JPS63217743A - Charging data collection system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To relieve the load of a packet processing unit by allowing each packet processing unit to use a charging packet thereby directly sending the charging information to a packet network management unit. CONSTITUTION:When a terminal equipment 8 sends a call request packet and the call is finished, a packet processing unit 5 uses a charging packet so as to send the charging information stored in a charging information area 14 of a call control memory 12 to a packet network management unit 7. The equipment 7 receiving the charging packet returns a reply packet to the unit 5. This is applied also between the packet processing units 6 and 7. The unit 7 uses the charging packet from the units 5, 6 and the charging information for each call sent from the units 5, 6 is edited to apply charging processing. In the system above, it is not required to execute the transmission procedure of the charging packet with other lots of packet processing units and the edition of the charging information is not required, then the load of the packet processing unit is relieved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a billing data collection method in a packet switching network.

``Prior Art'' Figure 3 is a packet transmission timing diagram showing the conventional billing data collection method disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-87262, and Figure 2 is a diagram of a packet switching network to which the method is applied. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing main parts. In Figure 2, 5
．． 6 is a packet processing device connected to each other via a communication line;
7 is a packet network management device connected to these packet processing devices 5 and 6 through a communication line, and 8.9 is a terminal accommodated in the packet processing device 5 or 6. 10.11 is a storage device of the packet processing device 8 or 9; 12.1
3 is the call control memory in this storage device IO or 11;
Reference numeral 14 and 15 indicate the charging information area of the call control memory 12 or 13. In addition, in FIG. 3, 16 is the terminal 8
17 is a connection permission packet sent by terminal 9, 18 is an information transfer packet exchanged between terminals 8 and 9, 19 is a recovery request packet sent by terminal 8, 20 is a packet processing device 5.6 and a recovery confirmation packet sent by the terminal 9, 21 a billing packet sent by the packet processing device 5, 22 a billing request packet sent by the packet processing device 5, 23 a billing packet sent by the packet processing device 6, 24 is a billing response packet sent by the packet processing device 5.

Next, the operation will be explained. Now, when attempting to transmit information from the terminal 8 accommodated in the packet processing device 5 to the terminal 9 accommodated in the packet processing device 6,
First, the terminal 8 sends a call request packet 16 to the terminal 9, and this call request packet 16 is transmitted to the terminal 9 via the packet processing devices 5 and 6. The terminal 9 that received this call request packet 16 receives the packet processing devices 6 and 5.
A connectable packet 17 is returned to the terminal 8 via the terminal 8, and a call is thereby set up between the terminals 8 and 9.

This established call is stored in the storage devices 10. of the packet processing devices 5 and 6. It is managed in the call control memory 12 or I3 in II. Next, information transfer packets are exchanged between the terminals 8 and 9 via the call set up. At this time,
In the charging information area 14 in the call control memory 12 provided in the storage device 10 of the packet processing device 5, charging information such as the number of information transfer packets 18 transmitted from the terminal 8, the amount of information, etc. is accumulated. Similarly, the information transfer packet 18 transmitted to the terminal 9 is stored in the charging information area I5 in the call control memory 13 of the storage device 11 of the packet processing device 6.
Billing information such as the number of data and amount of information is accumulated.

When the required communication is completed, for example, the terminal 8 sends a recovery request packet 19 to the terminal 9 via the packet processing devices 5 and 6. When the packet processing devices 5 and 6 and the terminal 9 receive each recovery request packet 19, they release the previously set call, and the terminal 8, the packet processing device 5,
and 6, respectively, and the call is terminated. When the call ends, packet processing device 5 sends billing information packet 22 to packet processing device 6 to request transmission of billing information.

The packet processing device 6 receives this and stores the call in the control memory 1.
The charging information accumulated in the charging information area 15 in the charging packet 3 is sent back to the packet processing device 5 using the charging packet 23.

When the packet processing device 5 receives the charging packet 23,
The billing response packet 24 is returned to the packet processing device 6, and the billing information from the packet processing device 6 transmitted by the received billing packet 22 is stored in the call control memory 1.
The charging information of the device itself accumulated in the charging information area 14 in the charging packet 21 is sent to the packet network management device 7 in the charging packet 21. The packet network management device 7 performs charging processing based on the charging information sent from the packet processing devices 5 and 6 using the charging packet 21.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Since the conventional billing data collection system is configured as described above, each packet processing device 5 performs a billing packet transmission procedure for each call with the other party's packet processing device 6. In addition, the packet processing device 5 that receives the charging packet needs to edit the charging information by comparing it with its own charging information. There has been a problem in that the load on the packet processing device 5.6 increases significantly when the number of calls within the network increases.

This invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and includes accounting packet transmission procedures between many other party packet processing devices when a call in a packet processing device ends, and accounting information editing. The purpose of the present invention is to obtain a billing data collection method that can reduce the burden of data collection.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The billing data collection method according to the present invention collects data generated in a packet processing device that accommodates a terminal that transmits packets and a packet processing device that accommodates a terminal that receives packets. Each of the charging packets transmits charging information to the packet network management device as a charging packet, and the packet network management device that receives the charging packet performs charging processing based on the respective charging information.

[Operation] The billing data collection method according to the present invention is such that each packet processing device directly transfers billing information to the packet network management device using a billing packet. This reduces the burden of billing packet transmission procedures and billing information editing.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1st
The figure is a packet transmission timing diagram showing a billing data collection system according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to a packet switching network having the configuration shown in FIG. 2 as in the conventional case. In FIG. 1, 1 is a charging packet sent from the packet processing device 5 to the packet network management device 7 at the end of a call, 2 is a response packet sent back from the packet network management device 7 to the packet processing device 5, and 3 is a packet at the end of the call. 4 is a charging packet sent from the processing device 6 to the packet network management device 7, and 4 is a response packet sent back from the packet network management device 7 to the packet processing device 6; the other parts are the same as those with the same reference numerals in FIG. Therefore, the explanation will be omitted.

Next, the operation will be explained. Here, after the terminal 8 sends out the call request packet 16, the packet processing devices 5 and 6. Also, a recovery confirmation packet is sent from terminal 9,
The process until the call is terminated is similar to the conventional case shown in FIG.

When the call ends, the packet processing device 5 stores the call control memory I.
The charging information accumulated in the charging information area 14 of No. 2 is sent to the packet network management device 7 by charging packet 1.

The packet network management device 7 that received this billing packet 1 returns a response packet 2 to the packet processing device 5 . Similarly, the packet processing device 6 sends the charging information stored in the charging information area 15 of the call control memory 13 to the packet network management device 7 using the charging packet 3. Similarly, when the packet network management device 7 receives this billing packet 3, it returns a response packet 4 to the packet processing device 6. The packet network management device 7 uses the charging packets 1 and 2 to edit charging information for each call sent from the packet processing devices 5 and 6, and performs charging processing.

Note that although the above embodiment shows a case in which charging packets are transmitted to the packet network management device on a call-by-call basis each time a call ends, the timing of transmitting charging packets from each packet processing device can be determined independently of the end of a call. For example, periodically collect multiple pieces of billing information to form one billing packet,
The packet may also be sent to a network management device.

In addition, regarding the timing of creating billing information for each call, considering the case where a call is set fixedly and packets are transmitted continuously, billing information is created periodically and sent to the packet network management device. It may also be transmitted.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, each of the two packet processing devices each accommodating two terminals for which a call has been set up transmits the collected charging information to the packet network management device in a charging packet. Since the packet processing device is configured to transmit billing packets with many other packet processing devices, there is no need to perform charging packet transmission procedures with many other packet processing devices, and there is no need to edit billing information. This has the effect of reducing the load on the packet processing device and the load on the entire packet switching network.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a packet transmission timing diagram showing a billing data collection method according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram without showing the main parts of a packet switching network to which the method is applied, and FIG. 3 is a conventional billing method. FIG. 3 is a packet transmission timing diagram showing a data collection method. 1.3 is a charging packet, 2.4 is a response packet, 5.6
is a packet processing device, 7 is a packet network management device, 8.9
is a terminal. In addition, in the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or equivalent parts. (2 others) 1.3: Words and results, money, bake and soto 2.4: Response packet

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In a packet switching network in which a plurality of packet processing devices accommodating a plurality of terminals and a packet network management device are connected by a communication line, and charges are charged based on the amount of packets transmitted between the terminals, The packet processing device in which the terminal that transmits the packet is accommodated and the packet processing device in which the terminal that receives the packet is accommodated each collect billing information for the packet and use it as a billing packet. and transmits the billing packet to the packet network management device, and the packet network management device that receives the billing packet performs billing processing based on billing information from both of the packet processing devices. (2) Each time a call ends, both packet processing devices
2. The billing data collection method according to claim 1, wherein the billing packet is transmitted to a packet network management device on a call-by-call basis. (3) If a call is fixedly set up between the terminals,
Claim 1, wherein both of the packet processing devices collect billing information of continuously transmitted packets at any time and transmit it to the packet network management device as billing packets. Billing data collection method described in . (4) Both of the packet processing devices compose a single billing packet by combining a plurality of pieces of the billing information, and transmit the billing packet to the packet network management device at a set timing independent of the end of the call. The billing data collection method according to claim 1, characterized in that: