transceiver unit 1101 is specifically configured to: and receiving target indication information from the terminal equipment. Wherein, the data indicated by the target indication information comprises third service data. The third service data is data before network decoding or data after network decoding.
In one possible design, the data indicated by the target indication information is network coded data. The processing unit 1102 is specifically configured to: and acquiring a redundancy rate, wherein the redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits before network coding to the number of bits after network coding, determining the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment according to the redundancy rate and the target indication information, and calculating the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment.
In one possible design, the processing unit 1102 is specifically configured to: and determining the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment according to the redundancy rate, the first service data and the second service data. Wherein, the data indicated by the target indication information comprises second service data.
In one possible design, the processing unit 1102 is further configured to determine a video encoding mode according to the target indication information. The processing unit 1102 is further configured to perform video coding on the service data to be transmitted to the terminal device in a video coding manner, so as to obtain fourth service data. The processing unit 1102 is further configured to send fourth service data to the access network device.
All relevant contents of each step related to the above method embodiment may be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and are not described herein again.
It should be understood that the processing unit 1102 in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by a processor or a processor-related circuit component, and the transceiver unit 1101 may be implemented by a transceiver or a transceiver-related circuit component.
Optionally, the charging apparatus 1100 may further include a storage unit 1103 for storing program codes and data of the charging apparatus 1100, and the data may include, but is not limited to, raw data or intermediate data, and the like.
In one possible approach, the processing unit 1102 may be a processor or a controller, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processing (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. Which may implement or perform the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure. A processor may also be a combination of computing functions, e.g., comprising one or more microprocessors, a DSP and a microprocessor, or the like. The transceiving unit 1101 may be a transceiver, transceiving circuitry, or a communication interface, etc. The storage unit 1103 may be a memory.
In one possible embodiment, when the processing unit 1102 is a processor, the transceiver unit 1101 is a communication interface, and the storage unit 1103 is a memory, or when the central unit 1104 is implemented as a "processor, a communication interface, and a memory," or when the distribution unit 1105 is implemented as a "processor, a communication interface, and a memory," the configuration of the charging apparatus according to the embodiment of the present application may be as shown in fig. 13.
Fig. 13 shows a simplified schematic diagram of a possible design of a charging device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present application. The charging apparatus 1300 includes: processor 1302, communication interface 1303, memory 1301. Optionally, the charging apparatus 1300 may further include a bus 1304. The communication interface 1303, the processor 1302, and the memory 1301 may be connected to each other via a bus 1304. The bus 1304 may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, or the like. The bus 1304 may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease of illustration, only one line is shown in FIG. 13, but this does not represent only one bus or one type of bus.
Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: in the above embodiments, the implementation may be wholly or partially realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. The procedures or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are all or partially generated when the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored on a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another, for example, from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wire (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device including one or more available media integrated servers, data centers, and the like. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.
In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, a division of modules is merely a division of logical functions, and an actual implementation may have another division, for example, a plurality of modules or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or modules through some interfaces, and may be in an electrical or other form.
Modules described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as modules may or may not be physical modules, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network devices (for example, terminal apparatuses). Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the present embodiment.
In addition, each functional module in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing module, or each functional module may exist independently, or two or more functional modules may be integrated into one module. The integrated module can be realized in a hardware form, and can also be realized in a form of hardware and a software functional module.
Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will clearly understand that the present application can be implemented by software plus necessary general hardware, and certainly, the present application can also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases, the former is a better implementation. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the present application may be substantially implemented or a part of the technical solutions contributing to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product, where the computer software product is stored in a readable storage medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or an optical disk of a computer, and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute the methods described in the embodiments of the present application.
The above description is only an embodiment of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and all changes and substitutions within the technical scope of the present application should be covered by the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims (30)

1. A charging method, comprising:
the method comprises the steps that access network equipment receives first service data from a User Plane Function (UPF) network element, wherein the first service data are to be transmitted to terminal equipment;
the access network equipment sends target indication information to the UPF network element according to at least one of a preset target time period and the first service data and the second service data;
the second service data is discarded by the access network device, and the service data in the second service data belongs to the first service data; the target indication information is used for the UPF network element to count the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal device in the first service data.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sending, by the access network device, the destination indication information to the UPF network element according to at least one of a preset destination time period and the first service data and the second service data comprises:
if at least one of the first service data and the second service data meets a preset condition, the access network device sends the target indication information to the UPF network element, wherein the preset condition includes at least one of the following:
the number of data packets corresponding to the first service data is greater than or equal to a first data packet threshold;
the data volume of the first service data is greater than or equal to a first data volume threshold;
the number of data packets corresponding to the second service data is greater than or equal to a second data packet threshold;
the data volume of the second service data is greater than or equal to a second data volume threshold;
a first value is greater than or equal to a third data packet threshold, wherein the first value is a value determined based on the number of data packets respectively corresponding to the first service data and the second service data;
and the second value is greater than or equal to a third data volume threshold, wherein the second value is a value determined based on the data volumes respectively corresponding to the first service data and the second service data.
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
the target indication information indicates the data volume or the data packet quantity of the second service data;
or, the target indication information indicates the data volume or the data packet quantity of the third service data; the third service data is data received by the terminal device.
4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
the data indicated by the target indication information is data which is not subjected to network coding;
or, the data indicated by the target indication information is network coded data.
5. The method according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the access network equipment comprises a concentration unit CU and a distribution unit DU; the second service data is discarded by the DU;
the access network device sends target indication information to the UPF network element according to at least one of a preset target time period, the first service data and the second service data, including:
the DU sends first indication information to the CU according to at least one of the preset target time period, the first service data and the second service data; the CU sends the target indication information to the UPF network element;
or, the DU sends first indication information to the CU; the CU sends the target indication information to the UPF network element according to at least one of the preset target time period, the first service data and the second service data;
the first indication information indicates the data volume or the data packet quantity of the second service data, or indicates the data volume or the data packet quantity of third service data, and the third service data is data received by the terminal device; the target indication information is determined based on the first indication information.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:
the DU determines the data volume of first coded data, wherein the first coded data is data subjected to network coding; the first encoded data belongs to data discarded by the DU or to data received by the terminal device;
and the DU determines the data volume of the data indicated by the first indication information according to a redundancy rate and the data volume of the first coded data, wherein the redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits before network coding to the number of bits after network coding.
7. The method of claim 5, further comprising:
the CU determines the data quantity of first coded data, wherein the first coded data are data subjected to network coding; the first encoded data belongs to data discarded by the DU or to data received by the terminal device;
and the CU determines the data volume of the data indicated by the target indication information according to a redundancy rate and the data volume of the first coded data, wherein the redundancy rate represents the proportion of the number of bits before network coding to the number of bits after network coding.
8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising:
the access network equipment sends a redundancy rate to the UPF network element, wherein the redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits before network coding to the number of bits after network coding, and the redundancy rate is used for the UPF network element to determine the data volume of the service data in the data indicated by the target indication information; the data indicated by the target indication information is network coded data.
9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising:
and the access network equipment receives fourth service data from the UPF network element, wherein the fourth service data is data to be transmitted to the terminal equipment after the first service data, and a video coding mode of the fourth service data is determined based on the target indication information.
10. A charging method, comprising:
the terminal equipment receives third service data from the access network equipment;
and the terminal equipment sends target indication information to a User Plane Function (UPF) network element according to at least one of a preset target time period and the third service data, wherein the target indication information is used for the UPF network element to determine the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data in the third service data.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the sending, by the terminal device, the target indication information to the UPF network element according to at least one of a preset target time period and the third service data comprises:
if the third service data meets a preset condition, the terminal device sends the target indication information to the UPF network element, wherein the preset condition includes at least one of the following items:
the number of data packets corresponding to the third service data is greater than or equal to a first data packet threshold;
the data volume of the third service data is greater than or equal to the first data volume threshold.
12. The method according to claim 10 or 11,
the target indication information indicates the data volume or the data packet quantity of the third service data before network decoding;
or, the target indication information indicates the data volume or the data packet number of the third service data after network decoding.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the target indication information indicates a data amount of the third traffic data after network decoding; the method further comprises the following steps:
the terminal equipment determines the data volume of the third service data before network decoding;
and the terminal equipment determines the data volume of the third service data after network decoding according to a redundancy rate and the data volume of the third service data before network decoding, wherein the redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits after network decoding to the number of bits before network decoding.
14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, further comprising:
and the terminal equipment receives fifth service data from the access network equipment, wherein the fifth service data is data received after the third service data, and the video coding mode of the fifth service data is determined based on the target indication information.
15. A charging method, comprising:
a User Plane Function (UPF) network element receives target indication information, wherein data indicated by the target indication information comprises at least one of second service data and third service data; the second service data is discarded by the access network equipment, and the third service data is data received by the terminal equipment; the service data in the second service data and the third service data belong to first service data; the first service data is data to be transmitted to the terminal equipment through the access network equipment;
and the UPF network element determines the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment according to the target indication information.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the receiving, by the UPF network element, the target indication information comprises:
the UPF network element receives the target indication information from the access network equipment;
wherein the data indicated by the target indication information includes at least one of the second traffic data and the third traffic data; the second service data is data before network coding or data after network coding; the third service data is network coded data.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein the receiving, by the UPF network element, the target indication information comprises:
the UPF network element receives the target indication information from the terminal equipment;
wherein the data indicated by the target indication information includes the third service data; the third service data is data before network decoding or data after network decoding.
18. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein the data indicated by the target indication information is network coded data; the determining, by the UPF network element, the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal device according to the target indication information includes:
the UPF network element acquires a redundancy rate, wherein the redundancy rate represents the ratio of the number of bits before network coding to the number of bits after network coding;
the UPF network element determines the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment according to the redundancy rate and the target indication information;
and the UPF network element calculates the cost corresponding to the data volume of the service data received by the terminal equipment.
19. The method of any one of claims 15 to 18, further comprising:
the UPF network element determines a video coding mode according to the target indication information;
the UPF network element performs video coding on the service data to be transmitted to the terminal equipment by adopting the video coding mode to obtain fourth service data;
and the UPF network element sends the fourth service data to the access network equipment.
20. A charging apparatus, comprising: means for performing the steps of any of claims 1 to 9.
21. A charging apparatus, comprising: a processor for invoking a program in a memory for causing the charging apparatus to perform the charging method of any one of claims 1 to 9.
22. A charging apparatus, comprising: a processor and an interface circuit for communicating with other devices, the processor being configured to perform the charging method of any of claims 1 to 9.
23. A charging apparatus, comprising: means for performing the steps of any of claims 10 to 14.
24. A charging apparatus, comprising: a processor for invoking a program in a memory for causing the charging apparatus to perform the charging method of any one of claims 10 to 14.
25. A charging apparatus, comprising: a processor and an interface circuit for communicating with other devices, the processor being configured to perform the charging method of any of claims 10 to 14.
26. A charging apparatus, comprising: means for performing the steps of any of claims 15 to 19.
27. A charging apparatus, comprising: a processor for invoking a program in a memory for causing the charging apparatus to perform the charging method of any one of claims 15 to 19.
28. A charging apparatus, comprising: a processor and an interface circuit for communicating with other devices, the processor being configured to perform the charging method of any of claims 15 to 19.
29. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium stores a program that, when invoked by a processor, performs the charging method of any one of claims 1 to 9, or performs the charging method of any one of claims 10 to 14, or performs the charging method of any one of claims 15 to 19.
30. A computer program, characterized in that when said program is invoked by a processor, the charging method of any of claims 1 to 9 is executed, or the charging method of any of claims 10 to 14 is executed, or the charging method of any of claims 15 to 19 is executed.
CN202010664273.1A 2020-07-10 2020-07-10 Charging method and device Pending CN113923064A (en)

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Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2023178603A1 (en) * 2022-03-24 2023-09-28 Apple Inc. Methods and systems for network slicing charging
WO2024031389A1 (en) * 2022-08-09 2024-02-15 北京小米移动软件有限公司 Billing processing method and apparatus, communication device, and storage medium
WO2024031375A1 (en) * 2022-08-09 2024-02-15 北京小米移动软件有限公司 Charging correction method and apparatus, and communication device and storage medium

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2023178603A1 (en) * 2022-03-24 2023-09-28 Apple Inc. Methods and systems for network slicing charging
WO2024031389A1 (en) * 2022-08-09 2024-02-15 北京小米移动软件有限公司 Billing processing method and apparatus, communication device, and storage medium
WO2024031375A1 (en) * 2022-08-09 2024-02-15 北京小米移动软件有限公司 Charging correction method and apparatus, and communication device and storage medium

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