WO2016080563A1 - Content transmission method, system and computer program for transparent billing in lte network - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a content transmission system according to one aspect of the present invention. The content transmission system may comprise: a caching device which transmits corresponding cached content to user equipment in response to a content transmission request from the user equipment, generates a first packet including information related to the content transmitted to the user equipment and marking information for identifying a dummy packet, and transmits the generated first packet to a core node (CN); the core node which generates a dummy packet having a size corresponding to the size of a packet used to transmitting the content by making the first packet dummy on the basis of the information included in the first packet, and transmits the generated dummy packet downward so that the dummy packet can pass a P-GW; the P-GW which provides a billing interface for the downward transmitted dummy packet; and a filtering device which drops the dummy packet by performing filtering on the dummy packet.

Description

Method, system and computer program for transmitting contents transparent to billing network in LG network

The present invention relates to content transmission that is transparent to billing in LTE networks, and more specifically, content transmission in a manner transparent to the billing system process while maintaining functions that a cache system installed in a mobile network can provide to network operators and users. It is related to doing.

Recently, users of mobile portable devices such as smartphones and tablets have exploded. In addition, as the performance of the user terminal is improved and the mobile communication technology is developed, the consumption of large-capacity and high-definition content is rapidly increasing in mobile devices.

Therefore, since the number of web servers that a content provider (CP) can provide is limited, the loss of data, delay of data transmission, and / or due to the rapidly increasing number of users and the size of the content capacity Alternatively, instability may occur in data transmission such as data truncation.

Under these circumstances, when content is placed in close proximity to the user terminal, the use of resources (resource) in the network, such as a seamless service, improved user experience speed, reduced bandwidth of a mobile network operator, and a mobile content delivery network (CDN) Profitable businesses such as Content Delivery Network can be enabled.

The technique for placing content in a location proximate such a user terminal is referred to as mobile caching technology. Mobile caching technology refers to a variety of content in a web server of a content provider (CP) located remotely from a user terminal, such as images, video, audio, etc., such as images, video, audio, etc., which is a major point on the network (eg, Copy and store some or all of them in advance in a cache device disposed near the user terminal, and when a content request from the user terminal is received, the cache device located closest to the user terminal responds thereto. By transmitting the content from the user terminal to the user terminal, the technology can improve the speed of access of the user terminal and provide a more stable content.

Since such a mobile caching system has various advantages as described above, it is currently used in the majority of networks as a means to solve the constant demand for network transmission speed of users.

In addition, unlike conventional wired systems, mobile caching systems that implement mobile caching technology must comply with the requirements of operators in the network such as handover or handoff, billing system, and lawful interception.

However, while utilizing a mobile caching system is possible to ensure a stable and efficient data transmission, in order to comply with the requirements for operators in the network, problems related to billing processing and / or lawful interception may occur.

Thus, there is a need in the art for efficient techniques related to billing processing and / or lawful interference in such caching systems. Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2009-0128847 discloses techniques related to billing processing and the like in a caching system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a content delivery system for efficiently performing billing processing on content provided by a caching apparatus, which is devised in response to the background art described above.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention for realizing the above-described problem, a method for transmitting content transparent to a charging process, which is performed by a core node (CN), is disclosed. The method includes receiving a first packet from a caching device that includes information related to cached content sent to a user terminal and marking information for identifying a dummy packet; Generating a dummy packet having a size corresponding to the size of a packet used for content transmission to the user terminal by dummyting the first packet based on the information included in the received first packet ; And transmitting the generated dummy packet downward so that the generated dummy packet passes through a P-GW (PDN Gateway).

 In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a method of content delivery transparent to the charging process, performed by a P-GW, is disclosed. The method includes receiving a packet sent from a core node; Providing an interface for charging processing for the received packet; Determining whether the received packet is a dummy packet; If the received packet is determined to be a dummy packet, further processing the received packet; And when the received packet is not a dummy packet, transmitting the received packet downward toward the user terminal.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a method for transmitting content that is transparent to a charging process, performed by a caching apparatus, is disclosed. The method includes caching at least a portion of predetermined content; Receiving a content transmission request message from a user terminal; Determining whether content associated with the content transfer request message is the cached content; If the content related to the content transmission request message is determined to be cached content, transmitting the cached content to the user terminal; Generating a first packet including information related to cached content transmitted to the user terminal and marking information for identifying a dummy packet; And allowing a core node (CN) to dummy the first packet to generate a dummy packet having a size corresponding to the size of a packet used for content transmission to the user terminal. The method may include transmitting the generated first packet to the core node CN.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method of transmitting content that is transparent to a charging process performed in a filtering device is disclosed. The method includes receiving a packet originating from a core node and passing through a P-GW; Determining whether a predetermined value is marked in a predetermined field of the received packet, and if it is determined that the predetermined value is marked in the predetermined field, determining the received packet as a dummy packet; If the received packet is determined to be a dummy packet, further processing the received packet; And when the received packet is not a dummy packet, transmitting the received packet downward toward the user terminal.

A core node (CN) according to an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. The core node may include: a receiving module configured to receive a first packet from a caching apparatus, the first packet including information related to cached content transmitted to a user terminal and marking information for identifying a dummy packet; A dummy for generating a dummy packet having a size corresponding to the size of a packet used for content transmission to the user terminal by dummyting the first packet based on information included in the received first packet Packet generation module; And a transmission module configured to transmit the generated dummy packet downward so that the generated dummy packet passes through a P-GW (PDN Gateway).

A PDN GateWay (P-GW) according to an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. The P-GW includes: a receiving module for receiving a packet transmitted from a core node; A charging processing interface providing an interface for charging processing for the received packet; A control module for determining whether the received packet is a dummy packet, and if the received packet is determined to be a dummy packet, further processing the received packet; And a transmission module configured to transmit the received packet downward toward the user terminal when the received packet is not a dummy packet.

A caching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. The caching apparatus comprises: a caching module for caching at least a portion of predetermined content; A receiving module for receiving a content transmission request message from a user terminal; A control module for determining whether content associated with the content transfer request message is the cached content; And a transmission module for transmitting the cached content to the user terminal when the content related to the content transmission request message is determined as the cached content, wherein the control module further includes cached content transmitted to the user terminal. Generating a first packet including related information and marking information for identifying a dummy packet, and the transmitting module additionally causes a core node (CN) to dummy the first packet to the user terminal In order to allow generation of a dummy packet having a size corresponding to the size of a packet used for content transmission, the generated first packet may be transmitted to the core node CN.

A filtering device (FN) according to an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. The filtering device includes a receiving module for receiving a packet transmitted from a core node and passing through a P-GW; A control module for determining whether a predetermined value is marked in a predetermined field of the received packet, and if it is determined that the predetermined value is marked in the predetermined field, determining the received packet as a dummy packet; A filtering module for further processing the received packet if the received packet is determined to be a dummy packet; And a transmission module configured to transmit the received packet downward toward the user terminal when the received packet is not a dummy packet.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a content delivery system is disclosed. The content transmission system transmits cached corresponding content to the user terminal in response to a request for transmission of content from a user equipment (UE), and information and dummy packets related to the content transmitted to the user terminal. A caching apparatus for generating a first packet including marking information for identifying a packet and transmitting the generated first packet to a core node (CN); Generating a dummy packet having a size corresponding to the size of the packet used for the content transmission by dummyting the first packet based on the information included in the first packet, and generating the dummy packet A core node for transmitting downlink to pass through the P-GW; A P-GW providing a charging interface for the downlink transmitted dummy packet; And a filtering device for dropping the dummy packet by performing filtering on the dummy packet.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a content delivery system for efficiently performing billing processing on content provided by a caching apparatus.

Various aspects are now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like components throughout. In the following examples, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more aspects. However, it will be apparent that such aspect (s) may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing one or more aspects.

1 is a block diagram of a content delivery system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram of a core node according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a block diagram of a P-GW according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a block diagram of a filtering device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 shows a block diagram of a caching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a content transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a content transmission method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As used herein, the terms “component”, “module”, “system” and the like refer to computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, software, a combination of software and hardware, or the execution of software. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an thread of execution, a program, and / or a computer. For example, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be a component. One or more components can reside within a processor and / or thread of execution, and a component can be localized within one computer or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The components may for example be signals having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and / or data via a network such as the other system and the internet via signals and / or signals). May communicate via local and / or remote processes.

The description of the presented embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein but should be construed in the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features set forth herein.

Also, as used herein, the terms “process” and “process” can often be used interchangeably. In addition, the terms "user" and "client" as used herein are often used interchangeably. In addition, the terms "network" and "network" as used herein may often be used interchangeably.

1 is a block diagram of a content delivery system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the content delivery system 10 generally includes a core node (CN), a billing system (200b), a PDN gateway (P-GW, PDN gateway, 200a). ), Serving gateway (S-GW, Serving gateway, 700), policy management system (PCRF, Policy and Charging Rules Function (600), public Internet, caching device (EN, Edge Node) 400, filtering device (FN, Filter Node), a base station (eNB) and a user terminal 800 (UE, User Equipment) (client or user).

The core node 100, also referred to as a core network, is a high-speed backbone network of a large telecommunication network capable of large-capacity long distance voice and data services, a general switched telephone network (PSTN), an integrated telecommunication network (ISDN), and a wide area network (WAN). It may include a local area network (LAN) and a comprehensive cable broadcasting (CATV). In general, content may be serviced to a client via the core node 100. The core node 100 may obtain content from various content providers (CPs) such as the public Internet, a content source server (not shown), a data source server (not shown), and the like.

The billing processing device 200b may be located in an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network. In addition, although the charging processing device 200b is shown as being remote from the P-GW 200a in FIG. 1, the charging processing device 200b may be located in the P-GW 200a or P-GW ( 200a) may be independently located outside to communicate with the P-GW 200a. The billing processing apparatus 200b may monitor the network usage of the user and perform billing processing thereon. In a mobile network, since a pay-as-you-go policy is common in the charging policy of a data service, it may be important to charge according to network usage.

Additionally, the billing processing device 200b or P-GW 200a may be capable of performing lawful interception or may be in communication with a separate device for performing legal interception. Here, legal interception may mean intercepting the use of network packets by users for a legally permissible purpose. For example, we may legally intercept content used by a particular user for research purposes and for investigative purposes. This charging process (or legal interception) process may be performed when the packet passes through the P-GW 200a. That is, the P-GW 200a may provide an interface for billing processing (or legal interception). However, as shown in FIG. 1, in general, the caching apparatus 400 may be located at a lower layer than the P-GW 200a. Therefore, since the content stored in the caching apparatus 400 may be serviced to the client 800 without passing through the P-GW 200a, charging processing (or legal interception) may be performed on the content serviced by the caching apparatus 400. There has been a difficult problem.

The present invention can allow the content provided directly from the caching device 400 to the client 800, not through the core node 100, to pass through the P-GW 200a stage to efficiently perform the charging process. have. This will be described later.

The policy management system 600 may be configured as a combination of a service-based quality assurance policy setting supply function and a flow-based billing management function. The policy management system 600 collects basic service information from various service systems, performs authority verification of the corresponding service according to the policy decision of the network operator, and executes a QA policy and a charging policy for allocating network bandwidth. Can be delivered to. Additionally, policy management system 600 may provide charging information to the network. The policy management system 600 may manage the charging policy.

The serving gateway 700 may be located at a lower layer closer to the user 800 than the P-GW 200a. The serving gateway 700 may provide an anchoring function for terminal movement between a base station and a base station, between a 3GPP network and an E-UTRAN, and between a Long Term Evolution (LTE) and a 3GPP network.

Hereinafter, the operation of each network component according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

Since charging for a user in a general LTE network is made in connection with the P-GW 200a of the EPC network as described above, the user is provided to the user 800 and the network operator in a caching system including the caching apparatus 400. In order to maximize the effect, the caching apparatus 400 should be disposed in the vicinity of the user terminal 800. In this case, since the caching device 400 can directly reply to the user's content access request, the network resource such as bandwidth and communication power can be efficiently used, while the billing processing device 200b ), There may be a problem that can not grasp the charging information for the content delivered directly from the caching system to the user terminal (800).

Therefore, the present invention, the billing processing by passing the content delivered to the user terminal 800 by the caching device 400 located adjacent to the user terminal 800 through the P-GW 200a through the techniques presented below It is possible to achieve content transfer that is transparent to billing without affecting the billing process for device 200b.

The core node 100 may receive information related to cached content transmitted to the user terminal 800 and marking information for identifying a dummy packet from the caching apparatus 400. For example, when the caching apparatus 400 transmits cached content to the user terminal 800, a dictionary for inserting information related to the cached content (eg, packet size) into the payload and identifying a dummy packet. By marking the determined marking value on a specific bit (eg, an option field of a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) header), a packet (referred to as a first packet) to be transmitted to the core node 100 may be generated. That is, the caching apparatus 400 marks a value for identifying and filtering a dummy packet in a header of the first packet and inserts information about cached content transmitted to the user terminal 800 in a payload of the first packet. Therefore, the size of the first packet can be reduced to, for example, about 50 bytes (for example, when the size of the cached and transmitted packet is 1500 bytes).

The core node 100 transmits the content (eg, the packet size of the content, identification information of the user who has received the content, and / or is transmitted from the caching apparatus 400 to the user terminal 800 based on the information included in the first packet). Or marking information for identifying a dummy packet). For example, when the "Cynam's Gangnam Style" is transmitted from the caching apparatus 400 to the first user terminal 800 in FHD (Full High Definition) quality content, the core node 100 is connected to the content. Receive related information and marking information from the caching device 400 to identify the packet size and / or dummy packet for "Psy's Gangnam Style" transmitted in FHD from the caching device 400 to the first user terminal 800. Information for the purpose can be recognized. The description of the above-described content is merely an example, and the core node 100 may receive various information related to the cached content transmitted to the user terminal 800 from the caching apparatus 400.

For example, the information related to the cached content transmitted to the user terminal 800 received by the core node 100 may include size information about the content, information for identifying the content, and user terminal information through which the content is transmitted. And / or any information indicating that the content is provided by a caching device.

The information for identifying the content may include URL information of the content, chunk identifier information identifying the content chunk, total length information of the content, play time information, name of the content, address information of a content provider providing the content, and the like. . The size information about the content may include information about the capacity or packet size of a packet used to transmit the content. The user terminal information provided with the content may include identification information of the user terminal, identification information of the user, subscriber information of the user, and the like. The core node 100 may recognize a user who has received the content through the user terminal information.

For example, the above-described information may be included in a payload of a packet and transferred from the caching apparatus 400 to the core node 100. In addition, the above-described information may be transferred from the caching apparatus 400 to the core node 100 in any form, such as, for example, a control signal or a signaling or acknowledgment message. In a further aspect of the present invention, the above-described information may be conveyed in an option field of a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) header, for example. In addition, the information may be transferred from the caching apparatus 400 to the core node 100 through a separate protocol. The above-described information is merely an example, and according to an embodiment of the present invention, the core node 100 destinations the user 800 for a packet having the same size or content provided to the user 800 in the caching apparatus 400. It may include a variety of information to the downlink transmission.

The core node 100 may generate a packet having the same size as the cached content transmitted to the user terminal 800 based on the received information. In this specification, such a packet is referred to as a dummy packet.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the core node 100 may dummy the first packet including the information and marking information related to the content received from the caching apparatus 400. More specifically, the core node 100 parses the header and payload of the first packet received from the caching apparatus 400 to correspond to the size of the packet used for content transmission to the user terminal 800. The first packet may be changed into a dummy packet having a size. For example, the core node 100 only changes the size of the payload of the first packet received from the caching apparatus 400 so that the core node 100 has a size corresponding to the size of the packet used for content transmission to the user terminal 800. You can create a packet. Therefore, since the size of the packet transmitted from the caching apparatus 400 to the core node 100 is reduced for billing processing, the packet having the same size as the content serviced by the caching apparatus 400 is transferred to the core node 100. In the case of transmission, more efficient use of communication resources may be possible.

The above-described generation method of the dummy packet of the core node 100 is merely an example, and the core node 100 is caching transmitted to the user terminal through various paths (eg, the user terminal 800) and in various ways. The dummy node may generate a dummy packet having the same size as the content (for example, the same size as the Gangnam-style packet size of the PHD image quality), or generate a dummy packet in the caching apparatus 400 to generate the core packet. You can also pass it.

The core node 100 may transmit a packet including the content downward so that the generated dummy packet passes through the P-GW 200a. The downlink transmission may mean a transmission from the core node 100 toward the user terminal 800. According to an embodiment of the present invention as described above, although the content transmitted from the caching device 400 to the user terminal 800 is directly serviced in a lower layer of the network, the billing processing device 200b is the user The billing process may be performed on the content transmitted to the terminal 800.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the above-described downlink transmission of the dummy packet may be performed avoiding peak time. More specifically, the core node 100 may not immediately respond to receiving the information related to the content from the caching apparatus 400, but may transmit the dummy packet downward, for example, avoiding peak peak network times.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the above-described downlink transmission may be performed according to a predetermined period. The core node 100 does not immediately respond to receiving information related to the content from the caching apparatus 400, but generates dummy packets on a periodic basis, or performs downlink transmission of dummy packets on a periodic basis, for example. You may.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the above-described downlink transmission may be performed when data of a predetermined size is collected. For example, when the information about the content transmitted from the caching device 400 to the specific user 800 is received, and the size of the dummy packet to be generated corresponding to the received information is gathered into 100 megabytes (MB) at once or at a time, Downlink transmission can be performed at regular intervals. The number related to the size of the above-described packet is merely an example, and the core node 100 may collect data of a predetermined size in various units and transmit the data downward.

As described above, the caching apparatus 400 may insert information for determining the dummy packet size to be generated by the core node 100 into a specific field (eg, payload) of the first packet. In addition, the marking process in the first packet by the caching apparatus 400 may be performed in an option field of a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) header. The lower node may recognize that the packet is a dummy packet used to indicate that the packet is content transmitted from the caching apparatus 400 to the user 800 through the marking. That is, through this marking process, the lower node (eg, the filtering device or the P-GW (or the charging processing device)) may be allowed to recognize that the packet transmitted downward is a dummy packet.

In a further aspect of the invention, the marking may be performed by defining a separate protocol. The predetermined value to be marked includes an appropriate value that allows the lower node to recognize that the content contained in the packet at the lower node of the core node 100 is the content delivered from the caching device 400 to the user 500. can do. That is, the predetermined value to be marked may include any value that can make the packet transmitted downstream from the lower node of the core node 100 to be a dummy packet.

In a further aspect of the present invention, the predetermined decision may be a protocol previously agreed between at least two or more components of the caching apparatus 400, the core node 100, the charging processing apparatus 200b, and the filter node 300. . The above-described marking scheme is merely an example, and the caching apparatus 100 may mark the first packet in various ways.

In one aspect of the invention, the charging processing device 200b may be located (or integrated) with the P-GW 200a or located outside of the P-GW 200a to communicate with the P-GW 200a. It may be possible. When the billing processing device 200b is located in the P-GW 200a, the billing processing device 200b and the P-GW 200a may be used interchangeably herein.

The P-GW 200a may receive a dummy packet transmitted from the core node 100. As described above, the dummy packet may be a packet having the same size as the cached content transmitted to the user terminal 800. In addition, the P-GW 200a may also receive general packets (eg, packets containing uncached content) that are not dummy packets. The above-described packet is merely an example, and the P-GW 200a may receive all kinds of packets destined for the user 800.

The P-GW 200a may provide an interface for performing a charging process (or legal interception) on the received dummy packet or the received general packet. The charging process may be performed based at least in part on the received packet and user information. The charging process may be, for example, a charging process according to the network usage of the user according to the pay-as-you-go policy of the data service. The charging process can be performed variably according to the charging policy of the Internet service provider. In addition, the charging process may be performed based on the user information and the network usage information of the user. This charging process may be performed by the charging processing apparatus 200b which is in communication with the P-GW 200a.

In a further aspect of the present invention, the legal interception process may be to examine the contents of a packet including the content according to the research purpose or the investigation request of the investigating agency as described above. For example, a legitimate eavesdropping process may be performed by examining the payload of a packet containing content via deep packet inspection (DPI).

The above-described billing method is just an example, and various billing processes may be performed according to various policies of an Internet Service Provider (ISP). In addition, the foregoing legal interception process is merely an example, and the legal interception process may be performed in various ways according to various purposes.

In a further aspect of the invention, the P-GW 200a may determine whether the received packet is a packet marked with a predetermined value in a predetermined field. The determination may be performed in a manner that checks whether a predetermined value is marked in the predetermined field of the received packet. As described above, the predetermined field may be an option field of the TCP header of the packet. In addition, various methods of inspecting network packets may be included in the present invention. In addition, as described above, the P-GW 200a may determine whether the received packet is a marked packet through a separate protocol.

If the received packet is a marked packet, the P-GW 200a may determine that the received packet is a dummy packet (ie, a packet having only a size of a packet for billing processing). Since the dummy packet is merely a packet for billing processing, when such a dummy packet reaches a lower node such as the user terminal 800, unnecessary bandwidth and transmission power may be wasted. Thus, in order to reduce the bandwidth usage of the backhaul link, the P-GW 200a may perform an additional process on the marked packet.

The P-GW 200a may further process a packet including the received content when it is determined that the received packet is a packet marked with a predetermined value in a predetermined field. The further processing may include processing to filter the received packet, send it down to drop the filtered packet at a lower node, or drop the filtered packet at the P-GW 200a itself. Filtering the received packet may include identifying a marked packet among the received packet. When the received packet is a marked packet (i.e., a dummy packet), the dummy packet is a packet generated arbitrarily for billing processing, so that it does not use network resources of a lower node interval and also reduces transmission bandwidth. , P-GW 200a may perform the further processing.

In addition, the packet according to another embodiment of the present invention, as will be described later, the P-GW (200a) provides only the interface for the charging process, the filtering device 300 in the lower layer than the P-GW (200a) The dummy packet may be filtered and dropped. By dropping the marked packet in the P-GW 200a or a lower node (eg, the filtering device 300), the downlink transmitted dummy packet may be filtered and dropped before reaching the user terminal 800.

If the P-GW 200a determines that a predetermined value in the predetermined field of the received packet is not marked (i.e., the received packet is not a dummy packet, the packet is generally transmitted downward from the core node 100). If), the received packet may be transmitted downward to the user terminal (800). If the received packet is not a marked packet (ie, not a dummy packet), the content in the packet is content requested by the user terminal 800 (eg, content not serviced by the caching apparatus 400). Therefore, the P-GW 200a may transmit the received packet downward toward the user terminal 800.

In addition, the charging processing process may be performed in the charging processing apparatus 200b through the interface of the P-GW 200a or may be performed on the interface connecting the P-GW 200a and the S-GW 700. In addition, it may be performed by receiving information from the P-GW 200a in a separate device outside the P-GW 200a. The foregoing description is merely an example, and the charging processing device 200b may be located at various locations between the core node 100 and the user terminal 800 and may be located at a higher layer than the caching device 400.

The filtering device 300 may receive a packet transmitted from the charging processing device 200b or the P-GW 200a. The packet may be any packet (ie, a general packet and a dummy packet) transmitted downward from the core node 100 toward the user terminal 800. In other words, the packet may be a dummy packet generated by the core node 100 for charging processing, or may be a packet generally transmitted downward that includes content not serviced by the caching apparatus 400. The above-described packet is merely an example, and the filtering device 300 may receive all kinds of packets destined for the service user 800.

In one aspect of the present invention, the filtering device 300 may determine whether the received packet is a packet marked with a predetermined value in a predetermined field. The determination may be performed in a manner that checks whether a predetermined value is marked in the predetermined field of the received packet. As described above, the predetermined field may be an option field of the TCP header of the packet, for example. In addition, various methods of inspecting network packets may be included in the present invention.

As described above, the filtering device 300 may determine whether the received packet is a marked packet (ie, a dummy packet) through an arbitrary protocol. If the received packet is a marked packet, the filtering device 300 may determine that the received packet is a dummy packet. Accordingly, in order to prevent unnecessary use of network resources between lower nodes and to reduce transmission power and bandwidth usage of the backhaul link, the filtering device 300 may filter and drop the marked packets.

In one aspect of the present invention, when the filtering and drop process for the marked packet is performed in the filtering device 300, the P-GW 200a may omit the process of determining whether the received packet is a marked packet. have.

When the packet including the received content is determined to be a packet marked with a predetermined value in a predetermined field (ie, determined to be a dummy packet), the filtering device 300 may filter and drop the received packet. Can be. Filtering the received packet may include identifying a marked packet among the received packet. If the received packet is a marked packet, since the packet is a dummy packet arbitrarily generated by the core node 100 for the charging process, the filtering device 300 drops the dummy packet, thereby dropping the bandwidth of the backhaul link. Can reduce the cost. By dropping the dummy packet in the filtering device 300, the packet transmitted downward may be filtered and dropped before reaching the user terminal 800.

In one aspect of the present invention, the filtering device 300 is an optional configuration, where the filtering and drop process by the filtering device 300 is implemented when the P-GW 200a does not perform the filtering and drop process. Can be.

If it is determined that the received packet is not a marked packet (ie, a dummy packet) in the predetermined field, the filtering device 300 may transmit the received packet downward toward the user terminal 800. have. If the received packet is not a marked packet (that is, it is not a dummy packet), the content delivered by the packet is not provided by the caching apparatus 400 and thus the user terminal 800 is sent to the core node 100. Since the content is the requested content, the filtering device 300 may transmit the packet downward to the user terminal 800 without dropping the packet including the received content. Therefore, the packet in this case may be normally transmitted to the user terminal 800.

The filtering device 300 may be located, for example, at an upper layer of the S-GW 700 to reduce bandwidth of the backhaul link. According to another embodiment of the present invention, by dropping the marked packet through the filtering device 300, in a simple manner that does not excessively use network resources even for cached content in a conventional content delivery system environment. The charging process can be performed.

In one aspect of the invention, the caching apparatus 400 may cache at least a portion of the predetermined content. The caching apparatus 400 may cache the content according to a predetermined caching policy. The caching apparatus 400 may cache, for example, multi-request content or large-capacity content according to a predetermined criterion to reduce bandwidth of the backhaul link. The caching apparatus 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention may cache some of the content in chunks or cache all of the content. The caching apparatus 400 may obtain and cache an original content from a public Internet, a data source server, a content source server, and the like. The above-described content securing path is only an example, and the caching apparatus 400 may secure and cache the content through various paths (eg, content caching from the core node 100).

The caching apparatus 400 may receive a content transfer request message from the user terminal 800. The caching apparatus 400 may receive a content request message by intercepting a content request from the user terminal 800 to the core node 100 or the content provider CP. In this case, the caching apparatus 400 may operate transparently between the user terminal 800 and the core node 100.

The caching apparatus 400 may determine whether the content related to the content transfer request message is the cached content. The caching apparatus 400 may determine whether the requested content is cached based on the information for identifying the content. The information for identifying the content may include URL information of the content, chunk identifier information identifying the content chunk, total length information of the content, play time information, name of the content, address information of a content provider providing the content, and the like. . The caching apparatus 400 may determine whether to cache the corresponding content by comparing the content identification information included in the content request with the identification information of the cached content.

The caching apparatus 400 may transmit the cached content to the user terminal 800 when the content related to the content transmission request message is determined as the cached content (cache hit).

The caching apparatus 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention, in order to allow the core node 100 to generate a dummy packet having the same size as the content transmitted to the user terminal 800 and to transmit downlink, Information related to cached content transmitted to the user terminal 800 may be transmitted to the core node 100. Since the caching apparatus 400 is located at a lower layer than the charging apparatus 200b and the P-GW 200a, the content directly transmitted from the caching apparatus 400 to the user terminal 800 may be difficult to process. come.

Accordingly, the caching apparatus 400 allows the core node 100 to transmit a dummy packet having the same size as the content transmitted to the user terminal 800 to the core node 100 so that such a dummy packet is charged to the billing processing apparatus 200b and / Or by passing through the P-GW (200a), it is possible to perform the billing processing process. The information related to the cached content transmitted to the user terminal 800 indicates size information of the content, information for identifying the content, user terminal information to which the content is transmitted, and the content is content provided by a cache node. May contain any information.

That is, when the caching apparatus 400 transmits the cached content to the user terminal 800, the predetermined marking for inserting information (eg, packet size) related to the cached content into the payload and identifying the dummy packet. By marking a value in a particular bit (eg, an optional field of a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) header), a packet (referred to as the first packet) to send to the core node 100 can be generated. Accordingly, as described above, the core node 100 dummyizes the received first packet (ie, changes the size of the first packet based on information included in the payload of the first packet). Can be generated.

In addition, according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the caching apparatus 100 may transmit a first packet including information related to cached content transmitted to the user terminal to the core node 100 avoiding peak time. .

In addition, according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the caching apparatus 400 may transmit information (first packet) related to cached content transmitted to the user terminal 800 according to a predetermined period, to the core node 100. Can be sent to. Further, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the caching apparatus 400 is transmitted to the user terminal 800 when the cached content (or the size of the content) transmitted to the user terminal reaches a certain size Information about the cached content may be transmitted to the core node 100. For example, when a specific user receives Psy's Gangnam Style (31MB) and Girls 'Generation Girls' Generation (69MB) music video from a caching device, the caching device (if the specific user receives 100MB of content) 400 may transmit information related to the cached Psy's Gangnam style and Girls 'Generation Girls' Music video to the core node 100. The above-described content and the size of the contents are only examples, and the caching apparatus 400 integrates the content transmission history of the caching apparatus 400 in various size units to core information related to the cached content transmitted to the user terminal 800. May transmit to node 100.

The caching apparatus 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be located at an edge node (EN). In addition, the caching apparatus 400 may be located in the base station eNB. The above-described location is merely an example, and the caching apparatus 400 may be located in a layer close to the user terminal 800 in order to greatly reduce content transmission.

2 is a block diagram of a core node according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The core node 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a reception module 110, a dummy packet generation module 130, a transmission module 150, and a control module 170. The above-described components are merely exemplary, and the core node 100 may include additional components other than the above-described components or may omit some of the above-described components.

According to one aspect of the invention, the receiving module 110 is a public Internet, content source server, data source server, caching apparatus 400, P-GW (200a), the user terminal 800 and other wired / wireless communication system It may include one or more modules that enable wired / wireless communication with the network. The receiving module 110 may include a wired / wireless internet module for network connection. Wireless Internet technologies may include Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi), Wireless Broadband (Wibro), World Interoperability for Microwave Access (Wimax), High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), and the like. Wired Internet technologies may include Digital Subscriber Line (XDSL), Fibers to the home (FTTH), Power Line Communication (PLC), and the like. The receiving module 110 may receive information related to the cached content transmitted to the user terminal 800 from the caching apparatus 400, according to an exemplary embodiment. Information related to cached content has been described above, and thus will be omitted.

The dummy packet generation module 130 generates a dummy packet having the same size as the packet for the cached content that has been transmitted to the user terminal 800 based on the information (first packet) received from the caching apparatus 400. Can be generated. For example, the dummy packet generation module 130 may generate the dummy packet by parsing the information included in the payload of the received first packet and dummyting the first packet. This dummy process may mean changing the size of the first packet to a size having the same size as the packet for the cached content that has been transmitted to the user terminal 800.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the first packet dummy operation may be performed by the control module 170 of the core node 100. In addition, the dummy packet generation module 130 may include a wired / wireless internet module for network connection in order to perform agreement on which fields of the dummy packet are marked with which nodes.

The transmission module 150 may transmit arbitrary data such as a packet to a lower layer of the core node 100. The transmission module 150 may transmit the dummy packet downward so that the dummy packet passes through the charging processing device 200b according to an embodiment of the present invention. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the dummy packet may be a marked packet. The transmission module 150 may also include a wired / wireless internet module for network connection. In addition, the transmission module 150 may also implement downlink transmission for general packets other than dummy packets.

The control module 170 may control the overall operation of the core node 100. The control module 170 may execute a software code or a programming language.

Various embodiments described herein may be implemented in a recording medium readable by a computer or similar device using, for example, software, hardware or a combination thereof.

According to a hardware implementation, the embodiments described herein include application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and the like. It may be implemented using at least one of a processor, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, and electrical units for performing other functions. The described embodiments may be implemented by the control module 170 itself.

3 shows a block diagram of a P-GW 200a according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The P-GW 200a may receive a dummy packet from the core node 100, provide a charging processing interface for the charging processing apparatus 200b, and then perform a downlink transmission or filtering and drop process on the dummy packet. have.

The P-GW 200a according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a receiving module 210, a charging processing interface 230, a control module 250, a filtering module 270, and a transmitting module 290. . The above-described components are merely exemplary, and the P-GW 200a may include additional components other than the above-described components or may omit some of the above-described components.

The receiving module 210 may include a wired / wireless internet module for network connection. The receiving module 210 may receive any packet including a dummy packet transmitted from the core node 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The billing processing interface 230 may communicate with the billing processing device 200b and / or provide the billing processing interface for the billing processing device 200b to perform a billing process for the received packet. This charging process may be performed according to the policy of the Internet service provider. The charging process will be omitted since it has been described above with reference to FIG. 1.

The control module 250 may control overall operations of the P-GW 200a. In addition, the control module 250 may perform the operations performed by the filtering module 270 to be described below.

The filtering module 270 may determine whether the received packet is a packet marked with a predetermined value (ie, a dummy packet) in a predetermined field. A detailed determination method for the dummy packet is as described above. In addition, the technique related to the predetermined decision may be a previously agreed protocol between at least two or more components of the core node 100, the P-GW 200a, the filtering device 300, and the caching device 400 as described above. . As described above, the filtering module 270 may recognize that the packet is a packet only for the charging process when the received packet is a packet (ie, a dummy packet) in which a predetermined value is marked in a predetermined field. The filtering module 270 may determine whether to perform the additional process or transmit the downlink according to whether the received packet is marked. The further process is as described above. The filtering module 270 may reduce the bandwidth usage of the backhaul link by determining to drop the marked packet.

In a further aspect of the present invention, the filtering module 270 in the P-GW 200a may be omitted if the filtering and drop process is implemented by a lower node (eg, filtering device).

The transmission module 290 may include a wired / wireless internet module for network connection. The transmitting module 290 may transmit the received packet downward toward the user terminal when the received packet is not a packet marked with a predetermined value in a predetermined field. Alternatively, the transmission module 290 may automatically deliver the received packet to the lower node when the charging process for the received packet is completed without determining whether the received packet is marked. In addition, if the packet including the received content is not a marked packet, the transmission module 290 is not a dummy packet, and thus transmits the packet downward toward the user terminal 800 without performing an additional process. Can be.

4 is a block diagram of a filtering device 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The filtering device 300 may include a reception module 310, a control module 330, a filtering module 350, and a transmission module 370. The above-described components are merely exemplary, and the filtering device 300 may include additional components other than the above-described components or may omit some of the above-described components.

The filtering device 300 is an optional configuration. When the filtering and drop process for the dummy packet is implemented by an upper node (eg, the P-GW 200a), the filtering device 300 may be omitted. .

The receiving module 310 may include a wired / wireless internet module for network connection. The receiving module 310 may receive a packet transmitted from the core node 100 and transmitted from the P-GW 200a according to an embodiment of the present invention. The received packet may receive any packet transmitted downward.

The control module 330 may control the overall operation of the filtering device 300 and may perform the operations of the filtering module 350 of the filtering device 300 instead. In this case, the filtering module 350 may be omitted. The control module 330 may implement agreement with other node (s) on an agreement for marking a dummy packet.

The filtering module 350 may determine whether the received packet is a packet marked with a predetermined value in a predetermined field. In addition, the technique related to the predetermined decision may be a previously agreed protocol between at least two or more components of the core node 100, the P-GW 200a, the filtering device 300, and the caching device 400 as described above. . The filtering module 350 may perform a filtering and drop process of the dummy packet as described above.

The transmission module 370 may include a wired / wireless internet module for network connection. The transmission module 370 may transmit the received packet downward toward the user terminal 800 when it is determined that the received packet is not a marked packet (that is, a dummy packet) in a predetermined field. have.

5 shows a block diagram of a caching apparatus 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The caching apparatus 400 may include a caching module 410, a receiving module 430, a control module 450, and a transmission module 470. The above-described components are merely examples, and the caching apparatus 400 may include additional components other than the above-described components or may omit some of the above-described components.

The caching module 410 may cache at least a portion of the predetermined content. The caching apparatus 410 may cache at least a portion of various cached content, such as multi-request content or large content determined to be cached. The caching module 410 may include a storage space for storing content. In addition, the caching module 410 may include a network module for securing content in case of a cache miss. The caching module 410 performs an overall caching operation, as described above.

The receiving module 430 may transparently intercept a content request of the user terminal 800. In addition, the reception module 430 may receive content to be cached from the core node 100 and the content provider CP.

The control module 450 may control the overall operation of the caching apparatus 400. The control module 450 may determine whether the content related to the content request message from the user terminal 800 is the cached content. The method of determining whether the content requested from the user terminal 800 is cached content is as described above.

The transmission module 470 may include a wired / wireless internet module for network connection. If the content related to the content transmission request message is determined as the cached content, the transmission module 470 transmits the cached content to the user terminal 800, and causes the core node 100 to transmit the cached content to the user terminal ( The core may include a first packet including information and marking information related to the cached content transmitted to the user terminal 800 to allow generation and downlink transmission of a dummy packet having the same size as the content transmitted to the user terminal 800. May transmit to node 100.

That is, the caching apparatus 400 may insert information related to the cached content in the payload of the first packet and mark the information for identifying the dummy packet in the header of the first packet. Accordingly, the core node 100 may change the first packet into a dummy packet by changing the size of the first packet received from the caching apparatus 400 to a size corresponding to the size of the packet used for transmitting the cached content. .

In addition, when the content related to the content transmission request message is not the cached content, the transmission module 470 may transmit the content request message to the higher node to secure the content.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a content transmission method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Each step of the flowchart included in FIG. 6 is not essential and some steps may be added or omitted as necessary.

The user terminal 800 may request the content desired by the caching apparatus 400 (601). The content request may be sent from the user terminal 800 to the core node 100 (or content provider CP.) In this case, the caching apparatus 400 may intercept the content request (transparently).

The caching apparatus 400 may determine whether the requested content is cached content (602).

Then, when the requested content is cached content (cache hit), the caching apparatus 400 may transmit the cached content to the user terminal 800 (603). In addition, although not shown in the drawing, the caching apparatus 400 may transmit a request for the content to a higher node when the requested content is not cached content (cache miss).

The caching apparatus 400 may allow the core node 100 to generate and transmit a dummy packet that satisfies the size of the packet transmitted to the user terminal 800 according to an embodiment of the present invention. A first packet including information related to cached content transmitted to the user terminal 800 (eg, packet size) and marking information for identifying a dummy packet may be transmitted to the core node 100 (604). . For example, the caching apparatus 400 may insert information related to the cached content into the payload of the first packet and mark a predetermined value to identify the dummy packet in the header of the first packet. The caching apparatus 400 may then transmit the first packet to the core node 100. The predetermined field and the predetermined value may be predefined by agreement by a plurality of nodes as described above. For example, the predetermined field may be an option field of the TCP header, and the predetermined value may be one.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the caching apparatus 400 may transmit the first packet to the core node 100 avoiding the peak time. In addition, as described above, according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the caching apparatus 400 may transmit the first packet to the core node 100 at predetermined intervals. In addition, the caching apparatus 400 may transmit to the core node 100 when the amount of information of the first packet satisfies a predetermined threshold.

The core node 100 may generate a dummy packet that satisfies the size of the packet transmitted to the user terminal 800 by dummyting the first packet based on the first packet (605). More specifically, the core node 100 converts the size of the first packet into a size corresponding to the size of the cached content based on the information on the cached content included in the payload of the first packet to convert the first packet. It can be changed to a dummy packet.

Thereafter, the core node 100 may transmit the generated dummy packet downward (606). The core node 100 may transmit the dummy packet downward so that the dummy packet passes through the P-GW 200a. As described above, the core node 100 may perform the downlink transmission by avoiding the peak time or according to a certain period or when a predetermined criterion is satisfied (for example, when the capacity criterion is satisfied).

P-GW 200a may provide an interface for the charging process for the received packet (607). When the packet reaches the P-GW 200a, the charging processing process in the charging processing apparatus 200b may be performed through the charging processing interface of the P-GW 200a.

Then, when the charging process for the received packet is performed, the P-GW 200a may transmit the received packet downward (608). In a further aspect of the present invention, the P-GW 200a may transmit the received packet downward after checking whether the received packet is a dummy packet.

The filtering device 300 may determine whether the received packet is a marked packet (ie, a dummy packet) in a predetermined field (609).

If it is determined that the received packet is a dummy packet, the filtering device 300 may filter the received packet and drop the filtered packet (610). That is, the filtering device 300 may drop the dummy packet, and the dummy packet transmitted downward may be filtered and dropped before reaching the user terminal 800. Therefore, the filtering device 300 may reduce the bandwidth usage of the backhaul link.

If the received packet is not a dummy packet, the filtering device 300 may transmit the received packet downward to the lower node (611). If the packet is not a marked packet, the packet is not a dummy packet but a packet that is normally transmitted, and thus the filtering device 300 may transmit the packet to the user terminal 800.

By the above-described method, since the dummy packet of the same size as serviced by the caching apparatus 400 is allowed to pass through the charging processing apparatus or the P-GW, charging processing for the packet serviced by the caching apparatus 400 is performed. It may be possible. In addition, by transmitting the original content serviced by the caching apparatus 400 back to the core node 100 again, causing excessive uplink traffic and wasting network bandwidth may also be prevented by the aforementioned method.

Additionally, according to one aspect of the present invention, network resources are efficient because the core node 100 does not have to retain the same content as at least all of the caching devices 400 serviced or at least know the stored nearby location or need to retransmit. Can be managed. In addition, in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the core node 100 needs to mount a separate cache logic that degrades the performance of the core node 100 in order to find and service the same content serviced by the caching apparatus 400. It can also be removed. Furthermore, according to one aspect of the present invention, the advantage that the process of creating a dummy packet of the same size can significantly reduce the transmission delay compared to directly finding and serving the content.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a content transmission method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Each step of the flowchart included in FIG. 7 is not essential and some steps may be added or omitted as necessary.

Steps 701 to 707 described in FIG. 7 are the same as steps 601 to 607 described in FIG. 6 and will be replaced by the above description.

For step 708 of FIG. 7, the P-GW 200a may determine 708 whether the received packet is a packet (ie, a dummy packet) whose predetermined value is marked in a predetermined field.

If it is determined that the packet received by the P-GW 200a is a marked packet (ie, a dummy packet), the P-GW 200a may filter the received packet and drop the filtered packet (709). . That is, the P-GW 200a according to an aspect of the present invention may perform the function of the aforementioned filtering device 300.

If the received packet is not a dummy packet, the P-GW 200a may transmit the received packet downward toward the user terminal 800 (710).

Therefore, through the embodiment according to FIG. 7, the need for a separate filtering device 300 can be eliminated, and since the number of nodes can be reduced, the point of failure can be reduced, thereby enabling easier network configuration. There is an advantage that it can.

One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, instructions, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced in the above description may include voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields. Or particles, or any combination thereof.

One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that the various exemplary logical blocks, modules, processors, means, circuits and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented in electronic hardware, It will be appreciated that for purposes of the present invention, various forms of program or design code, or combinations thereof, may be implemented. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in various ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

The various embodiments presented herein may be embodied in a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" includes a computer program, carrier, or media accessible from any computer-readable device. For example, computer-readable media may include magnetic storage devices (eg, hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic strips, etc.), optical discs (eg, CDs, DVDs, etc.), smart cards, and flash memory. Devices, such as, but not limited to, EEPROM, cards, sticks, key drives, and the like. In addition, various storage media presented herein include one or more devices and / or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term “machine-readable medium” includes, but is not limited to, a wireless channel and various other media capable of storing, holding, and / or delivering instruction (s) and / or data.

It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the processes presented is an example of exemplary approaches. Based upon design priorities, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the processes may be rearranged within the scope of the present invention. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order, but are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

The description of the presented embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein but should be construed in the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features set forth herein.

As described above, related contents have been described in the best mode for carrying out the invention.

The present invention can be used for mobile caching technology and the like.

Claims (24)

1. A content transmission method transparent to a charging process performed by a core node (CN),

   Receiving a first packet from a caching device that includes information related to the cached content transmitted to the user terminal and marking information for identifying a dummy packet;

   Generating a dummy packet having a size corresponding to the size of a packet used for content transmission to the user terminal by dummyting the first packet based on information included in the received first packet; And

   Transmitting the generated dummy packet downward so that the generated dummy packet passes through a P-GW (PDN Gateway);

   Including,

   How to deliver content transparent to the charging process.
2. The method of claim 1,

   Information related to the cached content,

   Including size information of a packet used to transmit content to the user terminal, and user terminal information to which content is transmitted;

   How to deliver content transparent to the charging process.
3. The method of claim 1,

   Information related to the cached content is inserted into a payload of the first packet, and

   The marking information comprises a predetermined value marked in a header of the first packet,

   How to deliver content transparent to the charging process.
4. The method of claim 1,

   Generating the dummy packet,

   Changing a size of the first packet according to information associated with the cached content included in the received first packet;

   Including,

   How to deliver content transparent to the charging process.
5. The method of claim 1,

   The downlink transmitted dummy packet,

   Filtered and dropped before reaching the user terminal,

   How to deliver content transparent to the charging process.
6. A content delivery method transparent to the charging process, performed by a P-GW,

   Receiving a packet transmitted from a core node;

   Providing an interface for charging processing for the received packet;

   Determining whether the received packet is a dummy packet;

   If the received packet is determined to be a dummy packet, further processing the received packet; And

   If the received packet is not a dummy packet, transmitting the received packet downward toward a user terminal;

   Including,

   Transmission method transparent to the charging process.
7. The method of claim 6,

   The dummy packet is,

   Corresponds to the size of a packet used for transmitting cached content to the user terminal, generated based on information associated with cached content sent from a caching device to the user terminal and marking information sent from the caching device to the core node. Including a packet having a size of

   How to deliver content transparent to the charging process.
8. The method of claim 6,

   Determining whether the received packet is a dummy packet,

   Determining whether a predetermined value is marked in a predetermined field of the received packet; And

   If it is determined that the predetermined value is marked in the predetermined field, determining the received packet as a dummy packet;

   Including,

   How to deliver content transparent to the charging process.
9. The method of claim 6,

   Further processing the received packet includes:

   Filtering the received packet; And

   Transmitting the filtered packet downward so that the filtered packet can be dropped by a lower node;

   Including,

   How to deliver content transparent to the charging process.
10. The method of claim 6,

    Further processing the received packet includes:

    Filtering the received packet; And

    Dropping the filtered packet;

    Including,

    How to deliver content transparent to the charging process.
11. A method of transmitting content transparent to a charging process, performed by a caching device,

    Caching at least a portion of the predetermined content;

    Receiving a content transmission request message from a user terminal;

    Determining whether content associated with the content transfer request message is the cached content;

    If the content related to the content transmission request message is determined to be cached content, transmitting the cached content to the user terminal;

    Generating a first packet including information related to cached content transmitted to the user terminal and marking information for identifying a dummy packet; And

    In order to allow a core node (CN) to dummy the first packet to generate a dummy packet having a size corresponding to the size of a packet used for content transmission to the user terminal, Transmitting the generated first packet to the core node (CN);

    Including,

    How to deliver content transparent to the charging process.
12. The method of claim 11,

    The information related to the cached content transmitted to the user terminal,

    Including size information of a packet used to transmit content to the user terminal, and user terminal information to which content is transmitted;

    How to deliver content transparent to the charging process.
13. The method of claim 11,

    Generating the first packet,

    Inserting size information of a packet used for content transmission to the user terminal and user terminal information on which content is transmitted, into a payload of the first packet; And

    Marking a predetermined value in a header of the first packet;

    Including,

    How to deliver content transparent to the charging process.
14. The method of claim 11,

    The caching apparatus is located at an edge node (EN),

    How to deliver content transparent to the charging process.
15. A method of transmitting content that is transparent to the charging process performed by the filtering device.

    Receiving a packet originating from the core node and passing through the P-GW;

    Determining whether a predetermined value is marked in a predetermined field of the received packet, and if it is determined that the predetermined value is marked in the predetermined field, determining the received packet as a dummy packet;

    If the received packet is determined to be a dummy packet, further processing the received packet; And

    If the received packet is not a dummy packet, transmitting the received packet downward toward a user terminal;

    Including,

    How to deliver content transparent to the charging process.
16. As a core node (CN),

    A receiving module for receiving a first packet from a caching apparatus including information related to cached content transmitted to a user terminal and marking information for identifying a dummy packet;

    Dummy packet generation module for generating a dummy packet having a size corresponding to the size of the packet used for the content transmission to the user terminal by dummyting the first packet based on the information contained in the received first packet ; And

    A transmission module for transmitting the generated dummy packet downward so that the generated dummy packet passes through a P-GW (PDN Gateway);

    Including,

    Core node.
17. As P-GW,

    A receiving module for receiving a packet transmitted from a core node;

    A charging processing interface providing an interface for charging processing for the received packet;

    A control module for determining whether the received packet is a dummy packet, and if the received packet is determined to be a dummy packet, further processing the received packet; And

    A transmission module configured to transmit the received packet downward toward a user terminal when the received packet is not a dummy packet;

    Including,

    P-GW.
18. As a caching device,

    A caching module for caching at least a portion of the predetermined content;

    A receiving module for receiving a content transmission request message from a user terminal;

    A control module for determining whether content associated with the content transfer request message is the cached content; And

    A transmission module for transmitting the cached content to the user terminal when the content related to the content transmission request message is determined as the cached content;

    Including;

    The control module further generates a first packet including information related to cached content transmitted to the user terminal and marking information for identifying a dummy packet, and

    The transmission module may further cause a core node (CN) to dummy the first packet and to generate a dummy packet having a size corresponding to the size of a packet used for content transmission to the user terminal. Sending the generated first packet to the core node CN, to allow generation,

    Caching device.
19. As a filtering device (FN: Filter Node),

    A receiving module for receiving a packet originating from the core node and passing through the P-GW;

    A control module for determining whether a predetermined value is marked in a predetermined field of the received packet, and if it is determined that the predetermined value is marked in the predetermined field, determining the received packet as a dummy packet;

    A filtering module for further processing the received packet if the received packet is determined to be a dummy packet; And

    A transmission module configured to transmit the received packet downward toward a user terminal when the received packet is not a dummy packet;

    Including,

    Filtering device.
20. As a content delivery system,

    In response to a request for transmission of content from a user equipment (UE), the cached corresponding content is transmitted to the user terminal, and marking information for identifying dummy packets and information related to the content transmitted to the user terminal. A caching device generating a first packet including a and transmitting the generated first packet to a core node (CN); And

    Generating a dummy packet having a size corresponding to the size of the packet used for the content transmission by dummyting the first packet based on the information included in the first packet, and generating the dummy packet A core node for transmitting downlink to pass through the P-GW;

    Including,

    Content delivery system.
21. The method of claim 20,

    A P-GW providing a charging processing interface for the downlink transmitted dummy packet;

    Further comprising,

    Content delivery system.
22. The method of claim 21,

    The P-GW is additionally,

    After the charging process is performed, dropping the dummy packet by performing filtering on the dummy packet,

    Content delivery system.
23. The method of claim 21,

    The P-GW additionally transmits the dummy packet to a filtering node (FN: Filter Node) after the charging process is performed, and

    The content delivery system,

    And the filtering device for dropping the dummy packet by performing filtering on the dummy packet.

    Content delivery system.
24. The method of claim 23,

    The filtering device additionally,

    Determine whether a predetermined value is marked in a predetermined field of the dummy packet received by the filtering device, and

    Filtering and dropping the dummy packet when it is determined that the predetermined value is marked in the predetermined field,

    Content delivery system.

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