WO2005101734A1

WO2005101734A1 - A method for achieving packet data service charging and service data flow access control

Info

Publication number: WO2005101734A1
Application number: PCT/CN2005/000519
Authority: WO
Inventors: Xiaoqin Duan; Wenlin Zhang; Yajuan Wu
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2004-04-16
Filing date: 2005-04-18
Publication date: 2005-10-27
Also published as: CN100546248C; CN1684420A

Abstract

A method for achieving packet data service charging includes: when a bearer is established, TPF requests charging rules; provided with the charging rules, TPF creates the said charging rules; provided with the charging rules input information, CRF selects the charging rules. The invention also discloses a method for achieving packet data service charging. It includes: provided with the input information of the charging rules, CRF stores the input information of the said charging rules; when a bearer is established, TPF requests charging rules; provided with the charging rules, TPF creates the said charging rules. Further, in the method of service data flow access control disclosed by the invention, before TPF applying new charging rules, AF doesn't permit the access of service data flow, that is, it doesn't permit UE to use new service, or TPF rejects the corresponding bearer when there is no charging rules that can be applied to bearer. According to the above methods, the implementing process of packet data service charging is clear and specific, and the statistics of the charging information become more reasonable and accurate.

Description

Method for realizing packet data service charging and service data flow access control Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of packet data, and particularly to a method for implementing packet data service charging and service data flow access control. Background of the invention

With the gradual application of packet data services, how to accurately and reasonably charge packet data services has become a common concern of operators.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of activating, transmitting, and deactivating a packet data protocol context (PDP Context, Packet Data Protocol Context). As shown in FIG. 1, in a general packet radio service (GPRS, General Packet Radio Service), the PDP Context is activated The implementation process of transmitting data and deactivating includes the following steps:

Step 101: A user equipment (UE) sends a PDP Context activation request (Activate PDP Context Request) to a serving general packet radio service support node (SGSN, Serving GPRS Support Node), where the Activate PDP Context Request carries a network layer service access identifier ( NSAPI, Network Layer Service Access Point Identifier), PDP type, access point name (APN, Access Point Name), required quality of service (QoS) parameters, transaction identifier (TI, Transaction Identifier) and other information, where NSAPI is in the SGSN And a gateway general packet radio service support node (GGSN, Gateway GPRS Support Node) as a component of a tunnel identifier (TEID, Tunnel Identifier), which is used to identify the PDP context; the PDP type includes an end-to-end protocol (PPP, Peer-Peer Protocol) type, Internet Protocol (IP, Internet Protocol) type, etc .; APN can be provided by the UE to the SGSN. The SGSN addresses the corresponding GGSN according to the APN. The GGSN determines the external network that the UE wants to access according to the APN. The UE may also not provide the APN to the SGSN. , at this time, The SGSN selects the default APN according to the subscription information of the UE; the QoS parameter is the quality requirement for the packet data service specified by the UE; TI is used by the UE to identify a PDP contexte Step 102: After receiving the Activate PDP Context Request, the SGSN communicates with the UE Perform security check and encryption. This step is optional.

Step 103: The SGSN parses the GGSN address information according to the APN. If the SGSN can parse the GGSN address information according to the APN, a TEID is created for the PDP Context. The TEI may be a combination of an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and an NSAPI. For uniquely identifying a PDP Context between the SGSN and the GGSN, and then the SGSN sends a PDP Context creation request (Create PDP Context Request) to the GGSN, where the Create PDP Context Request carries a PDP type, PDP address, APN, QoS parameters, TEID, selection mode, etc., where the PDP address is the UE ’s IP address and is an optional parameter. The Create PDP Context Request may not carry the PDP address. At this time, the GGSN may assign an IP address to the UE during subsequent processing. The packet data network (PDN, Packet Data Network) that finally establishes a connection with the UE may assign an IP address to the UE; the selection mode refers to the selection mode of the APN, that is, whether the APN is selected by the UE or the SGSN. If the SGSN cannot resolve the address information of the GGSN according to the APN, the SGSN rejects the PDP context activation request initiated by the UE.

Step 104: After receiving the Create PDP Context Request, the GGSN determines an external PDN according to the APN, and then allocates a charging ID, starts charging, and negotiates QoS parameters, such as. If the GGSN can meet the quality of service requirements of the QoS parameters, a PDP Context creation response (Create PDP Context Response) is returned to the SGSN. The Create PDP Context Response carries the TEID, PDP address, link bearer (Backbone Bearer) protocol, and QoS parameters. , Charging ID, etc. If the GGSN cannot meet the quality of service requirements of the QoS parameters, the GGSN rejects the PDP Context creation request initiated by the SGSN, and then the SGSN rejects the PDP Context activation request initiated by the UE. Step 105: After receiving the Create PDP Context Response, the SGSN inserts the NSAPI and GGSN address information into the PDP Context to identify the PDP Context, selects the wireless priority according to the QoS parameters, and then returns a PDP Context activation response to the UE (Activate PDP Context Accept), the Activate PDP Context Accept carries information such as the PDP type, PDP address, TI, QoS parameters, wireless priority, and PDP configuration options, and the SGSN starts charging. After receiving the Activate PDP Context Accept, the UE establishes a route with the GGSN. At this time, the UE establishes a transmission channel with the PDN, and can perform data transmission.

Step 106: The UE performs data transmission through the SGSN, the GGSN, and the PDN.

Step 107: After the data transmission is completed, the UE sends a PDP Context deactivation request (Deactivate PDP Context Request) to the SGSN, and the Deactivate PDP Context Request carries TI.

Step 108: After receiving the Deactivate PDP Context Request, the SGSN performs security check and encryption with the UE. This step is optional.

Steps 109 to 111: The SGSN sends a PDP Context delete request (Delete PDP Context Request) to the GGSN, and the Delete PDP Context Request carries a TEID. After receiving the Delete PDP Context Request, the GGSN ends the charging to the UE, deletes the PDP Context corresponding to the TEID, and then sends a PDP Context Delete Response (Delete PDP Context Response) to the SGSN. The Delete PDP Context Response carries the TEID. After receiving the Delete PDP Context Response, the SGSN ends the charging to the UE, deletes the PDP Context corresponding to the TEID, and then sends the PDP Context to the UE to deactivate the ^P response (Deactivate PDP Context Response), which is carried in the Deactivate PDP Context Response TI. After receiving the Deactivate PDP Context Response, the UE deletes the PDP Context corresponding to the TI.

It can be seen from the process described in FIG. 1 that in the current GPRS charging system, The start point is set when the PDP Context is activated, and the end point of the billing is set when the PDP Context is deleted. Therefore, charging can only be based on the data traffic transmitted by the PDP Context, or based on how long the PDP Context is active. However, in actual applications, after the UE establishes a transmission channel with the PDN, the UE can perform various services based on an activated PDP Context, such as email sending and receiving services, and based on wireless application protocols (WAP, Wireless Application Protocol). Services such as browsing services, file transfer protocols based on FTP (File Transfer Protocol), that is, if a PDN can provide multiple services, after the UE establishes a transmission channel with the PDN, it can be carried by an activated PDP Context Various services that this PDN can provide. However, operators are likely to use different charging methods for various business charging models. For example, for email sending and receiving services, pay-per-use charging based on email receiving and sending events can be triggered. For WAP browsing services, charging can be based on flow metering. Although the file transfer service can also be charged according to the flow rate, the rate of the WAP browsing service and the file transfer service are different. In this way, according to the existing GPRS charging system, it is impossible to differentiate charging for different services carried by the same PDP Context at all.

In view of the above, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP, The 3rd Generation Partnership Project) is currently discussing how to implement FBC (Flow Based Charging). For a packet data service, when the UE uses the service, all IP data flows (IP Flows) transmitted and received may also be IP packet packets, which are collectively referred to as Service Data Flows, That is, the service data stream is a collection of multiple IP data streams, so the charging based on the IP data stream can truly reflect the occupation of resources by a certain service data stream.

IP data stream-based charging can be considered as filtering IP data streams of different services carried in the same PDP Context through some similar filters, and then charging separately for IP data streams filtered by different filters In order to achieve the purpose of charging different IP data streams separately. In this way, the granularity of charging based on IP data flows is much smaller than The granularity of charging for each PDP Context can be regarded as the size of the sieve hole. The granularity of charging based on a PDP Context is that a PDP Context is a sieve hole, while the charging granularity based on IP data flow is an IP service data. The flow is a sieve hole, that is, a PDP Context contains multiple sieve holes. Therefore, compared with the charging based on one PDP context, the charging based on IP data flow can be Operators or service providers provide more abundant billing methods.

3GPP describes the FBC system structure, functional requirements, and message interaction processes. The FBC system structure that supports online charging is shown in Figure 2A. Customized applications based on mobile network enhanced logic (CAMEL, Customised Application for Mobile Network Enhanced Logic) service control point (SCP, Service Control Point) 201 and IP data flow based credit control function entity (CCF, Service Data Flow Based Credit Control Function) 202 form an online charging system (OCS, Online Charging System) 206. CCF 202 is connected to a charging data function charging entity (CRF, Service Data Flow Based Charging Rule Function) 203 through an Ry interface, and CRF 203 is connected to an application function entity (AF, Application Function) 204 through an Rx interface. The CRF 203 is connected to a transmission plane function entity (TPF, Traffic Plane Function) 205 through a Gx interface, and the CCF 202 is connected to the TPF 205 through a Gy interface.

The structure of the FBC system supporting offline charging is shown in Figure 2B. CRF 203 is connected to AF 204 through the Rx interface, CRF 203 is connected to TPF 205 through the Gx interface, and TPF 205 is connected to the charging gateway functional entity (CGF, Charging) through the Gz interface. The Gateway Function 207 is connected to a Charging Collection Function (CCF) 208.

According to the current 3GPP's division of FBC function entities, TPF 205 carries IP data streams. When the IP data stream bearer is established, TPF 205 sends a charging rule request to CRF 203 through the Gx interface. The charging rule request carries the UE. Related information, bearer characteristics, and network-related information, etc., where the related information of the UE may be a mobile station integrated service server Service Network International Number (MSISDN), International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), etc., the network related information may be Mobile Network Code (MNC), Mobile Country Code (MCC), etc. In addition, during the IP data stream transmission process, the bearer is modified. For example, the QoS parameters are renegotiated. The UE uses the same service. If the QoS parameters are different, the charging rules may also be different. The rate has also fallen. At this time, the TPF 205 may resend the charging rule request to the CRF 203 when the bearer is modified, requesting a new charging rule; the CRF 203 selects an appropriate charging rule according to the input information provided by the TPF 205, and returns to the TPF 205 The selected charging rule, which includes information such as a charging mechanism, a charging type, a charging key, an IP data stream filter, and a charging rule priority. The charging mechanism can be online charging or offline charging. The charging type can be based on time length or data traffic. The charging key is a parameter related to the charging rate. CRF 203 The charging rate may not be provided directly to the TPF 205, but only the parameters related to the charging rate may be provided to the TPF 205; the IP data stream filter is used to indicate which IP data streams are filtered by the TPF 205, and then the TPF 205 according to the charging rules Accounting for filtered IP data flows. The IP data stream filter may include an IP5 tuple. The IP5 tuple may include information such as source / destination IP address, source / destination port number (Port Number), and protocol ID (Protocol ID). For example, CRF 203 instructs TPF 205 to The source IP address is 10.0.0.1, the destination address is 10.0.0.2, the source / destination port number is 20, and the protocol type is Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). The IP data stream is filtered, and the filtered IP data stream is filtered according to the charging rules. Perform billing. Finally, when the bearer is deleted, the TPF 205 may also send a charging rule request to the CRF 203, asking the CRF to provide a new charging rule. At this time, the CRF 203 may request the TPF 205 to delete the previously established charging rule.

In addition, in addition to the CRF 203 determining the charging rules based on the input information of the TPF 205, the CRF 203 can also determine the charging rules based on the input information of the AF 204 or OCS 206. For example, the AF 204 notifies the CRF 203 of the type of service currently used by the UE, and the CRF 203 Select the corresponding charging rule according to the service type. Corresponding to the GPRS network, TPF 205 is GGSN, AF is a service gateway or service server in PDN, and CRF 203 is a newly added logical entity. TPF 205 is the execution point of the charging rules, and CRF 203 is the control point of the charging rules.

FIG. 3A is a flowchart of issuing a charging rule when a bearer is established. As shown in FIG. 3A, the implementation process of issuing a charging rule when a bearer is established includes the following steps:

Step 301 A: The UE sends a Establish Bearer Service Request to the TPF. In the GPRS network, the GGSN receives the Create PDP Context Request step. 302A: After the TPF receives the bearer establishment request, it sends a charging rule to the CRF Request (Request Charging Rules), The charging rule request carries input information for the CRF to determine the charging rules.

Steps 303 to 304: After receiving the charging rule request, the CRF selects a charging rule according to the input information carried in the charging rule request, and then returns a provision charging rule (Provision Charging Rules) message to the TPF to provide charging. The rules can carry selected charging rules.

Steps 305A to 306A: After the TPF receives the message providing a charging rule, it establishes a new charging rule according to the charging rule selected by the CRF, or deletes the original charging rule, or deletes the original charging rule. At the same time, a new charging rule is established, and then a bearer establishment response (Establish Bearer Service Accept) is returned to the UE, a bearer establishment request initiated by the UE is accepted, and the subsequent bearer establishment process is continued.

FIG. 3B is a flowchart of issuing a charging rule when the bearer is modified. As shown in FIG. 3B, the implementation process of issuing a charging rule when the bearer is modified includes the following steps:

Step 301B: The UE sends a bearer modification request (Modify Bearer Service Request) to the TPF. In a GPRS network, the GGSN receives a PDP Context update request (Update PDP Context Request).

Step 302B: After receiving the bearer modification request, the TPF sends a charging rule request to the CRF. The charging rule request carries input information for the CRF to determine the charging rule.

Steps 303B to 304B: After receiving the charging rule request, the CRF selects a charging rule according to the input information carried in the charging rule request, and then returns to the TPF a message providing the i † fee rule. Carry the selected charging rules.

Steps 305B to 306B: After the TPF receives the charging rule provisioning message, it establishes a new charging rule according to the charging rule selected by the CRF, or deletes the original charging rule, or deletes the original charging rule. At the same time, a new charging rule is established, and then a bearer modification response (Modify Bearer Service Accept) is returned to the UE, a bearer modification request initiated by the UE is accepted, and the subsequent bearer modification process is continued.

FIG. 3C is a flowchart of issuing a charging rule when a bearer is deleted. As shown in FIG. 3A, the implementation process of issuing a charging rule when a bearer is deleted includes the following steps:

Step 301C: The UE sends a Bearer Delete Request (Remove Bearer Service Request) to the TPF. In the GPRS network, the GGSN receives the Delete PDP Context Requests. Step 302C: After the TPF receives the bearer delete request, it sends a charging rule request to the CRF. The charging rule request carries input information for the CRF to determine the charging rule.

Steps 303C to 304C: After the CRF receives the charging rule request, it selects a charging rule according to the input information carried in the charging rule request, and then returns a charging rule providing message to the TPF. Can carry selected billing rules.

Step 3050: Step 306C: After receiving the provision of the charging rule message, the TPF establishes a new charging rule according to the charging rule selected by the CRF, or deletes the original charging rule, or deletes the original charging rule. At the same time, a new charging rule is established, and then a bearer deletion response (Remove Bearer Service Accept) is returned to the UE, a bearer deletion request initiated by the UE is accepted, and a subsequent bearer deletion process is continued.

In addition, the CRF may also actively send charging rules to the TPF. For example, when the UE and the AF perform service data transmission, the CRF receives the AF charging rule input information according to the information. The charging rule input information provided by the AF selects an appropriate charging rule, and then actively sends the selected charging rule to the TPF. The specific implementation process for the AF to provide charging rule input information to the CRF is shown in Figure 4:

Step 401: The AF sends application / service charging related information (Send Application / Service Data Flow Charging Information) to the CRF.

Step 402: After receiving the application / service charging related information, the CRF returns a response (Ack) to the AF to notify the AF that it has received the charging rule input information sent by it.

Figure 5 is a flowchart of CRF proactively issuing charging rules to TPF. As shown in Figure 5, the implementation process of CRF proactively issuing charging rules to TPF includes the following steps:

Step 501: The CRF receives an internal or external trigger event (Internal or External Trigger Event), and information related to the event, such as an event in which the AF sends charging rule input information to the CRF.

Step 502: The CRF selects a corresponding charging rule according to the obtained information. This information may be input information for the charging rules provided by the AF. For example, when a UE uses a service provided by the AF, the service has special requirements for charging. For example, the charging rate is different from the charging rates of other services. Therefore, The AF provides the CRF with charging information related to the service; it can also enter information for the charging rules provided by the TPF.

Step 503: If necessary, the CRF sends a provisioning charging rule message to the TPF, where the provisioning charging rule message may carry the selected accounting rule.

Step 504: After the TPF receives the provision of the charging rule message, a new charging rule is established according to the charging rule selected by the CRF, or the original charging rule is deleted, or the original charging rule is deleted and established at the same time. New billing rules.

Although the current interaction procedures between TPF and CRF and between AF and CRF are defined in the 3GPP specifications, the usage relationship between the interaction procedures is not described. For the specific packet data service used by the UE, the 3GPP specification does not advance the implementation of the entire business process. The line definition does not mention how to trigger each interactive process, which makes the entire business process in the 3GPP specification very unclear, resulting in great uncertainty in the specific packet data service charging implementation process.

In addition, in the existing 3GPP specifications, the AF will provide the CRF with input information for selecting a charging rule when a special event occurs. At this time, because the service data flow interaction between the UE and the AF is still ongoing, the CRF is issued to the TPF. Before the new charging rule, some service data flows still use the original charging rule for charging, but cannot be applied to the new charging rule, so that the charging rule cannot accurately count the business data traffic of an application / service , Resulting in inaccurate billing. Summary of the invention

In view of this, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for implementing packet data service charging, so that the charging data packet service implementation process is clear and unambiguous.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a method for controlling access to a service data flow. Before the TPF applies a new charging rule, the AF does not allow access to the service data flow, that is, the UE is not allowed to use the new Services, or when a certain bearer has no charging rules, TPF refuses to establish / terminate the corresponding bearer, making the charging information statistics of the packet data service more reasonable and accurate.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for implementing packet data service charging. The method includes the following steps:

A. When the bearer is established, the transmission plane functional entity TPF requests a charging rule.

B. Provide charging rule information to the TPF, and the TPF establishes a charging rule corresponding to the charging rule information.

C. Provide charging rule input information to the charging rule function entity CRF, and the CRF selects the charging rule.

When the bearer is established, the TPF requests the charging rules described in step A from the CRF; step B The charging rule information described in is provided by the CRF to the TPF.

Before step A, the method further includes: configuring a charging rule including a charging rule identifier in the TPF '.

The step B is: providing a charging rule identifier to the TPF, and the TPF selects and starts a charging rule corresponding to the charging rule identifier.

After step C, the method further includes step D1: The CRF provides the selected charging rule information to the TPF, and the TPF establishes a charging rule corresponding to the charging rule information.

Before step D1, the method further includes: The CRF determines whether the currently selected charging rule is consistent with the original charging rule. If they are not consistent, step D1 is performed.

If a charging rule including a charging rule identifier is configured in the TPF, the step D1 is: the CRF provides the selected charging rule identifier to the TPF, and the TPF starts a charging rule corresponding to the charging rule identifier.

The step C is: the application function entity AF or the online charging system OCS provides charging rule input information to the CRF, and the CRF selects the charging rule according to the received charging rule input information.

The AF performs step C before allowing the UE to use the packet data service.

After step C, the method further includes step D2: the CRF returns a response to the AF or the OCS. The response described in step D2 carries the charging rules selected by the CRF.

The present invention also provides a method for implementing packet data service charging, which includes the following steps:

a. Provide charging rule input information to the CRF, and the CRF stores the charging rule input letter. b. When the bearer is established, the TPF requests the charging rule from the CRF.

c. The CRF provides the charging rule information to the TPF according to the charging rule input information described in step a, and the TPF establishes a charging rule corresponding to the charging rule information. The charging rule input information described in step a is provided by the AF or OCS to the CRF. Before step b, the method further includes: configuring a charging rule including a charging rule identifier in the TPF; the step b further includes: providing, by the TPF, the established bearer information to the CRF.

The step c is: the CRF inputs information according to the charging rule described in the step a and the bearer information provided by the TPF in step b, and provides the TPF with a charging rule identifier, and the TPF selects and starts corresponding to the charging rule. The charging rule identified by the charging rule.

The present invention also provides a method for access control of a service data flow, and the method includes the following steps:

E. Send the charging rule input information for selecting the charging rule, and receive the charging rule input information response;

F.. Allow the UE to access applications / services.

The charging rule input information in step E is sent by the AF, and the charging rule input information response is received by the AF; the step F is: the AF allows the UE to access applications / services.

The charging rule input information in step E is sent by the AF to the CRF, and the charging rule input information response is sent by the CRF to the AF and received by the AF.

Before step E, the method further includes: sending, by the UE, an access application / service request.

The present invention also provides a method for access control of service data flow. The method includes step G: the TPF determines whether an existing charging rule can be applied to the bearer, and if so, the TPF accepts the bearer; otherwise, the TPF rejects The bearer.

The TPF receives a bearer establishment request sent by the UE, and the step G is: the TPF determines whether an existing charging rule can be applied to the bearer being established, and if so, accepts the bearer establishment request, and if not, rejects the bearer establishment request Bearer establishment request.

When the TPF receives a bearer modification request sent by the UE, or the TPF receives a charging rule actively provided / modified by the CRF, the step G is: the TPF determines whether there are still charging rules applied to the If there is an established bearer, the bearer modification request is accepted, or the charging rule provided / delivered by CRF is applied to the bearer, otherwise, the bearer is terminated.

After the TPF determines that there are still charging rules applied to the established bearer, the method further includes: The TPF determines whether each service data stream of the bearer can be filtered out by the charging rule, and if yes, accepts the bearer Modify the request, or apply the charging rules provided / delivered by the CRF to the bearer; otherwise, terminate the bearer.

According to the method proposed by the present invention, the implementation process of FBC is integrated into the process of UE using services. When the bearer is established, TPF requests charging rules from CRF, CRF provides general charging rules to TPF, and TPF establishes corresponding charging. As a rule, the UE performs data transmission through a data transmission path established between the UE and the AF. The TPF collects IP data flows according to the established general charging rules, and collects charging information. When the UE requests to use the application / service on the AF, the AF provides the application / service-related charging rule input information to the CRF, the CRF selects a new charging rule and sends it to the TPF, and the TPF establishes application / service-related charging rule. In this way, when the AF does not provide the application / service-related charging rule input information to the CRF, the TPF adopts general charging rules to collect the charging information, which is applicable to some applications / services without special charging requirements; When CRF provides application / service-related charging rule input information, CRF selects appropriate application / service-related charging rules. TPF uses this charging rule to collect charging information, which is applicable to some special requirements for charging Applications / services, so that different applications / services can use the FBC framework defined by the specification to implement packet data service-based charging, which embodies the process of combining the FBC framework and services, thereby enabling charging of packet data services The implementation process is clearer and clearer.

In addition, in the service data flow access control method provided by the present invention, before the TPF applies a new charging rule, the AP does not allow access to the service data flow, that is, the UE is not allowed to use the new service, or there is no charging. When the rule can be applied to the bearer, the TPF rejects the corresponding bearer, which makes the charging information statistics of the packet data service more reasonable and accurate. Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a flowchart of PDP Context activation, data transmission, and deactivation;

FIG. 2A is a schematic structural diagram of an FBC system for online charging;

FIG. 2B is a schematic structural diagram of an FBC system for offline charging;

FIG. 3A is a flowchart of issuing a charging rule when a bearer is established;

FIG. 3B is a flowchart of issuing a charging rule when a bearer is modified;

FIG. 3C is a flowchart of issuing a charging rule when a bearer is deleted;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the charging rule input information provided by the AF to the CRF;

Figure 5 is a flowchart of CRF proactively issuing charging rules to TPF;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of charging for a packet data service in the present invention. Mode of Carrying Out the Invention

The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

In the present invention, the implementation process of the FBC is integrated into the process of the UE using the service, so that the method proposed by the present invention can be applied to different applications / services, and the implementation process of combining the FBC framework and the service is embodied.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of packet data service charging in the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, when the UE initiates bearer establishment and performs packet data transmission, the implementation process of packet data service charging includes the following steps:

Step 601: The UE sends a bearer establishment request to the TPF. In the GPRS network, the GGSN receives the Create PDP Context Request.

Step 602: After receiving the bearer establishment request, the TPF sends a charging rule request to the CRF, where the charging rule request carries input information for the CRF to determine the charging rule, such as related information of the UE, bearer characteristics, and network-related Information, UE-related information may be MSISDN, IMSI, etc., and bearer characteristics may be QoS parameters of packet data services, network-related information It can be MNC, MCC, etc.

Steps 603 to 604: After receiving the charging rule request, the CRF selects an appropriate charging rule according to the input information carried in the charging rule request, and then returns a charging rule providing message to the TPF. The charging rule providing message is available To provide the selected charging rule to the TPF; or to provide the TPF with the required charging rule indication information, if the TPF is required to use a pre-configured charging rule, the provision of the charging rule message carries a pre-configured Charging rule identification. Or the charging rule providing message does not carry any content, but only serves as a response to the charging rule request. TPF selects a pre-configured charging rule according to the set default item.

Step 605: After the TPF receives the charging rule provisioning message, based on the content carried in the charging rule provisioning message, a new charging rule is established, or the original charging rule is deleted, or the original charging rule is deleted. At the same time, a new charging rule is established. At this time, the TPF can also start a pre-configured charging rule or start a preset default charging rule according to the charging rule identifier carried in the charging rule message. The flow is collected, and accounting information is collected.

Step 606: The TPF returns a bearer establishment response to the UE, accepts the bearer establishment request initiated by the UE, and continues the subsequent bearer establishment process.

Step 607: After the bearer is successfully established, a data transmission path is established between the UE and the AF. The UE's UE uses one or more applications / services on the AF to perform data transmission through the data transmission path, and the TPF sends IP to the IP according to the established charging rules. Data streams are collected and billing information is collected. Step 608: When the AF determines that special charging is needed for the application / service used by the UE, before the AF allows the UE to use the application / service, the CRF is provided with charging rule input information for determining the charging rule, such as service identification information, UE identification information, filter information indicating service data flow, and the like.

Step 609: After receiving the charging rule input information, the CRF selects an appropriate charging rule based on the obtained information and determines whether the charging rule has changed. If so, steps 610 to 612 are performed; otherwise, step 610 is performed only. When CRF chooses the charging rules, The obtained information may be the charging rule input information provided by the AF, or a combination of the charging rule input information provided by the AF and the input information provided by the previous TPF.

Step 610: The CRF returns a response (Acknowledgment) to the AF, informing the AF that it has received the charging rule input information sent by the AF, and the response may carry whether the charging rule has been changed. Identification, if the charging rule changes, the response It may further carry new charging rules. After the AF receives a successful response, the UE is allowed to use the corresponding application / service. If the response sent by the CRF to the AF carries an identifier of whether the charging rule has changed, it indicates that the response is a successful response; otherwise, the response is a failure response, and the error cause value may be carried in the response.

Step 611: The CR sends an accounting rule provision message to the TPF, and the accounting rule provision message can be used to provide the selected accounting rule to the TPF; or to provide the TPF with the required accounting rule indication information, such as requiring the TPF to use For a pre-configured charging rule, the provisioning charging rule message carries a pre-configured charging rule identifier.

Step 612: After the TPF receives the charging rule provisioning message, it establishes a new charging rule according to the content carried in the charging rule providing message, or deletes the original charging rule, or deletes the original charging rule. At the same time, a new charging rule is established. At this time, the TPF can also start a pre-configured charging rule according to the charging rule identifier carried in the charging rule message provided, and then collect IP data streams to collect accounting information.

The execution order of steps 610 and 611 may be reversed, or may be performed simultaneously.

In the subsequent process, the UE uses the service. When some charging-related events are triggered, steps 608 to 612 may be performed multiple times. In addition, when the bearer changes or the bearer is terminated, the TPF may request the CRF to issue a new Billing rules.

According to the foregoing description of FIG. 6, it can be seen that the present invention organically combines the existing FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. 5, and clearly describes the execution relationship between the separate processes in the prior art, so that grouping The charging process of data services is more clear and clear.

Here, the access control method for the service data flow in the above description is implemented at the service layer Corresponding control, after the AF provides input information to the CRF, determines whether to allow access to the service data stream according to whether a successful response sent by the CRP is received, that is, determines whether to allow the UE. The services in the AF are used to implement the UE Control of service access.

In addition, the access control method can also implement corresponding control at the bearer layer, that is, the TPF first determines whether a bearer is being established. If the bearer is being established, that is, when the TPF receives a bearer establishment request sent by the UE, the TPF continues to determine whether there is a plan. The fee rule can be applied to the bearer being established. If there is, the corresponding bearer establishment request is accepted; if not, the corresponding bearer establishment request is rejected; if the bearer is not established, the bearer already exists. When the TPF receives the When a bearer modification request is received, or when the TPF receives a charging rule actively provided / modified by the CRF, the TPF continues to determine whether there are still charging rules applied to the established bearer, and if so, accepts the corresponding bearer modification request, or The charging rules provided / delivered by the CRF are applied to the bearer; otherwise, the corresponding bearer is terminated and a bearer termination process is initiated. Here, when the TPF determines that there are still charging rules applied to the established bearer, it can further determine whether each service data flow of the bearer can be filtered out by an existing charging rule, and the existing charging rule Including dynamic charging rules and static pre-configured universal charging rules. If the service data of a bearer can be filtered out by the existing charging rules, the TPF accepts the corresponding bearer; if the service data flow of a bearer cannot be filtered Existing charging rules filter out. In order to avoid missing charging for these service data flows, the TPF can terminate the corresponding bearer.

The access control of the service data flow based on the service layer and the access control of the service data flow based on the bearer layer can be implemented separately or simultaneously in the network according to the needs of the operator.

In the following, a specific application is taken as an example to further describe the implementation process of the present invention.

Table 1 shows the general charging rule information configured in the TPF, where DNS is the domain name server and UDP is the user datagram protocol.

Example one

Corresponding to the packet data service charging implementation flow of FIG. 6, the packet data service charging implementation process of this embodiment includes the following steps:

Step 601A: The UE sends a bearer establishment request to the TPF. In the GPRS network, the GGSN receives the Create PDP Context Request.

Step 602A: After receiving the bearer establishment request, the TPF sends a charging rule request to the CRF, where the charging rule request carries input information for the CRF to determine the charging rule, such as related information of the UE, bearer characteristics, and network-related Information, UE-related information may be MSISDN, IMSI, etc., bearer characteristics may be QoS parameters of packet data services, and network-related information may be MNC, MCC, etc.

Step 603 A: After receiving the charging rule request, the CRF selects an appropriate charging rule according to the input information carried in the charging rule request. As in this embodiment, according to the MSISDN of the UE, determining that the UE is a group user, that is, the user UE belongs to a certain group. According to the operator's billing policy, all packet data services used by the group need to be given preferential treatment. According to the lower billing, The charging rate is used for charging. Therefore, the CRF selects a charging rule whose charging identifier is CR10 for the packet data services used by the group of users. The information included in the configuration charging rule CR10 is as follows: charging identifier CR10, source address Wildcarding, destination address wildcarding, source port wildcarding, destination port wildcarding, protocol identification wildcarding, accounting mode is based on traffic accounting, accounting mode is offline accounting, accounting key is KeylO, priority is 4 .

Step 604A: The CRF returns a charging rule message to the TPF, where the charging rule message carries a charging rule CR10, and the charging rule message may further carry a charging rule identifier CR0, which instructs the TPF to start a pre-configured Charging rule CR0.

Step 605A: After the TPF receives the provided charging rule, it establishes a new charging rule CR10 according to the content carried in the provided charging rule message, and simultaneously starts the pre-configured charging rule CR0, due to the priority of the charging rule CR10 The priority is lower than the charging rule CR0. Therefore, the IP data flow filters of the charging rules CR0 and CR10 are used in order to filter the IP data flows to realize the collection of the IP data flows and to collect the charging information.

Step 606A: The TPF returns a bearer establishment response to the UE, accepts the bearer establishment request initiated by the UE, and continues the subsequent bearer establishment process.

Step 607A: After the bearer is successfully established, a data transmission path is established between the UE and the AF. The group user of the UE uses one or more applications / services on the AI ^ to perform data transmission through the data transmission path. The group user passes the WAP's WAP Website browsing news. Because AF has no special billing requirements for browsing news via WAP website, AF does not provide charging rules input information to CRF, but directly allows UE to browse news. TPF according to charging rules CR0 and CR10 for IP data. To collect flow statistics and collect billing information. When the group user needs to browse the stock market information through the WAP website of AF, step 608A to step 612A are performed.

Step 608A: According to the AF's charging policy, the charging rate for the UE to browse the stock market information through the WAP website is higher than the charging rate for the ordinary WAP browsing service, and the IP data stream for browsing the stock market information of the UE needs to be filtered. Therefore, Before AF allowed the UE to browse stock market information, Provide the CRF with charging rule input information for determining the charging rules, such as the service type used by the UE is WAP stock market information browsing, the charging rate is doubled, the UE's IP address, AF IP address, and general resources for stock market information browsing Location (URL (wap.AF.com/gushi)), etc. Step 609A: After receiving the charging rule input information, the CRF receives the UE as a group user, and the service type used by the UE is WAP stock market information browsing service, billing For information such as rate doubling, select the charging rule whose charging rule identifier is CR20 to charge the stock market information browsed by the group users. Configure the charging rule CR20 to include the following information: charging identifier CR20, source address is AF IP address, the destination address is the IP address of the group user, the source port is wildcarded, the destination port is 80, the protocol identifier is WAP, the URL of the stock market information browsing (wap.AF.com/gushi), and the billing mode is based on traffic metering , The charging method is offline charging, the charging key is Key20, and the priority is 3.

Step 610A: The CRF returns a response to the AF, informing the AF that it has received the charging rule input information sent by the AF. The response may carry the charging rule identifier CR20, and may further carry the specific configuration in the new charging rule CR20. information. After AF received the response, it allowed group users to use the WAP website to browse stock market information.

Step 611A: The CRF sends a charging rule providing message to the TPF, and the charging rule providing message carries a charging rule CR20.

Step 612A: After receiving the charging rule provisioning message, the TPF establishes a new charging rule CR20 according to the content carried in the charging rule provisioning message. Because the charging rules CR20, CR10, and CRO have a priority from high to low, CRO, CR20, and CR10. Therefore, the IP data flow filters of the charging rules CRO, CR20, and CR10 are used in order to filter the IP data flow to implement the collection of the IP data flow and to collect the accounting information.

In this way, through the combined effects of the three charging rules of CRO, CR10, and CR20, the TPF can filter out and use the DNS resolution signaling in the network according to the charging rule CRO. According to the operator's billing policy, this part of the IP data traffic may not be billed to the UE. According to the charging rule CR20, the IP data traffic of group users browsing stock market information through the AF's WAP website is filtered, according to the operation For group users, for group users, the charging rate for this part of the IP data traffic is determined by the charging key Key20; according to the charging rule CR10, filtering out group users' browsing news through the AF's WAP website and For IP data traffic of other packet data services, according to the billing policies of operators and service providers, for group users, the IP data flow for browsing news and other packet data services through the WAP website is not distinguished, and the same data is used. The charging rate and the same charging statistical information. Therefore, the charging rate of this part of the IP data traffic is determined by the charging key Key10, so that the TPF can perform targeted calculation of different packet data services used by the UE according to the instructions of the CRF. fee.

Example two

Step 601B: The UE sends a bearer establishment request to the TPF. In the GPRS network, the GGSN receives the Create PDP Context Request.

Step 602B: After receiving the bearer establishment request, the TPF sends a charging rule request to the CRF, and the charging rule request carries input information for the CRF to determine the charging rule, such as related information of the UE, bearer characteristics, and network related The relevant information of the UE may be MSISDN, IMSI, etc., the bearer characteristics may be QoS parameters of the packet data service, and the network-related information may be MNC, MCC, etc.

Step 603B: After receiving the charging rule request, the CRF selects an appropriate charging rule according to the input information carried in the charging rule request. For example, in this embodiment, the UE is determined to be an ordinary user according to the MSISDN of the UE. Therefore, the CRF is The packet data service used by this ordinary user selects the charging identifiers of CR0, CR1, CR2, CR3, and CR4 for accounting. Fee.

Step 604B: The CRF returns a charging rule message to the TPF. The charging rule message carries the charging rule identifiers CR0, CR1, CR2, CR3, and CR4, and instructs the TPF to start the pre-configured charging rules CR0, CR1, and CR2. , CR3 and CR4.

Step 605B: After receiving the provisioning charging rule message, the TPF starts the pre-configured accounting rules CR0, CR1, CR2, CR3, and CR4 according to the content carried in the provisioning charging rule message, because the accounting rules CR0, CR1, CR2 The priorities of CR3, CR3, and CR4 are CR0, CR1, CR2, CR3, and CR4 in order from high to low. Therefore, the 'TPF uses the IP data flow filters of the charging rules CR0, CR1, CR2, CR3, and CR4 to IP in order. The data stream is filtered, the IP data stream is collected, and the charging information is collected.

Step 606B: The TPF returns a bearer establishment response to the UE, accepts the bearer establishment request initiated by the UE, and continues the subsequent bearer establishment process.

Step 607B: After the bearer is successfully established, a data transmission path is established between the UE and the AF. An ordinary user of the UE uses one or more applications / services on the AF to perform data transmission through the data transmission path. The ordinary user passes the AF's WAP website. Browse news. Because AF has no special billing requirements for UE to browse news via WAP website, AF does not provide charging rules input information to CRF, but allows UE to browse news directly. TPF according to billing rules CR0, CR1, CR2, CR3 And CR4 collect IP data streams and collect accounting information. When the ordinary user needs to browse the stock market information through the WAP's WAP website, perform steps 608B to step 608B: According to the AF's charging policy, the UE browses the stock market information through the WAP website. The charging rate is higher than the charging rate of the ordinary WAP browsing service, and the IP data stream for browsing the stock market information of the UE needs to be filtered. Therefore, the AF provides the CRF for determining before allowing the UE to browse the stock market information. Charging rule input information, such as the service type used by the UE is WAP stock market information browsing, the charging rate is doubled, the UE's IP address, AF IP address, general resource location for browsing stock market information (URL (wap.AF.com/gushi)), etc.

'ί · Interest.

Step 609B: After receiving the charging rule input information, the CRF selects charging based on the obtained information that the UE is an ordinary user, the service type used by the UE is WAP stock market information browsing, and the charging rate is doubled. The rule charges the stock market information browsed by ordinary users. The information included in CR30 is as follows: Charging ID CR30, the source address is the IP address of AF, the destination address is the IP address of the ordinary user, and the source port is wildcarded. The destination port is 80, the protocol identifier is WAP, the UL (wap.AF.com/gushi) of the stock market information browsing, the charging mode is based on flow metering, the charging method is offline charging, the charging key is Key30, priority Is 3.

Step 610B: The CRF returns a response to the AF, informing the AF that it has received the charging rule input information sent by the AF. The response may carry the charging rule identifier CR30, and may further carry the specific configuration of the new charging rule CR30. information. After AF received the response, it allowed ordinary users to use the WAP website to browse stock market information.

Step 611B: The CRF sends a charging rule providing message to the TPF, where the charging rule providing message carries a charging rule CR30.

Step 612B: After the TPF receives the charging rule providing message, it establishes a new charging rule CR30 according to the content carried in the providing charging rule message. Due to the priority of the charging rule CR30, CRO, CR1, CR2, CR3, and CR4 The order from high to low is CRO, CR30, CR1, CR2, CR3, CR4. Therefore, the IP data flow filters of the charging rules CRO, CR30, CR1, CR2, CR3, and CR4 are used in order to filter the IP data flow.

In this way, the six charging rules CRO, CR30, CR1, CR2, CR3, and CR4 work together to enable the TPF to filter the service data traffic used for DNS resolution signaling in the network according to the charging rule CRO. Commercial billing policy, this part of the IP data flow may not charge the UE; according to the charging rule CR30, it filters out ordinary users. AF ’s WAP website browses the IP data traffic of stock market information. According to the charging policies of operators and service providers, for ordinary users, the charging rate for this part of the IP data stream is determined by the charging key Key30. The charging rule CR1 filters out the IP data streams of ordinary users browsing news through AF's WAP website. According to the operator's charging policy, for ordinary users, the charging rate for this part of the IP data streams is determined by the charging key Keyl. In addition, when the UE uses the HTTP service, its IP data stream can be filtered out using the charging rule CR2. When the UE performs other services carried on the UDP or TCP transmission protocol, its IP data stream can be filtered out using the charging rules CR3 and CR4 in order. Thus, the TPF can perform targeted charging for different packet data services used by the UE according to the instruction of the CRF.

In addition, the AF can provide charging rules corresponding to applications / services with special charging requirements in advance. The input information is provided to the CRP, and the CRF stores these charging rule input information. When the UE initiates bearer establishment, the TPF requests a charging rule from the CRF. The CRF determines the charging rule input information provided by the TPF, such as related information of the UE, such as UE's MSISDN, IMSI, etc., and bearer characteristics, such as packet data services. QoS parameters, network-related information, such as MNC, MCC, etc., as well as input information for charging rules provided in advance by AF that correspond to applications / services with special charging requirements, and select appropriate charging corresponding to applications / services Rules and send them to the TPF. According to the instructions of the CRF, the TPF establishes charging rules corresponding to applications / services.

After the bearer is successfully established, a data transmission path is established between the UE and the AF. The UE uses one or more applications / services on the AF. To perform data transmission through the data transmission path. At this time, since the AF provides the CRF with Enter the charging rule for the application / service with special requirements for charging, and the TPF has established a charging rule corresponding to the application / service for AF, and can differentiate the charging for the application / service used by the UE. At this time, AF The CRF may no longer be provided with the UE application / service information, but the UE is allowed to use the application / service directly.

If the AF determines that a special event occurs, for example, after the data traffic of the UE using an application / service reaches a certain value, according to the AF's charging policy, the number of users using the application / service According to the UE whose traffic reaches a certain value, the UE needs to be charged according to the lower charging rate. At this time, the AF provides new charging rule input information to the CRF. For example, if the CRF is required to use the lower charging rate The UE is charged. At this time, the CRF enters information according to the charging rules provided by the AF, selects a new charging rule, and sends it to the TPF. The TPF collects IP data streams and calculates the charging information.

In addition, the CRF may also input appropriate charging rules according to the charging rules sent by the OCS, or the OCS provides the charging rule input information to the CRF. The respective corresponding processes are basically the same as the above-mentioned processes, and are not repeated here.

In short, the above descriptions are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

Claim

1. A method for implementing packet data service charging, characterized in that the method includes the following steps:

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

When the bearer is established, the TPF requests the charging rules described in step A from the CRF; the charging rule information described in step B is provided by the CRF to the TPF.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein before step A, the method further comprises: configuring a charging rule including a charging rule identifier in the TPF.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the step B is: providing a charging rule identifier to the TPF, and the TPF selects and starts a charging rule corresponding to the charging rule identifier.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein after step C, the method further comprises:

D1. The CRF provides the selected charging rule information to the TPF, and the TPF establishes a charging rule corresponding to the charging rule information.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: before the step D1, the CRF determines whether the currently selected charging rule is consistent with the original charging rule, and if not, execute step D1.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein if configured in a TPF A charging rule including a charging rule identifier, the step D1 is: the CRF provides the selected charging rule identifier to the TPF, and the TPF starts a charging rule corresponding to the charging rule identifier.

8. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the step C is: the application function entity AF or the online charging system OCS provides the charging rule input information to the CRF, and the CRF is based on the received charging rule Enter the information to select the charging rule.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the AF performs the step C before allowing the user equipment UE to use the packet data service.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein after step C, further comprising:

D2, CRF returns a response to AF or OCS.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the response in step D2 carries a charging rule selected by a CRF.

12. A method for implementing packet data service charging, characterized in that the method includes the following steps:

a. Provide charging rule input information to the CRF, and the CRF stores the charging rule input information;

b. When the bearer is established, the TPF requests a charging rule from the CRF;

c. The CRF inputs information according to the charging rule described in step a, and provides the charging rule information to the TPF, and the TPF establishes a charging rule corresponding to the charging rule information.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein:

The charging rule input information described in step a is provided by the AF or OCS to the CRF.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein before step b, the method further comprises: configuring a charging rule including a charging rule identifier in the TPF; the step b further includes: providing the TPF to the CRF Established bearer information.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the step c is: The CRF inputs information according to the charging rule described in step a and the bearer information provided by the TPF in step b, and provides the TPF with a charging rule identifier, and the TPF selects and starts the accounting corresponding to the charging rule identifier. Fee rules.

16. An access control method for a service data flow, which is characterized in that the method includes the following steps:

E. Send the charging rule input information for selecting the charging rule, and receive the charging rule. The input information responds;

F. Allow the UE to access applications / services.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein:

The charging rule input information in step E is sent by the AF, and the charging rule input information response is received by the AF;

The step F is: AF allows the UE to access applications / services.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein, in step E, the charging rule input information is sent by the AF to the CRF, and the charging rule input information response is sent by the CRF to the AF and by the AF. Received.

19. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein before step E, the method further comprises: sending, by the UE, an access application / service request.

20. An access control method for service data flows, characterized in that the method includes:

G. The TPF determines whether an existing charging rule can be applied to the bearer. If so, the TPF accepts the bearer; otherwise, the TPF rejects the bearer.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the TPF receives a bearer establishment request sent by the UE, and the step G is: the TPF determines whether an existing charging rule can be applied to the bearer being established, and if so, Then accept the bearer establishment request; if not, Beij rejects the bearer establishment request.

22. The method according to claim 20, wherein the TPF receives a message sent by the UE When the TPF receives a charging rule actively provided / modified by the CRF, the step G is: the TPF determines whether there are still charging rules applied to the established bearer, and if so, accepts the bearer modification Request, or apply the charging rules provided / delivered by the CRF to the bearer; otherwise, terminate the bearer.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein after the TPF determines that there are still charging rules applied to the established bearer, further comprising: the TPF determines whether each service data stream of the bearer can be processed by all bearers. The charging rules are filtered out, if yes, the bearer modification request is accepted, or the charging rules provided / delivered by the CRF are applied to the bearer; otherwise, the bearer is terminated.