KR102055820B1 - Method and Apparatus for Supporting Shared resources Billing - Google Patents

Abstract

In the present embodiment, in the process of supporting a network sharing service, an accurate classification of a network resource corresponding to the main terminal and a shared resource corresponding to the client terminal can be made, and through this, separate charging and The present invention relates to a shared resource charging support method and apparatus for enabling separate QoS control.

Description

Method and Apparatus for Supporting Shared Resources Billing {Method and Apparatus for Supporting Shared resources Billing}

This embodiment relates to a method and apparatus for supporting shared resource charging. More specifically, the method and apparatus for supporting shared resource billing to enable separate charging and separation QoS control related to shared resources by distinguishing between network resources corresponding to the main terminal and shared resources corresponding to the client terminal. It is about.

The contents described in this section merely provide background information on the present embodiment and do not constitute a prior art.

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), which is conducting 5G standardization, is discussing mobile core network system and mobile access network system with the goal of commercializing 5G in 2020. In particular, the SA2 WG (System Architecture 2 Working Group) is standardizing the structure and function of the 5G core network under the name NextGen.

In connection with 5G, a variety of new services are required to be supported, and in addition, various billing systems are required for each service. In other words, 5G requires innovative and efficient billing differentiation for various services.

Network sharing service For example, a tethering service is a service that allows a mobile device (ex: main terminal) connected to the Internet to act as a relay to allow other devices (ex: client terminals) to access the Internet. it means. On the other hand, in the case of the conventional network sharing service, when the main terminal and the client terminal use the same flow, there is a limitation that separate charging and separation QoS control cannot be performed because the traffic corresponding to each terminal cannot be accurately distinguished from the network. It was. This means that no differentiated charging policy can be introduced for the network sharing service.

Therefore, when supporting network sharing service on the 5G core network, accurate classification of network resources corresponding to the main terminal and shared resources corresponding to the client terminal can be made, so that separate charging and separation QoS control for each resource can be performed. It requires new technology to make it possible.

In the present embodiment, in the process of supporting a network sharing service, an accurate classification of a network resource corresponding to the main terminal and a shared resource corresponding to the client terminal can be made, and through this, separate charging and The main object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for supporting shared resource charging to enable separate QoS control.

The present embodiment includes a communication unit for detecting a communication connection with at least one client terminal and confirming whether to use a network resource sharing service for the client terminal; A shared resource planning unit for setting shared resource usage information of the client terminal related to the network resource sharing service and transferring the shared resource usage information to a billing server device; And a controller configured to perform adaptive QoS control related to the network resource sharing service according to the charging policy service scenario selected from the charging server device based on the shared resource usage information. Provide the device.

In addition, according to another aspect of the present embodiment, the method comprising: detecting a communication connection with at least one client terminal, and confirming whether or not to use a network resource sharing service for the client terminal; Determining shared resource usage information of the client terminal related to the network resource sharing service and transferring the shared resource usage information to a charging server device; And performing adaptive QoS control related to the network resource sharing service according to the charging policy service scenario selected from the charging server device based on the shared resource usage information. Provide a method.

In addition, according to another aspect of the present embodiment, a communication unit for detecting a communication connection with at least one client terminal, and confirms the use of network resource sharing service for the client terminal; A shared resource policy unit for setting shared resource usage information of the client terminal in relation to the network resource sharing service; And a charging policy service scenario corresponding to the network resource corresponding to the main terminal determined based on the shared resource usage information and the previously collected charging policy subscription information and the remaining capacity information of the shared resource corresponding to the client terminal. And a control unit for performing adaptive QoS control related to the network resource sharing service according to the selected charging policy service scenario.

According to the present embodiment, in the process of supporting the shared resource charging support device, the network resource corresponding to the main terminal and the shared resource corresponding to the client terminal can be precisely distinguished. There is an effect that the associated separation charging and separation QoS control can be made.

1 is a diagram illustrating a network system for supporting shared resource charging according to the present embodiment.
2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an apparatus for supporting shared resources according to the present embodiment.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a shared resource charging support method according to the present embodiment.
4 is an exemplary diagram for describing a charging policy service scenario according to the present embodiment.
5 to 6 are flowcharts illustrating a QoS control method according to a charging policy service scenario according to the present embodiment.
7 is a flowchart illustrating a shared resource charging support method according to another embodiment.

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a diagram illustrating a network system for supporting shared resource charging according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, a network system for supporting shared resource charging according to the present embodiment includes a client terminal 110, a main terminal 120, a packet processing apparatus 130, and a charging server apparatus 140. Is implemented. At this time, the components included in the network system according to the present embodiment are not necessarily limited thereto. That is, in FIG. 1, only the main components related to shared resource charging support are illustrated as examples of various components included in the network system. Such a network system basically has the same configuration as that of a 5G core network. Has to be recognized.

The client terminal 110 is a target terminal of a network resource sharing service, and means a device that cannot directly connect with a service provider and can not arbitrarily provide an Internet service. That is, the client terminal 110 may share network resources from the main terminal 120 connected to the modem or the network, and use the same to provide an Internet service. The client terminal 110 is a tablet PC (Tablet PC), laptop (Laptop), personal computer (PC: Personal Computer), smart phone (Smart Phone), personal digital assistant (PDA) and mobile communication terminal (Mobile Communication Terminal) may be any one.

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, the network resource sharing service is preferably a tethering service, but is not necessarily limited thereto. However, hereinafter, the network resource sharing service will be described as an example of a tethering service. Thus, the client terminal 110 may be connected to the wired and wireless (WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, USB, Ethernet) according to a predefined tethering connection procedure with the main terminal 120, through which any one communication network (Or share) data communication.

The main terminal 120 is a subject providing a network resource sharing service, and shares network resources (hereinafter, exemplarily described as shared resources) to at least one or more client terminals 110 connected to the main terminal 120. Play a role.

The main terminal 120 refers to a terminal capable of transmitting and receiving various data using a communication intermediary device including an AP according to a user's key manipulation. Similarly, the main terminal 120 may be a tablet PC, a laptop, or a personal computer. It may be one of a personal computer (PC), a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile communication terminal, and the like.

In the present embodiment, the main terminal 120 may provide a function to mount the shared resource charging support application 122 to support the differentiated charging policy in connection with the network resource sharing service. The main terminal 120 may drive the shared resource charging support application 122 by a user's operation or command, and provide the above functions through the shared resource charging support application 122. To describe the shared resource billing support application 122 in more detail, the shared resource billing support application 122 refers to an application installed after being downloaded through an application store when the main terminal 120 is a smartphone. When the terminal 100 is a feature phone, the terminal 100 refers to an application running on a virtual machine (VM) downloaded through a communication company server.

Meanwhile, referring to a form in which the shared resource charging support application 122 is mounted on the main terminal 120 according to the present embodiment, the main terminal 120 includes the shared resource charging support application 122 in an embedded form. It may be implemented in a mounted state or embedded in an OS (Operating System) mounted in the main terminal 120, or installed in an OS in the main terminal 120 by a user's operation or command. . The shared resource charging support application 122 mounted on the main terminal 120 in the above-described manner may be a basic application (eg, a text sending application, a voice call transmitting / receiving application, a data transmitting / receiving application, a messenger application, etc.) mounted on the main terminal 120. ) May be implemented to interoperate with, but is not necessarily limited thereto and may be implemented to operate as an independent function without interworking with a basic application.

In the present embodiment, the main terminal 120 directly selects and controls the shared resources using the shared resource charging support application 122.

When the shared resource charging support application 122 is executed, the main terminal 120 provides a user interface for selecting and controlling a network resource sharing service. For example, the main terminal 120 may control whether to activate, such as whether to start, stop, or pause a network resource sharing service according to user selection information input through the user interface.

When the network resource sharing service function is activated, the main terminal 120 detects a communication connection with the client terminal 110 and checks whether data transmission / reception from the client terminal 110 occurs according to the communication connection.

The main terminal 120 determines the shared resource usage information of the client terminal 110 related to the network resource sharing service, and transmits the determined shared resource usage information to the billing server device 140.

In other words, the main terminal 120 determines the shared resource usage information for the client terminal 110 connected to the main terminal 120 when the network sharing service is supported on the 5G core network, thereby providing the network with the main terminal 120. It is operated so that the accurate classification of the network resources corresponding to and the shared resources corresponding to the client terminal 110 can be made. This means that separate charging and separate QoS related to the network sharing service are possible.

The main terminal 120 performs separate charging related to the network resource sharing service and QoS control related thereto according to the charging policy service scenario selected based on the shared resource usage information from the charging server apparatus 140. Meanwhile, when the QoS control command corresponding to the specific charging policy service scenario is not transmitted from the charging server apparatus 140, the main terminal 120 maintains the conventional QoS as it is, and the charging process and charging of the shared resource usage information. The transmission process to the server device 140 is periodically performed.

In the present embodiment, the main terminal 120 and the data processing of the client terminal 110 and the main terminal 120 when using the network resource sharing service corresponding to the charging policy service scenario selected from the charging server device 140 Related QoS control can be performed. For example, the main terminal 120 adapts the data processing speed between the main terminal 120 and the packet processing apparatus 130 and the data processing speed between the main terminal 120 and the client terminal 110 according to the charging policy service scenario. Can be controlled.

Meanwhile, a detailed method of performing adaptive QoS control related to a network resource sharing service based on the charging policy service scenario by the main terminal 120 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 5 to 6.

Shared resource billing support application 122 is implemented to operate independently in the form having a separate software function or hardware function performed by the main terminal 120 or a separate software function performed by the main terminal 120. Or it may be implemented in a form that works with hardware functions.

Shared resource billing support application 122 is mounted on the main terminal 120, it is preferable to operate using a variety of hardware provided in the main terminal 120, but is not necessarily limited to this, implemented as a separate device to operate May be In addition, the shared resource charging support application 122 may operate in conjunction with pre-installed applications in the main terminal 120.

In addition, referring to the operation performed by the shared resource billing support application 122, the shared resource billing support application 122 is installed in the main terminal 120, the main terminal 120 functions related to the shared resource billing support It is a kind of program to provide.

The shared resource billing support application 122 may perform all the functions performed by the main terminal 120 described above in the same manner, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The packet processing apparatus 130 refers to a device that supports various functions related to packet processing. The packet processing apparatus 130 may be a user plane function (UPF) among the components of the 5G core network.

The packet processing apparatus 130 may be arranged in plural on a network, and may be implemented to support packet processing functions differentiated from each other.

In the present embodiment, the packet processing apparatus 130 serves to perform separation charging and separation QoS related to the network sharing service through interworking with the main terminal 120 and the charging server apparatus 140. do.

To this end, the packet processing apparatus 130 analyzes the packet flow transmitted between the main terminal 120 and the server section to calculate the capacity information of the packet data transmitted from the main terminal 120 and charge the calculated capacity information. The server device 140 transmits.

In this case, the capacity information calculated from the packet processing apparatus 130 may include a total capacity value of the network resource used in the main terminal 120 and the shared resource used from the client terminal 110 connected to the main terminal 120. Can be.

The packet processing apparatus 130 transmits the calculated capacity information to the charging server apparatus 140, thereby causing the charging server apparatus 140 to share network resources corresponding to the main terminal 120 and corresponding client terminals 110. It works to identify resources accurately.

In another embodiment, the packet processing apparatus 130 is directly based on flow information (eg: Dst IP, Dst Port, Url User-Agent information) of packet data transmitted and received through a session formed with the main terminal 120. The network resources corresponding to the main terminal 120 and the shared resources corresponding to the client terminal 110 may be distinguished. Through this, the packet processing apparatus 130, when requested to transfer the function related to the shared resource billing support in response to the occurrence of a specific event from the main terminal 120, performs the separate charging and separation QoS control related to the direct network sharing service You can also help make this happen.

According to another embodiment, the packet processing apparatus 130 determines whether to perform a network sharing service based on flow information of packet data transmitted and received through a session formed with the main terminal 120, and preset according to the determination result. Promotion information may be provided to the main terminal 120. For example, when it is recognized that the network sharing service is performed by the main terminal 120, the packet processing apparatus 130 may provide the main terminal 120 with promotion information such as installation of the shared resource charging support application 122 and data coupons. It may be provided to the main terminal 120.

Similarly, the packet processing apparatus 130 may assist with separate charging related to the network resource sharing service and QoS control related thereto in response to the charging policy service scenario selected from the charging server apparatus 140. For example, the packet processing apparatus 130 may adaptively control the data processing speed between the main terminal 120 and the main terminal 120 according to the charging policy service scenario.

Meanwhile, a detailed method of the packet processing apparatus 130 performing adaptive QoS control related to the network resource sharing service based on the charging policy service scenario will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 5 to 6.

The billing server device 140 refers to a device that performs a billing procedure related to the use of network resources. The billing server device 140 according to the present embodiment operates to make billing based on an appropriate billing policy in connection with a network resource sharing service.

To this end, the billing server device 140 can accurately classify network resources corresponding to the main terminal 120 and shared resources corresponding to the client terminal 110 through interworking with the main terminal 120 and the packet processing device 140. Can be. For example, the charging server apparatus 140 subtracts the shared resource usage information of the client terminal 110 collected from the main terminal 120 from the capacity information of the packet data of the main terminal 120 collected from the packet processing apparatus 130. Through the result value, the network resource used in the actual main terminal 120 and the shared resource used in the client terminal 110 can be distinguished.

The billing server device 140 performs the billing based on each resource usage based on the resource usage information and the previously collected billing policy subscription information of the main terminal 120, and a billing policy service for this. Select and run the scenario.

In the present embodiment, the charging policy service scenario selected by the charging server apparatus 140 may include the remaining capacity information of the network resource corresponding to the main terminal 120 and the shared resource corresponding to the client terminal 110 determined in real time. It can be adaptively selected according to. More specifically, the charging policy service scenario may be adaptively selected based on whether each resource related designated (= unique) rate plan determined in real time based on the remaining capacity information is exhausted.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the billing server device 140 provides billing policy service scenarios corresponding to a total of four types, which will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 4.

The charging server device 140 may transmit the relevant QoS control command to the packet processing device 130 and the main terminal 120 according to the selected charging policy service scenario. Similarly, this will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 5 to 6.

2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an apparatus for supporting shared resources according to the present embodiment.

The shared resource billing support apparatus 200 of FIG. 2 substantially shows an internal view of the main terminal 120 equipped with the shared resource billing support application 122. However, the shared resource billing support application 122 includes the shared resource billing support application 122. The main terminal 120 may be implemented as a shared resource billing support device 200 which is a separate device, and the components included in the shared resource billing support device 200 may be implemented as software or hardware elements, respectively. That is, the shared resource billing support apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 2 is an embodiment in which the shared resource billing support application 122 is implemented as a separate device, and the shared resource billing support apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment operates. The unit 210, the communication unit 220, the shared resource planning unit 230 and the control unit 240.

The operation unit 210 provides a user interface for selecting and controlling a network resource sharing service. For example, the operation unit 210 may adjust whether to activate the network resource sharing service (eg, sharing mode), whether to stop or pause, or the like, according to the user selection information input through the user interface.

The communication unit 220 performs a connection procedure with the client terminal 110, and means a device for transmitting and receiving data related to the network resource sharing service through the session created with the client terminal 110 through this.

In the present embodiment, the communication unit 220 detects a communication connection between the at least one client terminal 110 and confirms whether or not to use the network resource sharing service from the client terminal 110 according to the communication connection.

In this case, the communication unit 220 may determine whether to use the network resource sharing service based on the flow information of the packet data transmitted and received through the session formed with the client terminal 110. For example, the communication unit 220 confirms an IP address for packet data, and recognizes that the packet data is packet data related to a network resource sharing service when the identified IP address is an address for a specific network.

The shared resource planning unit 230 establishes shared resource usage information of the client terminal 110 related to the network resource sharing service.

In this embodiment, the shared resource planning unit 230 may likewise set the shared resource usage information of the client terminal 110 based on the flow information of the packet data transmitted and received through a session formed with the client terminal 110. have.

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, the shared resource planning unit 230 is shared resource usage information. Preferably, the shared resource used by the client terminal 110 in connection with the identification information of the client terminal 110 and the network resource sharing service. Dose measurement information for. According to an exemplary embodiment, the capacity measurement information for the shared resource used by the client terminal 110 may be separately classified for each client terminal 110 or may be determined in an integrated form.

The shared resource planning unit 230 transmits the shared resource usage information of the determined client terminal 110 to the charging server device 140.

The controller 240 performs adaptive QoS control related to the network resource sharing service according to the charging policy service scenario selected from the charging server device 140 based on the shared resource usage information.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the controller 240 performs QoS control related to data processing of the client terminal 110 and the main terminal 120 when using the network resource sharing service based on the charging policy service scenario.

Hereinafter, a method of controlling QoS of the client terminal 110 and the main terminal 120 based on the charging policy service scenario will be described.

In the present embodiment, it is possible to support the charging policy service scenarios corresponding to a total of four types.

The first type exceeds the limit of network resources corresponding to the main terminal 120 (= basic plan exhaustion Yes) and does not exceed the limit of shared resources corresponding to the client terminal 110 (= tethering plan exhaustion). No) In this case, the controller 240 adjusts the data processing between the packet processor 130 and the main terminal 120 to be performed based on the full rate in association with the packet processor 130. This actually means that data related to shared resources between the client terminal 110 and the main terminal 120 can be controlled based on the maximum speed.

The second type corresponds to the case where the limit of network resources corresponding to the main terminal 120 is exceeded and the limit of shared resources corresponding to the client terminal 110 is also exceeded. In this case, the control unit 240 processes data between the packet processing apparatus 130 and the main terminal 120 and data processing between the main terminal 120 and the client terminal 110 through linkage with the packet processing apparatus 130. Adjust to set based on preset Limit Rate.

The third type corresponds to a case where the limit of network resources corresponding to the main terminal 120 is not exceeded and the limit of shared resources corresponding to the client terminal 110 is exceeded. In this case, the controller 240 adjusts data processing between the main terminal 120 and the client terminal 110 based on a preset speed limit.

The fourth type corresponds to a case where the limit of network resources corresponding to the main terminal 120 is not exceeded and the limit of shared resources corresponding to the client terminal 110 is also not exceeded. In this case, the controller 240 adjusts the data processing between the packet processing apparatus 130 and the main terminal 120 and the data processing between the main terminal 120 and the client terminal 110 based on the maximum speed. .

In the present embodiment, the control unit 240 continuously checks whether or not the variation of each resource exceeds the limit according to external factors. Thereafter, the controller 240 may perform adaptive QoS control based on a charging policy service scenario corresponding to any one of the first to fourth types according to the confirmation result.

In another exemplary embodiment, when the occurrence of a preset event condition associated with the main terminal 120 is detected, the controller 240 transmits a function of each component of the shared resource charging support apparatus 200 to the packet processing apparatus 130. It can also be adjusted to. In this case, the preset event condition may be insufficient battery capacity of the main terminal 120.

On the other hand, in another embodiment, the shared resource billing support device 200 may be implemented in a form capable of directly performing the process of selecting the billing policy service scenario and the QoS policy decision process performed by the billing server device 140. .

In this case, the shared resource planning unit 230 is configured to determine the shared resource usage information of the client terminal 110 related to the network resource sharing service, and deliver it to the control unit 240.

The control unit 240 is a network resource corresponding to the main terminal 120 based on the shared resource usage information received from the shared resource planning unit 230 and the charging policy subscription information previously collected from the charging server apparatus 130. And the remaining capacity information of the shared resource corresponding to the client terminal 110. To this end, the controller 240 may set resource limit values of network resources corresponding to the main terminal 120 and shared resources corresponding to the client terminal 110 based on the charging policy subscription information.

The controller 240 selects a corresponding charging policy service scenario according to the determined remaining capacity information, and performs adaptive QoS control related to the network resource sharing service according to the selected charging policy service scenario. Meanwhile, the method of selecting the charging policy service scenario according to the remaining capacity information and the specific method of performing the adaptive QoS control in this regard are the same as those described above, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted. In this regard will be described in more detail in FIG.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a shared resource charging support method according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, in FIG. 3, the shared resource charging support method will be described mainly based on the main terminal 120 equipped with the shared support charging support application 122.

Meanwhile, although not shown in FIG. 3, the main terminal 120 may share the subscriber authentication procedure and the billing policy subscription information with the billing server device 140 as a preliminary procedure related to the shared resource billing support. have. In addition, the main terminal 120 may receive information related to a preset charging policy service scenario from the charging server device 140.

When the main terminal 120 receives the charging policy subscription information from the billing server device 140, the main terminal 120 may set resource limit values for the main terminal 120 and the client terminal 110 in advance.

The main terminal 120 detects a communication connection with at least one client terminal 110 (S302), and checks whether the network resource sharing service is used for the client terminal 110 according to the detection result (S304). . In operation S304, the main terminal 120 may determine whether to use the network resource sharing service based on the flow information of the packet data transmitted and received through the session formed with the client terminal 110.

When the use of the network resource sharing service is recognized in step S304, the main terminal 120 determines the shared resource usage information of the client terminal 110 and transmits the determined shared resource usage information to the billing server device 140 ( S306).

The main terminal 120 checks whether the QoS control command corresponding to the specific charging policy service scenario is transmitted as the feedback information on the shared resource usage information transmitted from the charging server apparatus 140 in step S306 (S308). Meanwhile, in step S308, when the QoS control command corresponding to the specific charging policy service scenario is not transmitted from the charging server apparatus 140, the main terminal 120 maintains the conventional QoS as it is, and the process of steps S302 to S306 is performed. Repeat it.

In step S308, the main terminal 120 performs the procedure of step S310 when the QoS control command corresponding to the specific charging policy service scenario is transmitted from the charging server apparatus 140.

The main terminal 120 performs adaptive QoS control related to the network resource sharing service according to the charging policy service scenario selected from the charging server device 140 based on the shared resource usage information transmitted in step S306 (S310). . In operation S310, the main terminal 120 may perform QoS control regarding data processing rates of the client terminal 110 and the main terminal 120 when the network resource sharing service is used, based on the charging policy service scenario.

For example, the main terminal 120 determines whether the limit of network resources corresponding to the main terminal 120 and the limit of shared resources corresponding to the client terminal 110 are exceeded based on the charging policy service scenario. According to the check result, data processing between the packet processing apparatus 130 and the main terminal 120 may be adjusted based on a preset speed limit or maximum speed. In addition, the main terminal 120 may adjust the data processing between the main terminal 120 and the client terminal 110 based on the preset speed limit or the maximum speed according to the check result.

Here, the steps S302 to S310 correspond to the operation of each component of the shared resource charging support apparatus 200 described above, and thus, further detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 3, each process is described as being sequentially executed, but is not necessarily limited thereto. In other words, since the process described in FIG. 3 may be applied by changing or executing one or more processes in parallel, FIG. 3 is not limited to the time series order.

That is, in FIG. 3, the main terminal 120 performs QoS control based on the charging policy service scenario determined from the charging server apparatus 140 based on the shared resource usage information transmitted in step S306. In another embodiment, the main terminal 120 may be implemented in a form capable of directly performing the selection process of the charging policy service scenario and the QoS policy determination process performed by the charging server apparatus 140. In this regard will be described in more detail in FIG.

As described above, the shared resource charging support method described in FIG. 3 is implemented as a program and can be read using software of a computer (CD-ROM, RAM, ROM, memory card, hard disk, magneto-optical disk, storage device). And the like).

4 is an exemplary diagram for describing a charging policy service scenario according to the present embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the charging policy service scenario selected by the charging server apparatus 140 is adaptive according to the remaining capacity information of the network resource corresponding to the main terminal 120 and the shared resource corresponding to the client terminal 110. Can be selected.

Referring to FIG. 4A, the capacities of the network resources corresponding to the main terminal 120 and the shared resources corresponding to the client terminal 110 based on the charging policy subscription information of the main terminal 120, and You can check the settings of the relevant QoS control.

Also, referring to FIG. 4B, charging policy service scenarios corresponding to a total of four types according to network capacity corresponding to the main terminal 120 and remaining capacity information of the shared resource corresponding to the client terminal 110. It can be seen that is provided.

Meanwhile, the charging policy service scenarios corresponding to the four types shown in FIG. 4 (b) are merely exemplary, but are not limited thereto. For example, in the present embodiment, various types may be selected according to the remaining capacity information of the network resource corresponding to the main terminal 120 and the shared resource corresponding to the client terminal 110, and a corresponding charging policy service scenario is provided. Can be.

5 to 6 are flowcharts illustrating a QoS control method according to a charging policy service scenario according to the present embodiment.

5 is a call-flow which is the most basic in relation to the shared resource charging support method according to the present embodiment, and illustrates a QoS control method according to a change to a charging policy service scenario of any of the first to fourth types. . Meanwhile, FIG. 5 illustrates a QoS control method starting with a charging policy service scenario corresponding to the fourth type.

Step ① is a QoS control step relating to processing of network resources corresponding to the main terminal 120 before sharing of shared resources corresponding to the client terminal 110 starts. In step ①, the packet processing apparatus 130 analyzes the packet flow transmitted between the main terminal 120 and the server section to calculate the capacity information of the packet data transmitted from the main terminal 120, and calculates the calculated capacity information. The billing server device 140 transmits.

The charging server apparatus 140 processes the packet when it is determined that the limit of the network resource corresponding to the main terminal 120 is exceeded (= basic plan exhaustion Yes) according to the capacity information received from the packet processing apparatus 130. In connection with the device 130 and the main terminal 120, the data processing between the packet processing device 130 and the main terminal 120 is adjusted based on the preset speed limit.

In step ②, sharing of the shared resource corresponding to the client terminal 110 is started, thereby monitoring the type change of the charging policy service scenario. In step ②, when the network resource sharing service function is activated, the main terminal 120 detects a communication connection with the client terminal 110 and checks whether data transmission and reception from the client terminal 110 occurs according to the communication connection.

The main terminal 120 determines the shared resource usage information of the client terminal 110 related to the network resource sharing service, and transmits the determined shared resource usage information to the billing server device 140.

The billing server device 140 monitors the type change of the billing policy service scenario based on the shared resource usage information received from the main terminal 120.

Step ③ is a QoS control step when a change of the charging policy service scenario to the first type occurs according to the monitoring result of step ②. In step ③, the billing server device 140 performs QoS control related to the release of data processing speed between the packet processing device 130 and the main terminal 120 restricted in step ①. This actually means that data processing related to shared resources between the client terminal 110 and the main terminal 120 can be controlled based on the maximum speed.

Step ④ is a QoS control step when a change of the charging policy service scenario to the second type occurs according to the monitoring result of step ②. In step ④, the charging server device 140 transmits a QoS control command to the packet processing device 130. Based on this, the packet processing apparatus 130 may process data between the packet processing apparatus 130 and the main terminal 120 and the main terminal 120 and the client terminal 110 through an association with the main terminal 120. Simultaneously adjust the data processing to be based on the preset speed limit.

Step ⑤ is a QoS control step when a change of the charging policy service scenario to the third type occurs according to the monitoring result of step ②. On the other hand, although not shown in step ⑤, between the step ④ and step ⑤, the basic plan and the associated charging step may be included.

In step ⑤, the charging server device 140 transmits a QoS control command to the main terminal 120. Based on this, the main terminal 120 adjusts the data processing between the packet processing apparatus 130 and the main terminal 120 based on the maximum speed.

On the other hand, in the case of the shared resource billing support method according to the present embodiment, it is possible to continuously check the change of the limit of each resource, and to perform adaptive QoS control based on this.

6 illustrates a QoS control method when the charging policy service scenario is changed in real time due to a change in circumstances according to external factors according to the present embodiment. That is, FIG. 6 illustrates a process in which the charging policy service scenario is reselected from the charging server apparatus 140 according to a change in circumstances according to external factors, and the corresponding adaptive QoS control is performed in real time.

Hereinafter, in FIG. 6, a situation change caused by external factors is described as a case where charging of exhausted network resources is made due to the use of a refill coupon.

Step ① is a QoS control step relating to processing of network resources corresponding to the main terminal 120 before sharing of shared resources corresponding to the client terminal 110 starts. This step ① corresponds to the same step as step ① of FIG.

Step ② is a step in which sharing of the shared resource corresponding to the client terminal 110 is started, but the actual use of the shared resource is not performed, and the QoS control changed in step ① is maintained. Meanwhile, step ② corresponds to a case in which at least one client terminal 110 does not exist or the shared resource charging support application 122 is not driven.

Step ③ is related to QoS control when the basic plan and the related charging is made between step ② and step ③. In this case, the billing policy service scenario changes to the fourth type. Thus, in step (3), the QoS control relating to the release of data processing speed between the packet processing apparatus 130 and the main terminal 120 restricted in step (1) is performed.

In another embodiment, the situation change due to external factors may include various cases such as raising or lowering the limit of each resource due to a change in billing policy subscription information (= plan), and the like in this embodiment. It is not limited. In other words, the billing support method according to the present embodiment has an effect of enabling billing support suitable for various situational changes that may be caused by the kind of the exhausted resource, the time of exhaustion, and the type of the charging resource.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a shared resource charging support method according to another embodiment. On the other hand, Figure 7 is a process of selecting a charging policy service scenario and the QoS policy determination process that was performed from the charging server device 140 of the QoS control method related to shared resource charging support according to the present embodiment directly by the main terminal 120 The case is performed.

In this case, the main terminal 120 may be adjusted to selectively perform a function related to the above process only when an abnormality is recognized in the charging server device 140. In another embodiment, the main terminal 120 may be implemented in advance to perform a function related to the above process.

To this end, the main terminal 120 may share the subscriber authentication procedure and the billing policy subscription information with the billing server device 140 in advance. In addition, the main terminal 120 may receive information related to a preset charging policy service scenario from the charging server device 140.

When the main terminal 120 receives the charging policy subscription information from the billing server device 140, the main terminal 120 may set resource limit values for the main terminal 120 and the client terminal 110 in advance.

Step ① is a flowchart showing the operation of the main terminal 120 in relation to the shared resource charging support method according to another embodiment.

In step ①, the main terminal 120 determines the shared resource usage information of the client terminal 110 related to the network resource sharing service, and the network resource and the client corresponding to the main terminal 120 based on the established shared resource usage information. The process of confirming the remaining capacity information on the shared resource corresponding to the terminal 110 is carried out carefully.

The main terminal 120 selects a corresponding charging policy service scenario based on whether each resource related designated (= unique) rate plan that has been determined in real time through the confirmation of each remaining capacity information. Thereafter, the main terminal 120 performs QoS control related to the data processing speed between the packet processing apparatus 130 and the client terminal 110 according to the selected charging policy service scenario. On the other hand, step (1) illustrates the QoS control procedure when the shared resources corresponding to the client terminal 110 is exhausted.

Step ② is a flowchart showing the operation of the packet processing apparatus 130 associated with the shared resource charging support method according to another embodiment. Meanwhile, in step ②, the QoS control procedure when the network resource corresponding to the main terminal 120 is exhausted is illustrated.

Referring to step (2), the packet processing apparatus 130 is associated with the main terminal 120, and each of the packet processing apparatus 130 and the client terminal 110 according to the charging policy service scenario selected from the main terminal 120; It can be seen that the QoS control related to the data processing speed is performed during the process.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present embodiment, and those skilled in the art to which the present embodiment belongs may make various modifications and changes without departing from the essential characteristics of the present embodiment. Therefore, the present embodiments are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present embodiment but to describe the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present embodiment is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present embodiment should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope equivalent thereto should be construed as being included in the scope of the present embodiment.

110: client terminal 120: main terminal
122: shared resource billing support application 130: packet processing apparatus
140: billing server device 200: shared resource billing support device
210: operation unit 220: communication unit
230: shared resource planning 240: control unit

Claims (10)

A communication unit for detecting a communication connection with at least one client terminal and confirming whether to use a network resource sharing service for the client terminal;
A shared resource planning unit for setting shared resource usage information of the client terminal related to the network resource sharing service and transferring the shared resource usage information to a billing server device; And
Each of the client terminal and the main terminal corresponds to a charging policy service scenario selected from the charging server device based on the network resource usage information of the main terminal calculated based on the shared resource usage information and the shared resource usage information. Control unit for performing adaptive QoS control related to the network resource sharing service for the
Shared resources billing support device comprising a. The method of claim 1,
The communication unit and the shared resource planning unit,
Shared resource billing support device, characterized in that for determining whether to use the network sharing service and the use of the shared resource based on the flow information of the packet data transmitted and received through the session formed with the client terminal, respectively. The method of claim 1,
The shared resource usage information,
And capacity measurement information for the shared resource used by the client terminal in connection with the identification information of the client terminal and the network resource sharing service. The method of claim 1,
The charging policy service scenario,
A shared resource selected by the charging server device based on the shared resource usage information, the network resource usage information of the main terminal calculated based on the shared resource usage information, and the charging policy subscription information of the main terminal; Charging Support. The method of claim 4, wherein
The charging policy service scenario,
It is adaptively selected based on the exhaustion of each resource-specific designated rate determined in real time according to the remaining capacity information of the network resource corresponding to the main terminal, the shared resource corresponding to the client terminal and the remaining capacity information. Shared resource charging support device. The method of claim 1,
The control unit,
And the QOS control relating to data processing of the client terminal and the main terminal when the network resource sharing service is used, based on the charging policy service scenario. The method of claim 6,
The control unit,
On the basis of the charging policy service scenario, it is determined whether the network resource limit corresponding to the main terminal is exceeded and whether the limit of the shared resource corresponding to the client terminal is exceeded. And a data processing speed and an adaptive data rate between the main terminal and the client terminal. The method of claim 1,
The control unit,
When the occurrence of a predetermined event condition related to the main terminal is recognized, the function of using the network resource sharing service, the setting of the shared resource usage information, and the adaptive QoS control function are adjusted by the packet processing apparatus. Shared resource charging support device characterized in that. Detecting a communication connection with at least one client terminal and confirming whether a network resource sharing service is used for the client terminal;
Determining shared resource usage information of the client terminal related to the network resource sharing service and transferring the shared resource usage information to a charging server device; And
Each of the client terminal and the main terminal corresponds to a charging policy service scenario selected from the charging server device based on the network resource usage information of the main terminal calculated based on the shared resource usage information and the shared resource usage information. Performing adaptive QoS control related to the network resource sharing service
Shared resources billing support method comprising a. A communication unit for detecting a communication connection with at least one client terminal and confirming whether to use a network resource sharing service for the client terminal;
A shared resource policy unit for setting shared resource usage information of the client terminal in relation to the network resource sharing service; And
The charging policy service scenario corresponding to the network resource remaining capacity information corresponding to the main terminal determined based on the shared resource usage information and the previously collected charging policy subscription information and the remaining capacity information of the shared resource corresponding to the client terminal. A controller for performing adaptive QoS control related to the network resource sharing service for each of the main terminal and the client terminal according to the selected charging policy service scenario.
Shared resources billing support device comprising a.

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