WO2008128454A1 - Method and apparatus for policy and charging control - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and apparatus for the policy and the charging control, the method includes: obtaining the terminal ability information; and accomplishing the accessing policy and the charging control of the business requirement according to the terminal ability information and the corresponding client sign information when the business requirement is received. The apparatus includes the obtaining unit which is used to obtaining the terminal ability information and the policy and charging control unit which is used to accomplishing the accessing policy and the charging control of the business requirement according to the terminal ability information and the corresponding client sign information when the business requirement is received.

Description

 Method and device for policy and charging control

 The present application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 200710098355.9, entitled "Policy and Billing Control Method and Apparatus", filed on April 19, 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. In the application.

Technical field

 The present invention relates to mobile communication technologies, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for policy and charging control.

Background technique

 The 3GPP, Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), as the next generation of digital communication technology innovation trends and goals, is undoubtedly one of the most popular hotspots in the world today. The 3GPP network structure includes a circuit domain and a packet domain. Based on the existing PS domain network, the IP Multimedia Core Network Subsystem (IMS) network is superimposed, and the SIP Initiation Protocol (SIP) is introduced as a service control protocol, so that SIP is simple. The features of easy extension and convenient media combination separate the service control from the bearer control and provide rich multimedia services for the terminal. For a more detailed description of IMS, please refer to the protocol 3GPP TS 23.228 νό.10.0, which will not be described here.

However, in order to enhance the competitiveness of future networks, 3GPP is studying a new evolutionary network architecture, including System Architecture Evolution (SAE) and Long Term Evolution (LTE), in which evolution The access network is called E-UTRAN, and the evolved packet core network architecture mainly includes: mobility management entity (ΜΜΕ, Mobility Management Entity), user plane entity (UPE, User Plane Entity), and users between different access systems. IAS (Inter Access System Anchor) logical functional entity. The MME is responsible for the mobility management of the control plane, including user context and mobility state management, assigning user temporary identity, etc., corresponding to the current General Packet Radio Service (GPRS, General Packet Radio Service) / Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS, Universal) Mobile Telecommunications System) The control plane part of the GPRS Supporting Node (SGSN); the UPE manages the IP bearer parameters and the intra-network routing information, corresponding to the data plane part of the SGSN and GGSN of the current GPRS/UMTS system. IASA acts as a user plane anchor between different access systems, where 3GPP Anchor logical functional entities It is the user face error point between the second generation mobile communication (2G, Second Generation) / second generation mobile communication (3G, Third Generation) access system and the LTE access system, and the SAE Anchor function entity is the 3GPP access system. User plane anchors between non-3GPP access systems. The Policy and Charging Rule Function (PCRF) is used for policy control decisions and flow accounting control functions. The Home Subscriber Server (HSS) is used to store user subscription information.

 Please refer to FIG. 1 , which is a schematic structural diagram of a Policy and Charging Control (PCC) in a prior art 3GPP system. As shown in FIG. 1 , the policy and charging control system includes: an application function entity (AF), a policy and charging rule function (PCRF), and a user policy subscription database ( SPR, Subscription Profile Repository 13. Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) 141. Online Charging System (OCS) 15. Offline Charging System (OFCS) 16 and a logical entity such as a gateway (GW, Gateway) 14 , wherein the AF 11 is a network element providing an application, and the application requires dynamic policy control; the PCRF 12 mainly performs a policy control decision and a flow charging control function; For storing the policy and charging related subscription data that the PCRF 12 needs to use; the PCEF 141 mainly includes a service data flow detection, a policy execution, and a flow accounting function, and is a functional entity that can be integrated on the gateway 14 device; the OCS 15 Mainly responsible for online charging function; the OFCS16 is mainly negative Responsible for offline billing.

 At present, the 3GPP is gradually adopting the PCC structure to complete the bearer policy and charging control. The policy and charging can be initiated by the terminal or by the AF. The AF-initiated policy and charging are used as an example. The specific implementation process is:

Before establishing a service connection, the terminal completes the service capability negotiation with the AF, for example, completing the address negotiation between the calling party and the called party and the supported media type, and the AF request PCRF establishes a service connection, where the request includes the user identifier and the IP access type. Information such as the media type, the service description, and the bandwidth requirement. After receiving the request, the PCRF needs to obtain the subscription information of the user. If the subscription information of the user can be obtained, the content of the subscription information and the request of the AF are obtained according to the subscription information. And the algorithm defined in the PCRF performs access policy and charging control, and if the user is allowed to access, requests the core network to execute the policy and charging rule of the user; after receiving the request, the core network connects to the wireless Initiating a wireless resource request by entering the network; The radio access network negotiates with the terminal to complete control of the radio resource, allocates corresponding radio resources to the user, and feeds back the response of the radio resource allocation completion to the core network.

 In the above process, when the PCRF performs policy and charging control, it will be based on the user's IP access type (such as GPRS, IWLAN, LTE, etc.) and service requirements, as well as user subscription information (such as allowed service capabilities, billing). Mode, etc., the maximum bandwidth corresponding to each type of service quality of the user is used as input to complete the control of the policy, and in the prior art mobile network, the user and the terminal are actually separable (such as mobile phone and SIM card) The above information does not fully reflect the service support capability of the user and the terminal. When the terminal capability of the user and the subscription data of the user cannot be completely matched, the policy delivery may fail. The wireless resource may be wasted for a certain period of time and the user experience may be deteriorated. . That is, when the radio access network negotiates with the terminal for the service capability (such as the bandwidth that can be supported), if the service capability of the terminal cannot be satisfied, the negotiation fails; for example, a certain service of the terminal can only support 512K bandwidth. However, the service requirement of the radio access network is not less than 1M bandwidth, and the bandwidth of the user when signing the contract is 1M. At this time, the radio access network cannot obtain accurate terminal capability information, and the negotiation with the terminal fails.

Summary of the invention

 Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and apparatus for policy and charging control, so as to improve the accuracy and timeliness of policies and charging control according to terminal capability information, and reduce resource waste.

 To this end, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for policy and charging control, where the method includes the steps of: acquiring terminal capability information;

 And completing the access policy and charging control of the service request according to the terminal capability information and the corresponding user subscription information.

 The embodiment of the present invention further provides an apparatus for policy and charging control, where the apparatus includes: an acquiring unit, configured to acquire terminal capability information;

 The policy and charging control unit is configured to perform an access policy and charging control of the service request according to the terminal capability information and the corresponding user subscription information.

 According to the foregoing technical solution, before performing the policy decision, the embodiment of the present invention first acquires the terminal capability information of the user, and performs decision and charging control according to the terminal capability information and the corresponding user subscription information, thereby improving the PCC policy. Accuracy and timeliness.

DRAWINGS 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a policy and charging control PCC in a prior art 3GPP system; FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for policy and charging control in an embodiment of the present invention;

 3 is a first embodiment of acquiring terminal capability information in FIG. 2;

 4 is a second embodiment of acquiring terminal capability information in FIG. 2;

 FIG. 5 is a third embodiment of acquiring terminal capability information in FIG. 2; FIG.

 FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an application of the terminal capability information being a radio access capability according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus for policy and charging control according to an embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the invention will be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be pointed out at the outset that the meanings of the terms, words and claims used in the present invention are not limited to their literal and ordinary meanings, but also include meanings and concepts which are in accordance with the techniques of the present invention, because As inventors, we should properly define the terminology in order to best describe our invention. Therefore, the configurations given in the present specification and the drawings are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to enumerate all of the technical features of the present invention. We need to recognize that there are a variety of equivalents or modifications that can replace our solutions.

 The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the drawings and embodiments.

 Referring to FIG. 2, it is a flowchart of a method for policy and charging control according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the method includes:

 Step S201: Obtain terminal capability information.

 Step S202: The access policy and charging control of the service request are completed according to the terminal capability information and the corresponding user subscription information.

 In this embodiment, the network side (such as a PCRF, etc.) first needs to obtain terminal capability information, and corresponding user subscription information, and then complete the service request access policy and calculation based on the terminal capability information and the user subscription information. Fee rule control. The terminal capability information includes at least one of the following: a radio access capability (such as an IP-CAN type, etc.); a service support capability; a support service list (such as MBMS, etc.); a maximum bandwidth (or a service level maximum) Bandwidth, etc.); remaining bandwidth. However, it is not limited to the disclosed content, and may include other information.

In this embodiment, the network side obtains the terminal capability information by using the following methods, but is not limited thereto, and then completing the access policy according to the terminal capability information and the corresponding user subscription information. Fee control. In order to facilitate the understanding of those skilled in the art, the following description will be respectively made.

 Referring to FIG. 3, a first embodiment of acquiring terminal capability information is performed in FIG. 2; in this embodiment, when a service request (including establishment or modification) initiated by the network side is performed, the terminal capability information is carried in the service negotiation phase, and The terminal capability information notifies the PCRF, and the PCRF uses this as an input to complete the policy and charging control in combination with other information. The specific implementation process is that the process described in this embodiment is only related to the description of the present invention, and the actual process may be different from the above, and is not used to limit the present application, the same below, no longer praised. :

 1. When the AF initiates a service request on the network side, the terminal completes service negotiation with the AF, such as completing the address negotiation between the primary and the called parties; the supported media type; the terminal capability information;

 2. The AF requesting the PCRF of the network side establishes a service connection, where the request carries the identifier of the user, an IP access type (such as GPRS, IWLAN, LTE, etc.), a media type, a bandwidth requirement, a service description (such as a source and a destination). Address, port number, protocol, etc.) and terminal capability information;

 3. The PCRF first searches for the subscription information of the user. If the user does not have the subscription information, the user is subscribed to the information base SPR according to the identifier of the user, and the user subscription information is obtained. The subscription information includes: the service allowed by the user, the charging method, and the maximum bandwidth corresponding to each type of service quality of the user;

 Then, according to the AF request (including the terminal capability information) and the SPR subscription content and the algorithm defined in the PCRF, the access policy and charging control, and the quality of service decision are performed.

 For example, the AF request includes the service type and the required maximum bandwidth, terminal capability information, the service allowed by the user from the SPR, the charging mode, and the maximum bandwidth allowed for each type of service. When policy and charging control is performed in the PCRF, Compare whether the service type requested by the AF is allowed, the maximum allowed bandwidth of the service type and the requested bandwidth, the access type supported by the terminal capability (such as 2G/3G, or 2G), and the configuration algorithm of the operator in the PCRF (such as the user). At 2G, the subscription requires that the experience be prioritized, but the 2G cannot support the maximum bandwidth. The PCRF rejects the access or indicates that the user prefers the network to be 3G. When the user can reselect the access network, select 3G access for service. The policy (service type, maximum bandwidth, preferred network identity) and charging rules (prepaid or postpaid) for establishing a service connection.

4. The PCRF requests to establish a service connection to the core network (or PCEF). After receiving the connection establishment request, the core network (or PCEF) builds according to the requirements of the policy and charging rules and the actual bearer. Establish bearers (such as service connections and quality of service, etc.) or modify existing bearers.

 5. The core network (or PCEF) initiates a radio resource request to the radio access network, and the radio access network receives the radio resource request and allocates the corresponding radio resource;

 6. The radio access network negotiates with the terminal (UE) to complete radio resource control;

 7. The radio access network feeds back to the core network (or PCEF) to complete radio resource allocation completion information;

8. The core network (or PCEF) feeds back to the PCRF to establish a service connection completion response;

 9. The PCRF notifies that the AF service connection is established.

 In the embodiment, the network side initiates the service request, firstly negotiates the terminal capability information, and then sends the terminal capability information to the PCRF through the AF, so that the PCRF can accurately acquire the terminal capability information, and use this as a decision basis to complete the time. The user's policy and billing control.

 Please also refer to FIG. 4, which is a second embodiment of acquiring terminal capability information as described in FIG. 2. The embodiment carries the terminal capability information in the request, and the terminal capability information is notified to the PCRF, where the PCRF uses the input as the input, and completes the strategy with other information. Billing control, its specific implementation process is:

 0. The terminal initiates a bearer setup request (for example, establishing a service request) to the radio access network, where the request includes terminal capability information;

 1. The radio access network forwards the bearer setup request to the core network;

 2. The core network requests the PCRF to obtain user subscription information, where the request carries the identifier of the user, the IP access type (GPRS, IWLAN, LTE, etc.), the bandwidth requirement, the service description (source and destination address, port number, and Protocol) and terminal capability information;

 The description of the subsequent steps 3 to 8 is the same as the description of the steps 3 to 8 in FIG. 3, and details are described above, and details are not described herein again.

 In this embodiment, when the core network sends a bearer setup request to the PCRF, the terminal capability information is notified to the PCRF, so that the PCRF can accurately acquire the terminal capability information, and use this as a decision basis to complete the request in time. User policy and billing control.

 Referring again to FIG. 5, a third embodiment of acquiring terminal capability information is described in FIG. 2. In this embodiment, the terminal capability is notified to the PCRF during the user registration process. The specific implementation process is:

1. The terminal initiates a registration request to the core network/PCEF, where the registration request includes the terminal capability information of the user; 2. The core network/PCEF is authenticated and authorized to return the registration response after the registration request is received;

3. The core network/PCEF sends a default bearer rule request to the PCRF, where the request carries the user's terminal capability;

 4. The PCRF records the location of the core network/PCEF where the user is located, and searches for the subscription information of the user. If the user does not have the subscription information, the subscription information of the user is obtained from the SPR, and the process of obtaining the user is detailed. See the corresponding process in the above embodiment, which is not mentioned here;

 5. The PCRF feeds back a default bearer response message to the core network/PCEF, where the response message includes the subscription information of the user.

 6. The terminal, the radio access network, and the core network/PCEF create a default bearer;

 7. The core network/PCEF returns a registration response message to the terminal;

 8. The terminal returns a registration confirmation message to the core network.

 In this embodiment, the terminal capability information may also be sent to the PCRF through a registration request message to facilitate the PCRF to accurately learn the terminal capability information.

 In addition, the application of the terminal capability information in the embodiment of the present invention mainly includes: the application of the radio access capability, the service capability, and the maximum supported bandwidth, and the application of the remaining bandwidth, but is not limited thereto, and may also include other applications. The following uses the application as an example to illustrate.

 FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an application of the terminal capability information being a radio access capability according to an embodiment of the present invention. The terminal capability information in the embodiment of the present invention may be exemplified by a radio access capability, but is not limited thereto. The process is as follows: When the wireless technology currently accessed by the user cannot meet the requirements of the service, the PCRF can provide a preferred radio access technology identifier according to the radio access capability of the terminal, and the terminal or the access network can be used as a handover trigger condition. Choose a more appropriate access technology. For the same preferred radio access technology identifier, the core network/PCEF can be aggregated when the bearer is created, which facilitates the continuity of the service during subsequent handover. The radio access technology identifier can be transparently transmitted to the terminal through the application layer or NAS layer message, or the non-NAS layer message is notified to the access network. The specific implementation process is:

 1. The PCRF receives a service request, where the service request includes a radio access capability of the terminal;

2. The PCRF may provide a preferred radio access technology identifier according to the radio access capability of the terminal, and use the terminal or the access network as a handover trigger condition to select a more suitable access technology;

3. The PCRF sends a service connection establishment request to the core network/PCEF, carrying the preferred radio access technology and the PCC rule; 4. The core network/PCEF establishes a bearer policy according to the radio access capability of the terminal in the setup request; in addition, for the same preferred radio access technology, aggregation can be performed when the bearer is created, which is beneficial to the continuity of the service during subsequent handover. ;

 5. The core network/PCEF sends a radio resource request message to the radio access network according to the establishing bearer policy, and the request message may transmit the preferred access technology identifier in the NAS layer message to the terminal, or the non-NAS layer message. Notifying the radio access network; the radio access network completes the allocation of radio resources.

 6. The terminal and the radio access network complete radio resource control;

 7. The radio access network returns a radio access response to the core network/PCEF;

 8. The core network/PCEF returns a service connection establishment complete message to the PCRF, and the message may carry a preferred access technology identifier;

 9. The PCRF returns a response message to the AF, where the message includes a preferred access technology identifier, and the AF may carry the preferred access technology identifier to the terminal through the application layer. (This step is optional, as shown by the dotted line in the figure)

 The steps 5, 8, and 9 in the embodiment are all methods for transmitting the preferred access technology identifier, and may exist at the same time or independently.

 In addition, for the application of the service capability and the maximum supported bandwidth, such as the MBMS service: When the PCC policy is used to create a bearer, the PCRF can determine whether the authorization and the policy are supported by whether the terminal supports the MBMS service or the maximum bandwidth that can be supported. The principle described in the embodiment of FIG. 6 is similar, and details are not described herein again.

 For applications that support service lists: If the terminal supports IPTV, etc.

 For the application of the remaining bandwidth: that is, when the terminal has started some services and occupies a certain bandwidth resource, the PCRF can perform authorization more accurately according to the current remaining bandwidth of the terminal, thereby improving the accuracy and timeliness of the PCC policy. To reduce waste of resources.

Correspondingly, the embodiment of the present invention further provides a device for policy and charging control, and a schematic structural diagram thereof is shown in FIG. 7. The apparatus includes an acquisition unit 71 and a policy and charging control unit 72. The acquiring unit 71 is configured to acquire terminal capability information. The terminal capability information includes at least one of the following: a radio access capability, a service capability, a maximum bandwidth, a supported service list, and a remaining bandwidth, but is not limited thereto. , can also be other. The policy and charging control unit 72 is configured to complete an access policy and charging control of the service request according to the terminal capability information and the corresponding user subscription information. The obtaining unit 71 includes at least one or more of a negotiation acquisition subunit 711, a bearer establishment acquisition subunit 712, and a registration acquisition subunit 713, and a transmission subunit 714. The negotiation acquisition sub-unit 711 is configured to acquire the carried terminal capability information when the terminal performs service negotiation with the network side, and send the terminal capability information to the sending sub-unit 714; The subunit 712 is configured to acquire the carried terminal capability information when the terminal initiates the bearer setup request, and send the terminal capability information to the sending subunit 714. The registration obtaining subunit 713 is configured to register in the user. The terminal capability information carried in the process is obtained, and the terminal capability information is sent to the sending subunit 714. The sending subunit 714 is connected to one or more of the negotiation obtaining subunit 711, the bearer setup obtaining subunit 712, and the registration obtaining subunit 713, respectively, for sending the terminal capability information to the policy and charging. Control unit 72.

 Preferably, the device may be integrated in the PCRF, may be integrated in other devices, or be a separately existing network element.

 For details of the functions and functions of the various units in the device, refer to the specific implementation process of the corresponding steps in the foregoing method, and details are not described herein again.

 It can be seen that the embodiment of the present invention proposes an implementation process of optimizing a PCC policy according to terminal capability information. That is to say, before the PCRF makes a policy decision, the terminal capability information of the user is obtained, and the judgment is performed according to the method, so as to improve the accuracy, timeliness and beneficial expansion of the PCC policy, and reduce or even avoid the failure of the policy to be issued. Situation, thereby reducing resource waste.

 It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all or part of the steps of implementing the foregoing embodiments may be performed by a program to instruct related hardware, and the program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. The method includes the following steps: acquiring terminal capability information, and completing an access policy and charging control of the service request according to the terminal capability information and the corresponding user subscription information. The above-mentioned storage medium may be a read only memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk or the like.

 The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and it should be noted that those skilled in the art can also make several improvements and retouchings without departing from the principles of the present invention. It is considered as the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

Rights request  A method for policy and charging control, characterized in that it comprises the steps of:  Obtain terminal capability information;  And completing the access policy and charging control of the service request according to the terminal capability information and the corresponding user subscription information.  The method for controlling the policy and the charging according to claim 1, wherein the acquiring terminal capability information comprises any one of the following methods:  When the terminal performs service negotiation with the network side, the terminal capability information is carried, and the terminal capability information is notified to the policy and the charging rule function entity PCRF;  Notifying the terminal capability information to be carried when the terminal initiates a bearer setup or modification service request PCRF;  The terminal capability information carried in the user registration process is notified to the PCRF.  The method of the policy and the charging control according to claim 2, wherein the terminal carries the terminal capability information when performing service negotiation with the network side, and notifies the terminal capability information of the policy and the charging rule function. The process of the entity PCRF includes:  Initiating a service request on the network side, the terminal completes service negotiation with the application function entity AF on the network side, and the negotiation process includes determining terminal capability information;  The PCR requesting network side of the AF requesting network establishes a service connection, where the request carries a terminal capability letter The method of the policy and the charging control according to claim 2, wherein the process of notifying the PCRF of the carried terminal capability information when the terminal initiates the bearer establishment or modification of the service request includes:  The terminal establishes or modifies a service request to the bearer initiated by the radio access network, where the request carries terminal capability information;  The radio access network forwards the bearer establishment or modification service request to the PCRF through the core network. The method of the policy and the charging control according to claim 2, wherein the process of notifying the PCRF of the terminal capability information carried in the user registration process is:  The terminal initiates a registration request to the core network, where the registration request carries terminal capability information; After the core network authenticates and authorizes, it requests a default bearer rule from the PCRF, and the request carries With terminal capability information, the PCRF records the core network where the user is located.  The method of policy and charging control according to claim 3, 4 or 5, wherein the process of completing the service request policy and charging control according to the terminal capability information and the corresponding user subscription information is:  The PCRF searches for the subscription information of the user, and if not found, obtains the corresponding user subscription information from the user subscription information base SPR of the user, and completes the access policy and calculation of the service request in combination with the terminal capability information. Fee control.  The method of the policy and the charging control according to claim 6, wherein the process of completing the access policy and charging control of the service request in combination with the terminal capability information is:  The PCRF preferably identifies a radio access technology identifier according to the radio access capability in the terminal capability information, and sends the radio access technology identifier to the terminal or the radio access network;  The terminal or the radio access network selects a suitable access technology by using the received radio access technology identifier as a handover trigger condition.  The method for policy and charging control according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the terminal capability includes at least one of the following: a radio access capability, a service capability, a support service list, and a maximum bandwidth. And remaining bandwidth.  9. A device for policy and charging control, characterized in that it comprises:  An obtaining unit, configured to acquire terminal capability information;  The policy and charging control unit is configured to complete an access policy and charging control of the service request according to the terminal capability information and the corresponding user subscription information.  The device for controlling the policy and the charging according to claim 9, wherein the acquiring unit comprises at least one of:  Obtaining a sub-unit for obtaining the capability information of the terminal carried in the service negotiation between the terminal and the network side;  The bearer establishment obtaining sub-unit is configured to acquire the terminal capability information carried when the terminal initiates the bearer setup request;  The registration acquisition sub-unit is configured to obtain the terminal capability information carried in the user registration process. The device for controlling the policy and the charging according to claim 10, wherein the acquiring unit further comprises: a sending unit, respectively, a negotiation acquiring subunit, a bearer establishing acquiring subunit, and a note One or more connections of the sub-units are obtained for transmitting the terminal capability information to the policy and charging control unit.  12. The apparatus for policy and charging control according to claim 10, wherein the device is integrated in a PCRF or a separately existing network element.