JP2010147581A - Communication system, session control server, charging device, call detail record creating method, fee calculating method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a technique capable of reliably charging even when communication is not normally terminated.
A communication system includes a session control server and a charging device. The session control server creates call detail record information of the call when it reaches a predetermined halfway point until the session control target call ends. The charging device acquires the call detail record information created by the session control server, and calculates a charge to be charged for the call based on the call detail record information.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for performing accounting calculation of an IP (Internet Protocol) communication system.

  In NGN (Next Generation Network) described in Non-Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 2, an attempt has been made to realize a high-quality communication service using IP.

In accounting for this IP (Internet Protocol) telephone, first, a node such as a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) server generates CDR (Call Detail Record). Next, the billing apparatus collects these CDRs and charges based on the calculation based on the contents.

Here, the call control device (SIP server) described in Patent Document 1 starts recording the communication (call) at the time of establishment of the call, and at the timing when the call is terminated, A CDR was created by integrating the records up to this point. That is, the SIP server has created one CDR for one call.
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, “NTT Technology Journal”, Ohm Publishing, 2007. Vol19. No4, p30-37 Nikkei Business Publications, “How does NGN in NTT work?”, [Online], [Search August 12, 2008], Internet, <http://itpro.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/COLUMN/20070125/ 259673> JP 2003-143330 A

  However, in the SIP server described in Patent Document 1, when a call continues for a long time, a system down may occur during communication. At that time, since the SIP signal indicating the end of communication cannot be confirmed, the SIP server cannot create a CDR. For this reason, there was a problem that the communication system could not be charged.

  An object of this invention is to provide the technique which can charge reliably even when communication is not complete | finished normally.

  In order to achieve the above object, the communication system of the present invention creates a session detail recording information of a call when a predetermined halfway point is reached before the session controlled call is terminated. And a billing device that acquires the call detail record information created by the session control server and calculates a charge to be imposed on the call based on the call detail record information.

  The session control server according to the present invention provides a call control means for performing session control of a call, and a predetermined halfway point between the call control means and the end of the call subject to the session control. Call detail record information creating means for creating call detail record information of the call.

  The billing apparatus of the present invention includes a call detail record information acquisition unit that acquires call detail record information created at a predetermined midpoint until a call is terminated, and the call detail record information acquisition unit that acquires the call detail record information Charge calculating means for calculating a charge to be charged to the call based on the call detail record information.

  The call detail record creation method of the present invention is a method for performing call session control and creating call detail record information for a call when a predetermined halfway point is reached before the call is terminated. .

  The billing calculation method of the present invention acquires call detail record information created at a predetermined midpoint until the call is terminated, and calculates a charge to be imposed on the call based on the call detail record information. Is the method.

  A program according to a first aspect of the present invention provides a computer with a call control procedure for performing session control of a call, and a predetermined time until the call that has been subject to session control in the call control procedure ends. This program is a program for executing a call detail record information creation procedure for creating call detail record information of the call when it is halfway.

  A program according to a second aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to operate as a charging device, and stores detailed call record information created at a predetermined point in time until the call is terminated. A program for executing a call detail record information acquisition procedure to be acquired and a charge calculation procedure for calculating a charge to be imposed on the call based on the call detail record information acquired in the call detail record information acquisition procedure .

  According to the present invention, the session control server creates the call detail record information at a midpoint while the call is continuing. Therefore, even if the communication is not normally terminated due to a system down or the like, charging is performed. The device can perform settlement on the basis of call detail record information created while the call is ongoing, and can be charged reliably.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall view showing a configuration of a communication system 1 according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, the communication system 1 includes an SSC (Subscriber Session Control server) 10 and a charging device 20. The SSC 10 accommodates a plurality of UAs (User Agents) such as terminals P1 and P2.

  Terminals P1 and P2 are communication terminals that use IP as a communication protocol.

  The SSC 10 (session control server) will be described with reference to FIG. The SSC 10 is a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) server that accommodates a plurality of UAs (clients) such as P1 and P2. Referring to FIG. 1, the SSC 10 includes a call control unit 101 and a CDR creation unit 103.

  FIG. 3 is a table showing items set in the SSC 10. Referring to the figure, SSC 10 is set with “long-hold call determination time” and “half-way settlement time” (half-way time). The “long hold call determination time” is a value for the SSC 10 to determine whether or not the call is a call that has been in communication for a long time. The “halfway clearing time” is a time when the SSC 10 creates a CDR (Call Detail Record) of the call when it is determined that the call is a call during long-term communication.

  When receiving a call setting request, the call control unit 101 establishes a session for the call according to a communication procedure defined by SIP. Then, if the call continues for the “long-hold call determination time” or more when the “halfway clearing time” is reached every day, the CDR creating unit 103 sets the CDR in which a predetermined item is set for the call. Create The CDR creation unit 103 also creates a CDR for the call even when communication is completed.

  FIG. 4 is a table showing items that the SSC 10 sets in the CDR. Referring to the figure, the CDR includes “call identification number”, “communication start time”, “communication end time”, “halfway settlement display”, “halfway settlement start time”, and “halfway settlement end time”. The item is set.

  The “call identification number” is a number assigned to the call and unique within the communication system 1. “Communication start time” is the time when communication is started. Specifically, the communication start time is the time when the terminal on the called side transmits the response message (200 OK). The “communication end time” is the time when communication ends. Specifically, the time at which the terminal on the called side transmits a response message (200 OK) in response to a message (BYE) to disconnect the call from the calling side is the communication end time.

  “Intermediate settlement display” is information indicating whether or not the SSC 10 is a CDR created while the call is ongoing for the interim settlement. For example, the SSC 10 sets “1” when the CDR is a CDR created for the settlement, and sets “0” otherwise. “Intermediate liquidation start time” is a time that is set when the SSC 10 creates a CDR for midway liquidation after the second time, and is set to the time when the previous CDR was created. The “halfway settlement end time” is the time when the SSC 10 creates a CDR for midway settlement.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the charging apparatus 20. With reference to the figure, the charging apparatus 20 includes a CDR acquisition unit 201 and a charging calculation unit 203.

  The CDR acquisition unit 201 collects CDRs created by the SSC 10. Then, billing calculation section 203 determines whether or not each CDR having the same call identification number is a CDR for midway settlement.

  When the CDR is a CDR for midway settlement, that is, when the call is a CDR created while the call is ongoing, the billing calculation unit 203 calculates a billing period based on the following equation (1).

(Fee settlement period) = (Clearing settlement end time) −MAX [(Communication start time), (Intermediate settlement start time)] (1)
If the CDR is not a CDR for midway settlement, that is, if it is a CDR created after the end of communication, the billing calculation unit 203 calculates a fee settlement period based on the following equation (2).

(Fee settlement period) = (communication end time) −MAX [(communication start time), (midway settlement start time)] (2)
In the above formulas (1) and (2), “MAX []” is a function indicating the later of “communication start time” and “midway settlement start time”.

  The billing calculation unit 203 calculates the billing based on the total value of the charge settlement period calculated using the above formula (1) or (2) as the call continuation period.

  Next, the operation of the communication system 1 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing CDR creation processing of the SSC 10. This CDR creation process starts when the SSC 10 accepts a call. Referring to the figure, the SSC 10 determines whether or not the communication has ended (step S1).

If the communication has not ended (step S1: NO ), the SSC 10 determines whether or not the following equation (3) is satisfied (step S3).

(Long-term hold determination time)> (current time)-(communication start time) (3)
If the above equation (3) is satisfied (step S3: YES), the SSC 10 executes midway clearing CDR creation processing (step S5). The contents of the midway clearing CDR creation process will be described later. When the above equation (3) is not satisfied (step S3: NO), or after step S5, the SSC 10 returns to step S1.

  If the communication is completed (step S1: YES), the SSC 10 creates a CDR in which the communication end time is set (step S7). After step S7, the SSC 10 ends the CDR creation process.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing midway clearing CDR creation processing. Referring to the figure, the SSC 10 determines whether or not the communication has ended (step S51). If the communication has not ended (step S51: NO), the SSC 10 determines whether or not the current time is “halfway settlement time” (step S53).

  If the “halfway settlement time” has elapsed (step S53: YES), the SSC 10 creates a CDR for the halfway settlement (step S55). In this CDR, “communication start time” and “halfway settlement end time” are set. In the case of a CDR created after the second time, “intermediate settlement start time” which is the time when the CDR was created last time is further set. If the current time is not the “settlement time” (step S53: NO), or after step S55, the SSC 10 returns to step S51.

  If the communication is completed (step S51: YES), the SSC 10 ends the midway clearing CDR creation process.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the billing calculation process of the billing apparatus 20. Referring to the figure, charging device 20 acquires all the CDRs created by SSC 10 (step T1). For example, the charging apparatus 20 requests the SSC 10 to transmit a CDR using FTP (File Transfer Protocol) or the like, and receives the CDR from the SSC 10. Then, the charging device 20 extracts all of the CDRs that have the same call identification number as the unprocessed CDRs (step T3).

  The billing apparatus 20 refers to the “halfway settlement display” of the extracted CDR, and determines whether or not the CDR is a CDR for midway settlement (step T5).

  When the processing target CDR is a CDR for midway settlement (step T5: YES), the billing apparatus 20 calculates a fee settlement period using the above equation (1) (step T7). If the CDR to be processed is not a CDR for midway settlement (step T5: NO), the billing apparatus 20 calculates the fee settlement period using the above equation (2) (step T9).

  After step T7 or T9, the charging apparatus 20 determines whether or not the charge settlement period has been calculated for all CDRs having the same extracted call identification number (step T11).

  If all of the extracted CDRs have been calculated (step T11: YES), the charging apparatus 20 calculates the charge as the total duration of the calculated charge settlement period as the call duration (step T13). Then, the billing apparatus 20 determines whether or not billing has been calculated for all the acquired CDRs (step T15). If all the extracted CDRs have not been calculated (step T11: NO), the SSC 10 returns to step T5.

  If the charging calculation is not performed for all CDRs (step T15: NO), the charging apparatus 20 returns to step T3. If the charging calculation has been performed for all the CDRs (step T15: YES), the charging apparatus 20 ends the charging calculation process.

  Next, an example of the operation of the communication system 1 will be described.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a result of CDR creation processing of the SSC 10. Consider a case in which 3 hours is set for the “long-term hold determination time”, 4 am is set for the “settlement period”, and communication is performed from midnight on January 1 to 5:00 am on the same month.

When the long-term hold determination time (3 hours) elapses from the communication start time (midnight on the 1st), the SSC 10 starts the midway clearing CDR creation process. When the “settlement time” (4 am) is reached, the SSC 10 creates the first CDR (CDR-A) (step S5 5 ). When the first CDR is created and the next day's “settlement time” (4:00 am on the second day), the SSC 10 creates the second CDR (CDR-B) (step S55). After you create a second CDR, before it becomes more "middle liquidation time" the next day (3:00 morning 4), when the communication is terminated, SSC10 is, to create a third CDR ( Step S7).

  FIG. 10 is a table showing setting contents of the three created CDRs (CDR-A, CDR-B, and CDR-C). Referring to the figure, in addition to “call identification number”, “communication start time” (midnight of 1 day) is set in CDR-A, but communication has not ended at this point. “Communication end time” is not set.

  Since CDR-A is a CDR created for settlement in midstream, “1” is set in “halfway settlement display”. Since the CDR-A is the CDR created for the first time, the “settlement start time” is not set. In the “intermediate liquidation end time”, the time when the CDR-A is created (4 am on the first day) is set.

  Since CDR-B was created for the same call as CDR-A, the same number as the “call identification number” of CDR-A is set in the “call identification number”. In addition, “communication start time” (midnight of 1 day) is set in CDR-B, but “communication end time” is not set.

  Since CDR-B is a CDR created for the settlement of midway, “1” is set in the “halfway settlement display”. The time when the CDR (CDR-A) was created last time (4 am on the first day) is set in the “half-way liquidation start time” of the CDR-B, and the current CDR (CDR− The time when B) is created (2am, 4am) is set.

  Since the CDR-C is a CDR created after the end of communication, the same “call identification number” as the CDR-A and CDR-B, “communication start time” (midnight at 1 day), and “communication end time” ( 2am on the 2nd).

  Since CDR-C is not a CDR for midway settlement, “0” is set in “halfway settlement display”. Although the time when CDR-C was created (4:00 am on the 2nd) is set as the “half-way liquidation start time” of CDR-B, the “half-time liquidation end time” is not set.

  The charging device acquires these CDRs (CDR-A, CDR-B, and CDR-C). Since CDR-A and CDR-B are CDRs for midway settlement, “4 hours” and “24 hours” are calculated as the respective fee settlement periods using the above equation (1). Since CDR-C is not a CDR for clearing midway, “1 hour” is calculated as the fee settlement period using the above equation (2). The billing apparatus 20 performs billing calculation using “29 hours”, which is the sum of these calculated values, as the communication time.

In this way, by creating a CDR periodically while the call is continuing, even if the communication is not normally terminated due to a system down before the call is terminated, the call is continuing. Based on the setting contents of the CDR created in the above, it is possible to liquidate halfway. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 9 , when the system goes down from 4 am on the first day to 4 am on the next day, CDR-B and CDR-C are not created, but CDR-A has been created. Based on this, it is possible to calculate a charge for communication until 4 am on the 1st.

FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the communication system 1. Consider the case where the terminal P1 is a call to the terminal P2.

  The terminal P1 transmits an INVITE message to the terminal P2 via the SSC10. The terminal P2 transmits a provisional response message (100 Trying, 180 Ringing) to the terminal P1 via the SSC 10. The terminal P1 transmits a provisional response arrival confirmation message (PRACK) to the terminal P2 via the SSC10. The terminal P2 transmits a success response message (200 OK) to the terminal P2 via the SSC 10, and communication is started.

If the call is continued for the “long-term hold determination time” or longer, the SSC 10 periodically creates a CDR for midway settlement every time “ halfway settlement time ” is reached (step S55).

  When the terminal P1 transmits a message (BYE) for disconnecting the call and the terminal P2 returns a success response message (200 OK), the communication ends. After completion of communication, the SSC 10 creates a CDR in which “halfway settlement display” is set to “0” (step S7).

  In the present embodiment, only one SSC is provided, but it goes without saying that a plurality of SIP servers having a CDR creation function may be provided.

  In this embodiment, the call settlement time of each CDR is totaled to obtain the call communication time. As shown in FIG. 12, from the “communication start time”, the SSC 10 finally creates the CDR. A period up to the creation time (“half-way settlement end time” or “communication end time”) may be calculated as the communication time of the call. In this case, the SSC 10 does not need to set “intermediate clearing start time”, and does not need to set “communication start time” other than the first created CDR. In other words, the SSC 10 sets the “communication start time” and the creation time (“intermediate settlement end time”) only for the first created CDR, and the creation time (“intermediate settlement end time”) for the second and subsequent CDRs. Alternatively, only “communication end time” may be set.

  In the present embodiment, the SSC 10 is configured to set the CDR once a day at a predetermined time, but the present invention is not limited to this. The SSC 10 may create the CDR multiple times every day instead of once every day, or may create the CDR multiple times within a predetermined period, such as every week, every month, not every day. Further, instead of setting the time for generating the CDR, the CDR may be periodically generated and the cycle may be set in the SSC 10.

In the present embodiment, values set in advance as “long-term hold determination time” and “halfway settlement time” are used, but these values may be set or changed by the operator, You may set by receiving from another apparatus.

  All or part of the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 can also be realized by a computer program.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the SSC 10 (session control server) sets the call start time and the creation time in the “halfway settlement period” period while the call continues. Therefore, even if the session control server cannot create the call detail record information after the end of the communication due to a system down or the like, the charging device 20 keeps the call in progress. Based on the time set in the created call detail record information, the settlement can be made halfway and charging can be made reliably.

  In addition, if the call continues for “long-term hold determination time” or longer, the SSC 10 creates a CDR with a period of “halfway clearing period”. Therefore, for a call that continues only for a short time, the SSC 10 does not end communication. Thus, no CDR is created, and the burden on the SSC 10 is reduced.

  When the SSC 10 creates the second and subsequent CDRs, it sets “intermediate liquidation start time” and “intermediate liquidation end time”, and the charging device 20 sets the “intermediate liquidation start time” to “intermediate liquidation end time”. Since the charge calculation is performed based on the time, the charge calculation can be performed finely for each settlement period.

  The SSC 10 creates a CDR while creating a CDR while the call is continued, and then creates a CDR in which “intermediate clearing start time” and “communication end time” are set. Since the billing calculation is performed based on the time from the “halfway clearing start time” to the “communication end time” of the CDR, even if the present invention is applied to the communication system that creates the CDR only after the communication is completed, Executed.

(Second Embodiment)
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 13 and FIG.

  FIG. 13 is an overall view showing the configuration of the communication system 1a of the present embodiment. Referring to the figure, this communication system 1a is the same as the communication system 1 of the first embodiment except that it further includes an EMS (Event Management System) 30.

  FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the EMS 30. Referring to the figure. The EMS 30 includes a file management unit 301 and a shared disk 303. The file management unit 301 receives the CDR created by the SSC 10 and stores it in the shared disk 303.

  The billing apparatus 20 periodically collects CDRs stored in the EMS 30 and performs billing calculation.

  According to the present embodiment, even when a plurality of SSCs are provided, CDRs created by these SSCs can be centrally managed by the EMS 30.

1 is an overall view showing a configuration of a communication system according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of SSC of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the setting item of SSC of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the setting item of CDR of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the charging device of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the CDR creation process of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the halfway clearing CDR creation process of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the accounting calculation process of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the operation example of SSC of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the setting content of CDR of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the communication system of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the operation example of SSC of a modification. It is a general view which shows the structure of the communication system of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of EMS of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1, 1a communication system 10 SSC
20 Billing device 30 EMS
101 Call Control Unit 103 CDR Creation Unit P1, P2 Terminals S1-S7, S51-S55, T1-T15 Steps

Claims (10)

A session control server for creating call detail record information of the call if a predetermined halfway point is reached before the call for session control is terminated;
A billing device that obtains the call detail record information created by the session control server and calculates a charge to be imposed on the call based on the call detail record information;
A communication system. The session control server describes, in the first call detail record information, a start time that is a time when the call is started and a creation time that is a time when the call detail record information is created. In the information, describe the creation time which is the time when the call detail record information was created,
The charging device charges a charge imposed on the call for a time from the start time described in the call detail record information acquired first to the creation time described in the call detail record information acquired last. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the communication system is calculated. The session control server further describes, in the second and subsequent call detail record information, the time when the previous call detail record information was created as the start time of the midway settlement,
If the billing device acquires the second and subsequent call detail record information, the charge imposed on the call with respect to the time from the midway settlement start time to the creation time described in the call detail record information The communication system according to claim 2, wherein   The communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the midpoint is a time corresponding to a predetermined period after a long-term hold determination time has elapsed from a time when the call is started. Call control means for performing session control of the call;
Call detail record information creating means for creating call detail record information of the call if the call control means reaches a predetermined halfway point before the call subject to session control is terminated;
A session control server. Call detail record information acquisition means for acquiring call detail record information created at a predetermined midpoint until the call is terminated;
Charge calculation means for calculating a charge to be charged to the call based on the call detail record information acquired by the call detail record information acquisition means;
A billing apparatus having Perform session control of calls,
A call detail record creation method for creating call detail record information of a call when a predetermined halfway point is reached before the call is terminated. Obtain call detail record information created at a predetermined point in time before the call ends,
A charge calculation method for calculating a charge charged to the call based on the call detail record information. A program for operating a computer as a session control server,
On the computer,
A call control procedure for performing session control of the call, and if a predetermined halfway point is reached before the call subject to the session control in the call control procedure is terminated, call detail record information of the call Call detail recording information creation procedure,
A program for running A program for operating a computer as a charging device,
On the computer,
Based on the call detail record information acquisition procedure for acquiring the call detail record information created at a predetermined midpoint until the call is terminated, and the call detail record information acquired in the call detail record information acquisition procedure A charge calculation procedure for calculating a charge to be charged to the call;
A program for running

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