KR20070028461A - Binding mechanism for quality of service management in a communication network - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to methods and arrangements for setting up a policy controlled bearer service for delivery of a service from an application function (304) to a mobile terminal (301). According to the present invention a terminal identity of the mobile terminal may be used to bind to applicable policy information when setting up the bearer service. Thus the present invention obviates the need to transmit specific binding information to the mobile terminal during application layer signaling for the purpose of policy controlled bearer service set-up. The terminal identity is registered (308) in a register of a policy decision function (303) along with policy identifying information. When a bearer service activation request is received from the mobile terminal (301) the request is mapped (313) to applicable policy information by means of the terminal identity and the matching registration in the register of the policy decision function (303). ® KIPO & WIPO 2007

Description

BINDING MECHANISM FOR QUALITY OF SERVICE MANAGEMENT IN A COMMUNICATION NETWORK}

* Relevant application cross-references *

This application is commonly assigned International Patent Application No. PCT / SE04 /, entitled “Devices and Methods for Push Message Initiated Service,” filed July 5, 2004, co-pending. ; International Patent Application No. PCT / SE04 /, entitled "Methods and Devices for Supplying Quality of Service Parameters in HTTP Message," filed July 5, 2004. ; And International Patent Application No. PCT / SE04 /, entitled "Methods and Devices for Hanging Quality of Service," filed July 5, 2004. In which the present application is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to apparatus and methods in a mobile telephony communication system, and in particular, to a mechanism for quality of service management for transmissions relating to packet data services.

Communication networks for packet-based communication of information in the form of data bits are well known to those skilled in the art. An increasing important issue for mobile telephony communications is the creation of a need to transfer data over a wireless connection. The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is a collaboration agreement that brings together a number of telecommunication standards bodies and is based on the advanced GSM core networks and radio access technologies they support. It was set up to generate globally applicable technical specifications and technical reports for third generation universal mobile phone systems. This includes the maintenance and maintenance of Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) technical specifications and technical reports, including evolved radio access technologies (e.g., General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE)). Includes development.)

One of the issues with which 3GPP is currently working is the infrastructure for providing end-to-end quality of service for services including GPRS networks as described in Technical Specification 3GPP TS 23.207 V6.2.0 (2004-03). This technical description describes the use of policy control mechanisms to control and acknowledge the use of network resources prior to setting up a service.

Thereafter, the packet-switched service undergoes policy control by the Policy Decision Function (PDF). The policy decision function (PDF) is a logical element, which is used as a logical policy decision element and enables a match between event management at the application layer and resource management at the IP bearer layer.

Network administrators and service providers may use service and network resources based on "policies" derived from any criteria such as identification and authentication levels of users and applications, traffic bandwidth, requirements, safety considerations, latency / loss time, etc. Policy control was improved because the importance of being able to monitor, control and enforce is taken into account. Because various entities change the environment in which they need to use the services they need, there is a need for rules, a need for how to enforce these rules, and a need for "judgment" to determine when they are applied. . Thus, the three major components of a policy system typically include policy rules that are stored in a policy database, which can be implemented at a policy hardening point (PEP). The IETF standardizes protocols for the exchange of information between PEPs and policy decision points under the Common Open Policy Service (COPS). In general, a policy can be thought of as a collection of rules that, when certain conditions exist, result in one or more actions.

1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating several elements included in a policy control mechanism improved by 3GPP. 1 shows an example in which a service is set up between a mobile telephone user equipment (UE) 1 and an application function AF of a service provider. The user device comprises an application function (AF) client 3, which communicates with the application function AF by application function session signaling 4 to initiate an application session. The establishment of a session and the activation of a service require the establishment of a bearer service to carry data packets of the session. The session may include one or more different IP flows with specific requirements for bearer resources. Application function session signaling 4 may include information on quality of service (QoS) requirements, which are converted into bearer quality of service parameters by the conversion / mapping function 5 of the user equipment (UE). In order to activate the bearer service, the user equipment (UE) is configured with respect to the packet data protocol (PDP) perspective with bearer quality of service (QoS) parameters determined by the translation / mapping function for the gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) 6. Send a request for activation. Communication between the user equipment (UE) and the gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) is handled in this example by each of the user equipment (UE) and the gateway GPRS support node (GGSN). In this example, the gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) has a PBS function and has an IP BS manager 9 involved in quality of service (QoS) management. The gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) 6 interacts with the policy decision function (PDF) via the Go interface 11 to implement policy control. The policy decision function (PDF) 10 makes a policy decision based on the policy setting information obtained from the application function 2 via the Gp interface 12. More detailed information relating to the elements and their functions shown in FIG. 1 can be found in the technical description TS 23.207 V6.2.0 described above.

When 3GPP specifies a policy control mechanism, an authorization indication is also introduced to establish a binding mechanism that maps packet data protocol (PDP) context and IP flows to policy information. The permission indication is generated by the policy decision function (PDF) for a particular application session as requested from the application function. The authorization indication contains a fully qualified domain name for the policy decision function (PDF) and is unique across all packet data protocol (PDP) contexts related to the access point name (APN). The application function (AF) sends an authorization indication to the user device in application session signaling. The UE must then activate or modify the packet data protocol (PDP) context, including an indication of the permissions applicable to any request. The authorization indication will then be used by the Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) and Policy Decision Function (PDF) to map to the correct policy information.

When implementing policy control in 3G systems, the scheme for introducing permission indications and their associated processing has a number of disadvantages. One major drawback is that they require modification of the current user device in order to be able to handle the authorization indication. Another multipoint is that the introduction of authorization indications requires new standards for Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), and Session Description Protocol (SDP), and other protocols used for processing and setting up application sessions. Is that.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method using a simple coupling mechanism when setting up a policy controlled bearer service for delivering a service to a mobile phone terminal.

The above-mentioned object is achieved by the method according to claims 1 and 10 and the policy decision function according to claim 19.

The basic idea of the present invention is to use the terminal identity as the association information to combine bearer service activation requests for applicable policy information, thereby eliminating the need to send an authorization indication to the terminal during bearer service activation.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a method is provided for setting up a policy controlled bearer service for delivering a service from an application function to a mobile telephone terminal. The method includes registering a terminal identification of a terminal related to policy identification information in a register of a policy determination function; Receiving a bearer service activation request from a terminal through a core network node, the bearer service activation request being a set of terminal entities such as Mobile Identification Number (MSISDN), IMEI, IMSI, etc., and a set of bearer services for A receiving step comprising a requested quality of service (QoS) parameter; Combining the policy identification information and the bearer service activation request by the terminal identity to determine policy information applicable for the bearer service; Performing a policy check by checking whether a requested quality of service (QoS) parameter performs the applicable policy information; And if the policy check is successful, sending a grant message to the core network node to initiate completion of the bearer service setup.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for performing policy control on a bearer service to deliver a service from an application function to a mobile telephone terminal in a policy decision function. A method according to the second aspect of the invention comprises the steps of: receiving a registration message comprising a terminal identity and policy identification information; Registering a terminal identity related to policy identification information in a register; Receiving a bearer service activation request from a terminal via a core network node, wherein the bearer service activation request includes a set of requested quality of service (QoS) parameters for the terminal identity and the bearer service; Combining the policy identification information and the bearer service activation request in the policy determination function by the terminal identity to determine policy information applicable for the bearer service; Performing a policy check by checking whether a requested quality of service (QoS) parameter performs the applicable policy information; And if the policy check is successful, sending a grant message to the core network node to initiate completion of the bearer service setup.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a policy decision function for performing policy control on a bearer service to deliver a service from an applicable function to a mobile telephone terminal. The policy determination function may include a first interface for receiving a registration message that includes a terminal identity and policy identification information; A register that registers a terminal identity related to policy identification information; A second interface for receiving a bearer service activation request from a terminal via a core network node, wherein the bearer service activation request includes a terminal identity and includes a set of requested quality of service (QoS) parameters for bearer service; interface; In order to determine the applicable policy information for the bearer service, the bearer service combines the bearer service activation request with the policy identification information in the policy determination function, and the requested quality of service (QoS) parameter is applicable to the policy information. A policy check is performed by checking whether to perform a check, and if the policy check is successful, processing means for sending a grant message to the core network node to initiate completion of the bearer service setup.

An advantage of the present invention is to eliminate the need to send an authorization indication to the terminal for the purpose of establishing a policy controlled bearer service. This means that there is no impact on the terminal from the standard on the terminal.

Another advantage of the present invention is that, according to the present invention, any new standard is used for Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), and other protocols used for processing and setting up Session Description Protocol (SDP) and application sessions. Is not needed for.

An additional advantage of the present invention is that the policy mechanism and quality of service (QoS) control mechanism of the present invention can be implemented in mobile telephone terminals available on the market today. Therefore, there is no need to modify the mobile phone terminal to implement the present invention.

Another advantage according to an embodiment of the present invention is that the requested quality of service (QoS) parameter is a service for upgrading a quality of service (QoS) parameter for which a terminal requests a bearer service unless the service provider performs a quality of service (QoS) request. Consider the provider. This is possible because embodiments of the present invention consider the possibility of checking whether the requested quality of service (QoS) parameter fulfills certain minimum quality of service (QoS) requirements provided by the application function. If certain minimum quality of service (QoS) requirements are not fulfilled by the requested quality of service (QoS) parameters, then the modified quality of service (QoS) parameters may be determined for use in setting up the bearer service.

Additional advantages and features of embodiments of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description with reference to the drawings.

1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating other elements included in a policy control mechanism improved by 3GPP.

Fig. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a general network structure of mobile telephone communication in which the present invention can be used.

3 is a schematic flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a method according to the present invention.

4 is a schematic flowchart illustrating an alternative embodiment according to the present invention.

The invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. However, the invention can be used in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the figures, like numerals refer to like elements.

The present invention can be applied to a packet switched service in a mobile telephone communication system. This service includes packet switched communication between the end user's mobile telephone client terminal and the application server. Mobile telephone communication systems include wireless networks such as, for example, WCDMA, CDMA2000, wireless LAN or GPRS networks, where mobile telephone client terminals exist.

Fig. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a general network structure of a mobile telephone communication system in which the present invention can be used. In FIG. 2, the mobile telephone system 101 includes a mobile telephone client terminal 102, which can communicate with a network node 106 of a service provider, thereby receiving a service provided by the service provider. Communication between the client terminal 102 and the network node 106 is carried over the wireless network 103, the core network 104, and the service network 105. The wireless network 103 may be, for example, a UTRAN (UMTS terrestrial radio access network), the core network 104 may be, for example, a UMTS core network, and the service network may be, for example, a private IP network or the Internet of a service provider. have. The network node 106 of the service provider may be an application server, for example.

3 is a schematic flowchart showing an embodiment of the invention according to the present invention. The diagram illustrates a mobile phone terminal 301, a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) 302, a policy decision function (PDF) 303, an application function (AF) 304, and a session database when setting up a policy controlled bearer service. The interaction between 305 is shown. Additional network nodes may be involved in the process of establishing a bearer service, but only nodes that are of particular relevance to the present invention are shown in FIG. 3 to simplify the description of the present invention.

In FIG. 3, it is assumed that there is a first packet data protocol (PDP) context and the terminal 301 requests an application function (AF) 304 for streaming content (step 306). The application function (AF) is a streaming server in this example. The application function AF may also be an MMS or download server, for example.

After receiving the request for streaming content, the application function 304 looks for the terminal identity associated with the terminal 301. In this example, the terminal identity is the mobile phone identification number (MSISDN) found by requesting a session database 305 that maps between the IP-address and the mobile phone identification number (MSISDN) according to methods well known to those skilled in the art (step). 307). The application function is then registered with the policy decision function (PDF) 303, which is interested in checking the quality of service (QoS) of the packet data protocol (PDP) context to be set up for delivery of the requested streaming content (step). 308). Registration includes registering a mobile phone identification number (MSISDN) related to policy identification information in the registry of the policy decision function (PDF). In this example, the policy identification information is the IP address of the application function AF so that the application function AF may be asked for applicable policy information. It is assumed that the address for the policy decision function (PDF) is already known to the application function (AF). After registration in the policy decision function (PDF), the application function AF sends the SDP-file to the terminal (step 309.) The terminal then interprets the SDP file and estimates the quality of service (QoS) parameters. Request a bearer service to be set up for delivery of a streaming context, step 310. The terminal then initiates a second packet data protocol (PDP) context by sending an activation request for a second packet data protocol (PDP) context. (Step 311.) The activation request includes a quality of service (QoS) parameter, which is estimated from the interpretation of the SDP-file, this quality of service (QoS) parameter will then be indicated as the requested quality of service parameter. Steps 309, 310, and 311 are well known to those skilled in the art and will not be described in detail below.

The gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) 302 receives a packet data protocol (PDP) context activation request. The gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) sends a request to the policy decision function (PDF) to check the requested quality of service (QoS) parameters (step 312). The inspection request includes the requested quality of service (QoS) parameter and the mobile telephone identification number (MSISDN) of the mobile telephone terminal. It is assumed that the address of the policy decision function (PDF) is known to the gateway GPRS support node (GGSN). The policy decision function (PDF) 303 finds the address of the application function 304 by mapping the mobile phone identification number (MSISDN) received in the inspection request to a register in which the previous registration of the application function (AF) is stored (step 313). . The policy decision function (PDF) 303 then sends a check request to the application function 304 with an address that matches the mobile phone identification number (MSISDN) for the terminal in the register (step 314). The inspection request includes the requested quality of service (QoS) parameter and the mobile phone identification number (MSISDN) of the terminal. The application function (AF) 304 processes the quality of service (QoS) parameters and performs a policy check of the quality of service (QoS) parameters (step 315). The policy check may include checking that the quality of service (QoS) parameter did not succeed in restricting the subscription of the mobile phone user according to the principles described for the policy mechanism specified by 3GPP.

Policy checks according to embodiments of the present invention may also include additional checks, which determine the quality of service (QoS) that the requested quality of service (QoS) parameter considers that the service provider desires or needs for bearer services. Checking whether it performs a set of predetermined minimum quality of service (QoS) parameters. This additional check initiates an update of the quality of service (QoS) request considering the application function considering the desired or required if the quality of service (QoS) parameter requested does not achieve the quality of service (QoS). The mechanism and further checks for updating the requested quality of service (QoS) parameters will be described in more detail below.

After the application function (AF) 304 checks the quality of service (QoS) parameters, the application function (AF) sends an accept message or a modification message back to the policy decision function (PDF) (step 316). If the policy check seems to perform a policy to which the quality of service (QoS) parameter is applicable, and optionally also a predetermined minimum quality of service (QoS) parameter, an admission message is sent. The modification message may be sent if the requested quality of service (QoS) parameter exceeds the applicable policy, in which case it will include an instruction to demote the requested quality of service (QoS) parameter. The instruction to demote the requested quality of service (QoS) parameter may be in the form of a set of degraded quality of service (QoS) parameters to be used when a bearer service is established. If the policy check involves checking whether the requested quality of service (QoS) parameter meets a predetermined minimum quality of service (QoS) parameter, the service is not better than what the service provider wishes or needs. If it is considered to result in a quality (QoS), a correction message is sent. In such a case, the modification message may include an instruction to update the requested quality of service (QoS) parameter. The instruction to update the requested quality of service (QoS) parameter may be in the form of a set of updated quality of service (QoS) parameters to be used when the bearer service is established.

After receiving the grant message or the modify message from the application function 304, the policy decision function (PDF) 303 responds back to the gateway GPRS support node (GGSN). In this example, the policy decision function (PDF) sends a message to the gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) that allows a second packet data protocol (PDP) context (step 317). If the policy check determines to modify the requested quality of service (QoS) parameters, a message from the policy decision function (PDF) 303 to the gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) 302 is sent to the second packet data protocol (PDP). It may include a modified Quality of Service (QoS) parameter to be used when setting the context.

The setting of the second packet data protocol (PDP) context is then completed by the packet data protocol (PDP) context setting message, which is well known to those skilled in the art. This includes the Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) responding back to the terminal over the wireless and core network (not shown) (step 318). When the packet data protocol (PDP) context is established, the streaming session continues (step 319), and the streaming context can be delivered to the terminal via the second packet data protocol (PDP) context.

In FIG. 3, a packet data protocol (PDP) 303 shows a policy check requesting an application function 304 to check the requested quality of service (QoS) parameters. However, it is possible that inspections can be performed by the policy decision function (PDF). When the application function receives a check request from the policy decision function (PDF), it may, for example, send the applicable policy information and optionally a set of predetermined minimum quality of service (QoS) parameters to the policy decision function (PDF). Applicable policy information may also be sent from the policy decision function (PDF) during step 308 of registering the terminal identity with the policy decision function (PDF). Applicable policy information may then be stored in the register of the policy decision function (PDF) along with the terminal identity.

In the above description of the embodiment of the present invention, the assumption is made that the application function (AF) and the gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) identify the address of the policy decision function (PDF). This may be the case, for example, if the network structure is configured so that there is already a configured relationship between a single policy decision function (PDF) and multiple gateway GPRS support nodes (GGSN) and multiple application functions. However, each gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) and each application function (AF) is configured to communicate with only a single policy decision function (PDF) for the purpose of achieving policy control.

A requirement of the coupling mechanism provided by the present invention and using terminal identity as binding information is that the mobile telephone terminal simultaneously requests the activation of a single bearer service such as a packet data protocol (PDP) context. The registration of the terminal identity in the policy decision function (PDF) is preferably removed after the policy check is completed so that the terminal can request the establishment of another bearer service and must have a new request that maps exactly to the applicable policy information. .

The additional checks described above to determine whether the quality of service (QoS) requirements that meet the quality of service (QoS) that the service provider considers or wants for the bearer service are optional, but the service provider is a conventional problem. It can be very advantageous because it allows to control a much higher degree of quality of service (QoS) than is provided by. The service provider may be interested in ensuring that the terminal does not map the received SDP-files to quality of service (QoS) parameters that the service provider considers unsuitable for bearer services, wherein the quality of service (QoS) parameters are good. This is because quality of service (QoS) is not obtained. Although poor quality of service (QoS) may be the result of terminal implementation, poor quality of service (QoS) can adversely affect the service provider. The further check is shown here as being combined with a terminal that does not recognize the indication (i.e., a terminal that does not recognize the permission indication according to the prior art), but the further check also shows the use of the permission indication as a binding mechanism instead of the terminal identity as described herein. It can be implemented in a system that makes use of it.

If interested in performing additional checks, the application function (AF) must be implemented with information that defines a set of minimum quality of service (QoS) parameters that can examine the requested quality of service parameter requirements. . If further checks are made to update the requested quality of service (QoS) parameters, the modified quality of service (QoS) parameters corresponding to the update of the requested quality of service (QoS) parameters are applied to the application function (AF) or policy decision function Can be determined by (PDF). In addition, a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) needs to be implemented to handle the update of the requested quality of service (QoS) parameters. The update case may require new signaling between the gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) and other core network nodes and wireless network nodes.

4 is a schematic flowchart illustrating the case where the requested quality of service (QoS) parameter is updated because the requested bandwidth is considered to be low from the perspective of the service provider / application function (AF). 4 is separate from the mobile telephone terminal 301, the gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) 302, the policy decision function (PDF) 303, and the application function 304, and is also a radio network controller (RNC) or base station. A wireless network node 401, which may be a controller (BSC), and an SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node) 402. Although the session database 305 is not shown in FIG. 4, the application function (AF) 304 may have an interface to the session database to retrieve specific session information. The dotted box 403 surrounds the new signaling scheme compared to what is currently supported by the 3GPP standard and what is needed to handle the update of the requested quality of service (QoS) parameters. Steps 411-424 shown in FIG. 4 will now be described.

Step 411: The user has an established interaction / browsing session.

Step 412: The user clicks on "rtsp-link".

Step 413: Streaming session establishment is performed.

Step 414: The application function (application / streaming server) registers the terminal identity with the policy decision function (PDF) (this step corresponds to step 308 of FIG. 3).

Step 415: The terminal requests activation of a second packet data protocol (PDP) context (this step corresponds to step 311 of FIG. 3).

Step 416: The Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) initiates a Policy / Quality of Service (QoS) check with a policy decision function (PDF) (this step corresponds to step 312 of FIG. 3).

Step 417: The policy decision function (PDF) checks for the required resource reservation defined by the requested quality of service (QoS) parameters, within the subscribed limits and issuing the check request towards the application function (AF). The step corresponds to step 313 of FIG. 3).

Step 418: The application function (AF) is shown during the service provisioning that the bandwidth must be updated to ensure satisfactory end user quality of service (QoS). Therefore, this requires a larger bandwidth than the terminal initially needs (this step corresponds to step 316 of FIG. 3).

Step 419: The policy decision function (PDF) responds back to the Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN). The Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) finds that the bandwidth parameter is changed to a higher value than requested by the terminal. Therefore, the gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) needs to request an update of the second packet data protocol (PDP) context.

Step 420: The gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) sends a packet data protocol (PDP) context update request message to the SGSN 402 which sends a request to the wireless network node 401, thereby requesting the second packet data protocol of the terminal. PDP) Request to modify the context.

Step 421: The wireless network node 401 checks whether there are enough resources to update the bandwidth parameter. In this case it has enough resources and responds back to the SGSN (and the Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) via SGSN) with an acknowledgment. If the wireless network node does not have enough resources, the set of services may be interrupted and the requested service may be denied.

Step 423: The terminal issues a "play request".

Step 424: An application session is initiated.

The reason for wishing for further checking as described above is due to the terminal changing or mapping the application level quality of service (QoS) parameters to bearer quality of service (QoS) parameters such as packet data protocol (PDP) context parameters. Since the implementation of the conversion / mapping function of the terminal is vendor-specific, it can be changed between various terminals. If the service provider is interested in delivering a service of good quality unrelated to the terminal requesting the service, then further inspection may be desired.

An example of an application level quality of service (QoS) parameter is one defined for UMTS (Universal Mobile Phone Telecommunication System). UTMS Quality of Service (QoS) is limited to a set of attributes that specify UMTS bearer services. UTMS Quality of Service attributes are:

Traffic class

Maximum bit rate

Guaranteed Bit Rate

-Delivery instruction

Maximum SDU Size

-SDU format information

-SDU error rate

-Remaining bit error rate

-Error SDU forwarding

Transmission delay

Traffic Processing Priority

Assignment / Maintenance Priority

-Source statistics descriptor

Signaling indication.

This attribute can be mapped to a given UMTS quality of service (QoS) class: typical class, streaming class, interactive class, and background class. More detailed information about UMTS Quality of Service (QoS) can be found in Technical Specifications 3GPP TS 23.107 V6.1.0 (2004-03) and 3GPP TS 23.207 V6.2.0 (2004-03).

Quality of service (QoS) classes can be performed and managed by using packet data protocol (PDP) context management. Application level quality of service (QoS) requirements are mapped to packet data protocol (PDP) context parameters at the mobile telephone client terminal. In the prior art solution, preconfiguration of the packet data protocol (PDP) context is done at the client terminal so that when a packet switched application is initiated and connected to the network, a corresponding preconfigured packet data protocol (PDP) context is achieved. This packet data protocol (PDP) context has a selected quality of service (QoS) class that must meet the desired quality of service (QoS) requirements for the application. For example, if the application is a WAP browser or MMS client, the quality of service (QoS) class of the active packet data protocol (PDP) context is always an interactive class.

Therefore, in the prior art solution, the selection of quality of service (QoS) parameters for bearer services that are set up for delivery of services in the example depends on the terminal vendor's configuration of the mobile telephone client terminal. The service provider cannot influence the choice of quality of service (QoS) parameters. As mentioned above, this results in several exemplary problems, particularly from the perspective of the service provider as well as from the user's point of view, resulting in setting up a bearer service with a quality of service (QoS) not suitable for delivery of the service. The service provider is always interested in being able to ensure that the provided service is delivered at any minimum quality. If the quality of service is not good, it may have a negative impact on the service provider's evaluation even if the quality is not caused by the network operator or the terminal company. The service user will be offended if the quality of service (QoS) is not good and will probably blame the service provider for poor quality. In addition, a user with one terminal may obtain an unacceptably good quality of service (QoS) when receiving certain service content, while another user with a terminal from another vendor may receive the same service content. Allowable Quality of Service (QoS) can be obtained.

However, as shown above, an embodiment of the present invention includes an additional check that allows a service provider to control the requested quality of service (QoS) parameters and to modify the quality of service (QoS) parameters if the need is considered. It enables the terminal to overcome various disadvantages that may occur when converting / mapping application level quality of service (QoS) requirements into bearer quality of service (QoS) parameters.

In the drawings and specification, exemplary preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed, and although the terminology is used, they are used only in a general and descriptive sense, not for purposes of limitation, and the scope of the invention is set forth in the claims below.

Claims (25)

A method of setting up a policy controlled bearer service to deliver a service from an application function 304 to a mobile telephone terminal 301, the method comprising: Registering (308) a terminal identity of the terminal (301) related to policy identification information in a register of a policy decision function (303); Receiving (312) from the terminal through a core network node (302) a bearer service activation request comprising a set of requested quality of service (QoS) parameters and the terminal identity for the bearer service; Combining (313) the bearer service activation request with the policy identification information by the terminal identity to determine policy information applicable for the bearer service; Performing a policy check (314, 315, 316) by checking whether the requested quality of service (QoS) parameter performs the applicable policy information; And And if the policy check is successful, sending (317, 318) a grant message to the core network node to initiate completion of the bearer service setup. How to set up a controlled bearer service. The method of claim 1, And said terminal identity is a mobile telephone identification number (MSISDN), an international mobile telephone subscriber identity (IMSI), or an international mobile telephone device identity (IMEI) associated with a terminal (301). The method according to claim 1 or 2, The policy identification information includes an address of the application function 304, wherein the step 313 of combining the bearer service activation request with the policy identification information is the application identified by the application address in the policy identification information. Requesting (314) the applicable policy information from a function (304). The method according to claim 1 or 2, And the applicable policy information for the bearer service for which the policy identification information is to be set. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The step of performing the policy check checking whether the requested quality of service (QoS) parameter fulfills a set of predetermined minimum quality of service (QoS) requirements provided by the application function 304 (315). Method for establishing a policy controlled bearer service, the method comprising: a. The method of claim 5, The method may modify a set of modifications that meet a predetermined minimum quality of service (QoS) requirement of the set if the requested quality of service (QoS) parameter does not perform the predetermined minimum quality of service (QoS) parameter of the set. Determining a modified quality of service (QoS) parameter, and transmitting the set of modified quality of service (QoS) parameters to the core network node 302 for use in setting up the bearer service ( And 316,317. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, And wherein said core network node (302) is a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN). The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, The method further comprising removing registration of the policy identification information and the terminal identity from a register of the policy decision function 303 after performing the policy check 314, 315, 316. How to set up bearer services. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, And the bearer service is a packet data protocol (PDP) context. In the policy decision function 303, a method of performing policy control on a bearer service to transfer a service from an application function 304 to a mobile telephone terminal 301, the method comprising: Receiving (308) a registration message that includes a terminal identity and policy identification information; Registering the terminal identity associated with the policy identification information in a register; Receiving (312) from the terminal through a core network node (302) a bearer service activation request comprising a set of requested quality of service (QoS) parameters and the terminal identity for the bearer service; Associating (313) the bearer service activation request with the policy identification information in the register by the terminal identity to determine applicable policy information for the bearer service; Performing a policy check (314) by checking whether the requested quality of service (QoS) parameter performs the applicable policy information; And And if the policy check is successful, sending (317) a grant message to the core network node 302 to initiate completion of the bearer service setup. To perform policy control on the bearer service to secure the service. The method of claim 10, And wherein said terminal identity is a mobile telephone identification number (MSISDN), an international mobile telephone subscriber identity (IMSI), or an international mobile telephone device identity (IMEI) associated with a terminal (301). The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein The policy identification information includes an address of the application function 302, wherein the step 313 of combining the bearer service activation request with the policy identification information is the application identified by the application address in the policy identification information. Requesting (314) the applicable policy information from a function (304). The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein And the applicable policy information for the bearer service for which the policy identification information is to be set. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, The step of performing the policy check checking whether the requested quality of service (QoS) parameter fulfills a set of predetermined minimum quality of service (QoS) requirements provided by the application function 304 (315). Policy control method comprising a). The method of claim 14, The method may modify a set of modifications that meet a predetermined minimum quality of service (QoS) requirement of the set if the requested quality of service (QoS) parameter does not perform the predetermined minimum quality of service (QoS) parameter of the set. Determining a modified quality of service (QoS) parameter, and transmitting the set of modified quality of service (QoS) parameters to the core network node 302 for use in setting up the bearer service ( 317) further comprising the method. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 15, And wherein said core network node (302) is a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN). The method according to any one of claims 10 to 16, The method further comprising removing the registration of the policy identification information and the terminal identity from the register of the policy decision function 303 after performing the policy check (314, 315, 316). Way. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 17, And the bearer service is a packet data protocol (PDP) context. In a policy decision function 303 that performs policy control on a bearer service to transfer a service from an application function 304 to a mobile phone terminal 301, A first interface for receiving 308 a registration message that includes a terminal identity and policy identification information; A register that registers the terminal identity associated with the policy identification information; A second interface for receiving (312) from the terminal through a core network node (302) a bearer service activation request comprising the set of requested quality of service (QoS) parameters and the terminal identity for the bearer service; And Combine (313) the bearer service activation request with the policy identification information in the register by the terminal identity to determine policy information applicable for the bearer service; Perform a policy check (314) by checking whether the requested quality of service (QoS) parameter performs the applicable policy information; And processing means for sending (317) a grant message to the core network node to initiate completion of the bearer service setup if the policy check is successful. Policy decision function to perform policy control on bearer service. The method of claim 19, And wherein said terminal identity is a mobile telephone identification number (MSISDN), an international mobile telephone subscriber identity (IMSI), or an international mobile telephone device identity (IMEI) associated with a terminal (301). The method of claim 19 or 20, The policy identification information includes an address of the application function 304, and the processing means requests the applicable policy information from the application function 304 identified by the application address in the policy identification information. And a policy decision function to perform policy control. The method of claim 19 or 20, And the applicable policy information for the bearer service for which the policy identification information is to be set. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 22, Said processing means arranged to check whether said requested quality of service (QoS) parameter fulfills a set of predetermined minimum quality of service (QoS) requirements provided by said applicable function (304). Policy decision function to perform policy control. The method of claim 23, wherein If the processing means does not perform the set of defined minimum quality of service (QoS) parameters, the set of defined quality of service (QoS) parameters that meet the set of predetermined minimum quality of service (QoS) requirements Further arranged to determine a minimum quality of service (QoS) parameter and to transmit the set of modified quality of service (QoS) parameters to the core network node for use when the bearer service is established. Policy decision function to take control. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 24, And the processing means is arranged to remove the registration of the policy identification information and the terminal identity from the register after completing the policy checking.

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