KR20080105383A - Method for billing multimedia traffic and apparatus thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for billing multimedia traffic and an apparatus thereof are provided to create one kind of billing data for each service without creating two billing data when creating the billing data for the multimedia traffic which requires an additional signaling session. A packet analyzing unit(170) extracts the IP and port information of data packet, and a signaling analyzing unit(210) obtains multimedia traffic signal information by analyzing the signaling packet. A multimedia traffic processor(220) creates the billing data for the multimedia traffic and the signaling packet by receiving the multimedia traffic signal information form the signaling analyzing unit.

Description

Method for billing multimedia traffic and apparatus thereof

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional packet charging equipment

2 is a diagram illustrating a multimedia traffic charging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 illustrates signaling and multimedia traffic for explaining a charging method for VoD according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a diagram illustrating signaling and multimedia traffic to explain a charging method for VoIP according to another embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a signaling analyzer of a multimedia traffic charging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a diagram illustrating an operation procedure of a multimedia traffic processor included in the multimedia traffic processor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a diagram illustrating a reference table used in the charging device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for charging multimedia traffic, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for generating one charging data for a multimedia traffic and a signal session by analyzing a signal session for forming multimedia traffic. It is about.

In the related art, the packet charging processing apparatus has generated the charging information for each connection between the content user terminal and the media server since the charging processing is performed on Layer 4 (Source IP, Source Port, Destination IP, Destination Port).

When the charging method by the conventional packet charging processing apparatus is applied, charging processing of general download such as connection to a web server or file download can be performed without difficulty.

However, with recent advances in network technology (improvement in transmission speeds, bandwidth, etc.), real-time downloads, video on demand (VoD), and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) services have become very popular. Even in the case of providing such a service, there is a problem when the conventional packet charging method is applied.

That is, even when receiving one multimedia traffic service, two or more ports are used to form two or more sessions, thereby generating two or more separate billing data.

In more detail, since VoD performs signaling through RTSP (Real time Streaming Protocol), first charging information is formed for a connected session during signaling.

Thereafter, multimedia video / audio data (multimedia traffic) is transmitted through a real time transportation protocol (RTP) / real time transportation control protocol (RTCP) to a separate session (separate port) dynamically negotiated through signaling. Thus, separate second charging information for the multimedia traffic is formed again.

However, although the first charge information and the second charge information above are charges for receiving a single multimedia traffic from the client's point of view, the first charge information and the second charge information are formed as separate charge information so that the first charge information and the second charge information at the time of charging the corresponding client later. There is a problem that is not distinguished.

In addition, in the case of VoIP service, the first billing information is set as the call is established through the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and the second billing information is generated in the process of transmitting the multimedia traffic which is voice data. A problem arises that it is difficult to distinguish the information from the second billing information.

In addition, due to the recent development of network transmission technology and hardware, the network bandwidth is increased, and it is possible to watch video on demand in real time and to make a call with another person through VoIP service. In this case, a total of four billing information is generated.

In this case, if the billing information for VoD and VoIP service is not distinguished among the four billing information, there is a problem that the billing information for each item cannot be presented correctly.

In addition, even when using the two services at the same time to provide a service for exempting the charges for VoIP services, there is a problem that it is impossible to distinguish between charging information for video on demand and charging information for VoIP.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and when there is a signaling session required for multimedia traffic, the multimedia packet and the information transmitted thereafter are extracted by analyzing the signaling packet and using the same. It is an object of the present invention to provide a billing method and a billing apparatus for generating one billing information for a signaling packet to prevent separate billing data from being generated for signaling.

In addition, even if charging data for a signaling session and charging data for multimedia traffic are separately generated, an associated identifier is inserted into each charging data to provide a charging method and a charging device for charging a user for each multimedia traffic when charging. There is a purpose.

Other objects of the present invention will become more apparent through the preferred embodiments described below.

According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, there is provided a multimedia traffic charging device.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in a multimedia traffic charging device, a packet analyzer for extracting IP (IP) and port information of a data packet and a data packet include: A signaling analyzer which analyzes the signaling packet to obtain multimedia traffic signal information in the case of a signaling packet, wherein the multimedia traffic is transmitted in a separate session from the session in which the signaling packet is transmitted; And a multimedia traffic processor for receiving the multimedia traffic signal information from the signaling analyzer and generating the signaling packet and the charging data for the multimedia traffic.

If the multimedia traffic is Video on Demand (VOD) or User Creative Contents (UCC), the multimedia traffic is transmitted by Real Time Transport Protocol (RTP) / Real Time Control Protocol (RTCP), and the signaling packet is RTSP RTSP. (Real-time Streaming Protocol) can be transmitted.

When the multimedia traffic is for Voice on Internet Protocol (VoIP), the multimedia traffic may be transmitted by RTP / RTCP, and the signaling packet may be transmitted by Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

The multimedia traffic processor may register the multimedia traffic signal information in a reference table so that the multimedia traffic and the signal packet are divided into one set, and generate charging information for the registered signaling packet and the multimedia traffic.

The multimedia traffic processing unit registers the multimedia traffic signal information in a reference table so that the multimedia traffic and the signal packet are divided into one set, generates first charging data for the signaling packet, and generates a second for the multimedia traffic. The billing data may be generated, and an association identifier indicating that billing data is associated with the first billing data and the second billing data may be inserted into the first billing data and the second billing data.

When the data packet is the multimedia traffic, the signaling analyzer transmits the multimedia traffic to the multimedia traffic processor as it is, and the multimedia traffic processor analyzes the multimedia traffic to obtain Quality of Service (QoS) related information. The charging data may be generated using the related information.

The QoS related information may include at least one of transmission delay information, a jitter value, and packet loss information.

The apparatus may further include a billing data storage and a statistics unit for receiving the billing data, storing the file as a file, and generating statistical data using the billing data.

According to another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, there is provided a multimedia traffic charging method.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the charging method of a multimedia traffic charging apparatus, the method comprises: receiving a data packet; Analyzing the signaling packet to obtain multimedia traffic signal information when the received data packet is a signaling packet, wherein the multimedia traffic is transmitted to a session different from that in which the signaling packet is transmitted; Classifying the signaling packet and the multimedia traffic according to the multimedia traffic signal information; And generating charging data for the divided signaling packet and the multimedia traffic.

The dividing may include registering the multimedia traffic signal information in a reference table; And recording the signaling packet and the multimedia traffic for each registered multimedia traffic signal information.

Generating the charging data may include generating first charging data for the signaling packet; And generating charging data for the multimedia traffic, wherein the first charging data and the second charging data are inserted with an association identifier indicating that the charging data is associated with the first charging data and the second charging data. Can be.

The generating of the charging data may include analyzing the multimedia traffic to obtain quality of service (QoS) information; And generating the charging data by using the QoS information.

The QoS information may include at least one of transmission delay information, a jitter value, and packet loss information.

Receiving the charging data and storing it as a file after generating the charging data; And generating statistical data using the charging data.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, there is provided a recording medium on which a program for implementing a multimedia traffic charging method is recorded.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium on which a program for implementing a multimedia traffic charging method of a charging apparatus is recorded, the method comprising: receiving a data packet; Analyzing the signaling packet to obtain multimedia traffic signal information when the received data packet is a signaling packet, wherein the multimedia traffic is transmitted to a session different from that in which the signaling packet is transmitted; Classifying the signaling packet and the multimedia traffic according to the multimedia traffic signal information; And generating the classified signaling packet and the charging data for the multimedia traffic. A recording medium having a program recorded thereon for implementing the multimedia traffic charging method is provided.

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Terms including ordinal numbers such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as the second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component. The term and / or includes a combination of a plurality of related items or any item of a plurality of related items.

When a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it may be directly connected to or connected to that other component, but it may be understood that other components may be present in between. Should be. On the other hand, when a component is said to be "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in between.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art and shall not be construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and in describing the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding components are given the same reference numerals regardless of the reference numerals. Duplicate explanations will be omitted.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional packet charging equipment.

Referring to FIG. 1, all data packets transmitted and received between the user terminal 100 and the content servers 120, 125, and 130 may be transmitted through the packet switch 110.

Here, the user terminal 100 may be applied without limitation as long as it is a device capable of accessing the content server 120, 1225, 130 through a network such as a mobile communication terminal, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a notebook computer, or the like. Do. In addition, the user terminal means a client, and the client may be used as the user terminal 100.

If a user wants to use a wireless Internet service in a wireless Internet environment through the terminal 100, as shown in FIG. 1, the user terminal 100 first transmits to the packet switch 110 via the wireless network equipment 105. Connected.

A wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) environment is provided in the packet switch 110 that converts data packets of a wireless communication network into wired Internet packets so that they can be connected to the content servers 120, 125, and 130 through the network 115 (Internet network). In this case, the Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN), the Serving GSM Support Node (SGSN), and the like may include an Access Point (AP) in a wireless LAN environment. have. In addition, in case of a 1 ′ EVDO (Evolution data only) environment, a PDSN (Packet Data Serving Node) may be included. In a Wibro (Wireless Broadband Internet) environment, an access control router (ACR) may be included.

In the wired Internet environment, the user terminal 100 is similarly connected to the packet switch 110 via the wired network equipment 105, and the transmission of data packets between the user terminal and the content server 120, 125, 130 is performed by the packet switch 110. Through). Here, the packet switch 110 may be an intermediate node such as a router.

In this case, the packet charging apparatus 150 may receive the content packet by copying the content packet transmitted from the packet exchanger 110 between the user terminal 100 and the content server 120, 1225, 130.

The packet charging device 150 may be included in the packet switch 110 and may generate and store packet charging data in association with the packet switch 110 as shown in FIG. 1. That is, the packet switch 110 may be connected to the packet switch 110 through a communication service provider, and a packet charging device may be included in the packet switch 110.

As shown in FIG. 1, the packet charging device 150 includes a packet receiver 160, a packet analyzer 170, a protocol analyzer 180, and a billing data storage / stating unit 190.

First, the packet receiver 160 receives a content packet copied and transmitted by the packet exchanger 110 included in the network 115, and transfers the received packet to the packet analyzer 170.

The packet analyzer 170 may include Layer 3 and Layer 4 of the Open System Interface (OSI) 7 layers such as Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), and User Datagram Protocol (UDP). Perform the processing for 4). In this case, the packet analyzer 170 may extract IP address information of a source and a destination in layer 3 and port number information in layer 4.

The packet analyzer 170 extracts IP and port information, performs a packet retransmission or fragmentation, and then transmits the packet to the protocol analyzer 180.

The protocol analyzer 180 performs processing on application protocol levels, such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), and Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). That is, the fragmented packet may be recombined and analyzed by an application protocol to determine various network information, contents of the corresponding content, and packet size.

The protocol analyzer 180 may generate charging information about the content based on the above-described information.

The packet charging device 150 may include a plurality of protocol analyzers 180. There are various protocols of packets transmitted through the network 115, such as HTTP, WAP, FTP, TELNET, RTP, RTCP, and the like. This is because the treatment methods for these are also different from each other in nature.

Accordingly, in order for the packet charging apparatus 150 to effectively process each data, there may be an application protocol analyzer 170 dedicated to the corresponding protocol for different protocols such as HTTP, WAP, and FTP.

The billing data storage / stating unit 190 stores the billing data generated by the protocol analyzer as a file and generates statistical data according to the needs of the system or the user.

However, as pointed out above, for multimedia video / sound traffic (for example, video streaming service or Internet video telephony service), a signaling session is required separately from the multimedia traffic. Destination Port).

Accordingly, when charging by the conventional packet charging apparatus 150, the first charging data is generated in the signaling session and the second charging data is generated in the multimedia traffic.

However, since the signaling session is eventually for multimedia traffic, the first and second billing data need to be treated as one billing data.

According to the multimedia traffic charging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, since the first and second charging data are formed as one, this problem can be solved.

2 is a diagram illustrating a multimedia traffic charging device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the multimedia traffic charging apparatus 200 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is the same as the conventional packet charging apparatus 150 of FIG. 1, the packet receiver 160, the packet analyzer 170, and the charging data. It can be seen that the management unit 190 is included.

However, unlike the conventional packet charging apparatus 150, it can be seen that the signaling analyzer 210 and the multimedia traffic processor 220 are further included.

The process of the packet receiver 160 and the packet analyzer 170 to receive the packet and analyze the packet at the layer 3 and layer 4 levels is as described with reference to FIG. 1. However, the packet analyzer 170 analyzes the packet at the layer 3 and layer 4 levels, and then transmits the packet to the signaling analyzer 210.

The signaling analyzer 210 determines whether the received data packet is a signaling packet for multimedia traffic such as VoIP, VoD, or UCC.

Here, multimedia traffic refers to a real-time data packet of voice or video or voice and video, and corresponds to contents required when a user actually plays or calls.

On the other hand, a signaling packet is a user terminal 100 and a media server (not shown) for establishing a call for transmitting a multimedia traffic packet or for setting, controlling, and managing a session for transmitting a voice or video or a data packet of audio and video. Data packets sent and received between hours.

When the signaling packet is also determined as a multimedia service unit, it corresponds to data for forming multimedia traffic, but hereinafter, it is assumed that the multimedia traffic packet and the signaling packet are distinguished.

As a result of the determination by the signaling analyzer 210 in the above description, when the received data packet is a signaling packet for multimedia traffic, port information and codec information for transmitting multimedia traffic may be extracted from the signaling packet.

Here, the port information and codec information to which the multimedia traffic is transmitted are different from the IP address and port information extracted by the packet analyzer 170 from the signaling packet. That is, the packet analysis unit 170 extracts the port information and IP information of the session in which the signaling packet itself is transmitted, and the extracting unit 210 extracts the port information on which the multimedia traffic included in the signaling packet is transmitted. This is because it is codec information.

Hereinafter, the information related to the multimedia traffic extracted from the signaling packet by the signaling analyzer 210 will be referred to as multimedia traffic signal information and the present invention will be described. That is, the multimedia traffic signal information means signal information on multimedia traffic.

In the above description, the signaling analyzer 210 transmits the extracted multimedia traffic signal information to the multimedia traffic processor 220.

Thereafter, multimedia traffic is transmitted between the media server and the client 100 through a session established through signaling. The multimedia traffic is also transmitted to the signaling analyzer 210 through the packet receiver and the packet analyzer.

Since multimedia traffic is also a data packet of video, audio or video and audio, it is obvious that the multimedia traffic is transmitted to the packet receiver 160. In addition, the packet analyzer 170 may extract IP and port information and transmit the IP and port information to the signaling analyzer 210.

The signaling analyzer 210 transmits the received multimedia traffic to the multimedia processor as it is. This is because the multimedia traffic is not a signaling message and thus does not include separate signal information, so there is no information to be analyzed by the signaling analyzer 210.

The multimedia processor 220 sequentially receives the signaling packet and the multimedia traffic. The correlation between the signaling packet and the multimedia traffic may be performed by comparing the multimedia traffic signal information (port information, codec information) extracted from the signaling packet by the signaling analyzer 210 with the port information of the transmitted multimedia traffic.

That is, the IP address and port information analyzed by the packet analyzer 170 for the multimedia traffic are information of the session in which the actual multimedia traffic is formed. Therefore, if the information matches the multimedia traffic signal information described above, the multimedia traffic is It can be seen that a session is formed and transmitted by the signaling packet.

The relationship between the signaling packet, the multimedia traffic signal information, and the multimedia traffic will be described in more detail later with reference to FIG. 6.

The multimedia traffic processor 220 may generate one charging data for the multimedia traffic and the signaling packet from the signaling packet that performs signaling for the multimedia traffic using the multimedia traffic processor 220.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the multimedia traffic charging apparatus 200 may generate the charging data for the signaling session and the multimedia traffic session as different charging data instead of generating the charging data as one charging data. have.

Unlike the charging data generation by the conventional charging device 100, the signaling session and the multimedia traffic session related to the signaling session and the charging data for the multimedia traffic are added through the association identifier in the back-end device. It is possible to bundle billing data for each and separate billing data for each desired multimedia traffic.

Accordingly, the billing service provider may perform various billing services such as a service for exempting charging for a specific multimedia traffic packet or a service for exempting charging for a corresponding multimedia traffic packet when a plurality of multimedia traffic is simultaneously received.

If the charging data is generated by the conventional packet charging device 150 for the real-time streaming service, since the analysis of the signaling session is omitted, separate charging data will be generated for the signaling session and then the multimedia data will be added to the multimedia traffic. It is difficult to match the billing data for.

3 is a diagram illustrating signaling and multimedia traffic for explaining a charging method for VoD according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, a client first makes an HTTP GET request to a web server 300, and the web server 300 encapsulates a presentation description file in an HTTP response message and transmits the result to a client 100 (browser). In other words, this means that a web site that provides a real-time video service on demand is accessed.

The browser receives the HTTP response message to launch the media player corresponding to the video type field of the message.

The presentation description file contains the address of the multimedia video / audio data (meaning a movie or video) using the URL technique rstp: //. Accordingly, the client makes a request for transmission to the media server 302 having multimedia video / audio data (meaning a movie or video).

In more detail, the client 100 sends a Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) SETUP request message to the media server 302. The SETUP request message includes the RTSP address which is the address of the multimedia contents, the RTSP version, the port number of the client to which the multimedia video / audio data (means a movie or video) and the codec information. At this time, the media server 302 sends an RTSP OK message and responds to initiate the session.

Therefore, the multimedia traffic charging apparatus 200 receives the RTSP SETUP message, transmits the signal to the signaling processor 210 after analyzing the packet analyzer 170, and the signaling processor 210 analyzes the RTSP SETUP message to provide port information and IP information. Can be extracted. In addition, the size information of the RTSP SETUP message may be extracted and the extracted information is transmitted to the multimedia processing unit.

After that, when the client 100 transmits a PLAY signal for the corresponding multimedia traffic, the multimedia video / audio data (meaning a movie or video) corresponding to the port information and codec information included in the SETUP request message is RTP (Real time Transport). Protocol) / RTCP (Real time Transportation Control Protocol).

That is, the multimedia video / audio data (meaning a movie or video) corresponds to the multimedia traffic described with reference to FIG. 2, which is also received by the packet receiver 160 and received by the packet analyzer 170 based on the layer 3 and 4 IP address and the IP address. Port information and the like are extracted and the information and the multimedia traffic are transmitted to the signaling analyzer 210.

However, since the multimedia traffic is not a signaling packet, the signaling analyzer 210 cannot analyze and transmit the multimedia traffic to the multimedia traffic processor 220 as it is.

The multimedia traffic processing unit 220 may search for multimedia traffic signal information such as port information corresponding to a port used by the multimedia traffic, and generate one charging data according to network usage integrally with the signaling packet from which the corresponding information is extracted. do.

Since the signaling analyzer 210 also corresponds to the signaling packet, the RTSP PLAY signal may be transmitted to the multimedia processor to generate the above charging data and one charging data.

In addition, when the client 100 sends an RTSP PAUSE request message to terminate the use of the service, the media server 302 responds with an RTSP OK signal. When the client 100 finishes executing the multimedia traffic, the media player of the client 100 transmits an RTSP CLOSE request message, and the media server 302 sends an RTSP OK signal. The signal analyzer 210 also transmits the RTSP message. The billing data may be analyzed to generate billing data and all billing data.

As described above, RTSP is an out-of-band protocol as a signaling, a protocol different from the in-band protocol through which multimedia traffic is transmitted, and therefore uses a port number different from that of multimedia traffic. For this reason, a signaling session is formed separately from the session in which the multimedia content is transmitted, so that two charging data are formed when the packet charging apparatus 150 according to the related art forms a multimedia traffic charging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. According to 200, one charging data is generated.

However, although the session for SETUP and the session for multimedia content transmission may be a session for one multimedia content from the time of the client 100, the media server 302 or the multimedia traffic charging device 200 need to distinguish the session. There may be.

This is because the session for the actual multimedia SETUP is set up but the multimedia content transmission is not performed or the exemption or special discount may be applied to the billing for the session for the SETUP.

Therefore, in this case, the charging information for each of the signaling session for the SETUP and the multimedia content session can be generated. However, since it is necessary to distinguish which multimedia content is used for transmission, a unique correlation identifier may be added and stored in each billing information, and each billing information may be matched later.

In addition, unlike the RTSP, the RTCP packet transmitted with the multimedia traffic through the multimedia traffic port during the transmission of the multimedia traffic includes the RTP session quality and information on the individual participating in the session. Both the client 100 and the media server 302 are configured to send RTCP packets regularly between each client 100 and the media server 302 in an RTP session. Of course, this is distinct from the RTSP signaling message, which is a signaling packet.

Multimedia traffic charging device 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention can use this information to monitor the quality of the RTP session. For example, you can monitor jitter values or packet loss.

That is, the RTCP packet transmitted by the client 100 and the media server 302 includes information on an SR (Sender Report), a RR (Receiver Report), and an ID of a participant belonging to an RTP session. There are five types of source descriptions (SDES), including a good bye (BYE) that indicates that one or more sources are no longer active in an RTP session, and an application-define (APP) used at the application level. Will be sent to.

Therefore, the packet charging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may copy the RTCP packet periodically transmitted from the packet exchanger and receive the packet through the packet receiver.

By analyzing the received RTCP packet, it is possible to obtain information such as transmission delay, packet loss, etc. to generate billing information reflecting the QoS (Quality of Service) described above.

However, in the case of the file download service rather than the real-time video service, no separate session is required, so the SETUP request message does not exist and the signaling processor directly transmits the content to the multimedia traffic processor.

The multimedia traffic processing unit 220 will determine that the general video data (file download) does not match the multimedia traffic signal information extracted from the signaling packet. Therefore, the multimedia traffic processing unit 220 uses the IP address and port information at the layer 3 and 4 levels according to the conventional charging method. Therefore, the billing data can be generated in proportion to the usage amount.

4 is a diagram illustrating signaling and multimedia traffic to explain a charging method for VoIP according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, a call is established through a session initiation protocol (SIP) used for a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service and a multimedia traffic, which is voice data, is formed.

In FIG. 4, although the user terminal is shown with identification numbers 100 and 400, the user terminal of 100 is divided into a caller calling user terminal (client), and the user terminal of 400 refers to a answering user terminal (server) receiving the call. Assume that it is possible to explain.

VoIP is a communication service technology that converts voice data into Internet protocol data packets to enable a call in a general telephone network.

The protocol used by VoIP is SIP. The basic function of SIP is to set up a call between VoIP terminals that can make voice calls, such as PCs, Internet phones, PDAs, and mobile terminals. That is, it is used as a call signaling protocol.

Looking at the process of establishing a call through the SIP, the originating user terminal 100 transmits a SIP INVITE (invitation) message. In this case, the message is inserted into the callee@bbb.com domain name of the server that is the response user terminal 400 is transmitted. In other words, it is of the form sip: user_id @ domain_name. The domain name can be replaced with an IP address or a phone number.

The responding user terminal 400 transmits port information, codec information, etc. to be used by the responding user terminal 400 (callee@bbb.com) while transmitting a SIP 200 OK signal. When the ACK signal is received from the calling user terminal 100, voice or audio / video information is transmitted using RTP, and a call is made.

That is, a call is made while voice or voice and video information is transmitted between the calling user terminal 100 and the answering user terminal 400. The voice or voice and video information correspond to the multimedia traffic described with reference to FIG.

Although not shown in FIG. 4, the call is established from the calling user terminal 100 through a SIP proxy server, a SIP registrar server, and a SIP redirect server. Those skilled in the art will be omitted and will not be described in the description of Figure 4 because it may obscure the subject matter of the present invention.

After the call, the calling user terminal 100 transmits the SIP BYE message, and the answering user terminal 400 transmits a 200 OK signal to release the call.

Therefore, even in the VoIP service, a multimedia content transmission session for transmitting voice and video data and a session for transmitting a SIP signaling message exist separately.

In this case, when the charging data is generated by the conventional charging device 150, two charging data are generated and it is difficult to identify the two.

However, according to the multimedia traffic charging apparatus 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is necessary to generate two charging data since the signaling packet, that is, the SIP message is analyzed and the charging data for the signaling session and the multimedia session are generated therefrom. There is no.

In addition, according to the needs of the billing system, separate billing data may be generated for the signaling session and the multimedia session, but two billing data may be identified by adding an association identifier to the two billing data.

Referring to the charging data generation process by the multimedia traffic charging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the packet receiver 160 receives a SIP message transmitted to establish a call and transmits the SIP message to the packet analyzer 170.

The packet analyzer 170 analyzes the SIP message and extracts IP information and port information used to transmit the SIP message.

The packet analyzer 170 transmits the SIP message to the signaling analyzer 210 after extracting the above information, and the signaling analyzer 210 analyzes the SIP message (for example, the INVITE message and the SIP 200 OK) message. Obtains the size of the SIP message, the port information to be used by the multimedia traffic, and the codec information to be used (multimedia traffic signal information).

In addition, the packet receiver 160 receives the audio and video information, that is, the multimedia traffic, which is actually used in the call. In the case of such multimedia traffic, the packet analyzer 170 is analyzed, but it is not a signaling message. The unit 210 transmits to the multimedia traffic processing unit 220 without analyzing.

In this case, the signaling analyzer 210 sequentially transmits the signaling message, the multimedia traffic signal information extracted from the signaling message, and the multimedia traffic to the multimedia traffic processor 220 without determining which signaling message is associated with which multimedia traffic. .

The signaling analyzer 210 transmits the obtained information to the multimedia traffic processor 220 and registers the information received by the multimedia traffic processor 220, and then the audio and video information transmitted thereafter is based on the multimedia traffic information. It can determine which signaling packet or which multimedia traffic information is transmitted.

That is, the multimedia traffic processing unit 220 may include a storage unit (not shown) for storing a reference table, in which there is an item part divided for multimedia traffic signal information extracted from a signaling message.

The reference table will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. 7.

The multimedia traffic processing unit 220 registers the multimedia traffic signal information extracted from the signaling message in the reference table.

The multimedia traffic processing unit 220 transmits the multimedia traffic in which the information (port information, codec information) is extracted based on the size or usage of the extracted signaling message and the port, codec, etc. matching the information, based on the registered multimedia traffic signal information. Record the size or usage.

Accordingly, the multimedia traffic processor 220 may generate charging data based on the multimedia traffic signal information, and the generated charging data becomes charging data including both a signaling message and the charging amount for the multimedia traffic.

That is, one charging data for the SIP signaling message and the multimedia traffic may be generated based on the multimedia traffic signal information obtained above.

Or, if it is necessary to generate billing data for multimedia traffic and signaling data separately for the billing service provider's needs, each billing data is generated, and a unique associated identifier for identifying the two is added and stored. Can be.

That is, in the subsequent billing, a unique association identifier may be added to distinguish billing data for each service.

In addition, the multimedia traffic processor 220 may analyze the multimedia traffic to obtain information such as transmission delay and packet loss.

That is, even in the case of VoIP service, the multimedia traffic charging apparatus 200 analyzes multimedia traffic (voice or voice and video) information other than the analysis information of the packet analyzer through RTP / RTCP and uses QoS (QoS) to analyze the information. Billing information reflecting Quality of Service) can be generated.

5 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a signaling analyzer of a multimedia traffic charging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the signaling analyzer 210 receiving a data packet from the packet analyzer (S510) analyzes a packet received from the packet analyzer and determines whether it includes signal information (S520).

That is, it is determined whether the RTSP setup message or the INVITE sip message as described with reference to FIG. 3 or 4. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may include a storage unit for a signaling protocol for various multimedia traffic, and may determine what multimedia traffic will be formed by analyzing various signaling messages. For example, you can also determine the MMS (Microsoft Media Server) streaming protocol.

However, in the case of multimedia traffic or general content (file download, etc.), since the signaling message is not included, the received data packet is transmitted to the multimedia traffic processor 220 without analysis (S530).

However, since the packet analysis unit 170 analyzes and extracts the IP information and the port information at the layer 3 and 4 levels, the information transmitted to the multimedia traffic processing unit 220 becomes the IP information, the port information, and the data packet (multimedia traffic).

If the data packet includes signal information, it is determined which protocol signaling packet. For example, in the case of the VoD service described with reference to FIG. 3, since signaling is performed through the RTSP, it may be determined as an RTSP setup message.

Therefore, since the port information and the codec information included in the RTSP message can be extracted using the RTSP protocol (S540), the multimedia traffic signal information is transmitted to the multimedia traffic processor (S550). In this case, the extracted port information and codec information are information related to multimedia traffic to be transmitted later.

6 is a diagram illustrating an operation procedure of a multimedia traffic processor included in the multimedia traffic processor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, as described with reference to FIG. 5, the multimedia traffic processor 220 receives a data packet from the signaling analyzer 210 (S610). The data packet may be port information, codec information, and signaling packet obtained by the signaling analyzer 210 analyzing the signaling packet. If the data packet is not a signaling packet, the multimedia packet indicating the voice and video data may be received as it is. have.

The multimedia traffic charging processor 220 determines whether the received data is signal information (S620).

In the case of signal information, information such as port number and codec included in the signal information is registered in the reference table (S630). The reference table will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. 7.

If the multimedia traffic packet is received as it is, the multimedia traffic charging processing unit 220 compares the IP information and the port information included in the multimedia traffic packet with the signal information registered in the reference table to determine whether the multimedia traffic packet is matched (S640). ).

Receiving the multimedia traffic packet means that the signaling has already been performed. Therefore, the port information, codec information, IP information, etc. included in the signaling message are already registered in the reference table, and the corresponding multimedia traffic signal information and the multimedia traffic can be matched. .

For identification numbers S630 and S640, for example, if the user terminal 100 wants to receive VoD service and VoIP service at the same time, it analyzes the RTSP message, which is a signaling for VoD, and analyzes the VoD signal information by port information and codec information. It registers in the lookup table and also analyzes the SIP message and registers the VoIP signal information in the lookup table.

After the signaling is completed in turn, the VoD traffic and the VoIP traffic are transmitted. Each traffic is transmitted to the multimedia traffic processor through the signaling analyzer 210 as described above, and the multimedia traffic processor 220 is the packet analyzer 170. ) Determines whether IP and port information extracted from the packet of each multimedia traffic match the items registered in the reference table.

If it does not match the registered item, it means that it is not a multimedia traffic service transmitted through signaling, so the multimedia traffic processing unit 220 uses the IP and port information at the layer 4 level to provide the entire content. The charging information is generated (S660).

That is, the source IP and destination IP are extracted from the network layer, which is layer 3, and the source port and destination IP are extracted from the transport layer, which is layer 4. Billing information for the content can be generated.

If there is a match, the packet is registered to correspond to the match and the total data size is determined and recorded. After the VoD service is terminated, since the RTSP Close message is transmitted from the user, it is determined that the service is terminated, thereby generating charging information based on the signal information and the traffic packet amount of the corresponding item (S650).

If the billing service provider wants to distinguish the billing amount for the signal packet and the multimedia traffic, the multimedia traffic processing unit 200 may generate billing data separately, but generate billing data by adding an associated identifier to both billing data.

Since the association identifier is added, the billing data can be organized by multimedia traffic in the back-end device and can be distinguished.

Even if the VoD service is terminated, if the VoIP service is still in progress, the multimedia traffic processing unit 220 continuously receives the VoIP multimedia traffic packet and generates charging information according to a matched item among the items registered in the reference table.

Therefore, the multimedia traffic processing unit 220 generates billing data for the VoD service and billing data for the VoIP service, and these two billing data are distinguished by signal information, thereby enabling accurate billing for each item.

The generated billing data may be transmitted to the billing data storage / statistic unit (S670) and stored in a file form and used to calculate billing statistics for each user, server, and multimedia traffic.

When charging data is completed because the use of the multimedia traffic is ended, the corresponding signal information item may be deleted from the reference table.

Therefore, when the user terminal 100 sends the corresponding signaling message to the media server in order to receive another multimedia traffic service, the multimedia traffic charging apparatus 200 analyzes the signaling message again and registers it in the reference table. Billing information can be generated.

7 is a diagram illustrating a reference table used in the charging device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, it can be seen that the reference table 700 includes association identifiers, multimedia traffic signal information, signaling packets, and multimedia traffic.

However, the reference table shown in FIG. 7 is a reference table used for the charging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention and may further include various items such as QoS information items, and reference tables of various formats may be used.

Looking at the row identified by the association identifier aaa in the reference table, multimedia traffic information (column 720) analyzed from the signaling packet is registered.

That is, 192.0.0.0 as an IP address, 320 as a port number and MPEG-4 (Moving Picture Expert Group-4) as codec information are registered. However, this is information extracted and analyzed by the multimedia traffic charging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and it is apparent to those skilled in the art that various signal information may be added as needed.

In the second column, column 730, information of the signaling packet is recorded. That is, the information of the signaling packet from which the IP, port, and codec information of 720 columns are extracted. The port number to which the signaling packet is transmitted is 322, which is distinguished from the port number 320 which is multimedia traffic signal information extracted from the signaling packet.

This is because, as described above, the port through which the multimedia traffic is transmitted and the port through which the signaling packet is transmitted are different, but the signaling packet includes transmission port information of the multimedia traffic.

Information in column 720 is extracted by the signaling analyzer and information in column 730 is analyzed by the packet analyzer.

In column 740, information about the multimedia traffic is recorded. IP and port information of the multimedia traffic is analyzed by the packet analyzer and matches the information of the multimedia traffic signal of the aaa row 710 among the registered multimedia traffic signal informations (aaa, bbb, ccc).

Accordingly, since the multimedia traffic transmitted to the port number 320 is a session established to the port number 320 by the signaling packet transmitted to the port 322, the signaling and multimedia traffic necessary for one service are stored in the row of the aaa row 710. Is recorded.

Assuming that the signaling packet and multimedia traffic of one aaa row are transmitted for VoD service, the total size of data used for VoD service is 700500Kbyte of the combined signaling packet 500Kbyte and 700MByte of multimedia traffic. aaa billing data).

Looking at line 750, the association identifier bbb is distinguished from aaa above. In the multimedia traffic signal information column 720 in the Bbb row, the IP and the port number are registered as in the aaa row above. That is, the IP address is 211.0.0.0, the port number is 1352, and the codec information is registered in MPEG-1.

The signaling packet extracted from the above multimedia traffic signal information is recorded in column 730. The signaling protocol can confirm that it is SIP (that is, it can confirm that it is a VoIP service), and the number 2350 of the port where the signaling packet is transmitted and 800 Kbytes of the total size of the signaling data are recorded.

In column 740 of the bbb line, information on the multimedia traffic transmitted to the IP and the port number registered in the multimedia traffic signal information is recorded. The IP (IP) and port number are 211.0.0.0 and the port number is 1352, which can be recorded on the bbb line because it matches the multimedia traffic signal information of column 720 of the bbb line.

Therefore, you can generate billing data for the bbb row. However, there may be a case in which charging data for signaling packets and multimedia traffic should be generated separately according to a need or request of a charging service provider.

In this case, the signaling billing data and the multimedia traffic billing data may be generated, respectively. However, since the billing identifier bbb may indicate that the billing data is related, the billing data may be generated by inserting the linking identifier bbb in the billing data. Since the association identifier is inserted, only the charging data for the VoIP service can be distinguished from the plurality of charging data.

Looking at line ccc (line 760), it can be seen that the multimedia traffic signal information (column 720) and the signaling packet (730 column) are not registered. That is, the service corresponding to the ccc line is a case where no separate signaling is required like the file transfer service. For example, this may be the case when a movie is downloaded.

In this case, since the signaling analyzer cannot extract the multimedia traffic signal information because there is no signaling packet, the packet analyzer generates charging data by recording the IP information and the port information analyzed by the packet analyzer at layer 3 and 4 in column 740.

After the billing data is generated, the information of the corresponding row may be deleted to generate billing data for continuous service use.

The method of the present invention as described above may be implemented in a program and stored in a computer-readable recording medium (CD-ROM, RAM, ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, magneto-optical disk, etc.).

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and many variations are possible by those skilled in the art within the spirit of the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, even when generating charging data for multimedia traffic requiring a separate signaling session, multimedia traffic charging that can generate one charging data for each service without generating two charging data. There is an effect that can provide a method and apparatus.

In addition, even if two billing data are generated, an association identifier may be added to the billing data to distinguish billing data for a corresponding service among a plurality of billing data.

In addition, since the billing data for the service can be distinguished, it is possible to provide various differential billing services, non-billing services, and various discount services.

Although described above with reference to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art that various modifications of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the claims below And can be changed.

Claims (17)

In the multimedia traffic charging device, A packet analyzer extracting IP (IP) and port information of a data packet; Signaling analysis unit for obtaining the multimedia traffic signal information by analyzing the signaling packet when the data packet is a signaling packet, wherein the multimedia traffic is transmitted in a session separate from the session in which the signaling packet is transmitted. being-; And The multimedia traffic processor receives the multimedia traffic signal information from the signaling analyzer and generates charging data for the signaling packet and the multimedia traffic. Multimedia traffic charging device comprising a. The method of claim 1, If the multimedia traffic is VoD (Video on Demand) or UCC (User Creative Contents), The multimedia traffic is transmitted by Real Time Transport Protocol (RTP) / Real Time Control Protocol (RTCP), The signaling packet is a multimedia traffic charging device, characterized in that transmitted by RTSP Real-time Streaming Protocol (RTSP). The method of claim 1, If the multimedia traffic is for Voice on Internet Protocol (VoIP), The multimedia traffic is transmitted by RTP / RTCP, The signaling packet is a multimedia traffic charging device, characterized in that transmitted by the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). The method of claim 1, The multimedia traffic processing unit registers the multimedia traffic signal information in a reference table so that the multimedia traffic and signal packets are divided into one set. And generating charging information for the registered signaling packet and the multimedia traffic. The method of claim 1, The multimedia traffic processing unit The multimedia traffic signal information is registered in a reference table so that the multimedia traffic and signal packets are divided into one set. Generate first charging data for the signaling packet, Generate second charging data for the multimedia traffic; And the association identifier indicating that the first charging data and the second charging data are charging data in which the first charging data and the second charging data are associated with each other. The method of claim 1, The signaling analyzer transmits the multimedia traffic to the multimedia traffic processor as it is when the data packet is the multimedia traffic. And the multimedia traffic processing unit analyzes the multimedia traffic to obtain Quality of Service (QoS) related information and generates the billing data using the QoS related information. The method of claim 6, The QoS-related information includes at least one of transmission delay information, jitter value, packet loss information. The method of claim 1, And a charging data storage and a statistics unit for receiving the charging data and storing the data as a file and generating statistical data using the charging data. In the charging method of the multimedia traffic charging device, Receiving a data packet; Analyzing the signaling packet to obtain multimedia traffic signal information when the received data packet is a signaling packet, wherein the multimedia traffic is transmitted to a session different from that in which the signaling packet is transmitted; Classifying the signaling packet and the multimedia traffic according to the multimedia traffic signal information; And And generating charging data for the divided signaling packet and the multimedia traffic. The method of claim 9, If the multimedia traffic is for VoD or UCC, The multimedia traffic is transmitted by RTP / RTCP, And the signaling packet is transmitted by RTSP. The method of claim 9, If the multimedia content packet is for VoIP, The multimedia content is transmitted by RTP / RTCP, And the signaling packet is transmitted by SIP. The method of claim 9, The step of distinguishing Registering the multimedia traffic signal information in a reference table; And Recording the signaling packet and the multimedia traffic for each registered multimedia traffic signal information Multimedia traffic charging method comprising a. The method of claim 12, Generating the charging data Generating first charging data for the signaling packet; And Generating charging data for the multimedia traffic; And the association identifier indicating that the first charging data and the second charging data are charging data associated with the first charging data and the second charging data. The method of claim 9, Generating the charging data Analyzing the multimedia traffic to obtain quality of service (QoS) information; And And generating the charging data by using the QoS information. The method of claim 14, The QoS information includes at least one of transmission delay information, jitter (Zitter) value, packet loss information. The method of claim 9, After generating the charging data Receiving the charging data and storing it as a file; And And generating statistical data using the charging data. In a recording medium having a program recorded thereon for implementing a multimedia traffic charging method of a charging device, Receiving a data packet; Analyzing the signaling packet to obtain multimedia traffic signal information when the received data packet is a signaling packet, wherein the multimedia traffic is transmitted to a session different from that in which the signaling packet is transmitted; Classifying the signaling packet and the multimedia traffic according to the multimedia traffic signal information; And And generating charging data for the divided signaling packet and the multimedia traffic. The recording medium having recorded thereon a program for implementing the multimedia traffic charging method.

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