MXPA99003461A - Method of handling service connections in a communication network - Google Patents

Abstract

The object of the invention is to enable a network operator to manage the increasing amount of traffic for accessing services offered by other networks without complicated enlargement of the exchange. To that end, the user connection required within the context of a service connection is established only when data occur and is deconstructed again when the data have been transmitted.

Description

PROCEDURE FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF SERVICE CONNECTIONS IN A COMMUNICATION NETWORK BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The great growth of Internet services and other special services is linked to a great growth of traffic in the area of access to services offered by other networks, for example, the Internet. With this, the capacity requirements of the communication centers that make up the access area to these networks are increased considerably. The aforementioned situation is further complicated because the current communication centers are not dimensioned for the conference lengths and the distributions of the absolute conference lengths that appear predominantly, for example, in the Internet traffic to the selection nodes of the bidders. of Internet services. Even for an Internet traffic that increases only lightly, therefore, additional applications of access are required for Internet users to expand the capacity of their communication centers, in order to maintain the communication traffic itself. with the necessary quality characteristics.

OBJECTIVES AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION The invention is based on the objective of making it possible for the users of the network to handle the increasing traffic of access to the selection nodes for special services, in particular for Internet services, without an expensive extension of communication centers. The aforementioned objective is achieved by the objects of claim 1 or 5. Up to now it is known (see the document Jay Tao et al., "Internet Access via Baseband and Broadband ISDN Gateways", Proceedings of the thirteenth Annual International Phoenix Conference on Computers and Communications, 12 - April 15, 1994, Phoenix USA, pp. 485-490), monitor in an Internet access device connected to a communication center, when an Internet connection is established, to perform, as far as possible Immediately, the elimination of communication (selection) in the communication network, established before for Internet connection. As a particularly simple variant of surveillance, surveillance over time is proposed, which inspects communication with the Internet regarding inactivity. The period examined in terms of inactivity, however, can not be selected too short, otherwise the problem arises that communication (selection) is eliminated, although the TCP connection has not yet been achieved. Therefore, up to now, an established selection connection is maintained throughout the time of the service connection with a special service provider, so that, even in phases of the connection without data transmission, a useful channel is used. find busy. In this way, the disadvantages described above for the operators of the communication centers arise, since the current communication centers are not dimensioned for the conference lengths and the distributions of the absolute conference lengths that appear predominantly, for example, in the Internet traffic to the selection nodes of Internet service providers. By means of the method according to the invention, the load of the communication centers is restricted by the access traffic to the special service, with which they should not be sized larger and / or enlarged by the operator. Another advantage of the invention consists in the possibility of controlling in a targeted manner the user fees for users in the access network. A further advantage of the invention consists in the possibility of offering features by the communication center in the pauses of the data transmission, through the then free useful channels and / or after finishing the burst data transmission, through of the useful channel still occupied, in the time that is available to the time interval already loaded to the user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An example of an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in more detail below with the aid of the drawing. Figure 1 shows a selection node, that is, a communication center, which links the Internet access network. The communication center contains an example of a communication system of the Siemens company, namely the EWSD communication system. This system is extended by an LTG-I Internet connection group, which, as in the present case, can also contain POP functions (POP server = point-of-presence-server), but that in any case it contains the POP server interface (for example, SUN company workstation computer), including the POP server, on the other hand, the PDH / SDH interface for the Internet. The end devices CPE (acronym in English for Customer Premises Equipment, "User Premises Equipment") connected to the communication center, in the example according to Figure 1 are also connected to a communication center that already constitutes the selection node to Internet . By introducing a special LTG-I service device (Internet LTG), which is connected as any normal LTG connection group to the SN coupling network of the communication center, but which includes special functions for Internet traffic , this is separated from the usual traffic and, thus, is controlled by a separate software. In this way you can avoid unwanted interactions with existing features of the communication center. In addition, in this way a strong increase in the complexity of the software in the communication center is avoided. Figure 2 shows the principle of the method according to the invention. The user of an Internet service establishes through the final device, through channel D, a connection to the POP of the Internet service provider. ISDN-B channels are not used. After establishing the connection and authentication, the user presents a requirement of certain contents or services to the service provider. The bandwidth of the D channel that is available is sufficient for these tasks. The POP of the service provider recognizes this requirement and prepares the data for transmission. Then, controlled by the POP, the connection of the B channel with the user is established and the required data are transmitted, for example, files or Home Pages. After transmission, the B-channel connection is maintained for the remainder of the already loaded rate interval and is eliminated before the next rate pulse or, alternatively, it is maintained for the duration of a predetermined interval. When the user processed the required data, for example, a required Home Page, a new requirement can be presented, which results in a new establishment and a new elimination of a B channel. To conclude the connection with the service provider of Internet, through channel D, a notice corresponding to the POP is sent, and then the D-channel connection is deleted. Figure 3 shows the beginning of the call flow for an Internet session for the case presented in Figure 1 , namely, the case of POP server connection (server of the Internet service provider) to the communication center of the subscriber connection (in the call flow shown, there is no use of the free B channels during the pauses of data transmission to offer information, such as , information about rates, otherwise, in Figure 3 the corresponding notices would be introduced). The course of an online Internet session is illustrated in more detail below, with the help of the call flow according to Figure 3. First, the Internet service requirement presented through the corresponding end device is recognized in the group constructive LTG connection and a connection is established through the signaling channel, independent of the useful connection that is established later (bearer independent). Channel D is used as a Uplink for signaling the user to the communication center. In this way, the establishment of the connection is carried out without occupying useful channels. Thus, the following advantages are obtained: - the load is limited by traffic of the communication center, a fixed assignment of signaling is not required, that is, the course of the notices and / or the sequence thereof is not prescribed, Installation notices (a possibly functional protocol of the owner) can be sent in any sequence through the D channel, - the times subject to communication, for example, for the selection and authentication process, can be charged / registered in a controlled way. different (for example, tariff exemption) than the times for the transmission of data itself, since there is the possibility of managing said traffic by means of separate software for Internet traffic. The data transmission times, in turn, can be charged differently than standard ISDN connections. After the connection establishment described above, for this a channel is established that is useful only for the data, namely, in the reverse direction (Downlink), that is, in the direction towards the subscriber. The reverse establishment of the useful channel is carried out by the POP server, in case it is not integrated in a communication center of the access network. In the other case, that is, when the POP server is integrated into a communication center, the aforementioned connection is carried out by it. After establishing a useful channel for the data and a burst transmission thereof, the useful channel connection is eliminated maintaining the bearer-independent signaling relationship between the subscriber's final apparatus of the communication center and the POP. Since useful channels are only used in case of data presence, that is, only temporarily, the following advantages are obtained: - in the case of bursty data traffic (for example, Internet traffic, voice traffic, traffic, etc.). data, fax traffic, electronic data exchange (Electronic Data Interchange)), the useful channels are only occupied for a short time, - there is the possibility of taking advantage of the free useful channels in the pauses of the transmission of data, to carry out characteristics of the communication center, eventually, for the transmission of information offered by the VST, such as, for example, information on tariffs, collection / controlled recording of the times of requirement of the access network for the transmission of data, since the charging of a useful connection depends on the duration in which the useful channels needed for this are in an active state. The aforementioned controlled charging constitutes a considerable competitive advantage for the operator of the access network in a situation of increasing competition with price wars to obtain customers. The charge is carried out and controlled as a rule by the call control (call control). Said control can be stopped, or interrupted with the release of the B channel, as well as restarting, or continue to reoccupy / activate the useful channels.

It is ideal in terms of cost savings for the end-user / subscriber that the burst data transmission occurs within a tariff interval, ie, for example, to conclude at the latest one second before an interval ends. of rate, so that it does not start the next one and, thus, when starting, no more fee units are charged. The above can be controlled directly by software, for example, by integrating the POP in the communication center. This method saves costs for all rates that are not based on a precision account of seconds, which, currently, is the majority of all collection procedures used in the world. An additional advantage of the method described above is the clear separation between times subject to the transmission technology for selection and authentication processes, times without channel B occupation but with D channel occupancy in an active connection, and times for occupations of useful channels, as the subscriber has no influence in particular on most of the times for the selection and authentication processes, and therefore, should not be charged in case of use as prescribed. The processing of Internet traffic through the special connection group LTG-I allows the management of Internet traffic through a separate software package. In this way, on the one hand, unwanted interactions with existing features of the communication center are avoided, and on the other, an exaggerated increase in the complexity of the software in the communication center. The functional protocol of channel D in its modalities is described below. The foregoing serves to understand the possibilities thereof, in particular, for the realization of the invention. The functional protocol includes a sequence of information functional elements (FAC-IE). A functional element of information, hereinafter also referred to as an installation information element, requires a certain measure of intelligent processing by a final device (customer premises equipment CPE) and the communication center with which the connection exists, to know, both in the generation of this type of information elements, as well as in the analysis of it. A sequence of this type of information elements serves to establish connections, that is, in the process described herein, purely signaling relations and, eventually, useful channel connections. For the functional signaling of the so-called supplementary services, two categories of procedures are defined. The first category, the so-called "separate warnings" category, uses separate warnings to indicate a desired function. The family of warnings "HOLD" and "RETRIEVE" belongs to this category. The second category, the so-called category of "common information elements", uses the so-called FAC-IE installation information elements for the signaling of supplementary services, however, only for the signaling of those supplementary services that do not require a synchronization of resources between user and network. For the specification of procedures for the control of remote operations (remote operations), the following terms are used, which are defined in the CCITT recommendation X.219: - remote operation - classes of operation - mechanism of transport per connection - mechanism of transport without connection supplementary service procedure related to bearer related supplementary service procedure supplementary service procedure independent of the useful connection (bearer independent supplementary service procedure).

Remote operation Procedures and components: The remote operation protocol for the handling of FAC-IEs includes the following procedures (means to send and receive information): - procedure INVOCATION - procedure RETURN_RESULT - procedure RETURN_ERROR - procedure REJECT All FAC-IEs required for feature processing are sent in an appropriate D-channel warning.

The aforementioned procedures are a minimum condition to establish and eliminate connections through the functional protocol. The INVOCATION procedure is used to initiate an operation that must be carried out by the other side. An operation is a part of a supplementary service, for example, a characteristic. The RETURN RESULT procedure is used to transmit the result of a successful operation (due to an INVOCATION procedure). The RETURN ERROR procedure is used to transmit the ERROR information of an unsuccessful operation. The REJECT procedure is used to reject or respond to the operation required by the INVOCATION procedure. Each of the procedures mentioned uses special (information) components. The components Invoke, Return Result, Return Error and Reject are transported in installation information elements, which, in turn, are sent in so-called basic call control notices or in separate installation notices, between the final device and the communication center, in order to establish or eliminate signaling relations and, eventually, connections of useful channels. Therefore, the INVOCATION procedure uses the INVOKE component; the RETURN RESULT procedure, the RETURN RESULT component; the RETURN ERROR procedure, the RETURN ERROR component and the REJECT procedure, the Reject component. The transport mechanism by connection requires the establishment of a data connection and a transport association between the one that requires the service and the one that provides it. The mechanism allows to initiate procedures of the second category, in which warnings of success and / or failure are required. The mechanism provides a call reference (cali reference) within the transport association, which is a means for the univocal connection of transport notices of a connection. In the connectionless transport mechanism there is no transport association, but only one transport message is transmitted respectively, a dummy value being used as a call reference. This mechanism allows the transfer of requirements of those operations, on whose result a report does not take place.

Supplementary procedures that depend on the useful connection This type of procedure is linked to procedures for basic call control (basic cali control) and an existing useful connection, which is in establishment or elimination. The call reference used by the basic call control procedure is adopted by the INVOCATION procedures that depend on a useful connection, to be correlated with the appropriate transaction of the basic call control. In this way, the assignment between the corresponding application in the final device and the respective program, or program status of the communication technology, is achieved.

Transport of the components (depending on the useful connection) Two categories are defined: 1. Point-to-point transport mechanism 2. Transport mechanism by transmission For the exchange of FAC-IEs, appropriate D-channel warnings are used. The transport procedures are linked to useful connections (establishment of the connection, active phase of the connection, elimination of the connection), which are identified by the call reference. Example: The FAC-IEs are transported in installation notices for the establishment and elimination of useful channel connections for the transmission of data bursts.

Supplementary service procedures independent of the useful connection This type of procedure is independent of the procedures for basic call control and is not correlated with a useful connection, that is, it is not correlated with a B channel. In this way, this type procedure is ideally suited to establish a signaling relationship independent of the useful channel and perform eventual selection and authentication processes without occupying an additional channel, for, only when data transmission is about to occur, occupy by switching to the type of procedure that depends on the useful connection, one or two useful channels to carry out the data transmission.

Transport of the components (independent of the useful connection) Four categories are defined: 1. Point-to-point, no connection 2. Transmission, no connection 3. Point-to-point connection, dependent on the connection 4. Transmission, dependent on the connection Offline network protocol uses the dummy call reference. The FAC-IE is transported in an installation notice. Next, an example of the method according to the invention is presented, which shows the interaction of the service procedure independent of the useful connection, with a method dependent on the useful connection. a) An Internet connection, which requires an authentication operation through channel D, starts with a service procedure independent of the connection, that is, without occupying channel B. This service procedure can be offline ( without defined signaling procedure) or depend on it. b) The aforementioned service procedure, for the phases of burst data transmission or for the request / reception of services linked to channel B, must be switched to a service procedure dependent on the connection useful to occupy a B channel , requiring a useful channel call / reference reference in an installation notice. Figure 4 shows the basic processing of an Internet requirement through the software of a communication center. The course of the information is carried out according to the principles illustrated in Figure 3. The end devices generate / analyze the functional protocol warnings for the requirement of D-channel connections, or the establishment of connections through B-channels. .

Function as Up-Link: After analysis of functional notices (unpacking the notices) by the functional analysis software of the LTG of the communication center, the Internet software is responsible for the evaluation of the information and its processing (among other things, also for the interaction with specific characteristics of the center Communication) .

Function as Down-Link: When removing B-channel connections, the Internet software takes over control of the connection. The translator of functional protocols takes charge of the management of warnings from the point of view of signaling technology.

Claims (5)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the above invention, it is considered as a novelty, and therefore, the content of the following is claimed as property: CLAIMS

1. A method for controlling connections in a communication network, characterized in that: a) through the requirement of a service by a subscriber of the communication network, a signaling connection related to the above is established between the subscriber and a device for accessing the service (LTG-I, POP server), b) exclusively with the presence of data for the service, a useful connection is additionally established connected to the signaling connection, between the access device to the service and the subscriber , and it is deleted again after the transmission of data.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the services are voice services and / or data services (e.g., Internet services).

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the service of the communication network is only charged for times in which, for the service, there is simultaneously a signaling connection and a useful connection.

4. A method according to claim 3, characterized in that the useful connection of a service in the communication network is not eliminated directly after concluding the transfer of data, but just before finishing the time already charged.

5. A device for accessing services of a communication system, which a) controls the connections in a communication network, to support access to a service through the communication network, characterized in that b) through the request of a service by a subscriber of the communication network, the establishment of a signaling connection related to the service between the subscriber and the access device to the service (LTG-I, POP server), b) is carried out The establishment of a useful connection linked to the signaling connection between the service access device and the subscriber is carried out exclusively with the presence of data and, once the data is transmitted again, its elimination.