KR101568222B1 - Method and apparatus for providing packet data service - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing packet data service in an NAT environment. A method for providing a packet data service in cooperation with an external partner network in an LTE network according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first step of receiving a service request message including a first user identifier from the external partner network, A second step of converting a first user identifier into a second user identifier, a third step of extracting a UE IP address previously stored corresponding to the converted second user identifier, and a third step of extracting a PCC rule using the extracted UE IP address And controlling the packet data flow from the external alliance provider network using the PCC rule. Therefore, the packet data service providing method in the NAT environment according to the present invention can provide more various application services through the external affiliate service network.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a packet data service providing method and apparatus,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a packet data service providing method and apparatus, and more particularly, to a Policy and Charging Rule Function (PCRF) binding method in a NAT (Network Address Translation) environment.

The LTE (Long Term Evolution) network is divided into the LTE (E-UTRAN) related technologies and the EPC (Enhanced Packet Core) . Since the LTE network is an E2E all-IP network, all traffic flows from a wireless link that a user terminal connects to a base station to a packet data network (PDN) that connects to a final service provider operate on an IP basis.

When a user who has purchased an LTE terminal selects a service type and a fee plan when subscribing to a mobile communication service provider (hereinafter referred to as a "carrier") network, a provider configures a subscription profile based on the subscription information, And the like.

A user using the LTE service can create or change an EPS session through an Access Point Name (APN) assigned to each service.

The LTE network determines how the user allocates network resources when creating / modifying EPS sessions and how to control charging, and applies them during the session. Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rules are known. Entities that perform PCC functions include Policy and Charging Control Function (PCRF) and Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF).

PCC-related standards in LTE networks include 3GPP TS 29.212 "Policy and Charging Control (PCC); Reference point ", 3GPP TS 29.213 " Policy and Charging Control signaling flows and QoS parameter mapping ", 3GPP TS 29.214 " Policy and Charging Control over Rx reference Point ", and 3GPP TS 23.203 & .

However, only the PCRF binding technique when the IP address allocated to the terminal does not change is disclosed in the 3GPP standard specifications.

In recent years, operators are paying a lot of attention not only to services provided internally by carriers but also to profit diversification through direct linkage with external partners as a new revenue model through network resource utilization.

However, when the service is interworked with an external affiliate, the IP address of the terminal may change.

At present, in order to protect the carrier network and secure the customer information, the business operator converts the private IP address allocated in the LTE network into a public IP address for the public network (for example, the Internet) NAT (Network Address Translation).

The PCRF according to the current 3GPP standard specifies that when a terminal IP address allocated in an LTE network is different from a terminal IP address included in a service data flow (SDF) from an external affiliate, It is impossible to perform a binding operation to map to an EPC bearer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a PCRF binding method in a NAT environment.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a PCRF binding method compatible with existing LTE networks.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a PCRF binding method capable of providing a variety of application services to users through interworking with various external affiliates.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a PCRF binding method in an NAT environment capable of maintaining LTE network security and customer information security.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus, a system, and a recording medium that support the above methods.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention, unless further departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It will be possible.

The present invention provides a packet data service providing method in an NAT environment and an apparatus and a system supporting the same.

A method for providing a packet data service in cooperation with an external partner network in an LTE network according to an embodiment of the present invention includes receiving a service request message including a first user identifier from the external partner network, A second step of converting the first user identifier into a second user identifier, a third step of extracting a UE IP address stored in advance corresponding to the converted second user identifier, And a fourth step of generating a rule, wherein the packet data flow from the external partner network is controlled using the PCC rule.

Here, the first user identifier is an MDN, and the second user identifier is an MSISDN.

The service request message is received from an external affiliate that is indirectly linked to the LTE network.

In addition, an APN corresponding to the external affiliate is previously set and maintained in the LTE network, and the PCN rule is generated by further using the APN information.

A method of providing a packet data service in a PCRF of an LTE network according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a first step of receiving an AA Request message including an MSISDN from an AF, And if it is determined that the service is not directly connected, converting the first UE IP address included in the AA Request into a second UE IP address allocated in advance corresponding to the MSISDN, And a fourth step of generating a PCC rule using the second UE IP address.

Herein, the AA Request message includes a Media Component Number (AVP) AVP, and the second step includes determining whether the requested service is an external affiliate service according to the value of the media configuration number AVP .

In addition, the AA Request message includes an AF application identifier AVP, and determines whether the external affiliate service is a direct link service or an indirectly linked service according to the value of the AF application identifier AVP.

In the case of the indirectly linked service, the third step is performed.

The AA Request further includes APN information corresponding to the requested application service, and the APC information is further used to generate the PCC policy.

In addition, the LTE network is interworked with an external packet data network through NAT, and the first UE IP address is a public IP address allocated by the NAT to correspond to the second UE IP address.

In addition, the PCRF is interworked with the P-GW through the Gx interface, and the P-GW assigns the second UE IP address to the PCRF.

In addition, the PCC rule includes an SDF (Service Data Flow) template, and the converted UE IP address is used in the configuration of the SDF template.

In addition, the SDF template includes port information, and when the SDF template is not directly linked, the port information corresponding to the UE is set to "ALL ".

The system for providing the packet data service in cooperation with the external alliance provider network according to another embodiment of the present invention receives the use notification message including the MDN from the external alliance provider network, A PCRF for extracting a first UE IP address corresponding to the MSISDN, generating a PCC rule using the extracted first UE IP address, and a PCF for receiving IPC from the external affiliate provider network And a P-GW for delivering the flow to the UE.

Here, the first UE IP address is allocated by the P-GW in response to a connection request of the UE to the external alliance carrier network.

The method further includes a NAT for converting the first UE IP address to a second UE IP address that is a public IP address.

The service request message further includes ASP information, and the AF determines an APN corresponding to the ASP information and provides the determined APN to the PCRF.

The apparatus for providing a packet data service in cooperation with an external alliance provider network according to an embodiment of the present invention includes means for receiving a service request message including a first user identifier from the external alliance provider network, Means for extracting a UE IP address stored in advance corresponding to the converted second user identifier, and means for generating a PCC rule using the extracted UE IP address, And controls the flow of packet data from the external alliance provider network by using the rule.

The apparatus for providing a packet data service in cooperation with an AF according to another embodiment of the present invention includes means for receiving an AA Request message including an MSISDN from the AF and means for determining whether the application service requested through the AA Request is a direct link service Means for converting a first UE IP address included in the AA Request into a second UE IP address allocated in advance corresponding to the MSISDN when the determination result is not directly linked; Means for generating the PCC rule using the IP address, wherein the AF converts the MDN received from the external affiliate network into the MSISDN.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, And can be understood and understood.

Effects of the method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described as follows.

First, the present invention has an advantage of providing a PCRF binding method compatible with existing LTE networks.

Second, the present invention has an advantage of providing a variety of services to users through cooperation with external affiliates.

Third, the present invention is advantageous in that the security of the LTE network can be effectively maintained by not exposing the private IP address allocated in the LTE network to the external affiliate.

Fourth, the present invention is advantageous in that it provides a PCRF binding technique in a NAT environment in which the UE IP address provided by the AF is matched with the UE IP address assigned by the P-GW.

Fifth, since the present invention does not require direct interworking between P_GW and AF, there is an advantage that burden of equipment expansion due to increase of traffic from an external affiliate is reduced.

The effects obtained by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description will be.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the technical features of the present invention are not limited to the specific drawings, and the features disclosed in the drawings may be combined with each other to constitute a new embodiment.
1 is a configuration diagram of an LTE network according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view for explaining traffic flows on an LTE network for facilitating understanding of the present invention. FIG.
3 is a diagram for explaining an IP address assignment method in an LTE network for facilitating understanding of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an IP address assignment procedure to help understand the present invention.
5 is a data structure of PCC rules according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a diagram for explaining a packet data network interworking method of an LTE network according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a general concept of a PCRF binding method using a mapping of MDN according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a flowchart illustrating a PCRF binding method using a new subscriber identifier according to an embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a diagram for explaining a PCRF binding mechanism considering NAT environment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an apparatus and various methods to which embodiments of the present invention are applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The suffix "module" and " part "for the components used in the following description are given or mixed in consideration of ease of specification, and do not have their own meaning or role.

1 is a configuration diagram of an LTE network according to the present invention.

1, an LTE network includes a UE (User Equipment) 10, an Evolved Node B (eNB) 20, an S-GW (Serving Gateway) 30, a Packet Data Network Gateway An MCS (Mobility Management Entity) 50, an HSS (Home Subscriber Server) 60, an SPR (Subscriber Profile Repository) 70, an OFFCS (Offline Charging System) 80, an OCS (Online Charging System) (Policy and Charging Rule Function, 100).

 The UE 10 is an LTE user terminal and is connected to the LTE Uu interface 15 with the eNB 20. Here, the LTE Uu interface 15 defines a control plane for transmitting and receiving a control message as a wireless interface and a user plane for providing user data.

The eNB 20 provides a radio interface to the UE 10 and provides radio resource management functions such as radio bearer control, radio admission control, dynamic radio resource allocation, load balancing and inter-cell interference control do.

The S-GW 30 is an end point of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) and an evolved packet core (EPC), and an anchor point at handover between the eNB 20 and the 3GPP system do. The E-UTRAN comprises at least one eNB 20, and the EPC comprises an S-GW 30, a P-GW 40 and an MME 50.

The P-GW 40 connects the UE 10 to an external PDN (Packet Data Network) 110 and performs a packet filtering function. In addition, the P-GW 40 assigns an IP address to the UE 10 and operates as a mobility anchoring point when performing handover between the 3GPP system and the non-3GPP system. In particular, the P-GW 40 receives the Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rule from the PCRF 100, applies it to the corresponding service flow, and provides the billing function per UE 10 / SDF (Service Date Flow) do.

The HSS 60 provides a user profile and a user profile to the MME 50 as a database of subscriber profiles.

The SPR 70 provides subscriber and subscription related information to the PCRF 100, and the PCRF 100 generates subscriber based PCC rules using the subscriber and subscription related information.

OFCS 80 provides charging information based on CDR (Charging Data Record).

OCS 90 provides volume, time, and event-based billing functions through real-time credit control.

The PCRF 100 provides policy control decisions and billing control functions as entities that perform policy and billing control. The PCC rules generated in the PCRF 100 are transmitted to the P-GW 40.

Hereinafter, the interface between the elements constituting the LTE network will be briefly described.

The LTE-Uu 15 provides a control plane and a user plane with a radio interface between the UE 10 and the eNB 20. [

The S1-U 25 is an interface between the eNB 20 and the S-GW 30, and provides a user plane. At this time, GTP tunneling per bearer is provided.

S5 35 is an interface between the S-GW 30 and the P-GW 40, providing a control plane and a user plane. At this time, the user plane provides bearer-specific GTP tunneling, and the control plane provides GTP tunnel management.

SGi 45 defines a user plane and a control plane as an interface between the P-GW 40 and the PDN 110. In the user plane, IETF based IP packet forwarding protocol is used, and in the control plane, protocols such as DHCP and RADIUS / Diameter are used.

S11 55 defines a control plane as an interface between the MME 50 and the S-GW 30, and GTP tunneling per bearer is provided.

X2 65 is an interface between the two eNBs 20, providing a control plane and a user plane. The X2-AP protocol is used in the control plane and the GPRS tunneling protocol (GTP) per bearer for data forwarding in the X2 handover in the user plane.

S6a (75) is provided with a control plane as an interface between the HSS 60 and the MME 50, and is used for exchanging UE subscription information and authentication information.

The Gx 85 is an interface between the PCRF 100 and the P-GW 40. The control plane is defined and used to convey policy control rules and billing rules for QoS (quality of service) policy and billing control .

Sp (95) is an interface between the SPR 70 and the PCRF 100, in which a control plane is defined and used to convey a user profile.

Gz 105 is an interface between the OFCS 80 and the P-GW 40 and defines a control plane and is used for CDR transmission from the P-GW 40 to the OFCS 80. [

Gy 115 is an interface between the OCS 90 and the P-GW 40. The control plane is defined and used for real-time credit control information exchange.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining traffic flows on an LTE network for facilitating understanding of the present invention. FIG.

More specifically, Figure 2 shows the Internet traffic flow in the user plane of the LTE network reference model. Reference numeral 200a denotes a traffic flow from the UE 10 to the Internet, hereinafter referred to as "uplink traffic flow", 200b denotes a traffic flow from the Internet to the UE 10, hereinafter referred to as " Business card.

IP packets are transmitted over the GTP tunnel on the S1-U (25) and S5 (35) interfaces, respectively. Here, the GTP tunnel is set for each EPS bearer through control signaling when the UE 10 initially connects to the LTE network.

Since several EPS bearers are set on one of the S1-U 25 and the S5 (35) interfaces, a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) is allocated upwardly and downwardly in each GTP tunnel establishment to distinguish them. When a GTP tunnel is set in the S1-U (25) interface, a TEID (UL S1-TEID) having an end point is allocated to the S-GW 20 upward and a TEID (DL S1-TEID) having an end point is allocated to the eNB 20 -TEID). Similarly, when a GTP tunnel is established in the S5 (35) interface, a TEID (UL S5-TEID) having an end point in the P-GW 40 and a TEID (DL S5-TEID) having an end point in the S- S5-TEID).

The eNB 20, the S-GW 30 and the P-GW 40 transmit a GTP tunnel header to the GTP packet header when the user IP packet is transmitted through the GTP tunnel on the S1-U 25 and the S5 When it is generated, it inserts the allocated TEID and transmits it. The S-GW 30 must have mapping information between the UL S1-TEID and the UL S5-TEID in order to terminate the S1-GTP tunnel in the upward direction and to transmit the user IP packet to the S5-GTP tunnel. Likewise, in the downlink, mapping information between DL S5-TEID and DL S1-TEID must be maintained.

Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 2, a procedure for each entity to process uplink and downlink Internet traffic flows will be described in detail.

First, in the uplink, the UE 10 transmits internally generated user IP packets to the eNB 20 via the LTE-Uu 15 interface. The eNB 20 constructs an S1 GTP header having the S-GW IP address as the destination address, the eNB 20 address as the originating address, the UL S1-TEID as the TEID, and adds the S1 GTP header to the received user IP packet. To the S-GW 30.

When receiving the user IP packet through the S1 GTP tunnel, the S-GW 30 transmits the IP address of the P-GW 40 to the destination address, the S-GW 30 to the originating address, and the UL S5-TEID to the S5 Configure the GTP header. Then, the S5 GTP header is added to the user IP packet and transmitted to the P-GW 40 through the S5 GTP tunnel.

Subsequently, the P-GW 40 controls the S5 GTP header to extract user IP packets, and then transmits them to the Internet through IP routing.

Referring to the downlink traffic flow, the P-GW 40 receives a user IP packet directed to the UE 10 via the Internet. The P-GW 40 adds the S5 GTP header having the S-GW IP address as the destination address, the P-GW IP address as the sending address and the DL S5-TEID as the TEID to the user IP packet, To the S-GW 30.

The S-GW 30 adds the eNB IP address to the destination IP address, the source address of the S-GW IP address, and the S1 GTP header including the DL S1-TEID with the TEID to the user IP packet received through the S5 GTP tunnel, To the eNB 20 via the GTP tunnel.

The eNB 20 transmits the user IP packet from which the S1 GTP header has been removed to the UE 10 via a data radio bearer (DRB), which is a bearer on the radio link.

It should be noted that the GTP tunnel shown in FIG. 2 is a user plane GTP tunnel for transmitting a user IP packet, hereinafter referred to as a "GTP-U tunnel ".

3 is a diagram for explaining an IP address assignment method in an LTE network for facilitating understanding of the present invention. More specifically, FIG. 2 illustrates a method for allocating an IP address to a user terminal in a LTE network when a user terminal accesses an LTE network in the LTE network. The method includes a Dynamic IP Address Allocation ) Method and a static IP address allocation method.

Generally, the UE 10 requests a connection of the PDN 110 to the LTE network upon initial connection to the LTE network. The P-GW 40 assigns an IP address - that is, a PDN address - to be used by the UE 10 to provide the PDN 110 connection to the UE 10 and delivers it to the UE 10. Here, the PDN address is transmitted from the P-GW 40 to the UE 10 in the process of setting a default bearer between the P-GW 40 and the UE 10, and the UE 10 transmits the PDN The PDN 110 can access the service provided by the PDN 110 using the address.

The P-GW 40 allocates an IP address to the UE 10 by a dynamic IP address allocation method that is dynamically generated each time the UE 10 accesses the LTE network, There is a fixed IP address assignment method in which the subscriber profile stored in the HSS 60 is referred to when the UE 10 connects to the LTE network.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, when a UE accesses an LTE network after a provider configures an IP pool in the P-GW 40 in advance, And assigns an IP address dynamically.

On the other hand, in the fixed IP address assignment method, when a user joins a service provider network, a service provider allocates an IP address to be permanently used to the UE 10 and maintains the IP address in the HSS 60. When the UE 10 accesses the LTE network, The GW 40 receives the IP address corresponding to the UE 10 from the HSS 60 and delivers the IP address to the UE 10. [

The UE 10 may request predetermined protocol information related to an external protocol and an application using a Protocol Configuration Option (PCO) parameter in a process of requesting a PDN connection when initially accessing an LTE network. Here, the protocol information may include a DNS server address.

The details of the above-mentioned PCO will be described in detail in 3GPP TS 24.008.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an IP address assignment procedure to help understand the present invention. More specifically, FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a static IP address assignment procedure.

Referring to FIG. 4, the UE 10 transmits a PDN Connectivity Request message to the MME 50 when the UE 10 is powered on (S401). At this time, the PDN connection request message may include information such as International Mobile Station Identity (IMSI), PDN type = IPv4, and PCO = DNS Server IPv4 Address Request. Here, IMSI is unique identification information for identifying a subscriber in the LTE network.

The MME 50 transmits a Location Update Request message including the IMSI to the HSS 60 (S403).

The HSS 60 inquires of the subscriber profile corresponding to the IMSI from the internal database and transmits to the MME 50 a Location Update Answer Message including a fixed IP address allocated in advance to the corresponding subscriber (S405) .

The MME 50 includes a session creation request including a fixed IP address received from the HSS 60 and an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) received from the UE 10, PDN type = IPv4, PCO = DNS Server IPv4 Address Request, (Create Session Request Message) to the S-GW 30 (S407).

Subsequently, the S-GW 30 transmits the received session creation request message to the P-GW 40 (S409).

Thereafter, in response to the request message in steps 409 and 407, the P-GW 40 and the S-GW 30 send a Create Session Response message to the MME 50 send. Here, the session creation response message may include the fixed IP address in the PDN address field and the DNS server IP address requested by the user in the PCO field.

The MME 50 transmits an Activate Default EPS Bearer Context Request message including a static IP address and a DNS IP address, wherein the DNS IP address may include a primary DNS IP address and a secondary DNS IP address. To the UE 10 (S415). Here, the default EPS bearer activation request message, which is one of the EPS session management messages (hereinafter referred to as "ESM (EPS Session Management) messages"), is an EPS mobility management message. May be included in the "Attach Accept Message" called "EMM (EPS Mobility Management) message".

Thereafter, a static IP address and a DNS IP address are stored in the internal memory of the UE 10 (S417), and a default EPS bearer is set between the UE 10 and the P-SW 40 (S419). At this time, the UE 10 can access the PDN 110 through the set default EPS bearer and transmit / receive user IP packets.

Hereinafter, policy and accounting control in an LTE network will be briefly described.

The PCRF 100 determines the PCC rules for each service data flow (SDF) and transmits the determined PCC rules to the PCF (Policy and Charging Enforcement Function) (for example, P-GW 40). Here, the PCC rule can be determined based on a provider policy - for example, QoS policy, gate status, billing method, and the like. The PCC rules may also include information on detection of packets belonging to a particular SDF, identification of the service, accounting parameters to be applied to the SDF, and policy control on the SDF.

The PCRF 100 generates a predetermined packet filter (e.g., SDF template) for detecting which SDF the user IP packets transmitted and received on the SGi 45 interface correspond to, Can be applied to rules. In addition, the P-GW 40 can bind the SDF QoS and the LTE bearer QoS using the PCC rules received from the PCRF 100, and then reflect the SDF QoS and the LTE bearer QoS on the EPS bearer.

Here, the SDF template is included in the above PCC rule. The SDF template consists of a source IP address, a destination IP address, a source port, a destination port, and a protocol identifier for each of the uplink and the downlink. Is a 5-tuple based SDF delimiter (Classifire).

In general, there may be a plurality of IP flows or a "Service Flow" depending on the application service used by one UE or depending on the type of traffic transmitted and received. For example, an application service may include a Naver connection, a next connection, a Kakao Talk, a game, VoIP, YouTube, and the like. These IP flows can be mapped to SDF using a 5-tuple-based SDF template. As described above, when a plurality of IP flows are classified into 5-tuple-based SDFs, the P-GW 40 can process the QoS for each SDF and map the corresponding SDF to the EPS bearer.

Hereinafter, the components of the PCC rule will be described with reference to FIG.

5 is a data structure of PCC rules according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5, the data structure of the PCC rule includes a Policy Rule Name 501 field, an SDF Template 503 field, an SDF Guaranteed Bit Rate (SDF GBR) field 505, An SDF maximum transmission rate field 507, an SDF QoS Class Identifier (ARQ) / Allocation Retention Priority (ARP) field 509 field, an SDF Gating Status field 511 field, an SDF accounting (SDF) Charging, 513) field, and the like.

 The policy rule name 501 may include an Internet service, a voice service, and a Point-to-Point service.

The SDF template 503 can be set for each of the uplink and the downlink as template information used for packet filtering. The SDF template may include information such as Source IP Address, Destination IP Address, Source Port, Destination Port, and Layer 4 protocol (UDP or TCP) for filtering IP packets. For example, in the case of the Internet service, only the IP address assigned to the UE, such as UL (UE IP, *, *, *, .

The SDF guaranteed transmission rate 505 and the SDF maximum transmission rate 507 indicate the data transmission rate and the maximum transmission rate to be guaranteed for the corresponding SDF, respectively. Here, the transmission rate can be set for the uplink and the downlink, respectively. For example, the SDF maximum transmission rate 507 for the Internet service may be set to Unlimited for both uplink and downlink.

The SDF QCI / ARP 509 is information showing the channel quality and priority to be guaranteed for the SDF.

 The SDF gating state 511 is information indicating whether the packet flow of the corresponding SDF should be blocked in order to guarantee QoS allocated to the SDF. For example, the SDF gating state 511 may be set to a value of either open (Open) or closed (Closed).

The SDF accounting 513 is information indicating whether accounting for the corresponding SDF should be made online or offline.

6 is a diagram for explaining a packet data network interworking method of an LTE network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, at least one of an application function (AF) 610 and a network address translation (NAT) 630 may be additionally provided for interworking with the packet data network of the LTE network.

Here, the packet data network is directly operated in cooperation with the LTE network. The packet data network is composed of an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) 620 for providing IP multimedia services, an external affiliate provider network . For example, an application service provider (ASP) 640 may not be directly managed by a service provider, but may be an external service provider network that provides services based on service charges and policy rules have.

In particular, the packet data network can be divided into a direct linkage network and an indirect linkage network according to whether the UE IP addresses managed by the P-GW 40 and the AF 610 are the same.

The AF 610 according to the present invention is a device for requesting the PCRF 100 for a QoS for a service flow requested from a packet data network and includes a Proxy Call State Control Function (P-CSCF) Or may be a gateway for interfacing directly to an external affiliate network such as an application service provider 640.

The P-CSCF (Proxy Call State Control Function) is an entry point that the UE 10 first contacts when accessing the IMS domain through the wireless network access. The P-CSCF is an outbound proxy server of the UE 10 server. That is, the UE 10 must access the P-CSCF before registering with the IMS 620 or establishing a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) session.

The NAT 630 according to the present invention is used by a service provider to provide a private IP address allocated by the P-GW 40 of the LTE network to a public network, for example, an Internet network - public IP address for -.

The binding method specified in the current 3GPP standard specification maps an LTE bearer to a service flow requested to the AF 610 by using an IP address assigned to the UE as an identifier.

However, in the case of indirect interworking 650, the UE IP address managed by the ASP 640 may be different from the UE IP address managed in the LTE network. Therefore, the UE IP address managed by the P-GW 40 and the PCRF 100 and the UE IP address received from the ASP 640 by the AF 610 may be different from each other. Due to the above-mentioned problem, the LTE network can not provide the service of the external affiliate requested by the UE 10.

On the other hand, in the case of the direct interworking 600, since the UE IP address managed in the IMS 620 and the UE IP address managed in the LTE network are the same, the service can be smoothly provided. That is, the direct interworking 600 is capable of session binding on the Rx 625 interface and the Gx 85 interface using the UE IP address. Here, Rx 625 is an interface between the AF 610 and the PCRF 100, and provides a control plane. For example, the AF 610 may request the PCRF 100 to generate the PCC rules for the requested service flow from the PDN via the Rx 625 interface.

In particular, in the case of the direct interworking 600, the AF 610 can recognize the APN as the intra-company network, but at the indirect interworking 650, the AF 610 can recognize the external inter- none.

Also, in the case of the direct interworking 600, the IMSI which is the subscriber identifier may be recognized in the P-GW 40, the PCRF 100, and the AF 610 in the same manner. However, in the case of the indirect interworking 650, a separate user identifier (for example, an email address, a user login ID, etc.) different from the IMSI may be used in the external affiliate network. Therefore, in order to provide a smooth service, external affiliates and service providers may need to share the user identifier. In particular, information sharing with a communication company may be required whenever a user joins or leaves a specific service. This may result in an excessive workload and may require a database to maintain a separate user identifier.

In general, the IMSI is unique identification information assigned to subscribers and can not be shared with external partners for security reasons. Therefore, in the case of the indirect interworking 650, the AF 610 and the ASP 640 can not use the IMSI as a subscriber identifier.

The binding method in the PCRF according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes an MDN (Mobile Directory Number), which is a subscriber identifier that can be provided by an external affiliate, and an MSISDN (Mobile Subscriber Integrated Services Digital Network Number) The present invention is not limited thereto.

The MDN is a generic phone number recognized by the subscriber, e.g., the MDN may be a 10 to 11 digit number format such as "10-1234-5678 ".

On the other hand, the MSISDN is an international standard subscriber identifier used for call routing and billing to the called party, and is used as important information for identifying the mobile subscriber along with the IMSI. The MSISDN according to the ITU-T recommendation E.164 may be configured as follows, and may generally be a telephone number written to the SIM / USIM card with a maximum of 15 digits.

MSISDN = country code (CC) + country destination code (NDC) + subscriber number (SN), or

MSISDN = Country Code + Number Planning Area (NPA) + Subscriber Number (SN)

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a general concept of a PCRF binding method using a mapping of MDN according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7, the UE IP address 710 in the P-GW 40 and the PCRF 100 and the UE IP address 710 in the AF 610 and ASP 640 in the case of the indirect interworking, May be different from each other. Also, the P-GW 40 and the PCRF 100 use the IMSI value in the subscriber identifier 720, and the AF 610 and the ASP 640 use the user ID managed at the application service level, Can be used. In particular, in the case of an APN, it is set to "internet" in the LTE network and the AP 610, which is an access point of the external network, can set an APN for each ASP.

In general, an APN is a character string that specifies an object required when the UE 10 connects to the LTE network and connects data communication. For example, the APN setting may correspond to a provider setting for connecting the UE 10 to the Internet, and a name of a contracted provider providing various network services and Internet connection may be set.

In particular, in order to solve the PCRF binding problem that occurs when the UE IP address used in the LTE network is different from the UE IP address used in the external network, a new subscriber identifier (hereinafter referred to as a "new subscriber identifier" In the LTE network, the MSISDN may be used in the external network such as the ASP 640, and the MDN may be used.

If the AF 610 receives a predetermined service request message including the ASP information and the MDN from the ASP 640, the AF 610 converts the MDN to MSISDN and transmits the ASP information - here, the APN corresponding to the ASP Can be determined. At this time, the structure of the converted MSISDN may be a structure of "country code (+82) + network code (10) + mobile subscriber identification number (80803459)" as shown in the following example.

Ex) MDN received from ASP 620: 01080803459

MSISDN converted by AF 610: +821080803459

8 is a flowchart illustrating a PCRF binding method using a new subscriber identifier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the UE 10 accesses the Kyobo Book website and transmits a predetermined request message for downloading a specific eBook content to the ASP 640 (S801).

The ASP 640 determines the transmission capacity of the requested content to be downloaded (e.g., 50 MB) (S803), and transmits a predetermined usage notification message including the ASP information, the MDN, the determined transmission capacity information, (S805). At this time, the ASP 640 manages the MDN with the new subscriber identifier, and may request the AF 610 for the separate charging and QoS for the download service through the use notification message.

Particularly, the IP address of the corresponding ASP 640, hereinafter referred to as an "ASP IP address", and the UE IP address assigned by the ASP 640 are stored in one side of the usage notification message, for example, , "ASP UE IP address ", and the like. Here, the ASP IP address and the ASP UE IP address may be used in the construction of the SDF template 503 for filtering the corresponding download packet. In particular, it should be noted that the ASP UE IP address is the UE IP address received by the ASP 640 from the NAT 630, which is different from the UE IP address in the LTE network.

The AF 610 generates an MSISDN based on the received MDN and determines an APN corresponding to the received ASP information (S807). Here, the ASP information may include information for identifying an application service type, and the AF 610 may maintain an APN for each application service type in advance and may be maintained in a predetermined recording area (for example, an APN database). have. In particular, the AF 610 according to an embodiment of the present invention can define an APN for each application service provided by an external affiliate and maintain it in a predetermined recording area.

The AF 610 transmits service information composed of ASP information, MSISDN, transmission capacity information, ASP IP, and ASP UE IP address by using an AA (Authentication and Authorization) Request message defined in the standard To the PCRF 100 (S809).

The following shows the configuration of the AA Request message defined in 3GPP TS 29.214.

<AA-Request> :: = <Diameter Header: 265, REQ, PXY>

<Session-Id>

{Auth-Application-Id}

{Origin-Host}

{Origin-Realm}

{Destination-Realm}

[Destination-Host]

[AF-Application-Identifier]

* [Media-Component-Description]

[Service-Info-Status]

[AF-Charging-Identifier]

[SIP-Forking-Indication]

* [Specific-Action]

* [Subscription-ID]

[Reservation-Priority]

[Framed-IP-Address]

[Framed-IPv6-Prefix]

[Service-URN]

[Origin-State-Id]

* [Proxy-Info]

* [Route-Record]

* [AVP]

Media-Component-Description :: = <AVP Header: 517>

        {Media-Component-Number}; Ordinal number of the media comp.

        * [Media-Sub-Component]; Set of flows for one flow identifier

         [AF-Application-Identifier]

         [Media-Type]

         [Max-Requested-Bandwidth-UL]

         [Max-Requested-Bandwidth-DL]

         [Flow-Status]

         [Reservation-priority]

         [RS-Bandwidth]

         [RR-Bandwidth]

* [Codec-Data]

Media-Sub-Component :: = <AVP Header: 519>

{Flow-Number}; Ordinal number of the IP flow

0 * 2 [Flow-Description]; UL and / or DL

[Flow-Status]

[Flow-Usage]

[Max-Requested-Bandwidth-UL]

[Max-Requested-Bandwidth-DL]

* [AVP]

Here, the Media-Component-Description AVP includes a Media Component Number, an AF-Application-Identifier, a bandwidth, a Media-Type, a Flow-Status, A variety of AVPs (Attribute Value Pairs) may be included.

The PCRF 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be configured such that the application service requested from the AF according to the value of the media configuration number AVP is a service provided through a service (e.g., an LTE IMS network) Yes - whether the service is requested from an external affiliate network.

The AF application identifier is identification information for indicating a specific service to which the AF session belongs, and the PFCF 100 can use the AF application identifier to apply different QoS to each application service.

In particular, the PCRF 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention can identify through the AF application identifier AVP whether the application service requested from the AF 610 is a service directly linked to the LTE network or indirectly linked service. In other words, the AF 610 transmits an AF request message to the AP 106 through the AA Request message to determine whether the application service requested from the packet data network is a direct interworking service (here, the direct interworking service includes a service of an external affiliate directly linked to the business entity) The PCRF 100 can be informed via the application identifier AVP.

The detailed description of the AVPs included in the AA Request will be replaced with the description of 3GPP TS 29.214.

Thereafter, the PCRF 100 performs a binding mechanism and a QoS control operation considering the NAT environment based on the received service information (S811 to S813). At this time, a PCC rule corresponding to the received service information is generated.

Binding Mechanism and QoS Control Manipulation in consideration of the above-mentioned NAT environment will be clarified through the description of FIG. 9 to be described later.

The PCRF 100 transmits the generated PCC rule to the P-GW 40 via the interface Gx (85) (S815). At this time, the PCRF 100 may transmit the PCC rule to the P-GW 40 using the RAR (Re-Auth Request) message defined in the standard. Here, the description of the detailed structure of the RAR message is replaced with the contents of 3GPP TS 29.214.

Thereafter, the P-GW 40 transmits the download packet received from the ASP 640 to the UE 10 using the received PCC rule (S817).

9 is a diagram for explaining a PCRF binding mechanism considering NAT environment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, when receiving the AAR message from the AF 610, the PCRF 100 checks whether the media component number value included in the AAR message is "0" (S901). Here, the media configuration number can be used as information for determining whether the AAR message is a control signal received from the IMS network.

If the media configuration number is "0 ", the PCRF 100 may determine that the received AAR message is an IMS control signal (S903).

When it is determined that the UE IP address has not been changed, the PCRF 100 extracts the UE IP address by referring to the Framed-IP-Address AVP for IPv4 or the Framed-IPv6-Precise AVP for IPv6 on the AAR message To S907).

Thereafter, the PCRF 100 generates an SDF template 503 to be used for packet filtering using the extracted UE IP address (S909).

Subsequently, the PCRF 100 selects QoS and accounting information (S911). At this time, the PCRF 100 refers to the AVP corresponding to the QoS and accounting information included in the AAR message, or refers to the APC-specific PCC rules (see FIG. 5) preset in the PCRF 100, That is, the PCC rule - can be selected.

Then, the PCRF 100 delivers the RAR message including the selected PCC rule to the P-GW 40 via the Gx 85 interface.

If the media configuration number is not "0 " in step 901, the PCRF 100 determines whether the AF application identifier is a value corresponding to the direct link service (S915).

As a result of checking, if it is the direct link service (S917), the PCRF 100 performs the above-described step 905. [

If it is determined in step 915 that the service is not a direct interworking service, the PCRF 100 determines whether MSISDN information is included in the AAR message (step S919).

If it is determined that the MSISDN is included, the PCRF 100 checks whether APN information exists in the AAR message (S921).

If the APN information exists, the PCRF 100 transmits the UE IP address included in the Flow-Description AVP, which is a subfield of the Media-Sub-Component AVP of the AAR message, to the UE IP address assigned by the P- Address (S923). Here, the destination IP address included in the Flow-Description AVP may be the UE IP address changed by the NAT 630. Accordingly, the PCRF 100 transmits the destination IP address included in the Flow-Description AVP to the UE IP address-assigned by the P-GW 40 so that packet filtering is smoothly performed in the P- Here, the UE IP address should be changed to one-to-one correspondence with the received MSISDN.

The PCRF 100 generates an SDF Template 503 to be used for packet filtering using the changed UE IP address (S925). At this time, since the PCRF 100 can not know the port information actually used for the SDF, the port on the SDF Template can be set to "ALL ". Accordingly, the P-GW 40 can perform the session binding operation by simply ignoring the port information of the packet received at the time of packet filtering for the SDF and checking only the source and destination IP address information.

Thereafter, the PCRF 100 selects QoS and accounting information from the PCRF 100 (S927). At this time, the PCRF 100 refers to the AVP corresponding to the QoS and accounting information included in the AAR message, or refers to the APC-specific PCC rules (see FIG. 5) preset in the PCRF 100, That is, the PCC rule - can be selected.

The PCRF 100 transmits a RAR message including the selected PCC rule to the P-GW 40 via the Gx 85 interface (S929).

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof.

Accordingly, the above description should not be construed in a limiting sense in all respects and should be considered illustrative. The scope of the present invention should be determined by rational interpretation of the appended claims, and all changes within the scope of equivalents of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention.

10: UE 20: eNB
40: P-GW 100: PCRF
610: AF 630: NAT
640: ASP 730: APN

Claims (19)

A method for providing a packet data service in an LTE network in cooperation with an external alliance carrier network,
A first step of receiving a service request message including a first user identifier from the external alliance carrier network indirectly linked to the LTE network;
A second step of converting the first user identifier into a second user identifier;
A third step of extracting a UE IP address previously stored corresponding to the converted second user identifier; And
A fourth step of generating a PCC rule using the extracted UE IP address
And controlling the service flow from the external alliance provider network using the PCC rule. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first user identifier is an MDN and the second user identifier is an MSISDN. delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the APN corresponding to the external affiliate provider is preset and maintained in the LTE network, and the PCC rule is generated by further using the APN information. A method for providing a packet data service in a PCRF of an LTE network,
A first step of receiving an AA Request message including an MSISDN from the AF;
A second step of checking whether the AA Request message is an external affiliate service message;
A third step of determining, in the case of the external affiliate service message, whether the application service requested through the AA request is an indirectly linked service;
A fourth step of converting the first UE IP address included in the AA Request into a second UE IP address allocated in advance corresponding to the MSISDN when the requested application service is the indirectly connected service; And
And a fifth step of generating a PCC rule using the second UE IP address
The method comprising the steps of: 6. The method of claim 5,
The AA Request message includes a Media Component Number (AVP) attribute value pair, and the second step determines whether the AA Request message is an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) message according to the value of the media configuration number AVP Or the external association service message. The method according to claim 6,
The AA Request message includes an AF application identifier AVP,
And determines whether the external affiliate service is an indirectly linked service according to the value of the AF application identifier AVP. 8. The method of claim 7,
If the external association service is a direct interworking service according to the value of the AF application identifier AVP, it refers to a Framed-IP-Address AVP for IPv4 or a Framed-IPv6-Prifix AVP for IPv6 on the AA Request message, And generates the PCC rule using the extracted UE IP address. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the AA Request further includes APN information corresponding to the requested application service, and further generates the PCC policy using the APN information. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the LTE network is interworked with an external packet data network through a NAT and the first UE IP address is a public IP address assigned by the NAT to correspond to the second UE IP address . 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the PCRF is interworked with a P-GW through a Gx interface, and the P-GW assigns the second UE IP address to the PCRF. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the PCC rules include an SDF (Service Data Flow) template, and the converted UE IP address is used in the configuration of the SDF template. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the SDF template includes port information and sets port information corresponding to the UE to 'ALL' when the SDF template is not a direct interworking service. A system for providing a packet data service in cooperation with an external alliance provider network,
An AF for converting the MDN to an MSISDN when receiving a usage notification message including an MDN from the external alliance carrier network indirectly linked to the LTE network;
A PCRF for extracting a first UE IP address corresponding to the MSISDN and generating a PCC rule using the extracted first UE IP address; And
A P-GW for receiving the PCC rule from the PCRF and delivering the IP flow from the external affiliate network to the UE
And a packet data service providing system. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the first UE IP address is allocated by the P-GW according to a connection request of the UE to the external alliance carrier network. 15. The method of claim 14,
Further comprising a NAT for converting the first UE IP address to a second UE IP address that is a public IP address. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the service request message further includes ASP information, wherein the AF determines an APN corresponding to the ASP information and provides the determined APN to the PCRF. An apparatus for providing a packet data service in cooperation with an external partner network,
Means for receiving a service request message including a first user identifier from the external alliance carrier network that is indirectly associated with an LTE network;
Means for converting the first user identifier into a second user identifier;
Means for extracting a UE IP address stored in advance corresponding to the converted second user identifier; And
Means for generating a PCC rule using the extracted UE IP address
Wherein the control unit controls packet data flow from the external affiliate network using the PCC rule. An apparatus for providing a packet data service in cooperation with an AF,
Means for receiving an AA Request message including an MSISDN from the AF;
Means for confirming whether the AA Request message is an external affiliate service message;
Means for determining whether the application service requested through the AA Request is an indirectly interworking service in case of the external affiliate service message;
If it is determined that the requested application service is the indirectly-linked service, converting the first UE IP address included in the AA Request into a second UE IP address allocated in advance corresponding to the MSISDN; And
Means for generating a PCC rule using the second UE IP address
, Wherein the AF converts an MDN received from an external affiliate network indirectly interworking with the LTE network into the MSISDN.

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