JP2015092748A - Content caching accompanied with remote charging service in radio access network - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method, a system, and a computer program product for caching of content accompanied with a remote charging service in a radio access network.SOLUTION: A data processing system based on an RAN (Radio Access Network) is configured for content caching accompanied with a remote charging service. The system includes: a base station having an antenna, a receiver, a transmitter, a processor, a local cache and a network interface for a data communication network; an RNC (Radio Network Controller) connected via the data communication network to the base station; a charging service to be executed in the memory of a host computer for recording charging to a data service to be provided in the RAN; and a caching module accompanied with remote charging to be executed by the processor of the base station.

Description

The present invention relates to a content acquisition service provided in a radio access network, and more particularly to caching of acquired content in a radio access network.

The radio access network (RAN) provides the basis for modern mobile phones. The RAN functions to connect separate end-user portable devices to the core network (CN), allowing individuals to wirelessly communicate with telephones within geographical areas covered by various base stations of the radio access network. Make it possible to enjoy data communication. Generally speaking, RA
N provides the infrastructure necessary to pass both voice and data traffic from the wireless medium to both terrestrial circuit-switched communication networks and packet-switched data communication networks including the crawl Internet.

Currently, several standards for RAN are implemented. As an example, a global system for mobile communication (communication system for mobile communication)
ons: GSM), universal mobile telecommunications system (universal mob)
ile telecommunications system (UMTS) and GSM
“Edge” RAN (GERAN). A RAN typically includes a number of separate radio network controllers (RNCs), each managing a set of base stations that provide radio connectivity capabilities to a geographic cell. The entire RAN's separate RNCs are served by a serving generalized radio packet service node (serving generated radio packet service node).
It is linked to what is known as the cellular data core or CN through a gateway known as t service node (SGSN). The CN provides various services to customers connected by the RAN. One of the primary functions is to route calls across the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Another function is to route data packets over an Internet Protocol (IP) network, such as the global Internet, so that the RAN end user can access the content distribution network (CD
N) to be able to access the service provided by. for that reason,
The CN includes a gateway known as a gateway GPRS service node (GGSN).

A typical CDN can provide advanced content delivery services such as content caching and content filtering. Content caching is under the assumption that subsequent requests that are close in time for previously acquired content can be satisfied from temporary storage, rather than repeating the request for more time-consuming content in the CDN. This means an intermediate temporary storage of previously acquired content. In contrast, content filtering limits the delivery of requested content if the content matches a specific profile, for example, published by a specific source or includes a specific subject matter. Means that. In either case,
The packet processing required to implement advanced content services often requires that those services be provided within a CN, in which case the communication protocol utilized within that CN is a global It is compatible with the Internet communication protocol, that is, the transmission control protocol (TCP) over IP.

Nonetheless, some proposals have been made to place support for content services such as content caching and content filtering within the RAN. In this regard, U.S. Patent No. 6,057,037 by Kovvali et al. Proposes placing a content caching service in the RAN and extracting the TCP / IP payload from the RAN protocol specific to that RAN. Nonetheless, placing content services such as caching and filtering closer to end users in various base stations can lead to computing devices that support content services due to the physical environment of the base station. It is not desirable because it needs to be solid. Therefore, when the content service is performed at the base station, only the minimum computer device that handles only the most basic content service is provided. However, it is often desirable to provide more than just the most basic content services. For example, in many cases, it is desirable to provide a billing service for content services distributed to end users. For convenience, the billing service is provided together with the corresponding content service in the RAN to the extent that the billing service requires a computing device that is not the most basic computing device.

US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0034089

  Therefore, there is a need in the art to address the above problems.

Embodiments of the present invention address the shortcomings in the art related to content services in RAN, and new and non-obvious methods, systems, and computer program products for content caching with remote charging services in RAN I will provide a. In an embodiment of the invention, a method for content caching with remote billing service in RAN is claimed. The method receives a data request from an end user device in a base station of the RAN and passes the request from the base station to the packet-switched data communication network via a core network located between the RAN and the data communication network. Route assignment. The method also includes receiving a response to the request at the base station, caching the response in the base station's local cache, and forwarding the response to the end-user device. Finally, this method allows response-specific data such as response size, request size, or both to be transmitted to the RA, although external to the base station.
N to a remote billing service located within N. In one aspect of this embodiment, transmitting response-specific data to the remote billing service initially responds to other requests from other end-user devices communicating with the base station. Batching with other data specific to other responses and then transmitting the batched data to a remote billing service.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a RAN-based data processing system can be configured for content caching with a remote billing service. This system
A base station may be included that includes an antenna, a receiver, a transmitter, a processor, a local cache, and a network interface to a data communication network. The system can also include an RNC coupled to the base station via a data communication network. The system may also include a billing service that runs in the memory of the host computer that records billing for data services provided within the RAN.
Finally, the system can include a caching module with remote billing executed by the base station processor. The module receives a data request from an end user device, routes the request through a combined CN to a content server in a computer communication network, receives a response to the request, Can be included in the local cache, the response can be routed to the end user device, and the response specific data can be transmitted to an external billing service. .

Viewed from a first aspect, the present invention provides a method for content caching with a remote billing service in a RAN that is a radio access network, the method comprising:
Receiving a data request from an end-user device in a base station of the RAN and assigning the request from the base station to the packet-switched data communication network via a core network located between the RAN and the data communication network Receiving a response to the request at the base station; caching the response in the base station's local cache;
Forwarding the response to the end user device and transmitting the response specific data to a remote billing service outside the base station but within the RAN.

Viewed from yet another aspect, the present invention provides a data processing system based on RAN, a radio access network, configured for content caching with remote billing service, the system comprising an antenna, a receiving In the RAN, a base station including a network interface to a data communication network, a transmitter, a transmitter, a processor, a local cache, and a data communication network, and a radio network controller RNC coupled to the base station via the data communication network A billing service executed in the memory of the host computer that records the billing for the data service provided and a caching module with remote billing executed by the processor of the base station,
Means for receiving a data request from an end user device; means for routing the request through a combined core network (CN) to a content server in a computer communications network; and receiving a response to the request Means for caching the response in a local cache, means for forwarding the response to the end-user device, and means for transmitting response-specific data to an external billing service including.

Viewed from yet another aspect, the present invention provides a computer program product for content caching with remote billing service in RAN, a radio access network, which is readable by processing circuitry. Any computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions executed by processing circuitry to implement the method of performing the steps of the present invention.

Viewed from yet another aspect, the present invention provides a computer program stored on a computer readable medium and loadable into an internal memory of a digital computer, the computer program executing on the computer. When done, includes software code portions for performing the steps of the present invention.

Additional aspects of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The aspects of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed.

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the preferred embodiments shown in the following drawings.

FIG. 7 is a pictorial diagram of a process for content caching with remote billing service in a RAN, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram of a RAN based data processing system configured for content caching with a remote billing service according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for content caching with remote billing service in a RAN, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention provide content caching with remote billing services in the RAN. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the content request is performed in a caching processor, which is executed in the memory of a computer device in a base station of a cell in a RAN of a mobile communication network such as a 3G or UMTS mobile communication system. Can be received. The content request can be examined to determine if a response to the content request is found in a cache local to the base station. If found, a cached response to the request can be returned to the requesting end user device. If not found, a response can be obtained via the CN coupled to the RAN and returned to the end user device. In addition, to the extent that the response is determined to be cacheable, the response can be placed in the base station's local cache, and the response is cached to manage billing outside the base station. This can be notified to the remote billing service outside the base station.

In further explanation, FIG. 1 shows content with remote charging service in RAN.
The caching process is represented by a picture. As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile communication network is
A separate base station 120 configured to provide wireless telephone access for PSTN 140 to a separate end user device 110 may be provided. Base station 1
Twenty clusters can be communicatively linked to a common RNC 130, and this RNC
130 can be coupled to CN 150, thus forming a RAN. CN
150 acts as a gateway between CN 150, PSTN 140, and SGSN 160A that acts as a gateway for traffic between each RNC 130, and also between CN 150 and data communications network 100, typically the global Internet. Both of GGSN 160B can be included. The CN 150 itself can support a number of content services 170 as is well known in the art.

Of note is a data processing system 190A for caching with remote billing,
RNC 13 that can be located within one or more base stations 120 and is external to base station 120
It can be configured to be communicably coupled to a billing service 190 running within 0. The data processing system 190A can include program code that, when executed on the data processing system, processes content requests from the end user device 110 that communicate with the base station 120; A locally cached response is provided to the end user device 110. Further, the program code being executed can acquire the response 190C that has not been cached from the content server 180 on the data communication network 100 via the CN 150, and the acquired response 190C can be acquired from the end user device. 110 can be returned. Still further, the running program code can provide data regarding the nature of the obtained response 190C once cached locally at the base station 120 to the charging service 190B, so that the charging service 190B Payment requests resulting from caching of the acquired response 190C can be processed.

In further description, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a RAN-based data processing system configured for content caching with remote billing services in packet data networks such as 2.5G or 3G networks. The system can include a base station 200A coupled to RNC 200B via communication network 250;
Communication network 250 is typically an IP network or an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network. Base station 200A receives a radio communication from a separate end-user device within the transmission range of base station 200A via antenna 265 and routes it to RNC 200B via network interface 210. Receiver / transmitter 230 Can be included. A processor 240 can be provided to perform computation on the data when the received data is placed in the memory 220.

The RNC 200B can then include a host computer 260 with at least one processor and memory that supports execution of the operating system 270. The operating system 270 can host the execution of the billing service 280. The billing service 280 writes a record to the customer billing data store 290 to facilitate billing for service-oriented customers for data services supplied to separate customers of the RAN-based data processing system. it can. Billing service 2
As a supplement to 80, a caching module 300 with remote billing can be located in the base station 200A along with a local cache 275 coupled to the caching module 300 with remote billing.

Caching module 300 with remote billing can include program code, which when executed by processor 240 of base station 200A, is a wirelessly coupled end-user device (not shown). The data request received from the local cache 275 is returned to the local cache 275, or the response is obtained from the data communication network 250, and the obtained response is sent to the local cache 275.
Can be cached and processed. In addition, the response is local cache 275.
When placed in, the program code of the caching module 300 with remote billing provides the billing service 280 with cached responses and optionally request specific data, eg, the size of the cached responses. be able to. In this regard, the caching module 300 with remote billing can also provide property data to the billing service 280 in real time or in batch with other property data for other cached responses. You can also

In further explanation, FIG. 3 shows content with remote charging service in RAN.
3 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for caching. Beginning at block 310, a data request may be received at an RAN base station from an end user device in wireless communication with the base station. At block 320, a local cache in the base station can be examined for a response to the request. If, at decision block 300, a response corresponding to the request is found in the local cache, at block 340, the response can be returned to the end-user device. Otherwise, at block 350, a response to the request can be obtained from the content provider via the Internet via the CN and corresponding RNC and finally returned to the base station.

At decision block 360, it can be determined whether the response is cacheable (eg, whether the content filter prevents caching of the response). If not cacheable, at block 340, a response can be returned to the end user device. Otherwise, at block 370, the response is sent to the base station local
At block 380, the size of the response (optionally, the size of the request that resulted in the response) can be calculated. Thereafter, in block 390, the remote billing service in the RNC is invoked through the interface to the remote billing service using the requested end-user device identification, the response size, and optionally the response and request size identification. it can. Finally, at block 340, a response can be returned to the end user device.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a system, method or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention include a fully hardware embodiment, a fully software embodiment (firmware, resident software,
Microcode, etc.), or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects, all of which are generally referred to herein,
Sometimes called “circuit”, “module” or “system”. Further, aspects of the invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable media having computer usable program code embodied in the medium.

Any combination of one or more computer readable media may be utilized.
The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. Computer readable storage media can be, for example, electronic, magnetic,
It can be, but is not limited to, an optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor system, device or apparatus, or any suitable combination thereof.
More specific examples (non-exhaustive list) of computer readable storage media include: electrical connections with one or more wires, portable computer diskettes, hard disks, random access Memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, portable compact disk type read only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage device , Magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof. In the context of this specification, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus or device. it can.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such propagated signals can take any of a variety of different forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic, light, or any suitable combination thereof. The computer readable signal medium is not a computer readable storage medium, and an instruction execution system,
It can be any computer-readable medium that can communicate, propagate, or carry a program for use by or in connection with an apparatus or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be any suitable medium including, but not limited to, wireless, wired, fiber optic cable, radio frequency, etc., or any suitable combination thereof. And can be transmitted. Computer program code for performing operations for aspects of the present invention is written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages and conventional procedural programming languages. be able to. The program code may be executed entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly executed on the user's computer, partly May be executed on a remote computer or entirely on a remote computer or server. In the last scenario, the remote computer
Connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or
A connection to an external computer may be made (eg, via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

Aspects of the present invention include a method, apparatus (system), and computer program according to embodiments of the present invention.
This is described above with reference to program product flowcharts and / or block diagrams. In this regard, the flowcharts and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. For example, each block in the flowchart or block diagram represents a module, segment, or portion of code that includes one or more executable instructions for implementing a particular logic function or functions. Can do. It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions described in the blocks may not be performed in the order shown in the figure. For example, two blocks shown sequentially may actually be executed substantially simultaneously, depending on the function involved, and the blocks may be executed in reverse order. Each block in the block diagram and / or flowchart, and combinations of blocks in the block diagram and / or flowchart, are determined by a system based on dedicated hardware that performs a specified function or operation.
Note also that it can be implemented by a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

It will also be appreciated that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions are provided to a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device processor to generate a machine, whereby instructions executed by the computer or other programmable data processing device processor are executed. The means for implementing the specified function / operation in one or more blocks of the flowcharts and / or block diagrams may be generated.

These computer instructions are also stored in a computer readable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable data processing device, or other device to function in a particular fashion, thereby providing the computer readable medium. The instructions stored in may not create a product that includes instructions that do not flow and / or implement the specified function / operation in one or more blocks of the block diagram. Also, computer program instructions can be loaded into a computer, other programmable data processing device, or other device to perform a series of operational steps on the computer, other programmable data processing device, or other device. To generate a computer-implemented process whereby instructions executed on a computer or other programmable device perform the functions / operations specified within one or more blocks of the flowcharts and / or block diagrams A process for doing so may be provided.

Finally, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used here, the singular indefinite article (
“A”, “an”) and definite articles (“the”) are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “including” and / or “included” as used herein refer to the feature, integer, step, action,
Specifies the presence of an element and / or component, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, actions, elements, components, and / or groups thereof It will be further understood.

The corresponding structure, material, operation and equivalents of all “means or step and function combinations (means or step plus function)” elements in the following claims are explicitly claimed It is intended to include any structure, material, or operation for performing its function in combination with the claimed elements. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiments are described in order to best explain the principles and practical applications of the invention and to enable those skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications to suit the particular use contemplated. Selected and explained to make it possible.

Thus, while the invention of this application has been described in detail with respect to embodiments thereof, modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It will be clear.

100, 250: Data communication network 110: End user device 120, 200A: Base station 130, 200B: Radio network controller (RNC)
150: Core network 180: Content server 190A: Data processing system 190B: Billing service 190C: Response 260: Host computer 265: Antenna 275: Local cache 290: Customer billing data store 300: Caching module with remote billing

Claims (3)

A method for performing charging specific to content cached at a base station of a radio access network (RAN), comprising:
Receiving a request for content from an end user device in a base station of the RAN;
Routing the request for the content from the base station to an application in the packet-switched data communication network through a core network (CN) located between the RAN and the packet-switched data communication network;
Receiving content from the application in a range of responses to the request at the base station;
In connection with the application, caching the request in a local cache of the base station and forwarding the response to the end-user device;
In response to a subsequent request for the content received at the base station of the RAN, providing the content in a response from the local cache of the base station to indicate that the applications are identical Charging the application as a result of providing the content from a local cache of the base station by sending to a remote charging service outside the base station but within the RAN;
Having a method. A radio access network (RAN) based on a data processing system configured for content caching with a remote billing service comprising:
A base station including an antenna, a receiver, a transmitter, a processor, a local cache, and a network interface to a data communication network;
A radio network controller (RNC) coupled to the base station via the data communication network;
A billing service running in a memory of a host computer that records billing for a data service provided in the radio access network (RAN);
Caching with a remote charging module executed by the processor of the base station, wherein the module receives a data request from an end user device and couples the request to a content server of a computer communication network. Routed through a core network (CN), receiving a request with content from an application running in the computer communications network, and relating the request to the local A response from the local cache of the base station in response to a subsequent request for the content received at the base station of the RAN, cached in a cache and forwarded the response to the end user device Provide the content to Te, the data indicating the same of the application, send the billing service, charge for the application from the local cache of the base station as a result of which the content is provided, and caching,
A radio access network (RAN). A program that is executed at a base station of a radio access network (RAN) and performs charging specific to an application of cached content,
Program code for receiving a request for content from an end-user device in the base station of the RAN;
Program code for routing the request for the content from the base station to an application in the packet-switched data communication network through a core network (CN) placed between the RAN and the packet-switched data communication network; ,
In the base station, in the range of response to the request, program code for receiving content from the application;
In connection with the application, program code that caches the request in a local cache of the base station and forwards the response to the end-user device;
In response to a subsequent request for the content received at the base station of the RAN, providing the content in a response from the local cache of the base station to indicate that the applications are identical Program code for sending to the remote charging service outside the base station but in the RAN to charge the application as a result of providing the content from a local cache of the base station;
Having a program.

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