KR20080017385A - Converged offline charging and online charging - Google Patents

Abstract

Converged charging systems (404) and methods are described. A converged charging system (404) includes an offline charging system (412), an online charging system (414), a common rating function (416), and a common charging gateway function (418). When in operation, the online charging system receives online charging information for a first call and accesses the common rating function to determine a rating for the first call. The online charging system then transmits a rated charging data record (CDR) for the first call to the common charging gateway function. The offline charging system receives offline charging information for a second call, and accesses the common rating function to determine a rating for the second call. The offline charging system transmits a rated CDR for the second call to the common charging gateway function. The common charging gateway function buffers the rated CDRs for both online and offline calls, and then transmits the rated CDRs to a billing system (406).

Description

Converged Charging System and How It Works {CONVERGED OFFLINE CHARGING AND ONLINE CHARGING}

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly to converged charging systems in telecommunication networks and corresponding methods for converging offline and online charging.

The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Standards Group charges for charging in various network domains (eg, circuit switching network domain, packet switching network domain, or wireless domain), IP multimedia subsystems, and emerging 3G application services. In order to cover, we have specified a set of specifications for the on-line and off-line billing systems. However, the online billing statement and the offline billing statement are specified separately and operate in a separate manner.

1 shows the charging architecture 100 defined by 3GPP. The charging architecture 100 can be found in technical specification 3GPP TS 32.240. The left portion of FIG. 1 shows the offline charging system 102 of the charging architecture 100. The offline billing system 102 includes a billing data function (CDF) 110 and a billing gateway function (CGF) 112. The right part of FIG. 1 shows an online charging system (OCS) 104 of the charging architecture 100. Detailed functional components of the online charging system 104 can be found in technical specification 3GPP TS 32.296. Both offline charging system 102 and online charging system 104 may be operable to send billing data records (CDRs) to billing system 106. Offline charging is generally defined as a charging mechanism that does not reflect in real time the service for which charging information is provided. Online charging is generally defined as a charging mechanism that requires a direct interaction between the charging mechanism and session / service control as it reflects the services for which charging information is provided in real time.

The offline charging system 102 communicates with the following elements or functional units to receive charging information: a circuit-switched network element (CS-NE) 121, a service network element (service-NE) 122 ), SIP Application Server (AS) 123, Multimedia Resource Function Control (MRFC) 124, Media Gateway Control Function (MGCF) 125, Breakout Gateway Control Function (BGCF) 126, Proxy -Call Session Control Function (CSCF) / Question-CSCF (I (Interrogate) -CSCF) 127, Serving-CSCF (S-CSCF) 128, WLAN (WLAN) 129, SGSN 130 , GGSN 131 and traffic plane function (TPF) 132. Such devices and functional units are known to those skilled in the art familiar with the 3GPP specification. The online charging system 104 communicates with the following elements or functional units to receive charging information: a circuit-switched network element (CS-NE) 121, a service network element (service-NE) 122 ), SIP application server 123, MRFC 124, S-CSCF 128, WLAN (WLAN) 129, SGSN 130, GGSN 131 and traffic plane function (TPF) 132 . Such devices and functional units are known to those skilled in the art familiar with the 3GPP specification.

2 shows an online charging system 104 defined by 3GPP. The online charging system 104 includes an online charging function (OCF) 202. The online charging function 202 includes a session-based charging function 204 and an event-based charging function 206. The online billing system 104 further includes an account balance management function (ABMF) 208, an online rating function (RF) 210 and a billing gateway function (CGF) 212. do.

3 shows a generalization of the charging architecture 100 defined by 3GPP to represent the operation of the charging architecture 100. The billing architecture 100 includes a billing trigger function (CTF) 302, an offline billing system 102, an online billing system (OCS) 104, and a billing system 106. The offline charging system 102 and the online charging system (OCS) 104 both represent a charging gateway function, which is a charging gateway function (CGF) 112 and a charging gateway function (CGF) 212, respectively. The charging gateway function 112 and the charging gateway function 212 act as gateways between the network and the billing system 106 to provide CDR pre-processing functionality. The offline charging system 102 includes a charging data function (CDF) 110 and a charging gateway function 112. The online billing system 104 includes an online billing function (OCF) 202, a balance management function (ABMF) 208, an online rating function (RF) 210 and a billing gateway function 212. . Billing system 106 includes an offline rating function (RF) 304.

According to the 3GPP standard, the charging trigger function 302 is central to collecting information related to chargeable events in network elements (not shown). The charging trigger function 302 in one or more network elements generates charging information for one or more calls. Depending on the subscriber provided with the charging characteristic, the charging trigger function 302 sends the offline charging information to the charging data function 110 via the Rf interface 310. The charging trigger function 302 transmits the online charging information to the online charging system 104 via the Ro interface 311.

For offline charging, the charging data function 110 generates offline charging information for the call or call session. The charging data function unit 110 generates a charging data record (CDR) based on the offline charging information. The CDR is not rated at this point. The charging data function 110 transmits the unrated CDR to the charging gateway function 112 via the Ga interface 312. The charging gateway function 112 preprocesses the unrated CDRs, such as authorization, merger, error-steering, and the like, and filters out the unrated CDRs. The charging gateway function 112 also buffers the unrated CDRs. In response to the request from the billing system 106, the charging gateway function 112 sends the unrated CDR to the billing system 106 via the Bx interface 313. Billing system 106 includes an offline rating function 304 to determine the rate for offline charging of calls. Billing system 106 accesses the offline rating function 304 to determine the rate for the unrated CDR and generates a rated CDR for offline charging of the calling session.

For online charging, the online charging function 202 includes a session-based charging function 204 and an event-based charging function 206 (see FIG. 2). Each function includes a charging data function to generate CDRs. The online charging function 202 (or its corresponding charging data function) receives the online charging information from the charging trigger function 302 for the calling session. In response to the online charging information, the online charging function 202 accesses the online rating function 210 to determine the rate for the call session with respect to the online charging information. The online charging function 202 generates a rated CDR based on the rate and online charging information for the call session, and charges the rated CDR via the Ga interface 314 via the Ga interface 314 for CDR preprocessing. To send. The charging gateway function 212 preprocesses the CDRs and filters the preprocessed CDRs. The charging gateway function 212 temporarily buffers the rated CDRs. In response to a request from the billing system 106, the charging gateway function 112 sends the rated CDR to the billing system 106 via the Bo interface 315.

One problem is that the existing 3GPP standard specification does not describe the convergence between online and offline charging. 3GPP only defines a specification that enables the charging gateway function 112 for the offline charging system 102 to supply the unrated CDRs to the billing system 106 via the Bx interface 313. “X” of interface 313 of Bx may be “c”, “p”, “i”, “l”, “m”, “o”, “w”, and so on, depending on the network domain. For example, "c" is circuit switched (CS), "p" is packet switched (PS), "i" is IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), and "l" is Location Service. ), "m" stands for Multimedia Message Service (MMS), "o" stands for Online Billing System (OCS) and "w" stands for Wireless LAN (WLAN). The billing system 106 therefore requires its own independent offline rating function 304 to rate offline charging for the call. On the other hand, the online billing system 104 includes its online billing function 210 which rates the online billing for the call.

3GPP does not define an interface that allows the charging gateway function 112 for the offline charging system 102 to supply the CDR to the online charging system 104 for further rating and balance adjustment. Thus, most service operators must manage, support, maintain and update two separate billing systems from different vendors. The operational inefficiencies and technical costs of maintaining two separate billing systems can present disadvantages for marketing and business activities for service providers.

The present invention solves the above and other related problems by converging on-line and off-line charging with a converged charging system. Converged charging systems use a common rating function to rate both online and offline calls. The converged charging system also uses a common charging gateway function. By using a common rating function for both online and offline calls, the billing system does not need to maintain a separate rating function for calculating call rates for offline calls. The converged billing system of the present invention is used for both on-line and off-line calls, thus achieving billing convergence, reducing service provider investment, operation and maintenance costs, and improving end user experience services. The billing system is only needed to store the billing database to generate monthly invoices, statistical results and so on.

One embodiment of the present invention includes a converged charging system connected to a communication network and a billing system. The converged charging system includes an offline charging system, an online charging system, a common rating function and a common charging gateway function. In operation, the online charging system receives online charging information for the first call. The online charging system receives online charging information from a charging trigger function operating on a node (not shown) that handles the first call within the communication network. The online charging system accesses the common rating function to determine the rating for the first call. The online charging system generates a rated charging data record (CDR) for the first call based on the online charging information and the rating for the first call provided by the common rating function. The online charging system sends the rated CDRs to the common charging gateway function, where the common charging gateway function buffers the rated CDRs for the first call.

The offline charging system receives the offline charging information for the second call. Either the offline charging system or the online charging system has access to the common rating function to determine the rating for the second call. Either the offline charging system or the online charging system generates a rated CDR for the second call based on the offline charging information and the rating for the second call. One of the offline charging system or the online charging system sends the rated CDR to the common charging gateway system and the common charging gateway system buffers the rated CDR for the second call.

The common charging gateway function sends the rated CDRs to the billing system. The common charging gateway function may send the rated CDRs to the billing system periodically or in response to a request from the billing system.

The invention may include other exemplary embodiments below.

1 illustrates the charging architecture as defined by 3GPP in the prior art.

2 illustrates an online charging system as defined by 3GPP in the prior art.

3 shows a generalization of the charging architecture as defined by 3GPP to illustrate the operation of the charging architecture in the prior art.

4 illustrates a communication system in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flow chart illustrating a method of operation of a converged charging system in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

6 illustrates a communication system in another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

7 illustrates one possible architecture of the billing gateway function in an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

8 illustrates a workflow for Ga interface steering and CDR convergence functionality in an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

9 illustrates rule-based CDR pre-processing within a CDR pre-processing function in an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

10 illustrates a CDR set in an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

11 illustrates CDR correlation in an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

12 illustrates CDR routing in an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

Like reference numerals refer to like elements in all drawings.

4-12 and the following description show specific exemplary embodiments of the invention to introduce those skilled in the art to how to make and use the invention. To illustrate the inventive principle, some conventional aspects of the invention have been simplified or omitted. Those skilled in the art will recognize changes from these embodiments that fall within the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the features described below can be combined in various ways to form multiple variations of the invention. As a result, the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described below, but only by the claims and their equivalents.

4 illustrates a communication system 400 in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The communication system 400 includes a communication network 402, a converged billing system 404 and a billing system 406. The communication network 402 may include any necessary network domain (ie, circuit switching network domain, packet switching network domain, or wireless domain), IP multimedia subsystems, and / or emerging 3G application services. Billing system 406 includes any system or server that provides billing for calls or call related services. Billing system 406 may be defined by 3GPP or any subsequent standard. Communications system 400 may include other systems, servers, or components not shown in FIG.

The converged charging system 404 includes an offline charging system 412, an online charging system (OCS) 414, a common rating function 416, and a common charging gateway function (CGF) 418. Common rating function 416 includes any function, application or system that performs non-monetary and / or monetary unit determination for voice and / or data services. The common rating function 416 may include the following functions: ratings, cross-products, and network and external services and applications (sessions, services, or events) before and after service delivery. Cross-channel discounts, benefits and / or allowances. The common rating function 416 is directly or indirectly accessible to the offline charging system 412 and the online charging system 414.

Common charging gateway function 418 includes any function, application, or system that acts as a gateway between communication network 402 and billing system 406 to provide CDR pre-processing functionality. The common charging gateway function 418 is accessible to the offline charging system 412 and the online charging system 414.

The common rating function 416 and the common charging gateway function 418 may operate on the same or different platforms. By way of example, the common rating function 416 may operate on the platform of the online charging system 414 and the common charging gateway function 418 may operate on a separate platform. The common rating function 416 may be considered part of the online charging system 414 as defined by 3GPP, but the common rating function 416 is shown as a separate function for ease of explanation.

Any one or all of the offline charging system 412, the online charging system 414, the common rating function 416, and the common charging gateway function 418 may include instructions executable by the processing system. Some example of such instructions are software, program code, and firmware. Such instructions may be used when executed by the processing system to instruct the processing system to operate in accordance with the present invention. The term "processing system" refers to a single processing device or a group of internally-operable processing devices. Some examples of processors are computers, integrated circuits, and logic circuitry.

5 is a flow chart illustrating a method 500 of operating the converged charging system 404 of FIG. 4 in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Method 500 may not include all of the steps, and additional steps may be included.

In step 502, the online charging system 414 receives online charging information for the first call. The online charging system 414 receives online charging information from a charging trigger function operating on a node (not shown) that steers the first call within the communication network 402.

In step 504, the online charging system 414 accesses the common rating function 416 to determine the rating for the first call. To access the common rating function 416, the online charging system 414 may send a rating request to the common rating function 416. Upon receiving a rating request (price or tax rate request) from the online charging system 414, the common rating function 416 may evaluate the request. The rating request may include various rating parameters such as service identifier, subscriber criteria, network identification, user location, service usage time, amount of data transmitted, and the like. The common rating function 416 determines the applicable price or tax rate model (generally referred to herein as ratings) and sends this rating to the online charging system 414.

In step 506, the on-line charging system 414 records the rated charging data for the first call based on the on-line charging information and the rating for the first call as provided by the common rating function 416. Generate (CDR). The online charging system 414 sends the rated CDR to the common charging gateway function 418. In step 508, the common charging gateway function 418 buffers the CDRs rated for the first call.

In step 510, offline charging system 412 receives offline charging information for the second call. The offline charging system 412 receives offline charging information from a charging trigger function operating on a node (not shown) that steers the second call within the communication network 402.

In step 512, either the offline charging system 412 or the online charging system 414 accesses the common rating function 416 to determine the rating for the second call. In step 514, either the offline charging system 412 or the online charging system 414 generates a rated CDR for the second call based on the offline charging information and the rating for the second call, The CDR is sent to the common charging gateway function 418. In step 516, the common charging gateway function 418 buffers the CDRs rated for the second call.

Steps 512 and 514 may be performed by an offline charging system 412 or an online charging system 414. In one embodiment, offline charging system 412 may access common rating function 416 in a manner similar to that described above for online charging system 414. The offline charging system 412 then generates a rated CDR for the second call. In another embodiment, the offline charging system 412 may not directly access the common rating function 416. The offline charging system 412 may send the offline charging information for the second call to the online charging system 414 (either directly or via the common charging gateway function 418). The online charging system 414 can then access the common rating function 416 instead of the offline charging system 412 to generate a rated CDR for the second call.

For offline rating, the offline charging system 412 or the charging gateway function 418 instructs the online charging system 414 to rate in a non-real time manner during a near call or off-peak time as an example. can do. Also, if peak traffic time, the online charging system 414 may not respond to the rating information for the offline charging system 412 or the charging gateway function 418.

In step 518, the common charging gateway function 418 sends the rated CDR to the billing system 406. The common charging gateway function 418 may send the rated CDR to the billing system 406 periodically or in response to a request from the billing system 406.

Preferably, billing system 406 does not need to maintain a separate rating function for calculating call charges for offline calls. The converged billing system 404 is used for both on-line and off-line calls, thus achieving a billing convergence that reduces the service provider's investment, operation and maintenance costs and improves end-user experience. The billing system 406 is only needed to store the billing database to generate monthly invoices, statistical results and the like.

6 illustrates a communication system 600 in another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The communication system 600 as shown in FIG. 6 is just one embodiment, and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. As in FIG. 4, the converged charging system 404 includes an offline charging system 412, an online charging system (OCS) 414, a common rating function 416, and a common charging gateway function 418. .

In this embodiment, the offline charging system 412 includes an integrated billing data function (CDF) 612. The charging data function 612 is connected to the charging trigger function (CTF) 602 via the Rf interface 631. The charging data function 612 is also connected to the common charging gateway function 418 by an internal interface 632.

The online billing system 414 includes an online billing function (OCF) 622, a common rating function (RF) 416, and an account balance management function (ABMF) 624. The online charging system 414 is connected to the charging trigger function 602 via the Ro interface 633. The online charging function 622 is connected to the common rating function 416 via the Re interface 634. The online charging function 622 is connected to the balance management function 624 via the Rc interface 635. The online charging function 622 is connected to the common charging gateway function 418 via the Ga interface 636.

The common charging gateway function 418 includes an unrated CDR buffer 626 and a rated CDR buffer 627. The unrated CDR buffer 626 is connected to the online charging function 622 via the Ro interface 637. Unrated CDR buffer 626 is also connected to online charging function 622 via Bi interface 638. The rated CDR buffer 627 is connected to the online charging function 622 via the Ro interface 639. The common charging gateway function 418 is connected to the billing system 406 via the Bx interface 640.

The charging gateway function 418 is further connected to an external charging data function (CDF) 650 via the Ga interface 641. The charging gateway function 418 is connected to one or more peer charging gateway functions (CGFs) via the Ga interface 642. The charging gateway function 418 may be further connected to another billing system within another Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) 652 via the Ga interface 643.

In the communication system 600, the charging gateway function 418 can operate to accept CDRs from various network nodes. The following summarizes the messaging cases for accepting CDRs from these network nodes into the CGF 418. First, the charging gateway function 418 receives the CDRs from the charging data function 612 integrated with the charging gateway function 418 in a manner arranged side by side. The charging gateway function 418 has an internal interface 632 to integrate the internal charging data function in a manner arranged side by side and to receive CDRs from the integrated charging data function 612.

Second, charging gateway function 418 receives CDRs from external charging data function 650. Nodes with external charging data function 650 may be located in separate nodes in the charging domain.

Third, charging gateway function 418 receives CDRs from peer charging gateway function 651. The pair of peer charging gateway functions 418, 651 can communicate with the Ga interface 642 to prevent duplicate CDRs from flowing into the billing domain. For erroneous reconstruction and redundancy, a charging data function, such as the charging data function 612, may connect a pair of peer charging gateway functions 418, 651. When the primary charging gateway function 418 for such charging data function 612 fails, the charging data function 612 may send the cloned CDRs to the secondary charging gateway function 651. Once the primary charging gateway function 418 is restored, the secondary charging gateway function 651 can send the replicated CDRs to the primary charging gateway function 418 via the Ga interface 642.

Fourth, charging gateway function 418 receives CDRs from online charging function 622. After charging and rating are performed within the online charging function 622, the online charging function 622 generates the rated CDRs. The online charging function 622 sends the rated CDRs to the charging gateway function 418 via the Ga interface 636, where the charging gateway function 418 temporarily buffers or stores the rated CDRs.

Fifth, the charging gateway function 418 receives the CDRs from another billing system 652 in the out-of-region PLMN. For subscribers roaming into out-of-area PLMNs, the CDRs processed by billing system 652 in the out-of-area network must be rated again by the home network. The charging gateway function 418 can work with other billing system 652 to accept the CDRs over the Ga interface 643.

In addition to the above flow of information that allows the charging gateway function 418 to serve as a temporary repository for storing CDRs generated from various networks, the present invention also provides a common rating function within the online charging system 414. In order to obtain the converged charging system 404 by using 416, an Ro interface 637 and a Bi interface 638 between the charging gateway function 418 and the online charging system 414 are introduced. In contrast to the prior art in which the offline rating function was in the billing system (see FIG. 3), the offline rating function is incorporated into the common rating function 416 in the online charging system 414, which is required for both online and offline ratings. .

For offline calls that require real time charging without latency, the charging gateway function 418 generates an unrated CDR. The charging gateway function 418 sends the unrated CDR to the online charging system 414 via the Ro interface 637. The charging gateway function 418 serves as a client in push mode for sending the unrated CDRs in the Ro request to the online charging system 414. The online charging system 414 acts as a server to accept Ro requests and sends a Ro response to the charging gateway function 418 to confirm successful CDR reception. The online charging system 414 then accesses the common rating function 416 to determine a fee for the call and generates a rated CDR. The online charging system 414 sends the rated CDR to the charging gateway function 418 over the Ga interface 636. Upon receiving the Ro request from the offline charging system 412, the online charging system 414 may wait to access the common rating function 416 until there is a non-peak processing time, depending on the system configuration. The online charging system 414 will first deal with online charging and will play the role of offline charging during off time.

For offline calls that allow non-real time charging with queuing, charging gateway function 418 immediately generates an unrated CDR without including charging information. The rating function 416 is accessed to calculate the call charge in batch-processing mode via the Bi interface 638 only when the rating function 416 is not busy calculating the charge for the online billing call. The online charging system 622 acts as a client to forward Bi requests to the charging gateway function 418 for unrated CDRs. The charging gateway function 418 operates as a server in pull mode to accept the Bi request and feed the unrated CDRs to the online charging system 622 in the Bi response. The online charging system 414 then accesses the common rating function 416 and generates the rated CDRs to determine the fee for the unrated CDRs. The online charging system 414 then sends the rated CDRs via the Ga interface 636 to the charging gateway function 418.

For an online call, the common rating function 416 is consulted immediately to determine the charge for the call. The online charging system 414 operates as a server that receives online charging information from the charging trigger function (CTF) 602 via the Ro interface 633. The online charging system 414 then accesses the common rating function 416 to determine a fee for the online call and generates a rated CDR for that call. The online charging system 414 then sends the rated CDR to the charging gateway function 418 over the Ga interface 636.

For rated CDRs that require re-rating based on the operator's charging policy, the common rating function 416 is referenced to calculate the call fee via the Ro interface 639. The charging gateway function 418 serves as a client in push mode to send the rated CDRs in the Ro request to the online charging system 414. The online charging system 414 operates as a server that accepts the Ro request and sends a Ro response to the charging gateway function 418 to confirm successful CDR reception. The online charging system 414 then accesses the common rating function 416 to determine the re-rating fee for the rated CDR and generates the re-rated CDR. The online charging system 414 then sends the re-rated CDR to the charging gateway function 418 over the Ga interface 636.

After online or offline calls are rated by the converged charging system 404, the CDRs with the call cost are stored in the charging gateway function 418. The CDRs are then passed to the billing system 406 via the Bx interface 640 for statistical result generation, invoice generation, and the like.

7 illustrates one possible architecture of the billing gateway function 418 in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the charging gateway function 418 includes an integrated charging data function 612, a Ga interface steering and CDR conversion function 714, a CDR pre-processing function 716, a CDR distribution interface steering function. 718, the CDR file management function 720 and the operation, management, maintenance, and provision (OAM & P) function 722. The CDR preprocessing function 716 includes a CDR set function 732, a CDR correlation function 733, and a CDR routing function 734. CDR file management function 720 includes original CDR file store 742, processed CDR database 743, subscriber account database 744, and output CDR store 745.

The Ga interface steering and CDR conversion function 714 is used in various network nodes (charging data function 650, peer charging gateway function 651, and other regional networks for normal CDR transmission and for transmission of replicated CDRs. Steer the Ga interface to receive the CDR from network nodes such as billing system 652). Ga interface steering and CDR translation function 714 supports a redirection mechanism through the Ga interface to redirect the CDRs in its node to peer charging gateway function 651. The functional unit 714 also supports an advertisement mechanism via the Ga interface to notify its CDR transmission capability (eg, service down time, service bring-up time, etc.). do. The functional unit 714 supports other CDR encoding formats (ANS.1 BER (Basic Encoding Rules), PER (Unordered or Sorted Packet Encoding Rules), AMA, IPDR, XML, etc.), Perform re-format CDR conversion to unified ASN.1 BER CDR format. Each re-formatted CDR is stored in CDR semantic and syntax based on CDR validation rules before it is stored in the raw CDR repository for further CDR pre-processing. ) Will be compared to the definition. If the CDR field or value received from the node type does not conform to the authorization rules, based on the CDR field category, the functional unit 714 will fill in the bad form of the CDR filled with the appropriate "replace" indicator within the constraints of the configuration used for the parameter. To recover. For a normal CDR transmitting over a Ga interface (ie, the Ga request type is "Data Write Transfer Request: Deliver a Data Write Packet"), the recoverable is stored in the usual allowable CDRs. For a replicable CDR that transmits over a Ga interface for redundancy control purposes (ie, the Ga request type is "Data Record Transfer Request: Pass a Replicable Data Record Transfer Request"), the duplicate CDR is a separate original CDR file store ( 742. If the peer charging gateway function 651 recovers from failure, the function 714 transfers the cloned CDR to the peer charging gateway function 651 over the Ga interface. The indication will be obtained from 612. Any non-recoverable CDRs deemed unacceptable by charging gateway function 418 are stored in the non-recoverable CDRs repository for operator manual operation.

Function 714 accepts CDRs through peer charging gateway function 651 via the Ga interface (i.e., the Ga request type is "Data write transfer request: sequence number of released packet or sequence number for canceled packet). It supports a cloned CDR clean-up function that removes a replicable CDR from the charging gateway function 418 when restored to normal conditions for the purpose of Figure 8. Figure 8 illustrates Ga interface steering and CDR in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The operation diagram for the conversion function unit 714 is shown.

In FIG. 7, the integrated billing data function (CDF) 612 directly accepts an Rf interface request from the CTF 602. The integrated billing data function 612 generates the CDR directly and sends the CDR to the original CDR store 742 to prevent the billing gateway function 418 and the billing data function Ga traffic from being overloaded.

9 illustrates rule-based CDR pre-processing within CDR pre-processing function 716 in an exemplary embodiment of the invention. CDR pre-processing function 716 allows an operator to define pre-processing corporate rules for CDR aggregation, correlation, and filtering. Policy-based CDR processing provides operators with a rapid introduction and change of new policies to reflect billing market conditions to accommodate new but unpredictable enterprise modes or billing plans. Rough CDR pre-processing can be defined as follows:

List of IF CDR Pre-Processing Conditions

THEN

    Working sequence

END

CDR pre-processing conditions may include CDR parameters (CDR type, billing ID, session ID, GGSN address, subscriber IMSI, etc.) or CDR forwarding node addresses (billing trigger function, billing data function, billing system, online billing system, etc.) May be). The condition list consists of a list of conditions connected by normal forms (CNF) and concatenated BOOL operators AND, OR, and NOT. When rules are enforced by a charging policy enforcement point (PEP), the rule conditions are evaluated within the charging policy decision point (PDP). If the rule conditions are matched, all operations under the rule are executed in order.

10 illustrates a CDR set of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. CDR aggregation function 732 (see FIG. 7) enables merging of multiple CDRs into one CDR from one and the same CDR node based on critical CDR key selection. The aggregation rule condition is based on the selection of important CDR parameters.

For example, in the IMS charging domain, long sessions controlled by the S-CSCF may be covered by some partial CDRs due to charging tax rate switching, location change or QoS change. The first CDR is generated as a fully qualified CDR type (FQPC), comprising a set of full fields specified for the CSCF CDR type. The second partial CDR or the next partial CDR is created as a reduced partial CDR (RPC) that provides only the command field and information about changes in session parameters related to the preceding partial CDR. The CDR set may merge a set of partial CDRs of a session within the same CDR node into an entire CDR based on session key information (SIP session ID, S-CSCF address, etc.).

11 illustrates CDR correlation in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. CDR correlation function 733 analyzes a plurality of charging level relationships (ie, bearer level, subsystem level, and application service level) in one data session (see FIG. 7). The CDR Correlation Function 733 may also be configured to generate multiple CDRs from several network elements generating CDRs (SGSN-CDR, GGSN-CDR, P-CSCF CDR, S-CSCF CDR, AS CDRs) for the same session. Integrate the CDRs into one CDR. Correlation rule conditions are based on critical CDR parameter selection.

In the example shown in FIG. 11, subscriber A (mobile A) 1101 calls subscriber B (mobile B) 1102. Subscriber A 1101 accesses a GPRS network 1110 that connects with IMS network 1111 for communication with Subscriber B 1102. CDRs generated within the GPRS network 1110 include SGSN-CDR and GGSN-CDR. CDRs generated within IMS network 1111 include a Proxy-CSCF CDR, a Serving-CSCF CDR, and an Application Server CDR. The CDRs of subscriber A created within GPRS network 1110 may be related by subscriber ID, GPRS charging ID, and GGSN address. CDRs generated in the IMS network 1111 may be related by subscriber ID, IMS charging identifier, in-operator identifier and application charging ID. CDRs in GPRS network 1110 and CDRs in IMS network 1111 for the same packet data session may be associated with a GGSN address, an IMS billing ID, and an internal operator identifier.

12 illustrates CDR routing in an exemplary embodiment of the invention. The CDR routing function 735 (see FIG. 7) applies the CDR parameters and CDR origin as filter rules to analyze and classify the processed CDRs and to determine the destination route suitable for further CDR processing. The CDR routing destination is a CDR rated without delay to the on-line billing system 414 via the Ro interface 637, a CDR, Ro interface 639 rated with a delay to the online billing system 414 via the Bi interface 638. CDR re-rated to online charging system 414 via, CDR post-processed to billing system 406 via Bx interface 640, or peer charging gateway function 651 via Ga interface 642 Low redundancy steered based on CDRs.

Referring to Figure 7, the CDR distribution interface steering function 718 defines a file transfer trigger to define when the CDR should be sent to the target application. CDR distribution supports push and pull CDR transmission modes configured by the operator. CDR distribution supports Ro, Bx, and Ga protocol steering to deliver CDRs to the online charging system 414, the billing system 406, the peer charging gateway function 651, and the like.

The CDR file management function 720 defines CDR file organization, CDR naming conventions, file encoding, file data directory management, and the like. The CDR file management function 720 enables the operator to define a file screen trigger condition to determine when the operator should block the CDR file and generate another CDR file to store the next CDR file. File blocking triggers include file size limitations, number of CDRs, file lifetimes, OAM & P operations, billing gateway function forms, and the like. When any of these triggers are matched, the corresponding file will be blocked and a new CDR file will be created.

OAM & P functionality 722 supports system account management for privileged operations, provision of CDR preprocessing rules, CDR file and system configuration management, system execution management, system log and alarm history management, and system redundancy management for backup and recovery. do.

Claims (10)

As a converged charging system 404 for offline charging and online charging in communication network 400, A common charging gateway function 418 operable to send rated charging data records (CDRs) to a billing system 406, and A common rating function 416 that is operable to determine ratings for calls; Receive the online charging information for the first call, access the common rating function to determine the rating for the first call, and access the first based on the online charging information and the rating for the first call. An online charging system 414 that is operable to generate a rated CDR for a call and to transmit the rated CDR for the first call to the common charging gateway function; Receive offline charging information for a second call, access the common rating function to determine the rating for the first call, and access the second based on the offline charging information and the rating for the second call. Characterized by an off-line charging system 412 that is operable to generate a rated CDR for a call and to transmit the rated CDR for the second call to the common charging gateway function. Converged Charging System. The method of claim 1, The common charging gateway function 418 may be operable to send the rated CDR for the first call and the rated CDR for the second call to the billing system 406. Converged Charging System. The method of claim 1, The communication network 400 is based on the 3GPP standard Converged Charging System. The method of claim 1, The common charging gateway function 418 may be further operable to receive CDRs from a peer charging gateway function 651. Converged Charging System. The method of claim 1, The common charging gateway function 418 may be further operable to receive CDRs from another billing system in another communication network 652. Converged Charging System. A method of operating a converged charging system for offline and online charging in a communication network, Receiving online charging information for the first call; Accessing a common rating function to determine the rating for the first call; Generating a rated charging data record (CDR) for the first call based on the online charging information and the rating for the first call; Buffering the rated CDR for the first call in a common charging gateway function; Receiving offline charging information for the second call; Accessing the common rating function to determine the rating for the second call; Generating a rated CDR for the second call based on the offline charging information and the rating for the second call; Buffering the rated CDR for the second call in the common charging gateway function. How the Converged Charging System Works. The method of claim 6, Sending the rated CDR for the first call and the rated CDR for the second call from the common charging gateway function to the billing system. How the Converged Charging System Works. The method of claim 6, The communication network is based on the 3GPP standard How the Converged Charging System Works. The method of claim 6, Receiving CDRs in the common charging gateway function from a peer charging gateway function; How the Converged Charging System Works. The method of claim 6, Receiving CDRs in the common charging gateway function from another billing system in another communication network; How the Converged Charging System Works.

Images