WO2015196796A1

WO2015196796A1 - Congestion processing method and device, ran rcaf and pcrf

Info

Publication number: WO2015196796A1
Application number: PCT/CN2015/070803
Authority: WO
Inventors: 周晓云
Original assignee: 中兴通讯股份有限公司
Priority date: 2014-06-26
Filing date: 2015-01-15
Publication date: 2015-12-30
Also published as: CN105208547A

Abstract

Provided are a congestion processing method and device, an RAN RCAF and a PCRF. The method comprises: acquiring user priority information about a congestion region; and reporting the acquired user priority information to a policy and charging rules function (PCRF) entity. By means of the present invention, the problems in the related art that a congestion reduction policy made through the PCRF is inaccurate and the user experience is reduced are solved, thereby achieving the effect that the congestion policy can be made through the PCRF in accordance with the global user priority information about the congestion region, so that the accuracy of making the policy through the PCRF and the user fairness are effectively improved to a certain extent, and the user experience is improved.

Description

Congestion processing method, device, RAN RCAF and PCRF

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a congestion processing method and apparatus, a RAN Congestion Awareness Function (RAN RCAF), and a Policy and Charging Rules Function (Policy and Charging Rules Function). , referred to as PCRF).

Background technique

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a Policy and Charging Control (PCC) defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) in the related art. As shown in Figure 1, the entire PCRF is shown in Figure 1. The core of the PCC architecture. The PCRF needs to combine the service information received from the Application Function (AF), the user subscription information received from the Subscription Profile Repository (SPR), and the policy configured by the operator. The PCRF sends the control policy for the service to the Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) or the Bearer Binding and Event Report Function (BBERF). At the same time, the PCRF can subscribe to the bearer layer related events to the PCEF and/or the BBERF to sense in time when the bearer layer occurs, and change the control strategy. PCEF can also support application detection control functions. The PCEF can perform application detection and perform policy enforcement (such as gating, redirection, and bandwidth limitation) according to the local configuration or the PCC rule that is sent by the PCRF and includes the application identifier. The PCEF is typically located on the gateway of the network, such as the Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN-GW) of the EPS. In addition, the network can implement application detection control by deploying a separate traffic detection function (Traffic Detection Function, TDF for short). The TDF and the PCRF are connected through the Sd interface. The TDF can perform application detection and policy execution according to the application detection and control (ADC) rules that are pre-configured or sent by the PCRF.

The principle of the PCC architecture implementing policy control on the services carried on the bearer network is as follows: With the development of the network and the terminal devices, a large number of users access the Internet through the intelligent terminals to access various data services. On the one hand, the data services on the network continue to be continuously The richness of, for example, various video services, game services, etc., on the other hand, the use of smart terminals for Internet users is still exploding. This has brought shocks and challenges to operators' network operations. A large number of data services increase network load and even cause network congestion (for example, in hotspots such as stations and terminals). A large number of data services even encroach on the resources of voice services, so that traditional voice services are not guaranteed by reliable QoS. Therefore, how to adjust network traffic, reduce network load, and reduce network congestion are issues that operators need to face.

FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a PCRF sensing wireless network access load information in the related art. The RAN Congestion Awareness Function (RAN RCAF) reports the RAN User Plane Congestion Information (RUCI) to the PCRF for policy decision through the Np interface. To reduce the network load. The RCAF collects user plane congestion information from the RAN Operation Administration Maintenance (OAM) system. For E-UTRAN, the RCAF obtains from the MME through the Nq interface for each activated APN under the Evolved Cell Global Identifier (ECGI) under the Evolved Cell Global Identifier (ECGI). UE (IMSI) list. For UTRAN access, the RCAF can directly obtain an IMSI list under a specific NB/CGI from the RAN and acquire an IMSI list for each activated APN through Nq'. Thus RCAF can be an IMSI list for each active APN under each Congested Base Station (eNB/NB)/Cell (ECGI/CGI). The RCAF reports this information to the correct PCRF, and the PCRF can adjust these UE policies to reduce the load on the congested base station or cell.

However, in the related art, after the PCRF receives the RUCI reported by the RCAF, the UE can selectively formulate a policy for mitigating congestion according to the user subscription condition. For example, according to the severity of congestion and the list of users related to congestion information, it is decided to reduce the APN-AMBR of the Bronze users, or reduce the APN-AMBR of the Bronze and Silver users at the same time. Then, since multiple PCRFs are deployed through the network, each PCRF can only perceive the list of users it is responsible for managing. Therefore the strategy developed by the PCRF may be inaccurate. For example, in extreme cases, if a UE managed by PCRF1 is a Bronze user and a Silver user, and another user managed by PCRF2 includes a Silver User and a Gold User. When PCRF1 and PCRF2 receive a moderately congested RUCI, PCRF1 will reduce the APN-AMBR of the Bronze subscriber, while PCRF2 will reduce the APN-AMBR of the Silver subscriber. In this way, for the same silver card users, the user experience under the network congestion is different because the PCRF responsible for the management control is different.

Therefore, in the related art, there is a problem that the PCRF formulates an inaccurate strategy for reducing congestion and reduces user experience.

Summary of the invention

The present invention provides a congestion processing method and apparatus, RAN RCAF, and PCRF, to at least solve the problem that the PCRF has a strategy of reducing congestion and reducing user experience in the related art.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a congestion processing method is provided, including: acquiring user priority information of a congestion area; and reporting the obtained user priority information to a policy and charging rule function entity PCRF.

Preferably, the user priority information of the congestion area is obtained by at least one of: acquiring the user priority information of the congestion area according to an interaction with a mobility management entity; The inbound RAN operates, manages, and maintains the interaction of the OAM system to obtain the user priority information of the congestion area.

Preferably, the obtaining the user priority information of the congestion area according to the interaction with the mobility management entity comprises: receiving user priority parameters of respective users in the congestion area reported by each mobility management entity Generating the user priority information of the congestion area according to the user priority parameter reported by each mobility management entity; and/or receiving each mobility management entity according to each user in the congestion area User priority information of each mobile management entity generated by the priority parameter; and the user priority information of each mobile management entity is obtained to obtain the user priority information of the congestion area.

Preferably, the mobility management entity is a mobility management unit MME or a serving general packet radio service support node SGSN.

Preferably, the user priority parameter is derived from at least one of: obtained from a user subscription parameter provided by a home subscriber server HSS; derived from a quality of service QoS parameter of a default bearer of a packet data network PDN connection; and packet data Obtained in the quality of service QoS parameters of the default bearer of the network PDN connection.

Preferably, obtaining the user priority information of the congestion area according to the interaction with the RAN OAM system includes: receiving a user priority parameter of each user of the congestion area that is counted by the RAN OAM system; Generating the user priority information of the congestion area by using the user priority parameter of the RAN OAM system; and/or receiving the priority parameter of each user of the RAN OAM system according to the congestion area The user priority information of the congestion area.

Preferably, the congestion area is a cell and/or a base station.

Preferably, the user priority information of the congestion area includes at least one of: a number of users of each priority in the congestion area, a number of users of each priority in the congestion area, and a total number of users, The ratio of the number of users of each priority in the congested area to the total number of users, the total number of users in the congested area, and the number of users of each priority as a percentage of the total number of users.

Preferably, the user priority information of the congestion area is user priority information of each access point name APN activated under the congestion area.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a congestion processing method is provided, including: receiving user priority information of a congestion area reported by a radio access network congestion sensing function RCAF; and formulating congestion reduction according to the user priority information. Strategy.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, a congestion processing apparatus is provided, including: an obtaining module, configured to acquire user priority information of a congestion area; and a reporting module configured to report the obtained user priority information to a policy and Charging rule function entity PCRF.

Preferably, the obtaining module includes at least one of the following: a first obtaining unit configured to acquire the user priority information of the congestion area according to an interaction with a mobility management entity; and the second obtaining unit is configured to The radio access network RAN operates, manages, and maintains the interaction of the OAM system to obtain the user priority information of the congestion area.

Preferably, the first acquiring unit includes: a first receiving subunit, configured to receive user priority parameters of respective users in the congestion area reported by each mobility management entity; first generating subunit, setting Generating the user priority information of the congestion area according to the user priority parameter reported by each mobility management entity; and/or, the first obtaining unit includes: a second receiving subunit, configured to receive User priority information of each mobility management entity generated by each mobility management entity according to a priority parameter of each user in the congestion area; a statistical subunit, configured to collect the user priority information of each mobility management entity The user priority information of the congestion area.

Preferably, the second obtaining unit includes: a third receiving subunit, configured to receive a user priority parameter of each user of the congestion area counted by the RAN OAM system; and a second generating subunit, configured as a basis The user priority parameter calculated by the RAN OAM system generates the user priority information of the congestion area; and/or the second obtaining unit includes: a third receiving subunit, configured to receive the The RANOAM system generates the user priority information of the congestion area according to a priority parameter of each user of the congestion area.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, a radio access network RAN congestion awareness function entity RCAF is provided, comprising the apparatus of any of the above.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, a congestion processing apparatus includes: a receiving module, configured to receive user priority information of a congestion area reported by a radio access network congestion sensing function RCAF; and a setting module configured to User priority information formulates strategies for mitigating congestion.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, a policy and charging rule function entity PCRF is provided, including the apparatus described above.

The method of obtaining the user priority information of the congestion area is used to report the obtained user priority information to the PCRF of the policy and charging rule function entity, which not only solves the inaccurate strategy of the PCRF to reduce congestion in the related technology, but also reduces The problem of user experience, and thus the PCRF can formulate the congestion policy based on the global user priority information of the congestion area, which effectively improves the accuracy of the PCRF policy, and the fairness of the user, and improves the user experience. .

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are intended to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are intended to be a part of the invention. In the drawing:

1 is a schematic diagram of a PCC of a policy and charging control architecture defined by the 3GPP Partnership Project 3GPP in the related art;

2 is a structural diagram of a PCRF sensing a wireless access network load information in the related art;

3 is a flowchart of a congestion processing method 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a flowchart of a method 2 of congestion processing according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a structural block diagram of a congestion processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a preferred structure of the acquisition module 52 in the congestion processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram 1 of a preferred structure of the first obtaining unit 62 in the obtaining module 52 in the congestion processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention;

8 is a block diagram 2 of a preferred structure of the first obtaining unit 62 in the obtaining module 52 in the congestion processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram 1 of a preferred structure of the second obtaining unit 64 in the obtaining module 52 in the congestion processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention;

10 is a block diagram 2 of a preferred structure of the second obtaining unit 64 in the obtaining module 52 in the congestion processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention;

11 is a structural block diagram of a radio access network RAN congestion awareness function entity RCAF according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a structural block diagram of a congestion processing apparatus 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 13 is a structural block diagram of a policy and charging rule function entity PCRF according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

Figure 14 is a flow chart according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 15 is a flow chart according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 16 is a flow chart according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 17 is a flow chart of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

The invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings in conjunction with the embodiments. It should be noted that the embodiments in the present application and the features in the embodiments may be combined with each other without conflict.

A congestion processing method is provided in this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a congestion processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the process includes the following steps:

Step S302: Obtain user priority information of the congestion area.

In step S304, the obtained user priority information is reported to the policy and charging rule function entity PCRF.

The above-mentioned steps are used to report the user priority information of the acquired congestion area to the PCRF, and the PCRF only obtains the user priority information of the PCRF of the respective management area to formulate a policy. The user priority information of the congestion area is provided to the PCRF, which ensures that the PCRF provides an accurate mitigation strategy. This not only effectively solves the problem that the PCRF formulates the congestion reduction strategy and reduces the user experience, and thus the PCRF can be based on the congestion area. The global user priority information is used to formulate the congestion policy, which effectively improves the accuracy of the PCRF policy, and the fairness of the user, and improves the user experience.

The user priority information of the congestion area may be obtained in multiple manners. For example, at least one of the following manners may be adopted: for example, user priority information of the congestion area may be acquired according to the interaction with the mobility management entity; for example, Interacting with the radio access network RAN to operate, manage, and maintain the OAM system to obtain user priority information of the congestion area.

The user priority information of each user in the congestion area reported by each mobility management entity may be received in the following manner: The user priority parameter reported by each mobility management entity generates user priority information of the congestion area; for example, the user of each mobility management entity generated by each mobility management entity according to the priority parameter of each user in the congestion area may also be received. Priority information; user priority information of each mobile management entity is obtained to obtain user priority information of the congestion area.

The mobility management entity may be a mobility management unit MME or a serving general packet radio service support node SGSN. In addition, the source of the foregoing user priority parameter may be multiple, for example, may be derived from at least one of: obtained from a user subscription parameter provided by the home subscriber server HSS; and a quality of service QoS parameter of a default bearer connected from the packet data network PDN. The derivation is obtained; obtained from the quality of service QoS parameters of the default bearer of the packet data network PDN connection.

Preferably, the user priority information of the congestion area is obtained according to the interaction with the RAN OAM system. For example, the following processing manner may be adopted: the user priority of each user receiving the congestion area of the RAN OAM system is preferentially received. Level parameter; user priority information of the congestion area is generated according to the user priority parameter of the RAN OAM system; for example, the following processing manner may also be adopted: receiving the congestion generated by the RAN OAM system according to the priority parameter of each user in the congestion area User priority information for the zone.

It should be noted that the foregoing congestion area may be a cell and/or a base station. The user priority information of the congestion area may include at least one of the following: the number of users of each priority in the congestion area, the number of users of each priority in the congestion area, and the total number of users, and the number of users of each priority in the congestion area. The ratio of the total number, the total number of users in the congested area, and the number of users of each priority to the total number of users.

Preferably, the user priority information of the congestion area may also be user priority information of each access point name APN activated under the congestion area.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a second method for congestion processing according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the process includes the following steps:

Step S402, receiving user priority information of a congestion area reported by the radio access network congestion sensing function RCAF;

Step S404, formulating a policy for mitigating congestion according to user priority information.

Through the above steps, the policy for mitigating congestion is formulated according to the user priority information of the congestion area reported by the RCAF, and the PCRF only acquires the user priority of the PCRF of the respective management area. The information is used to formulate a policy, and the user priority information of the entire congested area is provided to the PCRF, which ensures that the PCRF provides an accurate strategy for mitigating congestion, which not only effectively solves the problem that the PCRF formulates the strategy of reducing congestion and reduces the user experience, thereby achieving the problem. The PCRF can formulate a congestion policy based on the global user priority information of the congestion area, which effectively improves the accuracy of the PCRF policy, and the fairness of the user, and improves the user experience.

In the embodiment, a congestion processing device is also provided, which is used to implement the above-mentioned embodiments and preferred embodiments, and has not been described again. As used below, the term "module" may implement a combination of software and/or hardware of a predetermined function. Although the apparatus described in the following embodiments is preferably implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware, is also possible and contemplated.

FIG. 5 is a structural block diagram of a congestion processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the apparatus includes an acquisition module 52 and a reporting module 54, which will be described below.

The obtaining module 52 is configured to obtain the user priority information of the congestion area. The reporting module 54 is connected to the obtaining module 52, and is configured to report the obtained user priority information to the policy and charging rule function entity PCRF.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a preferred structure of the acquisition module 52 in the congestion processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the acquisition module 52 includes at least one of the following: a first obtaining unit 62 and a second obtaining unit 64. The acquisition module 52 will be described below.

The first obtaining unit 62 is configured to acquire user priority information of the congestion area according to the interaction with the mobility management entity. The second obtaining unit 64 is configured to obtain the interaction according to the operation, management, and maintenance of the OAM system with the radio access network RAN. User priority information for the congested area.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a preferred structure of the first obtaining unit 62 in the obtaining module 52 of the congestion processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the first obtaining unit 62 includes: a first receiving subunit 72 and The first generation subunit 74, the first acquisition unit 62 will be described below.

The first receiving sub-unit 72 is configured to receive user priority parameters of respective users in the congestion area reported by the respective mobility management entities; the first generating sub-unit 74 is connected to the first receiving sub-unit 72, and is set to The user priority information of the congestion area is generated according to the user priority parameter reported by each mobility management entity.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a preferred structure of the first obtaining unit 62 in the obtaining module 52 in the congestion processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the first obtaining unit 62 includes: a second receiving subunit 82 and The statistical subunit 84 is described below for the first obtaining unit 62.

The second receiving subunit 82 is configured to receive user priority information of each mobility management entity generated by each mobility management entity according to respective priority parameters of respective users in the congestion area; a statistics subunit 84 connected to the second receiving The sub-unit 82 is configured to collect user priority information of each mobility management entity to obtain user priority information of the congestion area.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a preferred structure of the second obtaining unit 64 in the obtaining module 52 of the congestion processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the second obtaining unit 64 includes a third receiving subunit 92 and a first The second generation subunit 94, the second acquisition unit 64 will be described below.

The third receiving subunit 92 is configured to receive the user priority parameter of each user of the congestion area counted by the RAN OAM system; the second generating subunit 94 is connected to the third receiving subunit 92, and is configured to be based on the RAN OAM system. The statistical user priority parameter generates user priority information of the congestion area.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a preferred structure of the second obtaining unit 64 in the obtaining module 52 of the congestion processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 10, the second obtaining unit 64 includes: a third receiving subunit 102. The third receiving subunit 102 will be described below.

The third receiving subunit 102 is configured to receive user priority information of the congestion area generated by the RAN OAM system according to the priority parameter of each user of the congestion area.

FIG. 11 is a structural block diagram of a radio access network RAN congestion awareness function entity RCAF according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 11, the RAN RCAF 110 includes the congestion processing apparatus 112 of any of the above.

FIG. 12 is a structural block diagram of a congestion processing apparatus 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 12, the apparatus includes a receiving module 122 and a setting module 124, which will be described below.

The receiving module 122 is configured to receive user priority information of the congestion area reported by the radio access network congestion sensing function RCAF, and the setting module 124 is connected to the receiving module 122, and is configured to formulate a policy for relieving congestion according to the user priority information. .

FIG. 13 is a structural block diagram of a policy and charging rule function entity PCRF according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 13, the PCRF 130 includes the above-described congestion processing device 132.

Based on the above problem in the related art, in this embodiment, a network load information reporting method is provided, which enables users with the same subscription priority to have the same user body as possible in the case of network congestion. Test. The method is as follows: After collecting the user priority information of the area affected by the user's face congestion, the RCAF calculates the global household priority information of the affected area and provides the information to the PCRF for policy decision. The global user priority information is at least one of the following: the number and total number of users in the affected area, and the proportion of each priority user in the affected area, in each of the affected areas. The proportion of priority users and the total amount of data.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiment 1

In the embodiment, the method for reporting network load information when the E-UTRAN is accessed, wherein the user priority information is reported by the MME. FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 14, the flow includes the following steps:

301. The RCAF acquires congestion-related OAM information and the affected area (if eNB ID, service area ID, and cell ID) from the RAN OAM (ie, the area where congestion occurs).

302. The RCAF determines the relevant MME according to the affected area received in step 301, and subscribes to the relevant MME for the IMSI list of the affected area. Each MME provides the RCAF with a list of UEs (i.e., IMSIs) for each active APN of the affected area. The affected area (ie, the congestion area) may be a base station (identified by an eNB ID) or a cell (identified by an ECGI). In addition, the MME also provides the RCAF with priority information corresponding to each activated APN of each IMSI. The priority information may be a specific priority parameter obtained by the MME from the user subscription parameters provided by the HSS or by the MME according to the default bearer QoS parameters (QCI and/or ARP) of the PDN connection of each activated APN of the IMSI. The derivation obtained may also be directly the QoS parameter (QCI and/or ARP) of the default bearer of the PDN connection of each activated APN of the IMSI. Of course, the MME can also report the number of users of each priority in the congestion area managed by the MME or the number of users of each priority and the total number of users, or the proportion of users of each priority and the total number of users. Quantity. When reporting the IMSI list, the MME can selectively report the user (IMSI) list in the congested area according to the configuration: all users in the congested area, all non-roaming users in the congested area, all non-roaming users in the congested area, and local The roaming user, all non-roaming users in the connected state in the congested area, or all non-roaming users in the connected area and the local roaming roaming users.

Table 1 is an information format table reported by an MME to an RCAF according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Table 1, the congestion area is a cell level:

Table 1

The information format reported by the congestion area for the base station (eNB) level is similar.

303. The RCAF generates the RUCI based on the received information, the eNB ID/ECGI of the congestion, the RAN congestion state, and the IMSI list of the activated APN. The RCAF calculates the number of users of each priority in the congested area or the proportion of users of each priority to the total number of users and the total number of users according to the received user priority parameters reported by the relevant MMEs. The calculation result can be regarded as the global user priority information, that is, the number of users of each priority in the congestion area of each eNB ID/ECGI or the number of users of each priority and the total number of users, or the users of each priority account for the total users. The proportion of the number or the proportion of users of each priority and the total number of users. (Because each MME can only report the user priority information in the congestion area it manages, the MME reports not the complete user priority information in the congestion area. Only the RCAF collects the responsibility for managing the congestion area. After the MME reports the priority information, the complete user priority information can be collected. The global user priority information can be the APN level (the user priority information of each activated APN in the congested area is counted). (Cell or (e)NB level) (User priority information is counted in the congested area, and there is no need to distinguish APN). When reporting a congestion level (cell or eNB), if the UE has multiple APNs, the APN with the highest priority is selected to count the priority of the UE.

An example of the RUCI information format of the RCAF structure is as follows.

Table 2 is a table 1 of the RUCI information format according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Table 2, the congestion area is the cell level, and the user priority information is counted as the APN level:

Table 2

Table 3 is a table 2 of the RUCI information format according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Table 3, the congestion area is the cell (ECGI) level, and the user priority is counted as the congestion area level:

table 3

The format of the information reported by the congestion area at the base station (eNB) level is similar.

304. The RCAF reports the RUCI to each relevant PCRF. The global user priority information counted in step 303 is included in the RUCI.

305. Each affected PCRF obtains global user priority information. The PCRF formulates a strategy for mitigating network congestion based on current RAN congestion status information, subscriptions for each user, global user priority, and network policies. For example, when the congestion level of the RAN congestion status information is heavy, the PCRF determines that the number of Bronze users in the congestion area is large according to the global user priority information, so the PCRF only needs to formulate a strategy for reducing the network congestion for the Bronze users (such as reducing these. User's APN-AMBR). When the RAN congestion status information has a congestion level of In severe cases, the number of Bronze users in the congested area is small, and when there are more silver users, the PCRF needs to simultaneously develop strategies for reducing the network congestion for the Bronze and Silver users (such as reducing the APN-AMBR of these users).

Embodiment 2

The method for reporting the network load information when the UTRAN is accessed in the embodiment, wherein the user priority information is reported by the SGSN, and FIG. 15 is a flowchart according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 15, the process includes the following steps. step::

401. The RCAF acquires congestion-related OAM information from the RAN OAM and affected areas (such as NB ID, service area ID, cell Id) (ie, areas where congestion occurs), and acquires a per-cell UE (IMSI) list from the RAN. The congested area can be a cell (identified by CGI) or a base station (identified by NB Id). When reporting the list, the RAN can selectively report the user (IMSI) list in the congested area according to the configuration: all users in the congested area, all non-roaming users in the congested area, all non-roaming users in the congested area, and local grooming Roaming users, all non-roaming users in the connected state in the congested area, or all non-roaming users and local grooming roaming users in the connected area.

402. The RCAF determines the relevant SGSN according to the affected area received in step 401, and subscribes to the relevant SGSN for the APN list activated by the affected IMSI. In addition, the SGSN also provides the RCAF with priority information corresponding to each activated APN of each IMSI. The priority information may be a specific priority parameter obtained by the SGSN from the user subscription parameters provided by the HSS or by the SGSN according to the default bearer QoS parameters of the PDN connection of each activated APN of the IMSI (Traffic Class and/or Allocation). /Retention Priority) The derived QoS parameter (Traffic Class and/or Allocation/Retention Priority) of the default bearer of the PDN connection of each activated APN of the IMSI. Of course, the SGSN can also provide the RCAF with the number of users of various priorities or the number of users of each priority and the total number of users or the proportion of users of each priority to the total number of users and the total number of users. Similarly, when the SGSN counts the reported priority information, it can selectively categorize the user (IMSI) list located in the congested area according to the configuration: all users in the congested area, all non-roaming users in the congested area, and all non-roaming areas in the congested area. Roaming users and local grooming roaming users, all non-roaming users in the connected state in the congested area, or all non-roaming users and local grooming roaming users in the connected area.

Table 4 is a table of user priority information format reported by the SGSN to the RCAF according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Table 4, the congestion area is a cell level:

Table 4

403. The RCAF generates the RUCI based on the received information, the NB ID/CGI of the congestion, the RAN congestion state, and the IMSI list of the activated APN. The RCAF calculates the global user priority information in the congested area according to the number of users and the total number of users reported by each SGSN or the ratio of users in each priority to the total number of users, that is, each NB. ID/CGI The number of users of each priority or the number of users of the priority and the total number of users or the ratio of users of each priority to the total number of users or the proportion of users of each priority and the total number of users ( Since each SGSN can only report the user priority information in the congestion area managed by the SGSN, the SGSN does not report the complete user priority information in the congestion area. Only the RCAF collects all the SGSNs responsible for managing the congestion area. After the reported priority information, the complete user priority information can be counted. The global user priority information may be an APN level (the user priority information of each activated APN in the congested area is counted), and the user may be at the congested area level (cell or base station level). APN). When reporting at a congested area level (cell or base station), if there are multiple APNs in the UE, the APN with the highest priority is selected to count the priority of the UE.

The RUCI information format of the RCAF is as follows. Table 5 is the RUCI information format table 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Table 5, the congestion area is the cell level, and the user priority is the APN level.

table 5

Table 6 is a table 2 of the RUCI information format according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Table 6, the congestion area is the cell level, and the user priority is counted as the congestion area level:

Table 6

The congestion reporting area is similar to the base station level information reporting format.

404. The RCAF reports the RUCI to each relevant PCRF. The RUCI includes user priority information.

405. Each affected PCRF obtains global user priority information. The PCRF formulates a strategy for mitigating network congestion based on current RAN congestion status information, user subscription, global user priority information, and network policies. For example, when the congestion level in the RAN congestion status information is heavy, the PCRF determines that the number of Bronze users in the congestion area is large according to the global priority information, so the PCRF only needs to formulate a strategy for reducing the network congestion for the Bronze users (such as reducing these users). APN-AMBR). When the congestion level in the RAN congestion state information is heavy, the The number of Bronze users in the network under the congestion area is small, and when there are many silver users, the PCRF needs to simultaneously develop strategies for reducing the network congestion for the Bronze and Silver users (such as reducing the APN-AMBR of these users).

Embodiment 3

The method for reporting the network load information when the E-UTRAN is accessed in the embodiment, wherein the user priority information is reported by the RAN, and FIG. 16 is a flowchart according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, as shown in FIG. Including the following steps:

501. The RCAF acquires congestion-related OAM information and affected areas (such as eNB ID, service area ID, and cell Id) from the RAN OAM. In addition, RCAF can also obtain user priority parameters. The RAN OAM reports the number of users of each priority in the congested area or the number of users of each priority and the total number of users or the proportion of users of each priority and the total number of users. This parameter is that the RAN is pushed down according to the highest QoS parameters (QCI and/or ARP) of the bearers in the PDN connection in each user. (Because the eNB cannot obtain the IMSI of the user, the eNB cannot report the priority parameter for a specific user). Since the RAN can only perceive users in the connected state, the priority information of the RAN OAM statistics is only for the users in the connected state.

Table 7 is an information format table reported by the RAN OAM to the RCAF according to the third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Table 7, the congestion area is a cell level:

Table 7

502. The RCAF determines the relevant MME according to the affected area received in step 501, and subscribes to the related MME for the APN list activated by the affected IMSI.

503. The RCAF generates the RUCI according to the received information, the eNB ID/ECGI of the congestion, the RAN congestion status, the IMSI list of the activated APN, and the global user priority information (that is, the priority information reported by the RAN OAM).

Table 8 is a RUCI information format table of an RCAF structure according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. As shown in Table 8, the congestion area is similar to the base station level.

Table 8

504. The RCAF reports the RUCI to each relevant PCRF. The RUCI includes user priority information. That is, the number of users of each priority level under the congestion area or the number of users of each priority level and the total number of users or the proportion of users of each priority level or the proportion of users of each priority level and the total number of users.

505. Each affected PCRF obtains global user priority information. The PCRF formulates a strategy for mitigating network congestion based on current RAN congestion status information, user subscription, global user priority information, and network policy. For example, when the congestion level of the RAN congestion state information is heavy, the PCRF determines that there are more Bronze users in the congestion area according to the global user priority information, so the PCRF only needs to formulate a strategy for reducing the network congestion for the Bronze users (such as reducing the users' APN-AMBR). When the congestion level in the RAN congestion state information is heavy, and the number of bronze users in the congestion area is small, and the number of silver users is large, the PCRF needs to simultaneously formulate strategies for reducing the network congestion for the bronze and silver users (such as reducing the APN of these users). AMBR).

In step 501, the user priority parameter received by the RCAF may be a global priority parameter processed by the RAN, and the number of each priority user and the total number of users or the priority users of each priority in each eNB ID/eCGI. The proportion of total users and the total number of users. In step 503, the RCAF does not need to be reprocessed.

Embodiment 4

The method for reporting network load information when the UTRAN is accessed in the embodiment, wherein the user priority information is reported by the RAN, and FIG. 17 is a flowchart according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 17, the flow includes the following steps. step:

601. The RCAF acquires congestion related OAM information from the RAN OAM and the affected area (if eNB ID, service area ID, cell Id), and acquires a per-cell UE (IMSI) list from the RAN. In addition, the RCAF can also obtain a priority parameter for each IMSI, which is the QoS parameter (Traffic Class and/or Allocation/Retention Priority) of the bearer of the PDN connection of the IMSI. The eNB selects the highest Traffic Class and/or Allocation/Retention Priority value as the priority parameter. Of course, the RAN OAM can also report the number of users of each priority under the congested area and the total number of users or the proportion of users of each priority and the total number of users.

Table 9 is a table 1 of information format reported by the RAN OAM to the RCAF according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention, and the congestion area is a cell level.

Table 9 (Directly reporting user priority parameters):

Table 10 is the information format table 2 reported by the RAN OAM to the RCAF according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Table 10, the reported user priority information is reported.

Table 10

602. The RCAF determines the relevant SGSN according to the affected area received in step 601, and subscribes to the relevant SGSN for the APN list activated by the affected IMSI.

603. The RCAF generates the RUCI based on the received information, the NB ID/CGI of the congestion, the RAN congestion state, and the IMSI list of the activated APN. The RCAF calculates the number of users of each priority or the proportion of users of each priority to the total number of users according to the received priority parameter of each IMSI. The calculation result can be regarded as the global user priority information, that is, the number of users of each priority in each NB ID/CGI or the number of users of each priority and the total number of users or the proportion of users of each priority to the total number of users. Or the proportion of users of each priority and the total number of users. If the RAN OAM reports the number of users of each priority in the congestion area and the total number of users or the proportion of users of each priority and the total number of users, the RCAF does not need to calculate.

Table 11 is a RUCI information format table of an RCAF configuration according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. As shown in Table 11, the congestion area is a cell level. (Congestion area is similar at the base station level)

Table 11

604. The RCAF reports the RUCI to each relevant PCRF. The RUCI includes user priority information. That is, the number of users of each priority or the number of users of each priority and the total number of users or the proportion of users of each priority to the total number of users or the proportion of users of each priority and the total number of users.

605. Each affected PCRF obtains global user priority information. The PCRF formulates a strategy for mitigating network congestion based on current RAN congestion status information, user subscription, global user priority information, and network policy. For example, when the congestion level of the RAN congestion state information is heavy, the PCRF determines that there are more Bronze users in the congestion area according to the global user priority information, so the PCRF only needs to formulate a strategy for reducing the network congestion for the Bronze users (such as reducing the users' APN-AMBR). When the congestion level in the RAN congestion state information is heavy, and the number of bronze users in the congestion area is small, and the number of silver users is large, the PCRF needs to simultaneously formulate strategies for reducing the network congestion for the bronze and silver users (such as reducing the APN of these users). AMBR).

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the various modules or steps of the present invention described above can be implemented by a general-purpose computing device that can be centralized on a single computing device or distributed across a network of multiple computing devices. Alternatively, they may be implemented by program code executable by the computing device such that they may be stored in the storage device by the computing device and, in some cases, may be different from the order herein. The steps shown or described are performed, or they are separately fabricated into individual integrated circuit modules, or a plurality of modules or steps thereof are fabricated as a single integrated circuit module. Thus, the invention is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.

The above description is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention, and various modifications and changes can be made to the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and scope of the present invention are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.

Industrial applicability

The foregoing embodiments and preferred embodiments not only solve the problem that the PCRF formulating the mitigation strategy is inaccurate and reducing the user experience, and the PCRF can formulate the congestion policy according to the global user priority information of the congestion area. To a certain extent, it effectively improves the accuracy of the PCRF development strategy, as well as user fairness and improves the user experience.

Claims

A congestion processing method includes:

Obtain user priority information of the congestion area;

The obtained user priority information is reported to the policy and charging rule function entity PCRF.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the user priority information of the congestion area is obtained by at least one of the following manners:

Obtaining the user priority information of the congestion area according to the interaction with the mobility management entity;

Obtaining the user priority information of the congestion area according to the interaction with the radio access network RAN to operate, manage, and maintain the OAM system.
The method according to claim 2, wherein the obtaining the user priority information of the congestion area according to the interaction with the mobility management entity comprises:

Receiving a user priority parameter of each user in the congestion area reported by each mobility management entity; generating the user priority of the congestion area according to the user priority parameter reported by each mobility management entity Information; and/or,

Receiving user priority information of each mobility management entity generated by each mobility management entity according to a priority parameter of each user in the congestion area; collecting the user priority information of each mobility management entity to obtain the congestion area The user priority information.
The method of claim 3, wherein the mobility management entity is a mobility management unit MME or a serving general packet radio service support node SGSN.
The method of claim 3 wherein said user priority parameter is derived from at least one of:

Obtained from the user subscription parameters provided by the home subscriber server HSS;

Derived from the quality of service QoS parameters of the default bearer of the packet data network PDN connection;

Obtained from the quality of service QoS parameters of the default bearer of the packet data network PDN connection.
The method according to claim 2, wherein the obtaining the user priority information of the congestion area according to the interaction with the RAN OAM system comprises:

Receiving, by the RAN OAM system, the user priority parameter of each user in the congestion area; generating the user priority information of the congestion area according to the user priority parameter calculated by the RAN OAM system; and /or,

Receiving, by the RAN OAM system, the user priority information of the congestion area generated according to a priority parameter of each user in the congestion area.
The method according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the congested area is a cell and/or a base station.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the user priority information of the congestion area comprises at least one of the following:

The number of users of each priority in the congestion area, the number of users of each priority in the congestion area, the total number of users, the number of users of each priority in the congestion area, the proportion of the total number of users, and the congestion area. The total number of users in the user and the number of users of each priority account for the total number of users.
The method according to claim 8, wherein the user priority information of the congestion area is user priority information of each access point name APN activated under the congestion area.
A congestion processing method includes:

Receiving user priority information of a congestion area reported by the RCAF of the congestion awareness function of the radio access network;

A strategy for mitigating congestion is formulated based on the user priority information.
A congestion processing device comprising:

Obtaining a module, configured to obtain user priority information of a congestion area;

The reporting module is configured to report the obtained user priority information to the policy and charging rule function entity PCRF.
The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the acquisition module comprises at least one of:

a first acquiring unit, configured to acquire the user priority information of the congestion area according to an interaction with a mobility management entity;

The second obtaining unit is configured to acquire the user priority information of the congestion area according to the interaction with the radio access network RAN to operate, manage, and maintain the OAM system.
The device according to claim 12, wherein

The first obtaining unit includes: a first receiving subunit, configured to receive user priority parameters of respective users in the congestion area reported by each mobility management entity; the first generating subunit is set as a basis Generating the user priority information of the congestion area by the user priority parameter reported by each mobility management entity; and/or,

The first obtaining unit includes: a second receiving subunit, configured to receive user priority information of each mobility management entity generated by each mobility management entity according to a priority parameter of each user in the congestion area; a statistic And the unit is configured to collect the user priority information of each mobility management entity to obtain the user priority information of the congestion area.
The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the mobility management entity is a mobility management unit MME or a serving general packet radio service support node SGSN.
The device according to claim 12, wherein

The second obtaining unit includes: a third receiving subunit, configured to receive a user priority parameter of each user of the congestion area that is counted by the RAN OAM system; and a second generating subunit, configured to be according to the RAN The user priority parameter counted by the OAM system generates the user priority information of the congestion area; and/or,

The second obtaining unit includes: a third receiving subunit, configured to receive the user priority information of the congestion area generated by the RAN OAM system according to a priority parameter of each user in the congestion area.
A radio access network RAN congestion awareness function entity RCAF, comprising the apparatus of any one of claims 11 to 15.
A congestion processing device comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive user priority information of a congestion area reported by the radio access network congestion sensing function RCAF;

A module is set up to formulate a policy for mitigating congestion based on the user priority information.
A policy and charging rules functional entity PCRF comprising the apparatus of claim 17.