KR102135714B1 - Method and apparatus for managing policy of mobile communition service - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mobile communication service policy management apparatus and method. The disclosed method of managing a mobile communication service policy includes receiving usage information of data traffic through a mobile communication network of a specific subscriber from a node generating or managing charging data records for the use of data traffic, and using data allocated to a specific subscriber. Checking the limit amount information, comparing the usage information with the limit amount information to determine whether the data usage limit has expired, and generating a traffic control policy according to the expiration of the limit when the data usage limit has expired. And transmitting rule information according to a traffic control policy according to the generated limit expiration to a node that controls data traffic. As described above, traffic control rule information according to the expiration of the usage limit is generated and provided without involvement of the subscriber management node, and since the actual traffic control for the line exceeding the limit can be performed, the usage limit expires. There is an advantage in that processing delay time until traffic control is performed is minimized.

Description

Mobile communication service policy management device and method{METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING POLICY OF MOBILE COMMUNITION SERVICE}

The present invention relates to mobile communication service policy management, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for managing a traffic control policy for controlling data traffic for a subscriber who is assigned a usage limit for data communication.

As is well known, the mobile communication service fee system provided through the mobile communication system is provided in various forms according to the needs of consumers, and the service subscriber can arbitrarily select and use the desired fee system.

The most common rate system is a method of calculating and billing a usage amount according to the usage time after providing a mobile communication service. Such a fee system has a disadvantage that it is difficult for a service subscriber to adjust the mobile communication service fee on their own.

In order to compensate for this problem, a limit setting rate system is to set a limit of a mobile communication service fee that can be used for a certain period of time, and to use a mobile communication service within a set limit of the mobile communication service fee.

On the other hand, in the LTE (Long Term Evolution) system using an EPC (Evolved Packet Core) network, when providing a data service targeting a subscriber of a limit setting rate, that is, a limit setting line, the actual control of the data traffic is PGW ( Packet Data Network Gateway), but rule information based on the data traffic control policy is provided by PCRF (Packet Data Network Gateway). That is, the traffic control rule information according to the expiration of the data usage limit is provided to the PGW in the PCRF, and the PGW performs traffic control on the limit setting circuit according to the traffic control rule information.

However, according to the prior art, the processing delay time is excessive until the actual traffic control is performed on the line for which the data usage limit has expired, and accordingly, the network resource consumption phenomenon that cannot be charged is excessive. Has occurred.

As described above, a node that generates or manages a billing data record (CDR) for the use of data traffic transmits a billing data record of a limit setting line to the subscriber management node, and the subscriber management node uses the billing data record To perform the subscriber's usage management function. When the subscriber management node determines that the data usage limit of the corresponding limit setting line has expired, it sends a limit exceeding message, and after the provisioning for PCRF is performed by the limit exceeding message, the PCRF limits the data usage to the PGW. Traffic control rule information according to expiration may be provided.

As described above, according to the prior art, since the usage management function for the limit setting line is performed by the subscriber management node, processing delay time is excessively consumed, and data communication is continuously performed while the data usage limit is exceeded during the processing delay time. Since it can be used, there is a problem in that excessive network resource consumption phenomenon that cannot be charged is generated.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2014-0023715, the date of publication February 27, 2014.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a node that manages a mobile communication service policy generates and provides traffic control rule information according to expiration of a usage limit by directly interworking with a node that generates or manages billing data records for the use of data traffic. By doing so, it is possible to minimize the processing delay time until the actual traffic control is performed on the limit setting circuit whose usage limit has expired.

The problem to be solved of the present invention is not limited to those mentioned above, and another problem to be solved that is not mentioned will be clearly understood by a person having ordinary knowledge to which the present invention belongs from the following description.

A mobile communication service policy management method performed in a mobile communication service policy management apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes data traffic through a mobile communication network of a specific subscriber from a node that generates or manages billing data records for the use of data traffic. Receiving usage information, checking limit amount information on data usage allocated to the specific subscriber, and comparing the usage information and the limit amount information to determine whether the data usage limit has expired, Generating a traffic control policy according to the expiration of the limit when the data usage limit has expired, and transmitting rule information according to the generated traffic control policy according to the expiration of the limit to a node controlling the data traffic can do.

A mobile communication service policy management apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes a data usage receiving unit that receives usage information of data traffic through a mobile communication network of a specific subscriber from a node that generates or manages billing data records for the use of data traffic. , Compares the usage information and the limit amount information with a subscriber information storage unit storing limit amount information for data use through a mobile communication network allocated to the specific subscriber, determines whether the data usage limit has expired, and uses the data It may include a policy management unit for generating a traffic control policy according to the expiration of the limit when the limit has expired, and an information transmission unit for transmitting the rule information according to the traffic control policy according to the expiration of the limit to the node controlling the data traffic. .

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a node that manages a mobile communication service policy generates and provides traffic control rule information according to expiration of a usage limit by directly interworking with a node that generates or manages billing data records for the use of data traffic. can do.

Therefore, the traffic control rule information according to the expiration of the usage limit is generated and provided without the involvement of the subscriber management node, and since the actual traffic control for the circuit exceeding the limit can be performed, the usage limit expires. The processing delay time until traffic control is performed is minimized.

Therefore, since the time during which data communication can be used is minimized until traffic control according to the limit is performed while the data usage limit is exceeded, the network resource consumption phenomenon that cannot be charged is also minimized.

1 is a network configuration diagram of a mobile communication service system that can employ a mobile communication service policy management apparatus and method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram of a mobile communication service policy management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a mobile communication service policy management method performed in a mobile communication service policy management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and methods for achieving them will be clarified with reference to embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms, and only these embodiments allow the disclosure of the present invention to be complete, and common knowledge in the art to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to fully inform the person having the scope of the invention, and the present invention is only defined by the scope of the claims.

In describing embodiments of the present invention, when it is determined that a detailed description of known functions or configurations may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted. In addition, terms to be described later are terms defined in consideration of functions in an embodiment of the present invention, which may vary according to a user's or operator's intention or practice. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the contents throughout this specification.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a network configuration diagram of a mobile communication service system that can employ a mobile communication service policy management apparatus and method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in this, the mobile communication service system according to the embodiment includes a mobile communication terminal (Mobile Equipment, UE) 101, an eNodeB 103, a Serving Gateway (SGW) 105, a PGW 107, and a packet analysis node ( 109), a mirroring node 111, an offline charging system (OFCS) 113, a usage investigation node 115, a subscriber management node 117, a PCRF 200, and the like.

Among these mobile communication service systems, PCRF 200 may be implemented as a mobile communication service policy management device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and in conjunction with OFCS 113 or usage survey node 115, the embodiment of the present invention According to the mobile communication service policy management method can be performed.

To this end, OFCS 113 may provide usage information of data traffic by mobile communication terminal 101 to PCRF 200 according to billing data records received from PGW 107. Alternatively, the usage survey node 115 checks the usage amount of the data packet received from the mirroring node 111 to generate a charging data record, and the data traffic by the mobile communication terminal 101 is generated according to the generated charging data record. Usage information may be provided to the PCRF 200.

The PCRF 200 checks the limit information on the use of data allocated to a specific subscriber using the mobile communication terminal 101 based on the rate information provided from the subscriber management node 117. Then, it is determined whether the data usage limit has expired by comparing the usage amount information provided by the OFCS 113 or the usage survey node 115 with the limit amount information checked in the plan information. Here, when the data usage limit has expired, a traffic control policy according to the expiration of the limit is generated, and the rule information according to the generated traffic control policy according to the expiration of the limit is directly transmitted to the PGW 107 which is a node that controls the data traffic. Transmit through the packet analysis node 109. The detailed configuration of the PCRF 200 will be described below with reference to FIG. 2.

Looking at other components that implement the mobile communication service system as shown in Figure 1 as follows.

The mobile communication terminal 101 is connected to the EPC network through the eNodeB 103 to receive a mobile communication service. The mobile communication terminal 101 may be implemented in various forms such as a smart phone, a notepad, and a tablet computer.

The eNodeB 103 communicates with the mobile communication terminal 101 and serves as a base station to ensure mobility. The eNodeB 103 may include radio bearer control, radio admission control, connection mobility control, dynamic resource allocation to the mobile communication terminal 101, and the like. It performs a radio resource management function.

The SGW 105 is a user plane node that performs session control to process payload traffic according to the established session. Interworking with the eNodeB 103 and the S1-U interface, the PGW 107 and the Evolved Packet System bearer (EPS) are established and the PDU (Packet Data Unit) is transmitted using tunneling.

The PGW 107 is a user plane node that allocates the IP of the mobile communication terminal 101 and performs session control interworking with the external Internet network 10 and non-3GPP networks. For packet service, it maintains routing information with the SGW 105 and external networks, and performs tunneling and IP routing functions. In addition, the PDU is delivered to the SGW 105 and the external network. In addition, accounting data is managed for each mobile communication terminal 101, and the accounting data is transmitted to the OFCS 113 in the form of billing data records. In addition, data traffic for the mobile communication terminal 101 is controlled based on rule information according to the traffic control policy received from the PCRF 200.

The packet analysis node 109 is a node that analyzes not only the origin and destination of the packet but also the contents of the packet. When the packet analysis node 109 requests control of traffic for a specific service by the PCRF 200, the packet analysis node 109 may adjust the traffic for the specific service according to the packet analysis result.

The mirroring node 111 is located on a path between the packet analysis node 109 and the Internet network 10, and mirrors packets to the usage survey node 115 for charging based on the packet-based charging policy. Can provide functionality.

The usage survey node 115 checks the usage amount of the packet transmitted from the mirroring node 111 to generate a charging data record, and uses the usage information of the data traffic by the mobile communication terminal 101 according to the generated charging data record. PCRF 200 can be provided. In addition, the usage survey node 115 compares the usage information of the data traffic with the limit information according to the use of data communication to the subscriber management node 117, which performs a function of notifying the specific subscriber of the remaining amount information about data usage. Depending on the result, the remaining amount information can be provided.

The subscriber management node 117 provides the PCRF 200 with the plan information subscribed by the user of the mobile communication terminal 101, and the mobile communication terminal of the corresponding subscriber with the remaining amount information for data use provided from the PCRF 200 The function of notifying 101 may be performed.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a mobile communication service policy management device according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the PCRF 200 shown in FIG. 1 is a mobile communication service policy management device that can be configured according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is shown.

As shown in this, the mobile communication service policy management apparatus according to the embodiment includes a data usage receiving unit 210, a subscriber information storage unit 220, a policy management unit 230, and an information transmission unit 240.

The usage receiving unit 210 receives data traffic through the mobile communication network of a specific subscriber from the PGW 107, which is a node that generates charging data records for the use of data traffic, or the usage survey node 115, which is a node that manages the charging data records. Receive usage information.

The subscriber information storage unit 220 stores limit information on data usage through a mobile communication network allocated to a specific subscriber.

The policy management unit 230 determines whether the data usage limit has expired by comparing the usage information of the data traffic through the mobile communication network of the specific subscriber with the limit amount information about data usage allocated to the specific subscriber, and the data usage limit has expired. In this case, a traffic control policy is generated according to the expiration of the limit.

The information transmitting unit 240 transmits the rule information according to the traffic control policy according to the expiration of the data usage limit to the PGW 107 or the packet analysis node 109 that controls the data traffic.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of managing a mobile communication service policy performed in a mobile communication service policy management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in this, the method for managing a mobile communication service policy according to an embodiment includes the step of receiving rate information for each subscriber (S301).

And, the step of receiving the usage information of the data traffic through the mobile communication network of a specific subscriber from a node that generates or manages a billing data record for the use of data traffic (S303, S305).

In addition, it includes a step (S307) of checking the limit information about the use of data allocated to a specific subscriber.

Next, a step (S309) of determining whether the data usage limit has expired by comparing the usage information of data traffic through the mobile communication network of the specific subscriber with the limit amount information about data usage allocated to the specific subscriber.

In addition, when the data usage limit has expired, the method further includes generating a traffic control policy according to the expiration (S311).

Subsequently, the rule information according to the generated traffic limit policy according to the expiration of the limit is transmitted to the PGW 107 or the packet analysis node 115, which is a node that controls data traffic (S313, S315).

In addition, a step (S317) of transmitting the result of comparing the usage amount information and the limit amount information to the subscriber management node 117, which performs a function of notifying the specific subscriber of the remaining amount information for data use, is further included.

Hereinafter, a method of managing a mobile communication service policy by a mobile communication terminal capable of employing a mobile communication service policy management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

First, the subscriber management node 117 transmits the subscriber's plan information to the PCRF 200 based on the service subscription information of the mobile communication terminal 101, and the data usage receiving unit 210 of the PCRF 200 Subscriber's plan information is received (S301).

Alternatively, OFCS 113 provides the PCRF 200 with usage information of data traffic by the mobile communication terminal 101 according to the billing data record received from the PGW 107, and the data usage receiving unit of the PCRF 200 ( 210) receives the usage information of the data traffic of the corresponding subscriber. That is, the usage investigation node 115 checks the usage amount of the data packet received from the mirroring node 111 to generate a charging data record, and the data traffic by the mobile communication terminal 101 according to the generated charging data record. Usage information may be provided to the PCRF 200 (S305).

Then, the PCRF 200 checks the fee information subscribed by the user of the mobile communication terminal 101, that is, a specific subscriber through the subscriber information storage unit 220, and checks the limit amount information for the use of pre-allocated data. (S307).

Then, it is determined whether the data usage limit has expired by comparing the usage information of the data traffic through the mobile communication network of the specific subscriber with the limit amount information about the data usage allocated to the specific subscriber (S309).

In addition, when the data usage limit expires, the policy management unit 230 generates a traffic control policy according to the expiration of the limit (S311), and the information transmission unit 240 traffic according to the expiration of the limit generated by the policy management unit 230 The rule information according to the control policy is transmitted to the PGW 107 or the packet analysis node 115, which is a node that controls data traffic (S313, S315).

Then, the PGW 107 or the packet analysis node 115 analyzes traffic by the mobile communication terminal 101 according to the traffic control policy provided to the PCRF 200.

Next, the PCRF 200 transmits the result of comparing the usage information and the limit amount information to the subscriber management node 117, which performs a function of notifying the specific subscriber of the remaining amount information for data use. Then, the policy management unit 230 transmits the remaining amount information to the mobile communication terminal 101 according to the result of comparing the usage information and the limit amount information of data communication (S317).

As described so far, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the traffic control rule according to the expiration of the usage limit by directly interworking with the node generating or managing the billing data record for the use of data traffic in the node managing the mobile communication service policy Information can be generated and provided.

Therefore, the traffic control rule information according to the expiration of the usage limit is generated and provided without the involvement of the subscriber management node, and since the actual traffic control for the circuit exceeding the limit can be performed, the usage limit expires. The processing delay time until traffic control is performed is minimized.

Therefore, since the time during which data communication can be used is minimized until traffic control according to the limit is performed while the data use limit is exceeded, the network resource consumption phenomenon that cannot be charged is also minimized.

Combinations of each block in the block diagrams and respective steps in the flowcharts attached to this specification may be performed by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be mounted on a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing equipment, so that instructions executed through a processor of a computer or other programmable data processing equipment may be used in each block or flowchart of the block diagram. In each step, means are created to perform the functions described. These computer program instructions can also be stored in computer readable or computer readable memory that can be oriented to a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to implement a function in a particular way, so that computer readable or computer readable memory The instructions stored in it are also possible to produce an article of manufacture containing instructions means for performing the functions described in each step of each block or flowchart of the block diagram. Computer program instructions can also be mounted on a computer or other programmable data processing equipment, so a series of operational steps are performed on a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to create a process that is executed by the computer to generate a computer or other programmable data. It is also possible for instructions to perform processing equipment to provide steps for executing the functions described in each block of the block diagram and in each step of the flowchart.

Further, each block or each step can represent a module, segment, or portion of code that includes one or more executable instructions for executing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some alternative embodiments it is possible that the functions mentioned in blocks or steps occur out of order. For example, two blocks or steps shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially simultaneously, or it is also possible that the blocks or steps are sometimes performed in reverse order depending on the corresponding function.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may make various modifications and variations without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical spirit of the present invention, but to explain, and the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be interpreted by the claims below, and all technical ideas within the equivalent range should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a node managing a mobile communication service policy generates and provides traffic control rule information according to expiration of a usage limit by directly interworking with a node generating or managing charging data records for use of data traffic. can do.

Therefore, the traffic control rule information according to the expiration of the usage limit is generated and provided without the involvement of the subscriber management node, and since the actual traffic control for the circuit exceeding the limit can be performed, the usage limit expires. The processing delay time until traffic control is performed is minimized.

Therefore, since the time during which data communication can be used is minimized until traffic control according to the limit is performed while the data use limit is exceeded, the network resource consumption phenomenon that cannot be charged is also minimized.

The present invention can be used in the technical field of generating charging data according to the use of packet services in various communication environments by mobile communication services.

101: mobile communication terminal 103: eNodeB
105: SGW 107: PGW
109: packet analysis node 111: mirroring node
113: OFCS 115: usage survey node
117: subscriber management node 200: PCRF
210: data usage receiving unit 220: subscriber information storage unit
230: policy management unit 240: information transmission unit

Claims (4)

A subscriber management node that performs a function of notifying the specific subscriber of usage information of data traffic through a mobile communication network of a specific subscriber from a node generating or managing charging data records for the use of data traffic, and remaining amount information of data usage to the specific subscriber And receiving without going through,
Checking limit information on the use of data allocated to the specific subscriber;
Determining whether the data usage limit has expired by comparing the usage information with the limit amount information;
Generating a traffic control policy according to the expiration of the limit when the data usage limit has expired;
Transmitting rule information according to the generated traffic limit policy according to the expiration to the node controlling the data traffic;
And notifying the subscriber management node of information on a result of the comparison of the usage information and the limit amount information, in a mobile communication service policy management method. delete A subscriber management node that performs a function of notifying the specific subscriber of usage information of data traffic through a mobile communication network of a specific subscriber from a node generating or managing charging data records for the use of data traffic, and remaining amount information of data usage to the specific subscriber Data usage receiving unit to receive without going through,
A subscriber information storage unit in which limit information on data usage through a mobile communication network allocated to the specific subscriber is stored;
A policy management unit comparing the usage information with the limit amount information to determine whether a data usage limit has expired, and generating a traffic control policy according to the expiration of the limit when the data usage limit has expired;
And an information transmission unit that transmits rule information according to the traffic control policy according to the expiration of the limit to a node that controls the data traffic, and notifies the subscriber management node of information on a comparison result of the usage information and the limit amount information. Mobile communication service policy management device. delete

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