WO2017114266A1 - Data service charging method, device and system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a data service charging method, applicable in a communication network under a policy and charging control mechanism, comprising: an online charging system receiving a session establishing request message sent from a gateway device, the request message carrying indicating information wherein the gateway device supports a charging session granularity of IP-CAN Session; on the basis of the indicating information, the online charging system processing the session establishing request message according to the charging session granularity of IP-CAN Session, and carrying, in a response message sent back to the gateway device, indicating information wherein the online charging system charges according to the charging session granularity of IP-CAN Session. The present invention allows for, in the case when OCS may simultaneously support two charging session granularities, negotiating session granularity while establishing a charging session, and establishing the charging session between two parties according to the negotiated granularity, thereby increasing charging accuracy.

Description

Data service charging method, device and system

This application is required to be submitted to the Chinese Patent Office on December 31, 2015, March 25, 2016, and the application number is 201511028359.0, 201610178261.1. The Chinese patent application titled "A Data Service Billing Method, Apparatus and System" is preferred. The entire contents are hereby incorporated by reference.

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a data service charging method, apparatus, and system.

Background technique

PCC (Policy and Charging Control) is a set of policy and charging control mechanism defined by 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project). Its architecture is shown in Figure 1: In this architecture Includes Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF Device), Traffic Detection Function (TDF), Bearer Binding and Event Reporting Function (BBERF), Policy and Accounting Policy and Charging Function (PCRF), Application Function (AF), Online Charging System (OCS), Offline Charging System (OFCS), and Subscription Information Base (OFCS) SPR, Subscription Profile Repository). There are interfaces such as Gx, Sy, Gy, and Ro in the architecture, where Gx is the interface between PCRF and PCEF, Sy is the interface between PCRF and OCS, Gy is the online charging interface between PCEF and OCS, and Ro is the network element and OCS. A collective term for the online billing interface. The PCEF device is a policy and charging enforcement entity, and is configured to perform a dynamic or static control policy, and may be located in a gateway device such as a GGSN or a P-GW. The TDF is an application detection and control entity, and is used to execute the PCRF device. Applying the detection and control strategy, the PCRF device is a policy and charging rule function entity, which is responsible for controlling the QoS, bandwidth, gating, and charging policies of the user equipment in the home network when using the service; the SPR is a subscription data storage entity, and is used for The user's subscription data is stored and mapped to an existing system, which may be an entity such as an HLR, an HSS, or an OCS. In this mechanism, the PCRF entity performs Policy Decision, which generates a charging policy and a control policy for the data flow of the PCEF entity, and an application detection and application control policy generated by the TDF entity. Then, the PCRF entity installs the control policy of the activated application to the TDF entity to the PCEF. The control and charging policy of the entity installation flow; the PCEF entity initiates a credit quota application request for the data flow to the OCS according to the charging policy of the data flow delivered by the PCRF entity (if the bearer is established, the charging session is initiated to the OCS) Request), that is, a Credit Control Request (CCR) message, the OCS performs quota authorization, and returns a credit authorization to the PCEF entity.

The PCEF and the OCS establish a charging session through the Gy interface, or express a Gy charging session. In the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), for the gateway, the Serving Gateway (S-GW) The interface between the PDN gateway (P-GW) and the PDN gateway (P-GW) is an S5 interface. The interface may use different mobility management protocols. When the S5 interface uses the GPRS tunneling protocol (GTP): PCEF is for each IP-Connected Bearer (IP-CAN Bearer) establishes a charging session or establishes a charging session for each IP-CAN Session; if the S5 interface is a proxy mobile IP protocol (Proxy) Mobile IP Protocol, PMIP): The PCEF establishes a charging session for each IP-CAN Session.

As shown in Figure 2(a), an IP-CAN session may correspond to one or more charging sessions (one for each charging session), and one Charging Session corresponds to one IP-CAN. Bearer, Charging Session per IP-CAN Bearer, referred to as the IP-CAN Bearer granularity or Bearer granularity of the charging session; as shown in Figure 2(b), an IP-CAN Session corresponds to only one charging session and charging session. The granularity is that one charging session corresponds to one IP-CAN Session, that is, Charging Session per IP-CAN Session, and the charging session granularity is IP-CAN Session or Session granularity. The charging session, as shown in FIG. 3, refers to that the charging session between the PCEF and the OCS sends a CCR-I (CCR initial message, that is, an initial message of the CCR request session establishment) from the PCEF to the OCS to the PCEF. A continuous process of sending a CCR-T (CCR Termination message, CCR request session termination message) to the OCS. Each billing session has a unique Session ID identifier.

In the prior art, when the Gy interface is used for the transmission and processing of the charging information, the granularity of the charging session of the Gy interface may be an IP-CAN Session or an IP-CAN Bearer. In actual deployment, it is likely to be supported by the PCEF and the OCS/OFCS. The billing session is of different granularity. The billing information collection mechanism, the billing information reporting time, or the billing information set are different at the two levels. Therefore, if the two parties cannot negotiate the granularity of the billing session, the billing will result in billing. Processing errors or billing are not accurate.

Summary of the invention

The embodiment of the present invention provides a data service charging method, device, and system. In the context that different mobility management protocols are used on the S5 interface, the gateway and the charging system may have two different charging session granularities. A more accurate charging can be achieved through a negotiation mechanism between the gateway device and the charging device for the granularity of the charging session.

In a first aspect, a data service charging method is provided, which is applied to a communication network under a policy and a charging control mechanism, the method comprising: receiving, by an online charging system, a session establishment request message sent by a gateway device, the request The message carries the charging session granularity supported by the gateway device; the online charging system processes the session establishment request according to the charging session granularity.

According to the first embodiment of the first aspect, when the charging session granularity is an IP-CAN session, the online system processes the session establishment request according to the charging session granularity, including: rejecting the A session establishment request returns an error code to the gateway device.

According to the second embodiment of the first aspect, when the charging session granularity is an IP-CAN session, the online system processes the session establishment request according to the charging session granularity, including: charging according to the charging The session granularity is an IP-CAN session to process the session establishment request message, and the response message returned to the gateway device carries the indication information that the charging session is an IP-CAN Session granular charging session.

According to the first implementation manner of the second implementation manner of the first aspect, the session establishment request message is a CCR-I message, and if there are multiple CCR-I messages, the online charging system only processes the first one. Received CCR-I message.

According to the first embodiment of the first embodiment in the second embodiment of the first aspect, the online charging system processes only the first received CCR-I message and rejects other CCR-I messages, The rejected CCR-I return message carries the reason for the rejection, indicating that the online charging session has been established or uses an IP-CAN Session granular charging session or redirected to an established IP-CAN Session granular charging session.

According to the first embodiment of the first embodiment in the first embodiment of the second embodiment of the first aspect, the online charging system processes only the first received CCR-I message and rejects the other The CCR-I message carries the reason for the rejection in the returned message of the rejected CCR-I, indicating that the online charging session has been established or uses an IP-CAN Session granular charging session or redirected to the established IP- CAN Session granular charging session.

The first embodiment in the first embodiment in the second embodiment according to the first aspect, or the first embodiment in the first embodiment in the first embodiment in the second embodiment according to the first aspect The online charging system allocates a quota for the quota application in the received multiple CCR-I messages, and allocates the allocated quota in a charging session corresponding to the first CCR-I message. Returned to the gateway device.

In a second aspect, a data service charging method is provided, which is applied in a communication network under a policy and charging control mechanism, and the method includes: the gateway device sends an IP-CAN Bearer charging session establishment to the online charging system. a request message, where the session establishment request message carries the indication information that the gateway device supports the charging session granularity as an IP-CAN session;

The gateway device receives a response message returned by the online charging system according to the session establishment request.

According to the first embodiment of the second aspect, the session establishment request message is a CCR-I message, and the response message returned to the gateway device is a CCA-I message, and the CCA-I message carries the The online charging system performs indication of charging according to the IP-CAN Session of the charging session granularity.

According to the second implementation manner of the first embodiment of the second aspect, the gateway device sends multiple CCR-I messages to the online charging system, where the gateway device is in all the multiple CCR-I The information carried by the gateway device supports the indication that the granularity of the charging session is an IP-CAN session.

According to the third implementation manner of the second embodiment in the first embodiment of the second aspect, the gateway device sends multiple CCR-I messages to the online charging system, where the gateway device is only in the first Or the default CCR-I carries the indication information that the gateway device supports the charging session granularity as an IP-CAN session.

According to the third implementation manner of the second embodiment in the first embodiment of the second aspect, the gateway device carries the gateway device support meter in the first CCR-I message sent by the online charging system The fee session granularity is the indication information of the IP-CAN session, and the gateway device receives the CCA-I message returned by the charging system and carries the online charging system according to the granularity of the charging session as an IP-CAN Session. After the indication information of the fee, the gateway device binds all the bearers that need to be charged online in the IP-CAN session corresponding to the session establishment request to the charging session corresponding to the first CCR-I message. And in the charging session, the quota application and the charging information corresponding to all the bearers in the entire IP-CAN session are reported.

In a third aspect, a data service charging method is provided, which is applied in a communication network under a policy and a charging control mechanism, and the method includes: the gateway device sends an IP-CAN session charging session establishment to the online charging system. a request message, where the request message includes session granularity indication information, to indicate that the charging session requested by the session establishment request message is an IP-CAN Session granularity charging session; and the gateway device receives the online charging system The returned session was successfully established or rejected.

According to the first implementation manner of the third aspect, the gateway device determines, according to its own configuration or a PCRF indication, a charging session establishment request that initiates an IP-CAN Session granularity.

According to the second embodiment of the first embodiment of the third aspect, the gateway device receives the session establishment reject message returned by the online charging system, and determines that the need to be established according to the error code carried in the reject message The IP-CAN Bearer granular charging session re-initiates an IP-CAN Bearer granular Gy charging session request for each IP-CAN Bearer in the IP-CAN Session.

In a fourth aspect, a data service charging method is provided, which is applied to a policy and charging control machine. In the communication network, the method includes: the online charging system receives a session establishment request message sent by the gateway device, where the request message carries the indication information that the gateway device uses the IP address of the charging session as an IP-CAN session; The online charging system returns a session establishment success message to the gateway device.

A fifth aspect provides a gateway device, which is used in a communication network under a policy and a charging control mechanism, where the gateway device includes a session granularity negotiation module.

The session granularity negotiation module is configured to send a session establishment request message to the online charging system, where the session establishment request message carries the indication information that the gateway device supports the charging session granularity as an IP-CAN session, or carries the gateway. The device uses the charging session granularity to indicate the charging session of the IP-CAN session, and the session granularity negotiation module is further configured to receive the response message returned by the online charging system, where the response message carries the charging The system confirms the indication information of the charging session according to the IP-CAN Session of the charging session granularity.

The sixth aspect provides an online charging system, which is applied to a communication network under a policy and a charging control mechanism, where the online charging system includes a session granularity negotiation module, and the session granularity negotiation module is configured to receive a gateway device. a session establishment request message, where the session establishment request message carries the indication information that the gateway device supports the charging session granularity as an IP-CAN session, or carries the gateway device to use the charging session granularity as an IP-CAN session. The session information negotiation module is further configured to: return a response message to the gateway device, where the session establishment request message received by the online charging system includes the gateway device support meter When the fee session granularity is the indication information of the IP-CAN session, the response message returned by the session granularity negotiation module to the gateway device carries the online charging system to confirm that the charging session granularity is IP-CAN Session for charging. Instructions for the session.

The seventh aspect provides a data service charging system, which is used in a communication network under a policy and a charging control mechanism, and includes a gateway device and an online charging system, where the gateway device is configured to perform online charging The system sends a session establishment request message, where the session establishment request message carries the indication information that the gateway device supports the IP address of the IP-CAN session, or carries the charging session with the granularity of the IP-CAN session. Instructions; The gateway device is further configured to receive a response message returned by the online charging system, where the response message carries the indication information that the charging system confirms that the charging session is IP-CAN Session to perform a charging session. The online charging system is configured to receive a session establishment request message sent by the gateway device, where the session establishment request message carries the indication information that the gateway device supports the IP address of the IP-CAN session, or carries the indication information The gateway device uses the charging session granularity to indicate the charging session for the IP-CAN session; the online charging system is further configured to return a response message to the gateway device, when the online charging system receives the session The setting request message includes the indication that the gateway device supports the charging session granularity of the IP-CAN session, and the response message returned by the online charging system to the gateway device carries the charging system confirmation. The indication information of the charging session is performed according to the IP-CAN Session of the charging session granularity.

The eighth aspect provides a data service charging system, which is applied in a communication network under a policy and a charging control mechanism, where the service charging system includes a gateway device and an offline charging system, and the gateway device provides the The charging information reported by the offline charging system includes the charging granularity of the gateway device, and the charging granularity is an IP-CAN Session charging granularity; the offline charging system is configured to process the reported by the gateway device. The IP-CAN Session is the billing granularity of the billing information.

For all the above aspects, the gateway device can determine the granularity of the charging session that can be supported or required to be established according to the configuration of the Charging Characteristic, or the PCRF device of the home device of the gateway device or the visited domain can determine the device initiated by the gateway device PCEF. The granularity of the fee session is sent to the gateway device PCEF through the PCC rule. The PCEF determines the granularity of the Gy interface charging session and initiates the negotiation with the OCS according to the PCC rule. This way, the gateway device PCEF can be reported at the same time. Gy CCR to OCS.

The embodiment of the invention further provides a computer readable storage medium for storing computer software instructions for use in the above device or system, the computer program being configured to perform the above method.

Yet another aspect of the present application provides a computer program product for performing the method of the above aspects when the computer product is executed.

It can be seen from the above technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present invention that the present invention mainly solves When the OCS may support two types of charging session granularity at the same time, the gateway device and the online charging system negotiate the session granularity when establishing the charging session, and establish a charging session between the two according to the granularity of negotiation; or, offline When the charging system may support the two types of charging session granularity, when the charging information is reported, the granularity of the reported charging information is specified, so that the charging system processes the bill according to the indication information, thereby improving the accuracy of the charging. Sex.

DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly described below. It is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. Other drawings may also be obtained from those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the drawings.

1 is a logical structural diagram of a policy and charging control system provided by the prior art;

2(a) is a schematic diagram of a situation in which the charging session granularity is IP-CAN Bearer in the prior art;

2(b) is a schematic diagram showing a situation in which the granularity of the charging session is an IP-CAN Session in the prior art;

3 is a schematic diagram of a charging session process between a PCEF and an OCS in the prior art;

4 is a schematic structural diagram of a data service charging system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a method for determining a granularity of a charging session by an OCS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a method for determining a granularity of a charging session by a PCEF according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a gateway device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a charging system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The billing system in the present invention includes an online billing system (OCS) or an offline billing system (OFCS).

The gateway device in the present invention refers to a network layer gateway, including but not limited to: a GGSN, a P-GW, etc., the gateway device includes a policy enforcement entity (PCEF); in the embodiment of the present invention, the entity may also be a table. Described as a device. Each entity may be a separate device or a device that is configured in other devices. For example, the PCRF entity may be a PCRF device, and a Charging Trigger Function (CTF) is usually embedded in a network entity, such as a PCEF. As a CTF, it is embedded in the P-GW.

The main idea of the present invention is that, in the case of online charging, if the CTF can support two types of charging session granularity at the same time, the session granularity is negotiated when the charging session is established, and the charging between the two is established according to the granularity of the negotiation. In the offline charging, in the case that the CTF may support the two types of charging session granularity, when the charging information is reported, the granularity of the reported charging information is specified, so that the OFCS processes the bill according to the indication information.

Embodiments of the invention may be implemented based on a PCC architecture as shown in FIG. The actual networking may be as shown in FIG. 4, which is a schematic diagram of an actual network architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention. The network element involved in the improvement of the embodiment of the present invention mainly includes a gateway 401 (including a PCEF function) and a charging system 402 (including an OCS function), wherein the gateway 401 and the charging system 402 respectively include a corresponding session granularity negotiation module. 4011 or 4012.

Specifically, the session granularity negotiation module 4011 in the gateway 401 is configured to send a session establishment request message, that is, a CCR message, to the charging system 402, where the CCR message carries the gateway 401 to support the charging session granularity as an IP-CAN session. The indication information, or the indication information that the gateway 401 uses the charging session granularity to perform the charging session with the IP-CAN Session; the session granularity negotiation module 4011 is further configured to receive the response message returned by the charging system 402, where the response message carries The charging system 402 confirms the indication information of the charging session according to the IP-CAN Session of the charging session granularity.

The session granularity negotiation module 4012 in the charging system 402 is configured to receive, by the gateway 401, a session establishment request message, that is, a CCR message, where the CCR message carries the indication information that the gateway 401 supports the IP address of the IP-CAN session, or The gateway 401 carries the indication information that the charging session granularity is the IP-CAN Session for the charging session; the session granularity negotiation module 4012 is further configured to return a response message to the gateway 401, when the charging system 402 receives the CCR message. The gateway 401 is included when the gateway 401 supports the indication information of the IP-CAN session. The returned response message may carry the indication information that the charging system 402 confirms that the charging session is IP-CAN Session to perform the charging session.

Through the gateway and the charging system in the embodiment of the present invention, the gateway and the charging system can negotiate the charging session granularity when establishing the charging session, and establish a charging session between the two according to the granularity of the negotiation, thereby avoiding two The problem of inconsistent processing of billing information under the granularity improves billing accuracy and billing efficiency.

The following is an example of online charging, which is used to describe the solution of the embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is a granularity of the charging session reported by the gateway device (including the PCEF function), and the OCS determines the granularity of the charging session. The gateway 401 and billing system 402 shown in Figure 4 can be used to implement the methods of embodiments of the present invention.

In this embodiment, since the gateway device may establish multiple IP-CAN Bearers for one IP-CAN Session at the same time, each IP-CAN Bearer corresponds to a session establishment request message or a credit control request (CCR). The CCR-I message is initiated, so the PCEF may report multiple CCR-I messages to the OCS at the same time. For this case, refer to the schematic flowchart of the method of the embodiment of the present invention. The specific method flow is described as follows:

First, the gateway device receives the IP-CAN Session establishment request sent by the user equipment UE, and after the gateway device determines the IP-CAN Bearer to be established according to the PCC rule issued by the PCRF, the gateway device performs the following steps:

502: The gateway device sends a charging session establishment request message of the IP-CAN Bearer to the online charging device OCS, such as a CCR-I message, where the session establishment request message carries the charging session granularity supported by the gateway device, for example, the granularity is Indication information of the IP-CAN Session;

Specifically, the gateway device sends a CCR-I message to the OCS for each IP-CAN Bearer to establish a charging session of the Gy interface and request authorization, and the gateway device, for example, through the session granularity negotiation module 4011 in FIG. The I message carries a parameter that identifies the parameter that the PCEF can support the IP-CAN Session granular Gy session, such as parameter A. The gateway device carries the parameter A in the sent Gy CCR-I request to identify that the gateway device supports the IP-CAN Session granularity meter. Fee session.

The method for the gateway device PCEF to carry the parameter A in the CCR message may be specifically as follows:

Method 1: Carrying the parameter A in the first CCR-I; the OCS establishes a Gy session corresponding to the first CCR-I message according to the parameter A carried by the first CCR-I, and uses the Gy session as an IP. - the Gy session of the CAN session, in the CCA-I corresponding to the CCR-I returned to the gateway device, carrying the parameter B to indicate to the gateway device that the current Gy Session is the Gy session of the IP-CAN session, so that the gateway device according to the The parameter B binds all the bearers of the IP-CAN session that need to be charged online to the Gy session, and reports the quota application and charging information corresponding to all the bearers in the entire IP-CAN session in the session, and The subsequent received CCR-I request is rejected, and the rejection reason is carried in the CCA-I corresponding to the CCR-I returned to the gateway device. Preferably, the CCA-I corresponding to the first CCR-I is first returned to the gateway device. Preferably, if the gateway device is the CCR-I that sends the default bearer and the dedicated bearer at the same time, the CCR-I corresponding to the default bearer is regarded as the first CCR-I, and is carried by default (or default). The parameter A is carried in the Gy CCR-I, and the PCEF further carries a PDP Context Type in the CCR-I to indicate whether the current request corresponds to the default bearer.

Method 2: Carrying the parameter A in all sent CCR-Is; according to the parameter A, the OCS receives the first Gy CCR-I request received by the OCS, and establishes the Gy corresponding to the first CCR-I message. The session, the Gy session is used as the Gy session of the IP-CAN Session, and the parameter B is carried in the CCA-I corresponding to the CCR-I returned to the gateway device to indicate the current Gy Session to the gateway device as the IP-CAN Session. The Gy session, so that the gateway device binds all the bearers that need to be charged online under the IP-CAN session to the Gy session according to the parameter B, and performs quotas corresponding to all the bearers in the entire IP-CAN session in the session. The application and charging information are reported, and the subsequently received CCR-I request is rejected, and the reason for rejection is carried in the CCA-I corresponding to the CCR-I returned to the gateway device. Preferably, the CCA-I corresponding to the first CCR-I is first returned to the gateway device. Preferably, if the gateway device is the CCR-I that sends the default bearer and the dedicated bearer at the same time, the OCS considers the CCR-I corresponding to the default bearer as the first CCR-I, and the OCS accepts the default bearer according to the parameter A. Gy CCR-I request to establish a Gy session corresponding to the default bearer, corresponding to the default bearer The Gy session acts as a Gy session for the IP-CAN Session and rejects the proprietary (or dedicated) hosted CCR-I request. The PCEF carries the PDP Context Type in the CCR-I to indicate whether the current session is for the default bearer. Each IP-CAN Session has one and only one default bearer. The difference between the dedicated bearer and the default bearer is: QoS and priority. different;

Method 3: The gateway device PCEF sends only one Gy CCR-I for the first time, which carries parameter A to indicate that the gateway device supports the session granularity; the OCS determines according to the parameter A, and if it decides to use the session granularity, it returns to the gateway. The CCA-I of the device carries the parameter B to indicate to the gateway device that the current Gy Session is the Gy session of the IP-CAN session, and the gateway device according to the parameter B is all the bearers that need to be charged online under the IP-CAN session. Both are bound to the Gy session, and report the quota application and charging information corresponding to all the bearers in the entire IP-CAN session in the session; if the OCS decides not to use the session granularity this time, the CCA is returned to the gateway device. In the case of -I, the gateway device is not specified as the granularity of the IP-CAN session, and after receiving the CCA-I, the gateway device only uses the Gy session as the Gy session of its corresponding bearer, and is other needs. The online charging bearer initiates a Gy session establishment request (CCR-I). All CCR-Is sent this time do not carry parameter A; if OCS cannot identify the parameter A, the CCR-I is directly rejected and an error is returned. After the gateway device is connected to the CCA-I, the gateway device initiates a Gy session establishment request (CCR-I) for all bearers (including the current bearer) that need to be charged online according to the error code, and all CCRs sent this time. -I does not carry parameter A. Preferably, if the gateway device determines that the default bearer and the dedicated bearer need to establish an online charging session at the same time, only the Gy CCR-I corresponding to the default bearer is sent for the first time. Method 3 can avoid the complexity of OCS processing.

Specifically, the capability indication information that carries the coverage of the session charging session in the CCR-I message may be as follows:

Where parameter A indicates that the gateway device supports the charging session granularity as IP-CAN Session, if If not, the default charging session granularity is IP-CAN Bearer.

504: The online charging system OCS processes the session establishment request message according to the indication information to establish a charging session of a corresponding granularity.

The online charging system OCS, according to the indication information, processing the session establishment request message specifically includes:

The OCS learns that the gateway device capability supports the IP-CAN Session granular charging session according to the indication information, and further determines the granularity of the current charging session according to its own capability and decision mechanism, as follows:

If the charging session whose granularity is the IP-CAN Session granularity is determined, the charging session is processed according to the IP-CAN Session granularity, and the parameter B is carried in the CCA-I returned to the gateway device. The Gy charging session is described as a charging session of IP-CAN Session granularity. For example, the response message returned by the session granularity negotiation module 4012 of the charging system in FIG. 4 to the gateway 401, the response message returned by the gateway 401 carries the charging system 402 to confirm that the granularity of the charging session is IP-CAN Session. Instructions for charging.

An example of a method for carrying parameter B in CCA-I is as follows:

The parameter B indicates that the OCS decides to use the IP-CAN Session granularity charging session. If not, the default OCS adopts the charging session granularity as IP-CAN Bearer.

If the OCS does not recognize the parameter A, the OCS ignores the parameter A and processes it according to the IP-CAN Bearer granularity; or, if the OCS does not recognize the parameter A, the OCS rejects the CCR-I request and returns an error code to the PCEF. Indicates that the parameter is not recognized; or, although the parameter A can be identified, the OCS capability does not support the session granularity of the charging session, or the OCS capability supports, but the session is not determined according to the OCS internal policy or the user's subscription relationship. For a granular charging session, the OCS ignores the parameter A and processes it according to the Gy of the Bearer granularity;

Further, if the OCS receives multiple Gy sessions CCR-I (greater than or equal to 2) of the same IP-CAN session sent by the gateway device, and determines that the IP-CAN Session granularity charging session is established, reject the other CCR-I, the gateway device associates other Bearers to the established Gy session; or, if the OCS receives multiple Gy sessions CCR-I at the same time, rejects other CCR-Is, indicating the redirect to the established in the CCA message Gy Session (with the session ID of the destination Gy), the gateway device associates the Bearer to the Gy Session corresponding to the session ID;

Further, if the OCS replies to the CCA and the gateway device does not receive the CCA, the gateway device initiates a new CCR-I request. If the OCS determines that the Session granularity charging session is established and the Session granularity Gy Session has been established, the network device rejects the The CCR-I charging session request, optionally, redirecting to the established Gy Session (the session ID carrying the destination Gy) in the CCA message;

Further, if the OCS receives multiple Gy CCR-Is at the same time, first processing the Gy CCR-I corresponding to the default session;

Further, the processing of the OCS according to the Session granularity Gy includes: the OCS allocates a quota for the quota application in the received multiple CCR-Is, and returns the allocated quota to the gateway in the CCA-I of the Session granularity Gy Session to be established. The device rejects the CCR-I request in the CCA-I corresponding to the other CCR-I.

In the solution of the embodiment of the present invention, the OCS is informed by the gateway device that the gateway device supports the charging session granularity by carrying the indication information that the gateway device supports the charging session granularity as the IP-CAN session in the session request message sent by the gateway device to the OCS. Supporting the situation and performing corresponding processing; the OCS, according to the indication information, if it is determined that the charging session is processed according to the IP-CAN Session, the OCS carries the OCS in the response message returned to the gateway device. The charging session granularity is the indication information of the IP-CAN session for charging, thereby realizing the negotiation of the charging session granularity when establishing the charging session, and establishing the charging session between the two according to the granularity of negotiation, avoiding two The problem that the processing of the charging information is inconsistent under the granularity improves the charging accuracy and the charging efficiency. In this embodiment, the OCS decides according to the granularity of the charging session reported by the gateway device. The granularity of the charging session is adopted, which reduces the decision burden of the PCRF.

The following is an example of online charging, which illustrates an implementation scheme for determining the granularity of the Gy interface charging session by the gateway device (including the PCEF function). The gateway 401 and the charging system 402 shown in FIG. 4 can be used to implement the present embodiment. Method of the embodiment of the invention:

In this embodiment, since the Gy charging session granularity is determined by the gateway device, when it is determined that only one Gy charging session is established for one IP-CAN session, the gateway device can only initiate a Gy CCR-I message to the OCS. This avoids reporting multiple Gy CCR-I request messages at the same time. Referring to flowchart 6, the specific method is described as follows:

602: The gateway device sends a charging session establishment request message of the IP-CAN session to the charging system OCS, where the request message includes charging session granularity indication information, to indicate that the charging session is an IP-CAN Session granularity charging. Conversation

Specifically, the PCEF determines to establish a Session granularity Gy for the IP-CAN Session according to the configuration of the self-configuration or the PCRF, and initiates a Gy session establishment request to the OCS, where the CCR-I request uses a specific AVP to indicate that the current CCR-I is The request message of the session granularity charging session carries the parameter corresponding to the session granularity charging session, and the requested quota may be used for multiple bearers;

The gateway device may determine the granularity of the charging session to be established according to the configuration of the Charging Characteristic, or the PCRF of the home domain or the visited domain (such as the PCRF 400 in FIG. 4) determines the charging initiated by the gateway device PCEF. The granularity of the session is sent to the gateway device PCEF through the PCC rule. The PCEF determines the granularity of the Gy interface charging session according to the PCC rule.

604: The OCS receives the session establishment request message, and processes the CCR-I message according to the indication information.

specific,

If the OCS agrees to use the session granular charging session, the session establishment request message CCR-I is normally processed, and a session establishment success message is returned.

If the OCS does not support the charging session granularity indication information, or supports the charging session granularity indication information, but does not accept the establishment of a Session granular charging session according to the configuration, rejects the charging session request and returns an error code. The indication is unrecognizable or the Session granularity Gy session establishment failed.

After receiving the failure response message of the OCS, the gateway device determines that a Bearer granularity charging session needs to be established according to the error code carried in the CCA-I, and then initiates a Bearer granularity for each IP-CAN Bearer in the IP-CAN Session. Gy billing session request.

In the solution of the embodiment of the present invention, the OCS is aware that the gateway device determines that the gateway device determines that the gateway device uses the charging session granularity to perform the charging session with the IP-CAN Session in the session request message sent by the gateway device to the OCS. The granularity of the charging session is adopted, and the OCS performs corresponding processing according to the indication information, thereby realizing the negotiation of the granularity of the charging session when establishing the charging session, and establishing the charging session between the two according to the granularity of negotiation, thereby avoiding The problem that the processing of the charging information is inconsistent under the two granularities improves the charging accuracy and the charging efficiency. Further, the gateway device PCEF determines the granularity of the charging session, which can enhance the autonomy of the gateway device PCEF. Reduce the burden of OCS.

The embodiment of the present invention further provides an implementation scheme of the gateway device PCEF determining the collection granularity of the charging information in the case of offline charging (OFCS). The method flowchart is as shown in FIG. 7, and the embodiment can be in FIG. The charging system 402 is implemented in the case of an offline charging system:

702: The gateway device includes indication information in the charging information reported to the offline charging system, where the charging information that is reported is the charging information of the IP-CAN session.

Specifically, if an ACR (Accounting Request) message is used for reporting the charging information, a parameter C is added to the ACR reporting command to indicate that the reported charging information is IP-CAN Session granular charging information or IP-CAN Bearer granularity. Billing information, or if it is empty, the default is IP-CAN Bearer granular billing information, CDF (Charging Data) After receiving the ACR that carries the parameter sent by the PCEF, the function module generates a CDR (Call Detail Record, a call detail record) according to the indication information, and adds a parameter D having the same function to the CDR. When processing the bill, the fee system determines, according to the field, that the information in the bill is the IP-CAN Session granularity charging information or the IP-CAN Bearer granularity charging information, and performs correct CDR processing, such as: deduplication, merging, Association, rating, etc.

If the PCEF directly generates the CDR, a parameter D having the same function is added to the generated CDR to indicate that the reported charging information is the charging information of the IP-CAN Session or the charging information of the IP-CAN Bearer, or if If it is empty, it defaults to the accounting information of IP-CAN Bearer, so that when the billing system processes the bill, it determines whether the information in the bill is the billing information of the IP-CAN Session or the billing information of the IP-CAN Bearer according to the field. , to perform correct CDR processing, such as: de-duplication, merging, association, rating, etc.

An example of a method for carrying a parameter C in an ACR command is as follows:

The parameter D added in the CDR is as follows:

704: The offline charging system processes the charging information reported by the gateway device with the IP-CAN Session as the charging granularity.

Specifically, the offline charging system, such as the charging system 402 in FIG. 4 (in this case, the offline charging system), when processing the bill, according to the newly added field of the charging information in the above step 702, that is, The fee granularity information identification field determines that the information in the bill is the IP-CAN Session granularity charging information, and performs further processing; of course, if the newly added field is empty, the IP-CAN Bearer charging granularity may be defaulted. Billing information.

The gateway device may determine the reported charging session granularity (for IP-CAN Session granular charging information or IP-CAN Bearer granular charging information) according to the configuration of the Charging Characteristic, or the home domain or the visited domain. The PCRF (such as PCRF 400 in FIG. 4) determines the granularity of the charging session reported by the PCEF.

In this embodiment, when the offline charging system can support the two types of charging granularity at the same time, when the charging information is reported, the granularity of the reported charging information is specified, and the offline charging system is configured to process the CDR according to the indication information. In order to ensure accurate billing and improve the efficiency of billing.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the structure of a gateway device (including a PCEF function) according to another embodiment of the present invention, which may be used to perform the steps in all the foregoing method embodiments. The gateway device may be the gateway 401 in FIG. 4, including at least one. A processor 802 (e.g., a CPU), at least one network interface 805 or other communication interface, memory 806, and at least one communication bus 803 are used to effect connection communication between the devices. The processor 802 is configured to execute executable modules, such as computer programs, stored in the memory 806. The memory 806 may include a high speed random access memory (RAM: Random Access Memory), and may also include a non-volatile memory such as at least one disk memory. The communication connection between the system gateway and at least one other network element is implemented by at least one network interface 805 (which may be wired or wireless), and may use an Internet, a wide area network, a local network, a metropolitan area network, or the like.

Embodiments of the present invention also provide a computer program product and a storage medium storing the above computer program. The computer program product includes program code stored in a computer readable storage medium, and the program code is loaded by a processor to implement the above method. In some embodiments, the memory 806 stores a program 8061, and the program 8061 can be executed by the processor 802. The program includes:

The gateway device sends a session establishment request message to the online charging system, and the session establishment request is cancelled. The information carrying the gateway device supporting the charging session granularity is an IP-CAN session indication information;

The gateway device receives the response message returned by the online charging system, and the response message carries the indication information that the online charging system performs charging according to the IP-CAN Session of the charging session granularity.

or:

The program includes:

The gateway device sends a session establishment request message to the online charging system, where the request message carries the indication information that the gateway device uses the charging session granularity as an IP-CAN session;

The gateway device receives a session establishment success message returned by the online charging system.

The online charging system (including the OCS function) provided by another embodiment of the present invention also includes a similar hardware architecture of FIG. 7. The online charging system may be the online charging system 402 of FIG. 4, and may be used to perform all of the foregoing. In the method embodiment, the memory 806 stores a program 8062, and the program 8062 can be executed by the processor 802. The program includes:

The online charging system receives a session establishment request message sent by the gateway device, where the request message carries the indication information that the gateway device supports the charging session granularity as an IP-CAN session;

The online charging system processes the session establishment request message according to the indication information according to the charging session granularity as an IP-CAN session, and carries the online charging system in a response message returned to the gateway device. The indication information for charging according to the IP-CAN Session of the charging session granularity.

Or, this program includes:

The online charging system receives a session establishment request message sent by the gateway device, where the request message carries the indication information that the gateway device uses the IP address of the charging session as an IP-CAN session;

The online charging system returns a session establishment success message to the gateway device.

It can be seen from the above technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present invention that the OCS may simultaneously support In the case of two types of charging session granularity, the session granularity is negotiated when the charging session is established, and the charging session between the two is established according to the granularity of the negotiation, so that the problem of inconsistent processing of charging information under two granularities can be avoided. , improve billing accuracy and billing efficiency.

The principles and embodiments of the present invention have been described herein with reference to specific embodiments thereof, and the description of the above embodiments is only to assist in understanding the method and the concept of the present invention. Also, those skilled in the art, in accordance with the present invention, The present invention is not limited by the scope of the present invention.

Claims (29)

A data service charging method, characterized in that the method comprises: The online charging system receives a session establishment request message sent by the gateway device, where the request message carries the charging session granularity supported by the gateway device; The online charging system processes the session establishment request according to the charging session granularity. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the charging session granularity is an IP-CAN session, the online system processes the session establishment request according to the granularity of the charging session, including: The session establishment request is rejected, and an error code is returned to the gateway device. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the charging session granularity is an IP-CAN session, the online system processes the session establishment request according to the granularity of the charging session, including: The session establishment request message is processed according to the IP-CAN Session of the charging session granularity, and the indication message of the IP-CAN Session granularity charging session is carried in the response message returned to the gateway device. . The method according to claim 3, wherein the session establishment request message is a CCR-I message, and if there are multiple CCR-I messages, the online charging system processes only the first one received. CCR-I message. The method of claim 4 wherein said online charging system processes only the first received CCR-I message and rejects other CCR-I messages at said rejected CCR-I The return message carries the reason for the rejection, indicating that the online charging session has been established or uses an IP-CANSession granular charging session or redirected to an established IP-CAN Session granular charging session. A method as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein said online charging system allocates a quota for the quota application in said plurality of CCR-I messages received, and in said first CCR The allocated quota is returned to the gateway device in the charging session corresponding to the -I message. A data service charging method, characterized in that the method comprises: The gateway device sends an IP-CAN Bearer charging session establishment request message to the online charging system, where the charging session establishment request message carries the gateway device to support the charging session granularity as IP-CAN. Session indication information; The gateway device receives a response message returned by the online charging system according to the charging session establishment request. The method according to claim 7, wherein the session establishment request message is a CCR-I message, and the response message returned to the gateway device is a CCA-I message, in the CCA-I message Carrying indication information that the online charging system performs charging according to the IP-CAN Session of the charging session granularity. The method according to claim 7, wherein the gateway device sends a plurality of charging session establishment request messages to the online charging system, and the gateway device establishes a request in all of the plurality of charging sessions. The message carries the indication information that the gateway device supports the IP address of the IP-CAN session. The method according to claim 7, wherein said gateway device sends a plurality of charging session establishment request messages to said online charging system, said gateway device only in the first or default charging session The setup request carries the indication information that the gateway device supports the charging session granularity as an IP-CAN session. The method of claim 7, wherein the gateway device sends a charging session establishment request message to the online charging system, and the gateway device carries the charging session establishment request message The gateway device supports the indication that the charging session granularity is an IP-CAN session, and the method further includes: After the gateway device receives the indication message that the online charging session granularity is an IP-CAN session, the response message of the charging session establishment request message returned by the charging system is sent to the charging system. Send a charging session establishment request message corresponding to another bearer; or Receiving, by the gateway device, the response message of the charging session establishment request message returned by the charging system, indicating that the charging session establishment fails, and resending the charging session establishment request corresponding to all the bearers to the charging system. Message. The method of claim 8 wherein said gateway device is directed to said online The first CCR-I message sent by the charging system carries the indication information that the gateway device supports the charging session granularity as an IP-CAN session, and the gateway device receives the CCR-I returned by the charging system. After the CCA-I message corresponding to the message carries the indication information that the online charging session granularity is an IP-CAN session, the gateway device performs data flow on all bearers in the IP-CAN session in the online charging session. Perform billing processing. A data service charging method, characterized in that the method comprises: The gateway device sends a charging session establishment request message of the IP-CAN session to the online charging system, where the request message includes charging session granularity indication information, to indicate that the charging session requested by the charging session establishment request message is IP-CAN Session granular charging session; The gateway device receives a session establishment success or failure message returned by the online charging system according to the session establishment request message. The method according to claim 13, wherein the gateway device determines, according to its own configuration or a PCRF indication, a charging session establishment request for initiating an IP-CAN Session granularity for the IP-CAN Session. The method of claim 13 or 14, wherein the gateway device receives the session establishment failure message returned by the online charging system, and determines that the need is based on the error code carried in the failure message. The IP-CAN Bearer of the IP-CAN Session establishes an IP-CAN Bearer granular charging session, and then initiates an IP-CAN Bearer for each IP-CAN Bearer in the IP-CAN Session that needs to perform online charging. Granular Gy charging session request. A data service charging method, characterized in that the method comprises: The online charging system receives the charging session establishment request message sent by the gateway device, where the request message carries the charging session requested by the charging session request message as the indication information of the IP-CAN Session granular charging session; The online charging system processes the session establishment request message according to the indication information. A method as claimed in claim 16, wherein if said online charging system uses an IP-CAN Session granular charging session, a session establishment success message is returned; If the online charging system does not support the charging session granularity indication information, or supports the charging session granularity indication information, but according to the configuration, does not accept the establishment of an IP-CAN Session granular charging session, the charging is rejected. The session request returns an error code indicating that the IP-CAN Session granularity session establishment failed. A gateway device, where the gateway device includes a session granularity negotiation module, The session granularity negotiation module is configured to send a session establishment request message to the online charging system, where the session establishment request message carries the indication information that the gateway device supports the charging session granularity as an IP-CAN session, or carries the gateway. The device uses the charging session granularity to indicate the charging session of the IP-CAN Session; The session granularity negotiation module is further configured to receive a response message returned by the online charging system, where the response message carries an indication that the charging system confirms that the charging session granularity is an IP-CAN Session for performing a charging session. information. An online charging system, wherein the online charging system includes a session granularity negotiation module, The session granularity negotiation module is configured to receive a session establishment request message sent by the gateway device, where the session establishment request message carries the indication information that the gateway device supports the IP address of the IP-CAN session, or carries the gateway device. The charging session granularity is indication information of the charging session performed by the IP-CAN Session; The session granularity negotiation module is further configured to: return a response message to the gateway device, where the session establishment request message received by the online charging system includes that the gateway device supports the charging session granularity as IP- In the indication information of the CAN session, the response message returned by the session granularity negotiation module to the gateway device carries the indication information that the online charging system performs the charging session according to the IP-CAN Session of the charging session granularity. A data service charging system comprising a gateway device and an online charging system, wherein The gateway device is configured to send a session establishment request message to the online charging system, where the session establishment request message carries an indication that the gateway device supports the charging session granularity as an IP-CAN session. Information, or carrying the indication information that the gateway uses the charging session granularity to perform an accounting session for the IP-CAN Session; the gateway device is further configured to receive a response message returned by the online charging system, where the response message carries The charging system confirms the indication information of the charging session according to the IP-CAN Session of the charging session granularity. The online charging system is configured to receive a session establishment request message sent by the gateway device, where the session establishment request message carries the indication information that the gateway device supports the IP address of the IP-CAN session, or carries the indication information The gateway device uses the charging session granularity to indicate the charging session for the IP-CAN session; the online charging system is further configured to return a response message to the gateway device, when the online charging system receives the session The setting request message includes the indication that the gateway device supports the charging session granularity of the IP-CAN session, and the response message returned by the online charging system to the gateway device carries the charging system confirmation. The indication information of the charging session is performed according to the IP-CAN Session of the charging session granularity. A data service charging method, characterized in that the method comprises: The gateway device sends charging information to an offline charging system (OFCS), where the charging information includes a charging session granularity; The offline charging system processes the charging information according to the granularity of the charging session. The method of claim 21, wherein the gateway device sends the charging information to the offline charging system by using an ACR (Accounting Request) message, where the ACR message includes indication information, the indication information The charging information indicating the reporting is IP-CAN Session granular charging information or IP-CAN Bearer granular charging information. The method according to claim 22, wherein the offline charging system generates CDR (Charging Data Function) information according to the ACR after receiving the ACR message sent by the gateway device, and in the The CDR includes indication information of the charging granularity. The method according to claim 21, wherein the charging information is CDR information, and the gateway device generates the CDR information and sends the information to the offline charging system, where the CDR information includes indication information. The indication information indicates that the reported charging information is IP-CAN Session granularity charging. Information or IP-CAN Bearer granular billing information. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 24, wherein if the indication information is confirmed to be empty, the offline charging system according to the charging session granularity is IP-CAN Bearer granularity, The billing information is processed. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 25, wherein the gateway device determines the meter to be sent to the offline charging system according to its own configuration or according to an indication of the home domain or the visited domain PCRF. The granularity of the charging session included in the fee information. A gateway device, where the gateway device includes a session granularity negotiation module, The session granularity negotiation module is configured to confirm a charging session granularity of the charging information sent by the gateway device to the offline charging system; The session granularity negotiation module is further configured to send charging information to the offline charging system, where the charging information includes the charging session granularity. A data service charging system comprising a gateway device and an offline charging system, wherein: The charging information reported by the gateway device to the offline charging system includes the charging granularity of the gateway device, and the charging granularity is an IP-CAN Session charging granularity; The offline charging system is configured to process the charging information reported by the gateway device with the IP-CAN Session as the charging granularity. A computer readable storage medium for storing computer software instructions for use in the apparatus or system described above, the computer program being configured to perform the method of any of the preceding claims 1-17, 21-26.

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