KR20100050016A - Policy based network system and method of management in network policy - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A policy based network system and a network policy management method are provided to immediately apply the changed information, in case the subscriber profile is changed in a PCC(Policy Charging Control) network. CONSTITUTION: In case the change of saved subscriber profile is detected, a profile storage part(400) performs the subscriber profile update procedure. A regulation functional unit(300) performs a profile storage part and a subscriber profile update procedure request for the profile storage part, and varies the network policy of the corresponding subscriber based on the updated subscriber profile. A packet gateway(200) receives the changed network policy from the regulation functional unit and applies to a data packet service call of the corresponding subscriber.

Description

Policy based network system and method of management in network policy}

The present invention relates to a policy-based network system and a network policy management method. More specifically, the present invention relates to a policy-based network system and a network policy management method for changing a subscriber profile in a policy charging control (PCC) network of an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS).

Recently, interest in IP data services using wireless access such as wireless LAN, WiBro (Wireless Broadband Internet) and WCDMA (WCDMA) has been increasing day by day. have.

Interest in such wireless access is expected to become the mainstream of communication services in the future in that it can provide a variety of communication services to the user.

In addition, each wired and wireless communication service provider has recently established an IP Multimedia Subsystem (hereinafter, referred to as IMS) network. IMS integrates a variety of existing communication services on the IP network and provides various multimedia services.

The third generation mobile communication system supporting both voice service and data packet service provides a multimedia service to a terminal through interworking with IMS network and other networks. This IMS was introduced as the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 5 standard, which is a standard research organization for 3G mobile communication systems.

In particular, the recent 3GPP Release 7 has standardized the policy charging control (hereinafter referred to as 'PCC') of the IMS. This IMS introduces equipments called Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), Subscription Profile Repository (SPR), and Application Function (AF) in the existing IMS network of 3GPP. Control the network with (Policy Rule).

SPR stores the IMS subscriber's service policy and subscriber profile and provides it when requested by the PCRF. The PCRF generates a network policy based on the subscriber profile provided from the SPR and provides it to the Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN). GGSN executes various quality of service (QoS) and policy rules of data packet service based on the received network policy.

However, in the PCC of IMS currently defined in 3GPP Release 7, there is no change in PCRF and GGSN when the subscriber profile of SPR is changed.

As defined in the specification, when the call is established, the PCRF sends a profile request message to the SPR to obtain a subscriber profile, and based on this, generates a network policy and executes it in the GGSN. That is, the subscriber profile is obtained by requesting to the SPR under the subject of the PCRF. On the contrary, no procedure has been proposed for SPR to voluntarily provide the subscriber profile to the PCRF.

Therefore, according to the current standard, even if the subscriber profile of the SPR is changed, it cannot be reflected in the network policy unless requested by the PCRF. In other words, once the current call is released and the PCRF requests a profile for the establishment of a new call, the changed subscriber profile cannot but be provided. In this case, even if the billing calculation standards, etc., due to the change of the subscription service is changed, it is difficult to apply to the currently connected call immediately.

On the other hand, in the case of controlling a network based on a policy in a conventional mobile communication network, when a subscriber profile is changed, there is a description of applying it to a currently connected call, but in this case, it is assumed that the currently connected call is disconnected. That is, when the user directly disconnects the mobile phone from the terminal, the call is reconfigured from the beginning after changing the network policy for the corresponding subscriber on the network. Or, even if it is done at the network level, the user disconnects the call itself instead of modifying the call that is already connected.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a policy-based network system and a network policy management method that immediately reflects the current connection call when the subscriber profile is changed in the policy charging control (PCC) network.

In order to achieve the above-described problem, the policy-based network system according to the characteristics of the present invention,

A policy-based network system for controlling data traffic using a network policy, comprising: a profile storage unit for performing a subscriber profile update procedure when detecting a change in a previously stored subscriber profile; A rule function unit performing the subscriber profile update procedure with the profile storage unit at the request of the profile storage unit and changing the network policy of the subscriber based on the updated subscriber profile; And a packet gateway receiving the changed network policy from the rule function unit and reflecting the changed network policy to the subscriber's data packet service call.

In addition, the network policy management method according to another aspect of the present invention,

A network policy management method for data traffic control of a policy based network system, the method comprising: (a) monitoring whether a previously stored subscriber profile is changed; And (b) if a change of the previously stored subscriber profile occurs, reflecting the modified network policy on the subscriber's currently connected data packet service call based on the changed subscriber profile.

According to the present invention, if the subscriber profile of the SPR is changed in the PCC network of the IMS, it can be updated at the request of the SPR to modify and supplement the subscriber's service freely according to the network policy.

In addition, as soon as the subscriber profile is changed, the network policy modified according to the changed subscriber profile can be immediately reflected in the currently connected data packet service call.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. In the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted in order to clearly describe the present invention, and like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is said to "include" a certain component, it means that it can further include other components, except to exclude other components unless otherwise stated. In addition, the terms "… unit", "... module" described in the specification means a unit for processing at least one function or operation, which may be implemented in hardware or software or a combination of hardware and software.

In the present specification, a terminal is a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station (PSS), a user device (User). It may refer to an Equipment (UE), an Access Terminal (AT), or the like, and may include all or part of functions of a terminal, a mobile terminal, a subscriber station, a portable subscriber station, a user device, an access terminal, and the like.

Now, a policy-based network system and a network policy management method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a policy based network system refers to a policy based network management element that controls data traffic using a policy rule. In the following, a policy based network system of IP Charging Control (PCC) of IP Multimedia Subsystem (hereinafter referred to as 'IMS') defined in 3GPP Release 7 will be described. Explain.

1 is a block diagram of a policy-based network system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the policy-based network system includes a mobile terminal 100, a packet gateway 200, a policy charging rule function 300, and a subscriber profile storage 400.

The mobile terminal 100 is a terminal capable of implementing a data packet service, and may be a mobile communication terminal or a laptop. The mobile terminal 100 may be an IMS subscriber station or a data packet service subscriber station of a mobile communication network. In this case, the mobile communication network may be a WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) network.

In this case, when the mobile terminal 100 operates as an IMS subscriber station, a bearer according to an Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (hereinafter referred to as 'IP-CAN') protocol is established. At this time, the IP-CAN is a collection of network entities and interfaces that provide IP transport connectivity between the mobile terminal 100 and the IMS entities. That is, the IP-CAN routes Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signaling so that communication between the mobile terminal 100 and the IMS core can be made. Session initiation protocol is a representative example of signaling protocol communication that can be used for IP-based multimedia services.

In addition, when the mobile terminal 100 operates as a data packet service subscriber station of the mobile communication network, it performs a "Packet Data Unit (PDU) Notification" process for requesting a session setup for communication.

The packet gateway 200 is a data packet control system that guarantees a link to a packet data network such as IMS or the Internet. The packet gateway 200 connects the mobile terminal 100 to the IMS network by performing an IP-CAN bearer setup with the mobile terminal 100 or by setting up a PDP context (part of PDU notification) process. do. The packet gateway 200 may be a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) for routing data packets and allocating IPs to the mobile terminal 100 in a general packet radio service (hereinafter referred to as GPRS) network. have.

The packet gateway 200 allocates resources or generates charging information using a network policy received from the IMS network. That is, it executes network policy received from IMS network in data packet service call. For example, allocating resources for creating an IP-CAN bearer or PDP context session using service class information and maximum bandwidth information determined by network policy.

The IMS network includes a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) 300 and a Subscription Profile Repository (SPR) 400.

The policy charging rule function unit 300 determines the service quality by using the service information received from the mobile terminal 100, the subscriber profile received from the subscriber profile storage 400, and the information included in the request of the packet gateway 200. Create a network policy including a QoS decision and charging decision information. In this case, the network policy includes information including a type of service authorized to the subscriber provided by the subscriber profile storage 400, service quality information permitted to the subscriber, billing information of the subscriber, and subscriber category, and from the packet gateway 200. Can be generated using the IP address, subscriber authentication information, etc. of the requested portable terminal. The generated network policy is transmitted to the packet gateway 200.

The subscriber profile storage 400 stores and manages a subscriber profile, and in particular, stores not only an IMS subscriber profile but also a data packet service subscriber profile of a mobile communication network.

In this case, when the change of the subscriber profile occurs, the subscriber profile storage 400 requests and performs a subscriber profile update procedure from the policy charging rule function unit 300. The policy charging rule function unit 300 transmits the network policy applying the updated subscriber profile to the packet gateway 200 to be reflected in the data packet service call of the mobile terminal 100.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the profile of the subscriber is changed among the PCC functions of the IMS network, the subscriber profile is updated to modify and supplement the subscriber's service according to the network policy.

2 illustrates a connection relationship between a detailed configuration and a detailed configuration of a policy based network system according to an embodiment of the present invention. That is, in FIG. 1, the detailed configuration of each of the packet gateway 200, the policy charging rule function unit 300, and the subscriber profile storage unit 400, and the connection relationship between the respective components are shown.

As shown in FIG. 2, the subscriber profile storage 400 includes a subscriber profile DB 420, a determination unit 440, and a generation unit 460.

The subscriber profile DB 420 stores an IMS service subscriber profile (ie, a first subscriber profile) and a data packet service subscriber profile (ie, a second subscriber profile) of the mobile communication network. In this case, the second subscriber profile is received from a wireless information service element (WISE) 500 of the mobile communication network. The wireless information management system 500 generates mobile subscriber information and updates subscriber information that has been added, deleted, changed, or modified according to the subscriber's fee product, cancellation, or product addition.

The determination unit 440 monitors the subscriber profile DB 420 and checks whether a change in the previously stored first subscriber profile or the second subscriber profile occurs.

When the determination unit 440 confirms that the change occurs, the generation unit 460 generates a newly defined profile update request message including the changed subscriber profile and transmits the generated profile update request message to the policy charging rule function unit 300. Start the subscriber profile update procedure.

The policy charging rule function unit 300 includes a policy controller 320 and a processor 340.

The policy controller 320 generates a network policy based on the subscriber profile obtained by exchanging a profile request / response message with the subscriber profile storage 400. In addition, when the profile update request message is received from the generation unit 460, the network policy is modified based on the changed subscriber profile.

The processor 340 transmits the newly-defined Modification Policy Rule Provision message to the packet gateway 200 and requests the reflection of the modified network policy.

The packet gateway 200 includes an execution unit 220 and a call control unit 240.

When the execution unit 220 receives the policy rule modification preparation message from the processing unit 340, the execution unit 220 performs resource allocation and charging information function for bearer traffic of the corresponding subscriber station based on the modified network policy.

The call controller 240 reflects the function performed by the execution unit 220 to the currently connected data packet service call of the mobile terminal 100. In this case, when the changed subscriber profile is the first subscriber profile, a call modification request is generated by generating a signaling message according to the IP-CAN bearer protocol protocol and transmitting it to the mobile terminal 100. In addition, when the changed subscriber profile is the second subscriber profile, a packet data protocol context modification (Modify PDP Context Process) message is generated and transmitted to the mobile terminal 100 to request call modification.

In addition, the call controller 240 may disconnect the currently connected call when the changed subscriber profile is terminated.

Then, the network policy management method of the policy-based network system based on the above-described configuration will be described for each embodiment.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a network policy management method according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 3 illustrates a network policy management method for an IMS subscriber when the first subscriber profile is changed.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the subscriber profile storage unit 400 of FIG. 1 detects a change of the first subscriber profile S101, the subscriber profile storage unit 400 updates the profile to the policy charging rule function unit 300 of FIG. 1. The message is transmitted (S103).

The policy charging rule function unit 300 transmits an update profile response message to the subscriber profile storage unit (S105). In operation S107, a network rule is modified based on the 'modified first subscriber profile' included in the profile update request message received in step S103. In addition, the policy charging rule function unit 300 transmits a policy rule modification provision message to the packet gateway (200 of FIG. 1) (S109).

The packet gateway 200 transmits a policy rule modification provision response message to the policy charging rule function unit 300 (S111). In operation S113, the “modified network policy” included in the policy rule modification preparation message received is executed. In operation S115, an IP-CAN bearer signaling message is requested to the mobile terminal 100 of FIG. 1 to request execution of the 'modified network policy'.

Then, the mobile terminal 100 transmits an IP-CAN bearer signaling response message to the packet gateway 200 after performing a call modification procedure (S117). As a result, call modification is performed so that the existing network policy is changed to the 'modified network policy'.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a network policy management method according to a second embodiment of the present invention. That is, FIG. 4 illustrates a network policy management method for a data packet service subscriber of a mobile communication network when the second subscriber profile is changed.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the subscriber profile storage unit 400 of FIG. 1 detects a change S201 of the second subscriber profile, the subscriber profile storage unit 400 updates the profile to the policy charging rule function unit 300 of FIG. 1. The message is transmitted (S203). Thereafter, steps S205 to S213 are the same as each step (steps S105 to S113) of FIG. 3.

Next, the packet gateway (200 of FIG. 1) performs a modification procedure of the PDP context session to apply the network policy execution performed in step S213 to the mobile terminal (100 of FIG. 1) (S215). As a result, call modification is performed so that the existing network policy is changed to the 'modified network policy'.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and improvements of those skilled in the art using the basic concepts of the present invention defined in the following claims are also provided. It belongs to the scope of rights.

1 is a block diagram of a policy-based network system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 illustrates a connection relationship between a detailed configuration and a detailed configuration of a policy based network system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a network policy management method according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a network policy management method according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (7)

In a policy-based network system that uses network policy to control data traffic, A profile storage unit for performing a subscriber profile update procedure when detecting a change in a previously stored subscriber profile; A rule function unit performing the subscriber profile update procedure with the profile storage unit at the request of the profile storage unit and changing the network policy of the subscriber based on the updated subscriber profile; And A packet gateway receiving the changed network policy from the rule function unit and reflecting it in the data packet service call of the subscriber. Policy-based network system comprising a. The method of claim 1, The profile storage unit, A first subscriber profile containing the subscriber information of the IP multimedia subsystem and a second subscriber profile containing the mobile subscriber information for the data packet service, wherein the second subscriber profile generates and manages the subscription information of the mobile subscriber. A subscriber profile DB for storing received from a wireless information management system; A determination unit for monitoring the subscriber profile DB to determine whether a change in a previously stored first subscriber profile or a second subscriber profile occurs; And When the determination unit confirms that the change has occurred, the generation unit for generating a newly defined profile update request message containing the changed subscriber profile and transmits it to the rule function unit Policy-based network system comprising a. The method of claim 2, The packet gateway, If the changed subscriber profile is the first subscriber profile, a signaling message according to IP access network bearer protocol protocol is generated or if the changed subscriber profile is the second subscriber profile, a packet data protocol context modification message is generated to correspond to each of them. Transmitting to a subscriber station a request to change an existing network policy to the changed network policy. In the network policy management method for data traffic control of a policy-based network system, (a) monitoring whether a previously stored subscriber profile has been changed; And (b) if a change in the stored subscriber profile occurs, reflecting the modified network policy on the subscriber's currently connected data packet service call based on the changed subscriber profile; Network policy management method comprising a. The method of claim 4, wherein In step (b), (Iii) sending a newly defined profile update request message to a rule function which creates and manages a network policy, the profile store which generates and stores the subscriber profile; (Ii) after the rule function unit sends a profile update response message to the profile manager, changing the network policy of the subscriber based on the changed subscriber profile obtained in step (iii); (I) the rule function unit transmitting, to the packet gateway, a newly defined policy rule modification preparation message containing the network policy changed in step (ii); And (Iii) modifying the data packet service call so that the network policy obtained in step (v) is reflected in the data packet service call after the packet gateway sends a policy rule modification preparation response message to the rule function unit. step Network policy management method comprising a. The method of claim 5, Before step (a), A first subscriber profile containing information of the subscriber of the IP multimedia subsystem and a second subscriber profile containing information of the mobile network subscriber for data packet services, wherein the second subscriber profile generates and manages information of the mobile network subscriber. Storing from a wireless information management system Network policy management method further comprising. The method of claim 6, In the step (iii), When the changed subscriber profile is the first subscriber profile as a result of the monitoring in step (a), a signaling message is generated according to an IP access network bearer protocol protocol, or when the changed subscriber profile is the second subscriber profile, a packet data protocol context Generating a modification message and transmitting each of them to a corresponding subscriber station to request a call modification reflecting the changed network policy.

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