WO2019210780A1

WO2019210780A1 - Charging method, device, and system

Info

Publication number: WO2019210780A1
Application number: PCT/CN2019/083378
Authority: WO
Inventors: 王毓芳
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2018-05-04
Filing date: 2019-04-19
Publication date: 2019-11-07
Also published as: CN110445623B; CN110445623A

Abstract

The embodiments of the present application provide a charging method, device, and system, which enables a reduction of the requirement of fee-charging for the performance of a relevant network element. The method comprises: a policy execution network element obtaining first data traffic, said first data traffic being the current data traffic of a charging group, to which a first terminal belongs, on a policy enforcement network element; the policy enforcement network element determining that the first data traffic has reached the reported traffic of the first group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs; the policy execution network element sending a group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and the first data traffic, to a charging function network element, the group identifier and the first data traffic being used to request a second group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

Description

Billing method, device and system

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201810420061.1, entitled "Billing Method, Equipment and System", filed on May 4, 2018, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. In the application.

Technical field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a charging method, device, and system.

Background technique

Currently, in the packet core network charging architecture, when an operator provides data services to an enterprise or a user group, a policy and charging enforcement function (PCEF) network element is used for each enterprise or user group. User data traffic, respectively, for service identification and billing processing. In the offline charging process, the PCEF network element generates an offline CDR for each user in the enterprise or the user group according to the specific charging identifier assigned by the operator to the enterprise or the user group; in the online charging process, the OCS is the enterprise. Or each user in the user group performs traffic quota management. The PCEF network element performs the enterprise or the enterprise through the Gy interface between the specific charging identifier assigned by the operator for the enterprise or the user group and the online charging system (OCS). After the online charging message of each user in the user group is exchanged, the OCS collects the traffic of the specific charging identifier, and then determines whether to perform the policy change according to whether the threshold is reached. If a policy change is required, the OCS can notify the PCRF network element to perform policy change by using the Sy interface between the policy and charging rule function (PCRF) network element. That is to say, the online or offline charging policy control in the prior art is based on the user. This has the following problems:

First, the user-based traffic fragmentation is small, and the triggered offline bill generation or Gy interface message interaction is relatively frequent. Therefore, the scheme has higher requirements on the service processing performance of the PCEF network element and the OCS.

Second, since each user needs to create and maintain a Gy online charging session and generate an offline CDR based on the user, the static performance requirements for the PCEF network element and the OCS are also high.

Third, in the online charging process, the OCS needs to perform traffic quota management for each user and summarize the traffic of the specific charging identifier. Therefore, the OCS is required to support the traffic post-processing function of the user group. In addition, in the offline charging process, the offline charging system also needs to summarize the traffic of the specific charging identifier. Therefore, the OFCS needs to support the traffic post-processing function of the user group.

In summary, the existing charging method has higher performance requirements for related network elements. Therefore, how to provide a charging method can reduce the requirement of charging for related network element performance, which is urgently needed to be solved. problem.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present application provide a charging method, a device, and a system, so that the requirements for charging performance on related network elements can be reduced.

To achieve the above objective, the embodiment of the present application adopts the following technical solutions:

The first aspect provides a charging method, where the method includes: the policy execution network element acquires the first data traffic, where the first data traffic is the current data traffic of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs on the policy execution network element. The policy execution network element determines that the first data traffic has reached the reported traffic of the first group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs; the policy execution network element sends the first terminal to the charging function network element. The group identifier of the charging group and the first data traffic, wherein the group identifier and the first data traffic are used to request a second group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. Since the charging control of the solution is performed at the granularity of the charging group, and is not based on the user, the charging method based on the charging method provided in the embodiment of the present application will greatly reduce the creation and The number of billing sessions maintained. In addition, since the traffic fragmentation based on the charging group is usually larger than the user-based traffic fragmentation, the charging method based on the charging method provided by the embodiment of the present application will greatly reduce the between the policy execution network element and the charging function network element. The number of message interactions. At the same time, since the charging function network element does not need to perform traffic quota management for each user and summarizes the traffic of the specific charging identifier, the charging system provided by the embodiment of the present application does not need to calculate. The fee function network element supports the traffic post-processing function of the user group. In summary, the charging system based on the charging system provided by the embodiment of the present invention can greatly reduce the performance requirements of related network elements, such as the policy execution network element and the charging function network element, thereby reducing the cost of the equipment manufacturer.

In a possible design, the charging method provided by the embodiment of the present application may further include: the policy execution network element receiving the group identifier from the charging function network element and the second group corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs The billing traffic is fragmented. The group identifier and the second group of billing traffic fragments are used to perform group charging processing on the data traffic of the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. The policy execution network element may continue to perform the segmentation according to the second group of charging traffic after the first data traffic has reached the reported traffic of the first group of the traffic volume fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. The data traffic of the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is subjected to group charging processing.

In a possible design, the charging group to which the first terminal belongs includes a session-level charging group or a service-level charging group.

In a possible design, the policy enforcement network element is a policy and charging execution function network element; the policy execution network element acquires the first data traffic, including: the policy and charging execution function network element receives the data from the first terminal. The policy and the accounting execution function network element determine, according to the data packet, the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs; the policy and charging execution function network element determines according to the group identifier and the data traffic corresponding to the data packet. The first data traffic. Based on the solution, the policy and charging execution function network element can obtain current data traffic of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs on the policy and charging execution function network element.

In a possible design, the policy and charging execution function network element determines, according to the data packet, the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, including: the policy and charging execution function network element determines according to the data packet. The identifier of the first terminal; the policy and the charging execution function network element determines the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the identifier of the first terminal. Based on the solution, the policy and charging execution function network element may determine the group identifier of the session-level charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

In a possible design, the policy and charging execution function network element determines, according to the data packet of the first terminal, the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, including: the policy and charging execution function network element according to the And determining, by the data packet, the identifier of the first terminal; the policy and the charging execution function network element determining, according to the identifier of the first terminal and the service corresponding to the data packet, the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. Based on the solution, the policy and charging execution function network element may determine the group identifier of the service level charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

In a possible design, the policy execution network element is a session management network element; correspondingly, the policy execution network element acquires the first data traffic, including: the session management network element receives the second data traffic from the user plane function network element and The group identifier, the second data traffic is the current data traffic of the charging group of the first terminal to the user plane function network element; the session management network element determines the first according to the second data traffic and the group identifier Data Flow. Based on the solution, the session management network element can obtain the current data traffic of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs on the session management network element.

In a possible design, the policy execution network element is a session management network element. Correspondingly, the charging method provided by the embodiment of the present application may further include: the first data traffic does not reach the first group of charging traffic. In the case of the reported traffic of the fragment, the session management network element sends the group identifier and the third group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs to the user plane function network element, the group identifier and the third The group-based charging traffic fragment is configured to perform group charging processing on the data traffic of the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, where the third group of charging traffic fragments is smaller than the first group of charging traffic fragments. . Based on the solution, the user plane function network element can continue to perform group charging processing on the data traffic of the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the third group of charging traffic fragments.

In a possible design, the charging method provided by the embodiment of the present application may further include: the policy execution network element receives the first indication information from the charging function network element, where the first indication information is used to indicate the first There is no available group accounting traffic fragment for the charging group to which the terminal belongs. In this way, the policy enforcement network element can no longer request a new group charging traffic fragment from the charging function network element.

In a possible design, the charging method provided by the embodiment of the present application may further include: processing, for any terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, according to the following manner for the second terminal: a policy The execution network element receives the first message from the policy control network element, where the first message is used to delete the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs; the policy execution network element deletes according to the first message. The association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. In this way, in the subsequent process, the data traffic of the data packet from the second terminal can only match the personal charging traffic, and the group charging policy is no longer enjoyed.

In a possible design, the policy execution network element is a session management network element. Correspondingly, the charging method provided by the embodiment of the present application may further include: for any terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, The processing is performed in the following manner for the second terminal: the session management network element receives the first message from the policy control network element, where the first message is used to indicate that the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs are deleted. Correlation relationship; the session management network element deletes the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the first message; the session management network element sends a second message to the user plane function network element, the second message And an instruction to delete the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. In this way, in the subsequent process, the data traffic of the data packet from the second terminal can only match the personal charging traffic, and the group charging policy is no longer enjoyed.

In a possible design, the policy execution network element is pre-configured with an association relationship between the first terminal and a charging group to which the first terminal belongs. That is, in the embodiment of the present application, the association relationship between the first terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs may be statically configured.

In a possible design, the charging method provided by the embodiment of the present application may further include: the policy execution network element receives the group identifier from the policy control network element and the identifier of the first terminal; and the policy execution network element according to the group The identifier and the identifier of the first terminal are associated with the first terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. That is, in the embodiment of the present application, the association relationship between the first terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs may be dynamically configured by the policy control network element.

In a possible design, the charging method provided by the embodiment of the present application may further include: the policy execution network element determines that the group charging session is not established with the charging function network element; and the policy execution network element applies to the charging function network element. And sending a third message, where the third message carries the group identifier, and is used to request to establish a charging session corresponding to the group identifier; the policy execution network element receives the charging group corresponding to the first terminal that belongs to the charging function network element. The fourth group of billing traffic fragments. Based on the solution, the policy enforcement network element can establish a group charging session with the charging function network element.

A second aspect provides, for example, a charging method, the method comprising: a policy and a charging execution function network element acquiring a first data traffic, where the first data traffic is performed by the charging group to which the first terminal belongs The current data traffic on the function network element; the policy and the charging execution function network element determines that the first data traffic has reached the preset traffic corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs; the policy and charging execution function network element is according to the A data traffic generates an offline bill. For the technical effects of the second aspect, reference may be made to the description of the technical effects of the foregoing first aspect, and details are not described herein again.

For a specific implementation of the first data flow, the policy and the charging execution function may be referred to the description of the first aspect, and details are not described herein.

In a third aspect, a policy enforcement network element is provided, the policy execution network element having the function of implementing the method of any of the above first aspects. This function can be implemented in hardware or in hardware by executing the corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

A fourth aspect provides a policy enforcement network element, including: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store a computer execution instruction, and when the policy execution network element is running, the processor executes the computer execution instruction stored by the memory And causing the policy execution network element to perform the charging method according to any one of the above first aspects.

In a fifth aspect, a policy enforcement network element is provided, including: a processor; the processor is configured to couple with a memory, and after reading an instruction in the memory, perform any one of the foregoing first aspects according to the instruction The charging method described.

In a sixth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided having stored therein instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the charging of any of the above first aspects method.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the charging method of any of the above first aspects.

In an eighth aspect, a chip system is provided, the chip system comprising a processor for supporting a policy enforcement network element to implement the functions involved in the first aspect, for example, acquiring the first data traffic. In one possible design, the chip system further includes a memory for storing program instructions and data necessary for the policy execution network element. The chip system can be composed of chips, and can also include chips and other discrete devices.

For the technical effects brought by any one of the third aspect to the eighth aspect, refer to the technical effects brought by different design modes in the first aspect, and details are not described herein again.

In a ninth aspect, a policy and charging enforcement function network element is provided, the policy and charging execution function network element having the function of implementing the method of any of the foregoing second aspects. This function can be implemented in hardware or in hardware by executing the corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

A tenth aspect provides a policy and charging execution function network element, including: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store a computer execution instruction, and when the policy and the charging execution function network element are running, the processor executes The computer stored by the memory executes instructions to cause the policy and charging enforcement function network element to perform the charging method of any of the above second aspects.

In an eleventh aspect, a policy and charging execution function network element is provided, including: a processor; the processor is configured to be coupled to a memory, and after reading an instruction in the memory, execute the second according to the instruction according to the instruction The charging method of any of the aspects.

A twelfth aspect, a computer readable storage medium having stored therein instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the meter of any of the above second aspects Fee method.

In a thirteenth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the charging method of any of the above second aspects.

In a fourteenth aspect, a chip system is provided, the chip system comprising a processor for supporting a policy and charging execution function network element to implement the functions involved in the second aspect, for example, acquiring the first data traffic. In one possible design, the chip system further includes a memory for storing program instructions and data necessary for the policy and billing execution function network element. The chip system can be composed of chips, and can also include chips and other discrete devices.

For the technical effects brought by any one of the ninth to fourteenth aspects, refer to the technical effects brought by different design modes in the second aspect, and details are not described herein again.

According to a fifteenth aspect, a charging system is provided, where the charging system includes: a policy execution network element and a charging function network element; and a policy execution network element, configured to acquire first data traffic, where the first data traffic is The current data traffic of the charging group to which the terminal belongs is performed on the network element of the policy; the policy execution network element is further configured to determine that the first data traffic has reached the first group charging corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. After the traffic of the traffic fragment is sent, the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the first data traffic are sent to the charging function network element, where the group identifier and the first data traffic are used to request the first terminal. A second group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group; the charging function network element is configured to receive the group identifier and the first data traffic from the policy execution network element. For the technical effects of the fifteenth aspect, reference may be made to the description of the technical effects of the first aspect, and details are not described herein again.

In a possible design, the charging function network element is further configured to send the group identifier to the policy execution network element and the second group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs; The unit is further configured to receive the group identifier from the charging function network element and the second group of charging traffic fragments, where the group identifier and the second group of charging traffic fragments are used for the first terminal The data traffic of the terminal in the charging group is processed by the group charging. Based on the solution, after the first data traffic has reached the reported traffic of the first group of the traffic flow segments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, the policy execution network element may continue to perform the segmentation according to the second group of charging traffic. The data traffic of the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is subjected to group charging processing.

In a possible design, the charging system further includes: a policy control network element; the charging function network element, configured to send the first indication information to the policy control network element, where the first indication information is used to indicate the The first terminal belongs to the charging group that has no available group charging traffic fragment; the policy control network element is configured to receive the first indication information from the charging function network element, and according to the first indication information, determine that the The terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs performs policy update; for any terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, the terminal is processed according to the following method for the second terminal: the policy control network element is also used for Sending a first message to the policy enforcement network element, where the first message is used to indicate that the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is deleted; the policy execution network element is further configured to receive from the policy control network. And the first message of the element, and deleting the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the first message. In this way, in the subsequent process, the data traffic of the data packet from the second terminal can only match the personal charging traffic, and the group charging policy is no longer enjoyed.

In a possible design, the charging system further includes: a policy control network element, and a policy control network element, configured to receive a fourth message from the policy execution network element, where the fourth message is used to carry the first terminal The identifier is used to request a charging policy corresponding to the first terminal; the policy control network element determines, according to the identifier of the first terminal, that the first terminal is a group charging terminal, and the first terminal needs to perform a charging account according to the group The status is used to update the charging policy; the policy control network element associates the first terminal with the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. Based on the solution, the policy control network element may associate the first terminal with the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

In a possible design, the policy control network element is further configured to determine that the group charging session is not established with the charging function network element; the policy control network element is further configured to send the fifth message to the charging function network element. The fifth message carries the group identifier, and is used to request to establish a charging session corresponding to the group identifier; the charging function network element is further configured to receive the fifth message from the policy control network element, and according to the first And the fifth message, the group identifier is associated with the corresponding billing account state; the billing function network element is further configured to send a sixth message to the policy control network element, where the sixth message is used to indicate the corresponding to the group identifier The billing session is established. Based on the solution, the policy control network element can establish a group charging session with the charging function network element.

These and other aspects of the present application will be more readily apparent from the following description of the embodiments.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a charging system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

2 is a schematic diagram of application of a charging system in a network before a 5G network according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of application of a charging system in a 5G network according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of hardware of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart 1 of a charging method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart 1 of a session establishing method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart 2 of a charging method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a second schematic flowchart of a session establishment method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a schematic flowchart 3 of a charging method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a policy execution network element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a policy and charging execution function network element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

detailed description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. In the description of the present application, unless otherwise stated, "/" means the meaning of or, for example, A/B may represent A or B; "and/or" herein is merely an association describing the associated object. The relationship indicates that there may be three kinds of relationships, for example, A and/or B, which may indicate that there are three cases where A exists separately, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists separately. Also, in the description of the present application, "a plurality" means two or more than two unless otherwise stated. In addition, in order to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "first", "second", and the like are used to distinguish the same items or similar items whose functions and functions are substantially the same. Those skilled in the art can understand that the words "first", "second" and the like do not limit the number and execution order, and the words "first", "second" and the like are not necessarily limited.

In addition, the network architecture and the service scenario described in the embodiments of the present application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and are not limited to the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. With the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are equally applicable to similar technical problems.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the charging system 10 provided by the embodiment of the present application includes a policy enforcement network element 101 and a charging function network element 102.

The policy execution network element 101 is configured to acquire the first data traffic, where the first data traffic is the current data traffic of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs to the policy execution network element 101; and determining that the first data traffic has been reached. After the traffic of the first group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group of the first terminal belongs to the charging function network element 102, the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the first data traffic, where the group identifier is sent And the first data traffic is used to request a second group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

The charging function network element 102 is configured to receive the group identifier and the first data traffic from the policy enforcement network element 101.

Optionally, the policy enforcement network element 101 and the charging function network element 102 in the embodiment of the present application may communicate directly or through forwarding of other devices, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In the charging system provided by the embodiment of the present application, the current data traffic of the policy execution network element in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs has reached the first group charging corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. After the traffic of the traffic fragment is sent to the charging function network element, the new charging traffic fragment is requested. That is to say, the charging control is performed at the granularity of the charging group, and unlike the prior art, it is based on the user. Therefore, charging based on the charging system provided by the embodiment of the present application will greatly reduce the number of charging sessions created and maintained. In addition, since the traffic fragmentation based on the charging group is generally larger than the user-based traffic fragmentation, the charging system provided by the embodiment of the present application performs charging, which greatly reduces the relationship between the policy enforcement network element and the charging function network element. The number of message interactions. At the same time, since the charging function network element does not need to perform traffic quota management for each user and summarizes the traffic of the specific charging identifier, the charging system provided by the embodiment of the present application does not need to calculate. The fee function network element supports the traffic post-processing function of the user group. In summary, the charging system provided by the embodiment of the present application can significantly reduce the performance requirements of related network elements, such as the policy enforcement network element and the charging function network element, thereby reducing the cost of the equipment manufacturer.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 1 , the charging system 10 provided by the embodiment of the present application may further include a policy control network element 103.

The charging function network element 102 is further configured to send the first indication information to the policy control network element 103, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the charging group to which the first terminal belongs has no available group charging traffic fragment.

The policy control network element 103 is configured to receive the first indication information from the charging function network element, and determine, according to the first indication information, that the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs needs to perform policy update.

Further, any terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is processed according to the following manner for the second terminal:

The policy control network element 103 is further configured to send a first message to the policy enforcement network element 101, where the first message is used to indicate that the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is deleted.

The policy enforcement network element 101 is further configured to receive the first message from the policy control network element 103, and delete the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the first message.

That is, the charging system provided by the embodiment of the present application can perform the policy on the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs in time when the charging group of the first terminal belongs to the charging group without the available group charging traffic fragment. Update.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 1 , the charging system 10 provided by the embodiment of the present application may further include a policy control network element 103.

The policy control network element 103 is configured to receive a fourth message from the policy enforcement network element 101, where the fourth message is used to carry the identifier of the first terminal, and is used to request a charging policy corresponding to the first terminal. The identifier of the terminal determines that the first terminal is a group charging terminal, and determines that the first terminal needs to perform policy update according to the group charging account status; and associates the first terminal with the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

That is, the charging system provided by the embodiment of the present application may be configured by the first terminal and the first terminal when the first terminal is a group charging terminal and needs to be updated according to the group charging account status. The billing group is associated.

Optionally, the charging system 10 shown in FIG. 1 can be applied to a 5th generation (5th generation, 5G) network currently under discussion; and can also be applied to a network before a 5G network, such as a second generation (2nd generation, 2G). The network, the third generation (3rd generation, 3G) network, or the fourth generation (4th generation, 4G) network; and the other network in the future after the 5G network, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present invention.

Illustratively, assuming that the charging system 10 shown in FIG. 1 is applied to a network before the current 5G network, as shown in FIG. 2, the network element or entity corresponding to the foregoing policy execution network element may be a network before the 5G network. The network element or entity corresponding to the above-mentioned charging function network element may be the OCS in the network before the 5G network; the network element or entity corresponding to the foregoing policy control network element may be before the 5G network PCRF network element in the network.

The PCRF network element communicates with the PCEF network element through the Gx interface, and the PCRF network element communicates with the OCS through the Sy interface, and the OCS communicates with the PCEF network element through the Gy interface.

Of course, in addition to the network element shown in FIG. 2, other network elements are included in the network before the 5G network. For example, the 4G network also includes a mobility management entity (MME) and a serving gateway (SGW). In addition, the 2G or 3G network also includes a general packet radio service (GPRS) support node (SGSN), and the related description can refer to the existing 2G, 3G or 4G network architecture description. , will not repeat them here.

Illustratively, if the charging system 10 shown in FIG. 1 is applied to the 5G network currently being discussed, as shown in FIG. 3, the network element or entity corresponding to the foregoing policy enforcement network element may be a session in the 5G network. a network management element (SMF) network element; the network element or entity corresponding to the foregoing charging function network element may be a charging function (CHF) network element in a 5G network; the foregoing policy control network element The corresponding network element or entity may be a policy control function (PCF) network element in the 5G network.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the 5G network may further include an access device, an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a user plane function (UPF) network element, and some The network element (not shown), such as an authentication server function (AUSF) network element, a network exposure function (NEF) network element, etc., is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The terminal accesses the 5G core network through the access device, and the terminal communicates with the AMF network element through the Next Generation (N) 1 interface (N1), and the access device passes the N2 interface (N2) and the AMF network element. In the communication, the access device communicates with the UPF network element through the N3 interface (N3 for short), and the AMF network element communicates with the SMF network element through the N11 interface (N11 for short), and the AMF network element communicates with the PCF network element through the N15 interface (N15 for short). The SMF network element communicates with the PCF network element through the N7 interface (N7). The SMF network element communicates with the UPF network element through the N4 interface (N4). The SMF network element communicates with the CHF network element through the N16 interface (N16 for short). The element communicates with the PCF network element through the N24 interface (N24) and accesses the data network. The UPF network element accesses the data network through the N6 interface (N6 for short).

It should be noted that the name of the interface between the network elements in FIG. 3 is only an example. In the specific implementation, the interface name may be other names, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

It should be noted that the AMF network element, the SMF network element, the UPF network element, the PCF network element, or the CHF network element in FIG. 3 are only one name, and the name does not limit the device itself. The network element or the entity corresponding to the AMF network element, the SMF network element, the UPF network element, the PCF network element, or the CHF network element may also be other names in the 5G network and other network in the future. No specific limitation. For example, the UPF network element may be replaced by an UPF or UPF entity, etc., and is uniformly described herein, and details are not described herein again.

Optionally, the terminal involved in the embodiment of the present application may include various handheld devices having wireless communication functions, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, computing devices, or other processing devices connected to the wireless modem; Including user unit (subscriber unit), cellular phone, smart phone, wireless data card, personal digital assistant (PDA) computer, tablet computer, wireless modem (modem), handheld device Handheld, laptop computer, cordless phone or wireless local loop (WLL) station, machine type communication (MTC) terminal, user equipment (user equipment) , UE), mobile station (MS), terminal device or relay user equipment. The relay user equipment may be, for example, a 5G residential gateway (RG). For convenience of description, in the present application, the above mentioned devices are collectively referred to as terminals.

Optionally, the access device involved in the embodiment of the present application refers to a device that accesses the core network, and may be, for example, a base station, a broadband network gateway (BNG), an aggregation switch, and a non-third-generation cooperation. 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) access equipment, etc. The base station may include various forms of base stations, such as macro base stations, micro base stations (also referred to as small stations), relay stations, access points, and the like.

Optionally, the policy enforcement network element, the charging function network element, or the policy control network element in the embodiment of the present application may be implemented by one device, or may be implemented by multiple devices together, or may be one of the devices. The function module is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application. It can be understood that the above functions can be either a network component in a hardware device, a software function running on dedicated hardware, or a virtualization function instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform).

For example, the policy enforcement network element, the charging function network element, or the policy control network element in FIG. 1 in this embodiment of the present application may be implemented by using the communication device in FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of hardware of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 400 includes at least one processor 401, a communication line 402, a memory 403, and at least one communication interface 404.

The processor 401 can be a general central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more for controlling the execution of the program of the present application. integrated circuit.

Communication line 402 can include a path for communicating information between the components described above.

Communication interface 404, using any type of transceiver, for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, radio access network (RAN), wireless local area networks (WLAN), etc. .

The memory 403 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type that can store information and instructions. The dynamic storage device can also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, and a disc storage device. (including compact discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be Any other media accessed, but not limited to this. The memory may be stand-alone and connected to the processor via communication line 402. The memory can also be integrated with the processor.

The memory 403 is used to store computer execution instructions for executing the solution of the present application, and is controlled by the processor 401 for execution. The processor 401 is configured to execute computer execution instructions stored in the memory 403, thereby implementing the charging method provided by the following embodiments of the present application.

Optionally, the computer-executed instructions in the embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as an application code, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 401 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 in FIG.

In a particular implementation, as an embodiment, communication device 400 can include multiple processors, such as processor 401 and processor 408 in FIG. Each of these processors can be a single-CPU processor or a multi-core processor. A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores for processing data, such as computer program instructions.

In a particular implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 400 can also include an output device 405 and an input device 406. Output device 405 is in communication with processor 401 and can display information in a variety of ways. For example, the output device 405 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector. Wait. Input device 406 is in communication with processor 401 and can receive user input in a variety of ways. For example, input device 406 can be a mouse, keyboard, touch screen device, or sensing device, and the like.

The communication device 400 described above may be a general purpose device or a dedicated device. In a specific implementation, the communication device 400 can be a desktop computer, a portable computer, a network server, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wireless terminal device, an embedded device, or the like in FIG. device. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of the communication device 400.

The charging method provided by the embodiment of the present application will be specifically described below with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG.

It should be noted that the name of the message or the name of each parameter in the message in the following embodiments of the present application is only an example, and may be other names in the specific implementation. limited.

First, the charging system shown in FIG. 1 is applied to the network before 5G as shown in FIG. 2 . As shown in FIG. 5 , the charging method provided in the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

S501. The first terminal sends a data packet to the PCEF network element, so that the PCEF network element receives the data packet from the first terminal.

S502. The PCEF network element determines, according to the data packet, a group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the determining, by the PCEF network element, the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs may include:

The PCEF network element determines the identifier of the first terminal according to the data packet, and further determines the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the identifier of the first terminal.

Exemplarily, after receiving the data packet from the first terminal, the PCEF network element may associate the corresponding signaling plane address by using the data plane address corresponding to the data packet, and then determine the first terminal according to the signaling plane address. Logo. After determining the identifier of the first terminal, the PCEF network element may determine a corresponding charging policy according to the identifier of the first terminal. If the charging policy includes the correspondence between the identifier of the first terminal and the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, if the first terminal is a session-level group charging terminal, the PCEF network element may not identify the data packet. In the content of the first terminal, the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is determined according to the identifier of the first terminal and the correspondence between the identifier of the first terminal and the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. In this case, the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is a session-level charging group.

Alternatively, optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the PCEF network element, according to the data packet, determining the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs may specifically include:

The PCEF network element determines the identifier of the first terminal according to the data packet, and further determines the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the identifier of the first terminal and the service corresponding to the data packet.

Exemplarily, after receiving the data packet from the first terminal, the PCEF network element may associate the corresponding signaling plane address by using the data plane address corresponding to the data packet, and then determine the first terminal according to the signaling plane address. Logo. After determining the identifier of the first terminal, the PCEF network element may determine a corresponding charging policy according to the identifier of the first terminal. If the charging policy includes one or more service rules, the PCEF network element needs to identify the service corresponding to the data packet by identifying the content in the data packet. For example, the PCEF network element can match the data packet with each service rule in the charging policy corresponding to the first terminal, and if the service rule is successfully matched, the service corresponding to the service rule is the data packet. For the corresponding service, the group identifier included in the service rule or the group identifier corresponding to the service rule is the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. In this case, the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is a service level charging group. The one terminal may be corresponding to one or more service-level charging groups. For example, the first terminal may correspond to one charging group of the service A and one charging group of the service B, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment.

S503. The PCEF network element determines the first data traffic according to the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the data traffic corresponding to the data packet.

Illustratively, assuming that the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is managed by the group charging node 1 on the PCEF network element, the PCEF network element may use the data of the first terminal according to the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. All data traffic for the packet is associated with the group charging node 1 for aggregation. Assuming that the traffic of the data packet is 3M, before the traffic of all the data traffic of the data packet is associated with the group charging node 1, the traffic on the group charging node 1 is 4M, and then the data packet is After all data traffic is associated with the group charging node 1, the traffic on the group charging node 1 is 3M+4M=7M.

S504: The PCEF network element determines that the first data traffic has reached the reported traffic of the first group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the reporting traffic of the first group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group of the first terminal is equal to the first group of charging traffic corresponding to the charging group of the first terminal. The traffic of the first group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group corresponding to the charging group of the first terminal is smaller than the traffic of the first group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group of the first terminal, for example, The reported traffic of the first group of the traffic flow segments corresponding to the charging group of the first terminal is 80% of the traffic of the first group of the traffic data segments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. This is not specifically limited.

S505. The PCEF network element sends a credit control request-update (CCR-U) message to the OCS through the Gy interface, so that the OCS receives the CCR-U message from the PCEF network element.

The CCR-U message carries the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the first data traffic. The group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the first data traffic are used to request the second group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

It is assumed that the first group of charging traffic fragments in the embodiment of the present application is not the last group charging traffic fragment, that is, the charging group of the first terminal belongs to the group charging traffic fragment, which is optional. The charging method provided by the embodiment of the present application further includes the following steps S506-S508:

S506. The OCS allocates a second group of charging traffic fragments to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs in the traffic pool of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the size of the first group of the charging traffic fragments and the size of the second group of the charging traffic fragments may be the same or different, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

S507. The OCS sends a credit control answer-update (CCA-U) message 1 to the PCEF network element through the Gy interface, so that the PCEF network element receives the CCA-U message 1 from the OCS.

The CCA-U message 1 carries the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the second group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

S508. The PCEF network element performs data traffic of the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the second group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. Group billing processing.

It is assumed that the first group of charging traffic fragments in the embodiment of the present application is the last group of charging traffic fragments, that is, the charging group of the first terminal belongs to the charging group without the available group charging traffic fragment. The charging method provided by the embodiment of the present application further includes the following steps S509-S515:

S509. The OCS sends a CCA-U message 2 to the PCEF network element, so that the PCEF network element receives the CCA-U message 2 from the OCS.

The CCA-U message 2 carries the indication information 1 for indicating that the charging group to which the first terminal belongs has no available group charging traffic fragment; or the indication information 1 is used to indicate that the OCS is no longer the first A charging group of a terminal belongs to a new group charging traffic fragment, and the like, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment.

For example, the function of the indication information 1 can be implemented by carrying the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the traffic location of the newly allocated group charging traffic fragment to 0 in the CCA-U message 2. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, if the first group of charging traffic fragments is the last group of charging traffic fragments, the first group of charging traffic fragments may also be indicated when the OCS sends the first group of charging traffic fragments to the PCEF network element. The fragment is the last group of charging traffic fragments, so that steps S505 and S509 may not be performed. That is, if the first group of charging traffic fragments is the last group of charging traffic fragments, step S505 and step S509 are optional steps, which are collectively described herein, and are not described herein again.

S510: The OCS sends a sending status notification request (SNR) message to the PCRF network element by using the Sy interface, so that the PCRF network element receives the SNR message from the OCS.

The SNR message carries the indication information 2, where the indication information 2 is used to indicate that the charging group to which the first terminal belongs has no available group charging traffic fragment; or the indication information 2 is used to indicate that the OCS is no longer belonged to the first terminal. The charging group allocates a new group charging traffic fragment and the like, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

For example, the function of the foregoing indication information 2 can be implemented in the manner that the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is carried in the SNR message, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Optionally, the indication information 1 and the indication information 2 in the embodiment of the present application may be the same or different, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

It should be noted that there is no necessary sequence of execution between the step S509 and the step S510 in the embodiment of the present application, and the step S509 may be performed first, and then the step S510 may be performed; or the step S510 may be performed first, and then the step S509 is performed; It is also possible to perform the steps S509 and S510 at the same time, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

S511. The PCRF network element determines, according to the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, that the charging policy update needs to be performed on the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

S512. The PCRF network element sends a sending status notification answer (SNA) message to the OCS through the Sy interface, so that the OCS receives the SNA message from the PCRF network element.

The SNA message is used to notify the OCS that the PCRF network element has learned that the first terminal belongs to the charging group without the available group charging traffic fragment or the OCS no longer allocates the new group charging traffic to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

Further, in the embodiment of the present application, after the PCRF network element determines that the charging policy update is required for the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, The following methods are handled for the second terminal:

S513. The PCRF network element sends a re-authentication request (RAR) message to the PCEF network element through the Gx interface, so that the PCEF network element receives the RAR message from the PCRF network element.

The RAR message is used to indicate that the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is deleted.

Optionally, the RAR message in the embodiment of the present application may carry the changed charging policy corresponding to the second terminal, where the changed charging policy may be used to indicate that the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs are deleted. The association relationship is not specifically limited in this embodiment.

S514. The PCEF network element deletes the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the RAR message.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, if the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is a session-level charging group, the PCEF network element deletes the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, for example, deleting and The group identifier corresponding to the identifier of the second terminal or the corresponding relationship between the identifier of the second terminal and the group identifier corresponding to the identifier of the second terminal; if the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is a service level charging group, the PCEF network And deleting the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, for example, deleting the group identifier corresponding to the identifier of the second terminal, or deleting the identifier of the second terminal and the group identifier corresponding to the identifier of the second terminal. The corresponding relationship or the deletion of the identifier of the second terminal and the service rule of the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, which is corresponding to the identifier of the second terminal, is not specifically limited in this embodiment.

Illustratively, assuming that the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is managed by the group charging node 1 on the PCEF network element, and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is a session-level charging group, the charging node 1 may manage, for example, The charging strategy shown in Table 1:

Table I

终端标识Terminal identification	组标识Group identification
第一终端的标识Identification of the first terminal		组标识1Group ID 1

第二终端的标识Identification of the second terminal		组标识1Group ID 1
第三终端的标识Third terminal identification		组标识1Group ID 1
……......	……......

After the PCEF network element deletes the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the RAR message, the charging policy managed by the charging node 1 can be as shown in Table 2:

Table II

终端标识Terminal identification	组标识Group identification
第一终端的标识Identification of the first terminal		组标识1Group ID 1
第二终端的标识Identification of the second terminal
第三终端的标识Third terminal identification		组标识1Group ID 1
……......	……......

Or, exemplarily, assuming that the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is managed by the group charging node 1 on the PCEF network element, and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is a service level charging group, the charging node 1 may Manage the charging policies as shown in Table 3:

Table 3

If the group identifier of the service-level charging group to which the first terminal belongs is the group identifier 3, the charging node is deleted after the PCEF network element deletes the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the RAR message. 1Managed charging policies can be as shown in Table 4:

Table 4

Optionally, Table 3 and Table 4 are described by using the group identifier as an example in the service rule. As shown in Table 5, the service rule and the group identifier may also be presented in the form of a corresponding relationship. Specifically limited.

Table 5

In the embodiment of the present application, after the PCEF network element deletes the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the RAR message, the data traffic of the data packet from the second terminal can only match the personal meter. The group charging policy is no longer enjoyed on the fee traffic. The unified description here is not repeated here.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the PCEF network element may update the charging policy of the second terminal from the group charging policy to the personal charging policy, for example, the second terminal and the first terminal may be The association relationship of the charging group to which the accounting group belongs may also be used by the PCRF network element to issue a policy related to the personal charging package, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

S515. The PCEF network element sends a re-authentication answer (RAA) message to the PCRF network element, so that the PCRF network element receives the RAA message from the PCEF network element.

The RAA message is used to indicate that the charging policy corresponding to the second terminal has been updated.

For example, the first terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs may be processed in the manner of the foregoing step S513-S515 for the second terminal, and only the second terminal in steps S513-S515 needs to be replaced. It is a first terminal, and will not be described here.

The charging method based on the charging method provided by the embodiment of the present invention can greatly reduce the performance requirements of related network elements, such as the PCEF network element and the OCS, and can further reduce the cost of the equipment manufacturer. , will not repeat them here.

The action of the PCEF network element, the PCRF network element, or the OCS in the foregoing steps S501 to S515 may be performed by the processor 401 in the communication device 400 shown in FIG. 4 calling the application code stored in the memory 403. The embodiment does not impose any limitation on this.

According to the charging method shown in FIG. 5, optionally, as shown in FIG. 6, a session establishing method is provided in the embodiment of the present application, and the session establishing method may complete the configuration process of the foregoing charging policy, specifically including The following steps:

S601. The first terminal sends a session establishment request to the PCEF network element, so that the PCEF network element receives the session establishment request from the first terminal.

The session establishment request carries the identifier of the first terminal.

S602. The PCEF network element sends a credit control request-initial (CCR-U) message 1 to the PCRF network element through the Gx interface according to the session establishment request, so that the PCRF network element receives the CCR-I from the PCEF network element. Message 1.

The CCR-I message 1 carries the identifier of the first terminal, and is used to request a charging policy corresponding to the first terminal.

S603. The PCRF network element determines, according to the identifier of the first terminal, that the first terminal is a group charging terminal, and the first terminal needs to perform charging policy update according to the group charging account status.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the first terminal is used as the group charging terminal, and the subscription management on the PCRF network element is taken as an example for description. Therefore, after obtaining the identifier of the first terminal, the PCRF network element may search for the subscription data corresponding to the first terminal according to the identifier of the first terminal, so that, according to the subscription data, the first terminal may be determined as a group charging terminal, and the first The terminal needs to update the charging policy according to the status of the group charging account.

Optionally, the first terminal in the embodiment of the present application may be a session-level group charging terminal or a service-level group charging terminal, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

S604. The PCRF network element determines that the group charging session of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is not established with the OCS.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, if the first terminal is a session-level group charging terminal, the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is a session-level charging group; if the first terminal is a service-level group charging terminal, The charging group to which the first terminal belongs is a service-level charging group, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

S605: The PCRF network element sends a spending limit request-initial (SLR-I) message to the OCS through the Sy interface, so that the OCS receives the SLR-I message from the PCRF network element.

The SLR-I message carries the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and is used to request to establish a charging session corresponding to the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

S606. The OCS associates, according to the SLR-I message, the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and the corresponding charging account status.

S607. The OCS sends a spending limit answer-initial (SLR-I) message to the PCRF network element through the Sy interface, so that the PCRF network element receives the SLA-I message from the OCS.

The SLA-I message is used to indicate that the charging session establishment corresponding to the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is completed.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, if the PCRF network element determines that the group charging session of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is established with the OCS, the foregoing steps S604-S607 may not be performed. That is to say, for a charging group, it is only necessary to establish a charging session corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, between the PCRF network element and the OCS, and it is not necessary to use the PCRF network element as in the prior art. A charging session corresponding to each terminal in the charging group is established with the OCS, thereby greatly reducing the number of message interactions between the PCRF network element and the OCS, and further reducing the performance requirements of the PCRF network element and the OCS.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, after the OCS associates the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs with the corresponding charging account status, if the charging is performed corresponding to the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs The status of the account is changed. For example, if the charging group of the first terminal has no available group accounting traffic fragment, the OCS needs to notify the PCRF network element in time, so that the PCRF network element timely updates the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. For the related description, refer to steps S510-S515 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, and details are not described herein again.

S608. The PCRF network element associates the first terminal with the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

For example, the PCRF network element may allocate a group policy node to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and the PCRF network element may associate the first terminal with the group of policy nodes. Alternatively, the PCRF network element may establish the first terminal. The corresponding relationship between the identifier and the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and the like, is not specifically limited in this embodiment.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, if the first terminal is a service level group charging terminal, for each service level charging group in one or more service level charging groups corresponding to the first terminal, The method may be performed in the manner of the above steps S604-S608, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

It should be noted that the steps S604-S608 of the present application are applied to the scenario that the PCRF network element determines that the first terminal needs to perform the charging policy update according to the group charging account status, and if the PCRF network element determines that the first terminal does not need to be based on the group. The fee policy status is updated by the charging policy, and the above steps S604-S608 may not be performed, and the description is not described herein.

In the case that the PCRF network element determines that the charging group to which the first terminal belongs has an available group charging traffic fragment, the session establishing method provided by the embodiment of the present application may further include the following steps:

S609. The PCRF network element sends a credit control answer-initial (CCA-U) message 1 to the PCEF network element through the Gx interface, so that the PCEF network element receives the CCA-I message 1 from the PCRF network element.

The CCA-I message 1 carries the charging policy of the charging group corresponding to the first terminal, and the charging policy corresponding to the first terminal is used to represent the charging policy of the first terminal belonging to a certain charging group.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, if the first terminal is a session-level group charging terminal, the charging policy corresponding to the first terminal is a session-level charging policy; The charging policy corresponding to the first terminal is a service-level charging policy, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

For example, if the first terminal is a session-level group charging terminal, the charging policy corresponding to the first terminal may include, for example, a correspondence between the identifier of the first terminal and the group identifier of the session-level charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

Or, for example, if the first terminal is a service level group charging terminal, the charging policy corresponding to the first terminal may include, for example, the correspondence between the identifier of the first terminal and the service rule corresponding to the service level charging group. The service rule includes a group identifier of a service level charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

Or, for example, if the first terminal is a service level group charging terminal, the charging policy corresponding to the first terminal may include, for example, an identifier of the first terminal, a service rule corresponding to the service level charging group, and the first terminal. Correspondence between the group IDs of the service-level accounting groups.

Or, exemplarily, if the first terminal is a service level group charging terminal, the charging policy corresponding to the first terminal may include, for example, the identifier of the first terminal and the identifier of the service rule corresponding to the service level charging group. a relationship, so that the service rule corresponding to the service-level charging group configured on the PCEF network element can be determined according to the identifier of the service rule and the identifier of the first terminal, where the service level is configured on the PCEF network element The service rule corresponding to the charging group includes the group identifier of the service level charging group to which the first terminal belongs; or, so that the identifier configured on the PCEF network element can be determined according to the identifier of the service rule and the identifier of the first terminal. The service rule corresponding to the service-level charging group and the group ID of the service-level charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, if the first terminal is a service level group charging terminal, for each service level charging group in one or more service level charging groups corresponding to the first terminal, The method may be performed in the manner of the foregoing step S609; or the CCA-I message 1 may carry the charging policy of the multiple service-level charging groups corresponding to the first terminal, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

S610. The PCEF network element associates the first terminal with a charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

For example, the PCEF network element may allocate a group charging node to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and the PCEF network element may associate the charging policy of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the group policy node. Or, if the first terminal is a session-level group charging terminal, the PCEF network element may establish a correspondence between the identifier of the first terminal and the group identifier of the session-level charging group to which the first terminal belongs; The PCEF network element may establish the identifier of the first terminal, the group identifier of the service level charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and the corresponding relationship of the corresponding service rule, or the PCEF network element may establish the identifier of the first terminal and the first The corresponding relationship of the service rule corresponding to the service-level charging group to which the terminal belongs, where the service rule includes the group identifier of the service-level charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and the like, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment.

S611. The PCEF network element determines that the group charging session of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is not established with the OCS.

S612. The PCEF network element sends a CCR-I message 2 to the OCS through the Gy interface, so that the OCS receives the CCR-I message 2 from the PCEF network element.

The CCR-I message 2 carries the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and is used to request to establish a charging session corresponding to the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

S613. The OCS allocates a corresponding first group of charging traffic fragments to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the CCR-I message 2.

S614. The OCS sends a CCA-I message 2 to the PCEF network element through the Gy interface, so that the PCEF network element receives the CCA-I message 2 from the OCS.

The CCA-I message 2 carries the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the first group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

S615. The PCEF network element associates the charging group to which the first terminal belongs with the corresponding first group of charging traffic fragments according to the CCA-I message 2.

For example, the PCRF network element may allocate a group charging node to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and the PCEF network element may associate the first group of charging traffic fragments with the group of policy nodes. Alternatively, the PCEF network element may establish a correspondence between the first group of the charging traffic fragment and the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and so on, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, after the PCEF network element associates the charging group of the first terminal with the corresponding first group of charging traffic fragments, the PCEF network element may be configured according to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. The group identifier and the first group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, perform group charging processing on the data traffic of the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and specifically refer to the meter shown in FIG. The fee method will not be described here.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, if the PCEF network element determines that the group charging session of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is established with the OCS, the foregoing steps S611-S615 may not be performed. That is to say, for a charging group, it is only necessary to establish a charging session corresponding to the charging group of the first terminal between the PCEF network element and the OCS, and it is not necessary to use the PCEF network element as in the prior art. A charging session corresponding to each terminal in the charging group is established with the OCS, thereby greatly reducing the number of message exchanges between the PCEF network element and the OCS, and further reducing the performance requirements of the PCEF network element and the OCS.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, if the first terminal is a service level group charging terminal, for each service level charging group in one or more service level charging groups corresponding to the first terminal, The method may be performed in the manner of the foregoing steps S610-S615, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

S616. The PCEF network element sends a session establishment response to the first terminal, so that the first terminal receives the session establishment response from the PCEF network element.

The session establishment response is used to indicate that the charging session establishment corresponding to the first terminal is completed.

Based on the session establishment method provided in this embodiment, the configuration process of the charging policy corresponding to the first terminal may be implemented.

The action of the PCEF network element, the PCRF network element, or the OCS in the foregoing step S601 to step S616 can be performed by the processor 401 in the communication device 400 shown in FIG. 4 calling the application code stored in the memory 403. The embodiment does not impose any limitation on this.

Optionally, based on the session establishment method shown in FIG. 6, a charging method different from the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 may be performed, which is uniformly described herein, and details are not described herein again.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the charging policy corresponding to the first terminal may be pre-configured on the PCEF network element, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Optionally, the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6 is described by taking a terminal in a charging group on a PCEF network element as an example. Certainly, the terminals in a charging group may also be distributed on different PCEF network elements. In this case, the interaction process between each PCEF network element and other network elements may refer to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6 above. The interaction process between the PCEF network element and other network elements is not described here.

Optionally, the charging system shown in FIG. 1 is applied to the 5G network shown in FIG. 3 . As shown in FIG. 7 , the charging method provided by the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

S701. The first terminal sends a data packet to the UPF network element, so that the UPF network element receives the data packet from the first terminal.

S702: The UPF network element determines, according to the data packet, a group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the manner in which the UPF network element determines the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the data packet, and the PCEF network element in the step S502, according to the data packet, determines, according to the data packet, the first terminal belongs to The method of the group ID of the fee group can be similar. For example, the PCEF network element is replaced with the UPF network element. For related description, refer to step S502, and details are not described herein.

S703: The UPF network element determines the second data traffic according to the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the data traffic corresponding to the data packet.

For example, the manner in which the UPF network element determines the second data traffic is similar to the manner in which the PCEF network element determines the first data traffic in the foregoing S503. The difference is that the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is usually collected by the group traffic on the UPF network element. The node is managed. For related description, refer to step S503, and details are not described herein.

S704: The UPF network element determines that the second data traffic has reached the reported traffic of the fifth group of the traffic flow fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

The manner in which the UPF network element determines that the second data traffic has reached the reported traffic of the fifth group of the traffic volume fragments corresponding to the charging group of the first terminal, and the PCEF network element determines that the first data traffic has reached the first step. The method for reporting the traffic of the first group of the accounting traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group of the terminal is similar. For related description, refer to step S504, and details are not described herein.

S705. The UPF network element sends a message 1 to the SMF network element, so that the SMF network element receives the message 1 from the UPF network element.

The message 1 carries the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the second data traffic.

S706: The SMF network element determines the first data traffic according to the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the second data traffic.

The first data traffic is the current data traffic of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs on the SMF network element.

Illustratively, if the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is managed by the group charging node 1 on the SMF network element, the SMF network element can associate the second data traffic to the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. The grouping is performed on the charging node 1. Assuming that the second data traffic is 5M, before the second data traffic is associated with the group charging node 1, the traffic on the group charging node 1 is 6M, and the second data traffic is associated with the group meter. After summing up on the fee node 1, the traffic on the group charging node 1 is 5M+6M=11M.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, if the SMF network element determines that the first data traffic does not reach the reported traffic of the first group of the traffic flow segments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, The fee method can also include the following steps:

S707: The SMF network element determines that the first data traffic does not reach the reported traffic of the first group of the traffic flow fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

S708. The SMF network element allocates a third group of charging traffic fragments to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the size of the third group of the charging traffic fragments may be the same as the size of the fifth group of the charging traffic fragments, and may be different.

S709: The SMF network element sends a message 2 to the UPF network element, so that the UPF network element receives the message from the SMF network element.

The message 2 carries the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the third group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

S710. The UF network element performs data traffic of the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the third group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. Group billing processing.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, if the SMF network element determines that the first data traffic has reached the reported traffic of the first group of the traffic flow fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, The fee method can also include the following steps:

The S711 and the SMF network element determine that the first data traffic has reached the reported traffic of the first group of the traffic flow fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

S712. The SMF network element sends a message 3 to the CHF network element, so that the CHF network element receives the message 3 from the SMF network element.

The message 3 carries the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the first data traffic. The group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the first data traffic are used to request the second group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

It is assumed that the first group of charging traffic fragments in the embodiment of the present application is not the last group charging traffic fragment, that is, the charging group of the first terminal belongs to the group charging traffic fragment, which is optional. The charging method provided by the embodiment of the present application further includes the following steps:

The S713 and the CHF network element allocate, according to the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, the second group of charging traffic fragments to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs in the traffic pool of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

S714. The CHF network element sends a message 4 to the SMF network element, so that the SMF network element receives the message 4 from the CHF network element.

The message 4 carries the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the second group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

S715. The SMF network element performs data traffic of the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the second group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. Group billing processing.

It is assumed that the first group of charging traffic fragments in the embodiment of the present application is the last group of charging traffic fragments, that is, the charging group of the first terminal belongs to the charging group without the available group charging traffic fragment. The charging method provided by the embodiment of the present application further includes the following steps:

S716: The CHF network element sends a message 5 to the SMF network element, so that the SMF network element receives the message 5 from the CHF network element.

The message 5 carries the indication information 1 for indicating that the charging group to which the first terminal belongs has no available group charging traffic fragment; or the indication information 1 is used to indicate that the CHF network element is no longer the first The charging group to which the terminal belongs is allocated a new group charging traffic fragment, etc., which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

For example, the function of the indication information 1 can be implemented by the method of carrying the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the traffic location of the newly allocated group charging traffic fragment to 0. The embodiment does not specifically limit this.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, if the first group of charging traffic fragments is the last group of charging traffic fragments, when the first group of charging traffic fragments is sent by the CHF network element to the SMF network element, The fragment may be instructed to be the last group of billing traffic fragments so that steps S712 and S716 may not be performed. That is, if the first group of charging traffic fragments is the last group of charging traffic fragments, step S712 and step S716 are optional steps, which are collectively described herein, and are not described herein again.

The S717 and the SMF network element send a message 6 to the UPF network element, so that the UPF network element receives the message 6 from the SMF network element.

The message 6 carries the foregoing indication information 1. The related description of the indication information 1 may refer to step S716, and details are not described herein again. .

Of course, if the SMF network element allocates the fifth group of charging traffic fragments to the UPF network element, the fifth group of the charging traffic fragment is instructed to be the last group charging traffic fragment allocated by the CHF network element to the SMF network element. In the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application does not need to perform the steps S705-S716.

S718: The CHF network element sends a message 7 to the PCF network element, so that the PCF network element receives the message 7 from the CHF network element.

The message 7 carries the indication information 2, which is used to indicate that the charging group to which the first terminal belongs has no available group charging traffic fragment; or the indication information 2 is used to indicate that the CHF network element is no longer the first The charging group to which the terminal belongs is allocated a new group charging traffic fragment, etc., which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

For example, the function of the indication information 2 can be implemented by the method of carrying the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs in the message 7. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

It should be noted that there is no necessary sequence of execution between step S716 and step S718 in the embodiment of the present application, which may be performed first step S716, and then step S718; or step S718 may be performed first, and then step S716 is performed; It is also possible to perform the steps S716 and S718 at the same time, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

The S719 and the PCF network element determine, according to the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, that the charging policy update needs to be performed on the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

S720: The PCF network element sends a response message 1 to the CHF network element, so that the CHF network element receives the response message 1 from the PCF network element.

The response message 1 is used to notify the CHF network element that the PCF network element has learned that the charging group of the first terminal belongs to the charging group without the available group, or that the CHF network element is no longer assigned to the charging group of the first terminal. The group is not limited to the specific embodiment of the present application.

Further, in the embodiment of the present application, after the PCF network element determines that the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs needs to perform the charging policy update, The following methods are handled for the second terminal:

S721. The PCF network element sends a message 8 to the SMF network element, so that the SMF network element receives the message 8 from the PCF network element.

The message 8 is used to indicate that the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is deleted.

Optionally, the message 8 in the embodiment of the present application may carry the changed charging policy corresponding to the second terminal, where the changed charging policy may be used to indicate that the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs are deleted. The association relationship is not specifically limited in this embodiment.

S722: The SMF network element deletes, according to the message 8, the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

For the related example of the SMF network element deleting the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, refer to the related description of step S514 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, and details are not described herein again.

In the embodiment of the present application, after the SMF network element deletes the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the message 8, the data traffic of the data packet from the second terminal can only be matched to the personal meter. The group charging policy is no longer enjoyed on the fee traffic. The unified description here is not repeated here.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the SMF network element may update the charging policy of the second terminal from the group charging policy to the personal charging policy, for example, the second terminal and the first terminal may be The association relationship between the charging group and the accounting group may be performed by the PCF network element, and is not specifically limited in this embodiment.

S723: The SMF network element sends a response message 2 to the PCF network element, so that the PCF network element receives the response message 2 from the SMF network element.

The response message 2 is used to indicate that the charging policy corresponding to the second terminal has been updated.

S724. The SMF network element sends a message 9 to the UPF network element, so that the UPF network element receives the message 9 from the SMF network element.

The message 9 is used to indicate that the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is deleted.

Optionally, the message 9 in the embodiment of the present application may carry the changed charging policy corresponding to the second terminal, where the changed charging policy may be used to indicate that the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs are deleted. The association relationship is not specifically limited in this embodiment.

S725. The UPF network element deletes the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the message 9.

For the related example of the association between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, refer to the related description of step S514 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, and details are not described herein again.

In the embodiment of the present application, after the UPF network element deletes the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the message 9, the data traffic of the data packet from the second terminal can only be matched to the personal meter. The group charging policy is no longer enjoyed on the fee traffic. The unified description here is not repeated here.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the UPF network element may update the charging policy of the second terminal from the group charging policy to the personal charging policy. For example, the second terminal and the first terminal may be removed. The association relationship between the accounting group and the accounting group may be performed by the PCF network element through the SMF network element.

S726: The UPF network element sends a response message 3 to the SMF network element PCF network element, so that the SMF network element receives the response message 3 from the UPF network element.

The response message 3 is used to indicate that the charging policy corresponding to the second terminal has been updated.

It should be noted that the steps S716-S726 of the present application are applied to the scenario in which the first terminal needs to perform the charging policy update according to the group charging account status, if the first terminal does not need to perform the charging policy according to the group charging account status. For the update, the above steps S716-S726 may not be performed, which are collectively described herein, and are not described below.

The charging method based on the charging method provided by the embodiment of the present application can greatly reduce the performance requirements of related network elements, such as the UPF network element, the SMF network element, and the CHF network element, thereby reducing the cost of the equipment manufacturer. For the effect analysis, refer to the section of the billing system, and details are not described herein.

The actions of the SMF network element, the PCF network element, or the CHF network element in the foregoing step S701 to step S726 can be performed by the processor 401 in the communication device 400 shown in FIG. 4 calling the application code stored in the memory 403. The embodiment of the present application does not impose any limitation on this.

Based on the charging method shown in FIG. 7 , optionally, as shown in FIG. 8 , the method for establishing a session is provided in the method for establishing a session, and the method includes: The following steps:

S801. The first terminal sends a session establishment request to the SMF network element, so that the SMF network element receives the session establishment request from the first terminal.

The session establishment request carries the identifier of the first terminal.

S802. The SMF network element sends a message 1 to the PCF network element according to the session establishment request, so that the PCF network element receives the message 1 from the SMF network element.

The message 1 carries the identifier of the first terminal, and is used to request a charging policy corresponding to the first terminal.

S803. The PCF network element determines, according to the identifier of the first terminal, that the first terminal is a group charging terminal, and the first terminal needs to perform charging policy update according to the group charging account status.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the first terminal is used as the group charging terminal, and the contract management on the PCF network element has been taken as an example for description. Therefore, after acquiring the identifier of the first terminal, the PCF network element may search for the subscription data corresponding to the first terminal according to the identifier of the first terminal, so that the first terminal is determined to be the group charging terminal according to the subscription data, and the first The terminal needs to update the charging policy according to the status of the group charging account.

S804. The PCF network element determines that the group charging session of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is not established with the CHF network element.

S805. The PCF network element sends a message 2 to the CHF network element, so that the CHF network element receives the message 2 from the PCF network element.

The message 2 carries the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and is used to request to establish a charging session corresponding to the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

S806. The CHF network element associates, according to the message 2, the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and the corresponding charging account status.

S807. The CHF network element sends a response message 1 to the PCF network element, so that the PCF network element receives the response message 1 from the CHF network element.

The response message 1 is used to indicate that the charging session establishment corresponding to the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is completed.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, if the PCF network element determines that the group charging session of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is established with the CHF network element, the foregoing steps S804-S807 may not be performed. That is to say, for a charging group, it is only necessary to establish a charging session corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs between the PCF network element and the CHF network element, and it is not necessary to use the PCF as in the prior art. A charging session corresponding to each terminal in the charging group is established between the network element and the CHF network element, thereby greatly reducing the number of message interactions between the PCF network element and the CHF network element, and further to the PCF network element and the CHF. The performance requirements of network elements are greatly reduced.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, after the CHF network element associates the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the corresponding charging account status, if the group identifier corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is The status of the accounting account is changed. For example, if the charging group of the first terminal has no available group accounting traffic fragment, the CHF network element needs to notify the PCF network element in time, so that the PCF network element timely updates the charging of the first terminal. For the description of the charging policy of the terminal in the group, refer to steps S718-S726 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, and details are not described herein again.

S808: The PCF network element associates the first terminal with the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

For example, the manner in which the PCF network element associates the first terminal with the charging group to which the first terminal belongs may be similar to the manner in which the PCRF network element in the S608 associates the first terminal with the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. For description, refer to step S608, and details are not described herein again.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, if the first terminal is a service level group charging terminal, for each service level charging group in one or more service level charging groups corresponding to the first terminal, It can be performed in the manner of the above steps S804-S808, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

It should be noted that the steps S804-S808 of the present application are applied to the scenario in which the PCF network element determines that the first terminal needs to perform the charging policy update according to the group charging account status, and if the PCF network element determines that the first terminal does not need to be based on the group. The fee policy status is updated by the charging policy, and the above steps S804-S808 may not be performed, and the description is not described herein.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, when the PCF network element determines that the charging group of the first terminal belongs to the available group charging traffic fragment, the method for delivering the group charging policy provided by the embodiment of the present application further includes the following step:

S809. The PCF network element sends a response message 2 to the SMF network element, so that the SMF network element receives the response message 2 from the PCF network element.

The response message 2 carries the charging policy corresponding to the first terminal. For related description, refer to step S609 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 , and details are not described herein again.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, if the first terminal is a service level group charging terminal, for each service level charging group in one or more service level charging groups corresponding to the first terminal, The method can be performed in the manner of the foregoing step S809; or the response message 2 can carry the charging policy of the multiple service-level charging groups corresponding to the first terminal, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment.

S810. The SMF network element associates the first terminal with a charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

Illustratively, the manner in which the SMF network element associates the first terminal with the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is similar to the manner in which the PCEF network element associates the first terminal with the charging group to which the first terminal belongs in the foregoing step S610. For description, refer to step S610, and details are not described herein again.

S811. The SMF network element determines that the group charging session of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is not established with the CHF network element.

S812: The SMF network element sends a message 3 to the CHF network element, so that the CHF network element receives the message 3 from the SMF network element.

The message 3 carries the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and is used to request to establish a charging session corresponding to the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

S813. The CHF network element allocates a corresponding first group of charging traffic fragments to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the message 3.

S814. The CHF network element sends a response message 3 to the SMF network element, so that the SMF network element receives the response message 3 from the CHF network element.

The response message 3 carries the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the first group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

S815. The SMF network element associates the charging group to which the first terminal belongs with the corresponding first group of charging traffic fragments according to the response message 3.

Illustratively, the SMF network element associates the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the corresponding first group of charging traffic fragments, and the PCRF network element in the foregoing step S615 associates the charging group of the first terminal with the corresponding A method for associating a set of charging traffic fragments is similar. For related description, refer to step S615, and details are not described herein again.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, after the SMF network element associates the charging group of the first terminal with the corresponding first group of charging traffic fragments, the SMF network element may be configured according to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. The group identifier and the first group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, perform group charging processing on the data traffic of the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and specifically refer to the meter shown in FIG. The fee method will not be described here.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, if the SMF network element determines that the group charging session of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is established with the CHF network element, the foregoing steps S811-S815 may not be performed. That is to say, for a charging group, it is only necessary to establish a charging session corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs between the SMF network element and the CHF network element, without the need to be in the SMF as in the prior art. A charging session corresponding to each terminal in the charging group is established between the network element and the CHF network element, thereby greatly reducing the number of message interactions between the SMF network element and the CHF network element, and further to the SMF network element and the CHF. The performance requirements of network elements are greatly reduced.

S816. The SMF network element sends a message 4 to the UPF network element serving the first terminal, so that the UPF network element receives the message 4 from the SMF network element.

The message 4 carries the charging policy corresponding to the first terminal. For related description, refer to step S609 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 , and details are not described herein again.

Optionally, the message 4 in the embodiment of the present application may further carry information such as a fifth group of the traffic flow segment and the traffic report threshold that are allocated by the SMF network element to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. No specific limitation.

S817: The UPF network element associates the first terminal with the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

Illustratively, the manner in which the UPF network element associates the first terminal with the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is similar to the manner in which the PCEF network element associates the first terminal with the charging group to which the first terminal belongs in the foregoing step S610. For example, the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is generally managed by the group traffic statistics node on the UPF network element. For related description, refer to step S610, and details are not described herein.

Optionally, if the message 4 in the step S816 in the embodiment of the present application carries the information that the SMF network element is allocated to the charging group of the first terminal, and the traffic reporting threshold, the application is implemented. The session establishment method provided by the example may further include the following step S818:

S818: The UPF network element associates the charging group to which the first terminal belongs with the corresponding fifth group of charging traffic fragments according to the message 4.

Illustratively, the manner in which the UPF network element associates the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the corresponding fifth group of charging traffic fragments is the same as the charging unit in the first step of the PCRF network element in step S615. A method for associating a set of charging traffic fragments is similar. For related description, refer to step S615, and details are not described herein again.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, after the UPF network element associates the charging group of the first terminal with the corresponding fifth group of the charging traffic fragment, the UPF network element may be configured according to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. The group identifier and the first group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, perform group charging processing on the data traffic of the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and specifically refer to the meter shown in FIG. The fee method will not be described here.

S819. The UPF network element sends a response message 4 to the SMF network element, so that the SMF network element receives the response message 4 from the UPF network element.

The response message 4 is used to indicate that the UPF network element has learned the charging policy corresponding to the first terminal.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, if the first terminal is a service level group charging terminal, for each service level charging group in one or more service level charging groups corresponding to the first terminal, It can be performed in the manner of the above steps S810-S819, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

After the session is established, the session establishment method provided by the embodiment of the present application may further include the following steps:

S820. The SMF network element sends a session establishment response to the first terminal, so that the first terminal receives the session establishment response from the SMF network element.

The actions of the SMF network element, the PCF network element, or the CHF network element in the foregoing steps S801 to S820 may be performed by the processor 401 in the communication device 400 shown in FIG. 4 calling the application code stored in the memory 403. The embodiment of the present application does not impose any limitation on this.

Optionally, based on the session establishment method shown in FIG. 8, a charging method different from the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 may be performed, which is uniformly described herein, and details are not described herein again.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the charging policy corresponding to the first terminal may be pre-configured on the SMF network element, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Optionally, the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 or FIG. 8 is described by taking an example in which a terminal in a charging group is distributed on one SMF network element. Certainly, the terminals in a charging group may also be distributed on different SMF network elements. In this case, the interaction process of each SMF network element with other network elements may refer to the embodiment shown in FIG. 7 or FIG. 8 above. The interaction process between the SMF network element and other network elements will not be described here.

The charging system shown in FIG. 1 is applied to the network before 5G as shown in FIG. 2 . As shown in FIG. 9 , the charging method provided by the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

S901-S903, the same as the steps S501-S503, the related description can refer to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, and details are not described herein again.

S904: The PCEF network element determines that the first data traffic has reached the preset traffic corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

The preset traffic in the embodiment of the present application is the traffic required to generate an offline CDR when the offline charging is set.

Exemplarily, if the preset traffic is 10M, an offline bill can be generated when the first data traffic reaches 10M.

S905: The PCEF network element generates an offline bill according to the first data traffic.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, if the first data traffic does not reach the preset traffic corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, the offline CDR is not generated until the PCEF network element receives the first terminal. The data packet of the terminal in the charging group, and the first data traffic reaches the preset traffic corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and the offline CDR is generated, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, after receiving the data packet from the first terminal, the PCEF network element may further determine, according to the data packet, a group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and further, according to the first terminal The group ID of the billing group determines the billing duration of the billing group that the first terminal belongs to on the PCEF network element, and the billing duration reaches the preset duration (for example, half an hour) corresponding to the billing group to which the first terminal belongs. The PCEF can generate an offline CDR according to the charging duration, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The offline charging according to the charging method provided by the embodiment of the present application can greatly reduce the performance requirements of the related network element, such as the PCEF network element, and can further reduce the cost of the equipment manufacturer. The related technical effect analysis can refer to the charging system part. I will not repeat them here.

The action of the PCEF network element in the foregoing step S901 to the step S905 can be performed by the processor 401 in the communication device 400 shown in FIG. 4 to call the application code stored in the memory 403, and the embodiment of the present application does not make any limit.

Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, if the charging mode is offline charging, the configuration process of the corresponding charging policy may include steps S601-S603, S609-S610, and step S616 in the embodiment shown in FIG. For related description, refer to the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, and details are not described herein again.

In summary, the embodiment of the present application discloses a charging method, including: the policy execution network element acquires the first data traffic, where the first data traffic is the current data of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs on the policy execution network element. The policy execution network element determines that the first data traffic has reached the reported traffic of the first group of the traffic flow segments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs; the policy execution network element sends the first terminal to the accounting function network element. The group identifier of the fee group and the first data traffic, wherein the group identifier and the first data traffic are used to request a second group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

As an implementation, the charging method disclosed in the embodiment of the present application may further include: the policy execution network element receives the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs from the charging function network element, and the corresponding charging group of the first terminal. The second group of charging traffic fragments; wherein the group identifier and the second group of charging traffic fragments are used to perform group charging processing on data traffic of terminals in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

As an implementation, the charging group to which the first terminal belongs includes a session-level charging group or a service-level charging group.

As an implementation, the policy enforcement network element is a policy and charging execution function network element; the policy execution network element acquires the first data traffic, including: the policy and charging execution function network element receives the data packet from the first terminal; The accounting execution function network element determines, according to the data packet, a group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs; the policy and charging execution function network element determines the first data traffic according to the group identifier and the data traffic corresponding to the data packet.

As an implementation, the policy and charging execution function network element determines, according to the data packet, a group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, where the policy and charging execution function network element determines the first according to the data packet. The identifier of the terminal; the policy and the charging execution function network element determines the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the identifier of the first terminal.

As an implementation, the policy and charging execution function network element determines, according to the data packet of the first terminal, the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, including: the policy and charging execution function network element determines the first according to the data packet. The identifier of a terminal; the policy and the charging execution function network element determines the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the identifier of the first terminal and the service corresponding to the data packet.

As an implementation, the policy execution network element is a session management network element; correspondingly, the policy execution network element acquires the first data traffic, including: the session management network element receives the second data traffic and the group identifier from the user plane function network element, The second data traffic is the current data traffic of the charging group of the first terminal on the user plane function network element; the session management network element determines the first data traffic according to the second data traffic and the group identifier.

As an implementation, the policy enforcement network element is a session management network element. Correspondingly, the charging method disclosed in the embodiment of the present application may further include: reporting that the first data traffic does not reach the first group of the charging traffic fragment. In this case, the session management network element sends the group identifier and the third group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs to the user plane function network element, and the group identifier and the third group of charging traffic fragments are used. The group charging process is performed on the data traffic of the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. The third group of charging traffic fragments is smaller than the first group of charging traffic fragments.

As an implementation, the charging method disclosed in the embodiment of the present application may further include: the policy execution network element receives the first indication information from the charging function network element, where the first indication information is used to indicate the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. No available group accounting traffic fragmentation.

As an implementation, the charging method disclosed in the embodiment of the present application may further include: processing, for any terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, according to the following manner for the second terminal: the policy execution network element receiving a first message from the policy control network element, where the first message is used to indicate that the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is deleted; the policy execution network element deletes the second terminal and the first terminal according to the first message. The association relationship of the accounting group to which it belongs.

As an implementation, the policy enforcement network element is a session management network element; correspondingly, the charging method disclosed in the embodiment of the present application may further include: for any terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, according to the following The second terminal is configured to: the session management network element receives the first message from the policy control network element, where the first message is used to indicate that the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is deleted; the session management network element And deleting, according to the first message, the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs; the session management network element sends a second message to the user plane function network element, where the second message is used to indicate to delete the second terminal and the first Relationship between the accounting groups to which the terminal belongs.

As an implementation, the policy execution network element is pre-configured with an association relationship between the first terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

As an implementation, the charging method disclosed in the embodiment of the present application may further include: the policy execution network element receives the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs from the policy control network element, and the identifier of the first terminal; And associating the first terminal with the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the group identifier and the identifier of the first terminal.

As an implementation, the charging method disclosed in the embodiment of the present application may further include: the policy execution network element determines that the group charging session is not established with the charging function network element; and the policy execution network element sends the third message to the charging function network element. The third message carries the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and is used to request to establish a charging session corresponding to the group identifier; the policy execution network element receives the charging group of the first terminal from the charging function network element. Corresponding fourth group of charging traffic fragments.

For the foregoing charging method, for example, the operation of the policy execution network element may refer to the operation of the PCEF network element in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6, or the operation of the SMF network element in FIG. 7 or FIG. 8 and the related text description, and no longer Narration.

In addition, the embodiment of the present application further discloses a charging method, including: the policy and charging execution function network element acquires the first data traffic, where the first data traffic is performed by the charging group of the first terminal in policy and charging. The current data traffic on the function network element; the policy and charging execution function network element determines that the first data traffic has reached the preset traffic corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs; the policy and charging execution function network element is based on the first data traffic. Generate an offline bill.

For the operation of the foregoing charging method, for example, the operation of the network element of the policy and the charging execution function may be referred to the operation of the PCEF network element in FIG. 9 and the related text description, and details are not described herein again.

The solution provided by the embodiment of the present application is mainly introduced from the perspective of interaction between the network elements. It can be understood that the foregoing policy execution network element or the policy and charging execution function network element includes corresponding hardware structures and/or software modules for executing the respective functions in order to implement the above functions. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present application can be implemented in a combination of hardware or hardware and computer software in combination with the elements and algorithm steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein. Whether a function is implemented in hardware or computer software to drive hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the solution. A person skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each particular application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of the present application.

The embodiment of the present application may perform a function module division on a policy execution network element or a policy and charging execution function network element according to the foregoing method example. For example, each function module may be divided according to each function, or two or more functions may be used. The functions are integrated in one processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of the module in the embodiment of the present application is schematic, and is only a logical function division, and the actual implementation may have another division manner.

For example, in the case of dividing each functional module in an integrated manner, FIG. 10 shows a schematic structural diagram of a policy execution network element 100. The policy enforcement network element 100 includes a processing module 1001 and a transceiver module 1002. The processing module 1001 is configured to obtain the first data traffic, where the first data traffic is the current data traffic of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs on the policy execution network element. The processing module 1001 is further configured to determine that the first data traffic has reached the reported traffic of the first group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. The transceiver module 1002 is configured to send, to the charging function network element, a group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and the first data traffic, where the group identifier and the first data traffic are used to request the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. Corresponding second group of charging traffic fragments.

Optionally, the transceiver module 1002 is further configured to receive a group identifier from the charging function network element and a second group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs; wherein the group identifier and the second group The charging traffic fragment is used to perform group charging processing on the data traffic of the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

In a possible implementation, the policy enforcement network element is a policy and charging execution function network element; correspondingly, the processing module 1001 is configured to obtain the first data traffic, including: receiving the data packet from the first terminal; The data packet determines the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs; determines the first data traffic according to the group identifier and the data traffic corresponding to the data packet.

Optionally, the processing module 1001 is configured to determine, according to the data packet, a group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, where the method includes: determining, according to the data packet, an identifier of the first terminal; determining, according to the identifier of the first terminal, the first Group ID of the accounting group to which the terminal belongs.

Alternatively, the processing module 1001 is configured to determine, according to the data packet of the first terminal, the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, including: determining, according to the data packet, the identifier of the first terminal; The identifier and the service corresponding to the data packet determine the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

In another possible implementation manner, the policy execution network element is a session management network element, and the processing module 1001 is configured to: acquire, by the processing module 1001, the second data traffic and the group identifier from the user plane function network element, where The second data traffic is the current data traffic of the charging group of the first terminal to the user plane function network element; and the first data traffic is determined according to the second data traffic and the group identifier.

Optionally, the policy execution network element is a session management network element; and correspondingly, the transceiver module 1002 is further configured to: when the first data traffic does not reach the reported traffic of the first group of the traffic flow fragments, The network element sending group identifier and the third group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, the group identifier and the third group of charging traffic fragments are used for data of the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs The traffic performs group accounting processing, where the third group of charging traffic fragments is smaller than the first group of charging traffic fragments.

Optionally, the transceiver module 1002 is further configured to receive the first indication information from the charging function network element, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the charging group to which the first terminal belongs has no available group charging traffic fragment.

Optionally, the transceiver module 1002 is further configured to receive a first message from the policy control network element, where the first message is used to indicate that the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is deleted, where the second terminal is The processing module 1001 is further configured to delete the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the first message.

Optionally, the policy enforcement network element is a session management network element; correspondingly, the transceiver module 1002 is further configured to receive a first message from the policy control network element, where the first message is used to indicate that the second terminal and the first terminal belong to the deletion The association relationship of the charging group, wherein the second terminal is any terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs; the processing module 1001 is configured to delete the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the first message. The association module 1002 is further configured to send a second message to the user plane function network element, where the second message is used to indicate that the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is deleted.

In a possible implementation manner, the policy execution network element is pre-configured with an association relationship between the first terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

Or, in a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module 1002 is further configured to receive the group identifier from the policy control network element and the identifier of the first terminal, where the processing module 1001 is further configured to use, according to the group identifier and the identifier of the first terminal, The first terminal is associated with the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.

Optionally, the processing module 1001 is further configured to determine that a group charging session is not established with the charging function network element. The transceiver module 1002 is further configured to send a third message to the charging function network element, where the third message carries a group identifier, and is used to request to establish a charging session corresponding to the group identifier. The transceiver module 1002 is further configured to receive a fourth group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs from the charging function network element.

All the related content of the steps involved in the foregoing method embodiments may be referred to the functional descriptions of the corresponding functional modules, and details are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the policy enforcement network element 100 is presented in a form that divides each functional module in an integrated manner. A "module" herein may refer to a particular ASIC, circuitry, processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuitry, and/or other devices that provide the functionality described above. In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the policy enforcement network element 100 can take the form shown in FIG.

For example, the processor 401 in FIG. 4 can execute an instruction by calling a computer stored in the memory 403, so that the policy execution network element 100 executes the charging method in the foregoing method embodiment.

Specifically, the function/implementation process of the processing module 1001 and the transceiver module 1002 in FIG. 10 can be implemented by the processor 401 in FIG. 4 calling a computer execution instruction stored in the memory 403. Alternatively, the function/implementation process of the processing module 1001 in FIG. 10 can be implemented by the processor 401 in FIG. 4 calling the computer execution instruction stored in the memory 403, and the function/implementation process of the transceiver module 1002 in FIG. The communication interface 404 in 4 is implemented.

The policy execution network element provided in this embodiment can perform the foregoing charging method. Therefore, the technical effects of the foregoing method can be referred to the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

Optionally, the embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, where the chip system includes a processor, and is configured to support a policy execution network element to implement the foregoing charging method, for example, acquiring the first data traffic. In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory. The memory is used to save program instructions and data necessary for the policy execution network element. Of course, the memory may not be in the chip system. The chip system may be composed of a chip, and may also include a chip and other discrete devices. This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

Or, for example, in the case of dividing each functional module in an integrated manner, FIG. 11 shows a schematic structural diagram of a policy and charging execution function network element 110. The policy and charging execution function network element 110 includes an obtaining module 1101 and a processing module 1102. The obtaining module 1101 is configured to acquire the first data traffic, where the first data traffic is the current data traffic of the charging group of the first terminal to the policy and charging execution function network element, and the processing module 1002 is configured to determine the first data traffic. The data traffic has reached the preset traffic corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs; the offline CDR is generated according to the first data traffic.

In this embodiment, the policy and charging execution function network element 110 is presented in a form that divides each functional module in an integrated manner. A "module" herein may refer to a particular ASIC, circuitry, processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuitry, and/or other devices that provide the functionality described above. In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the policy and charging enforcement function network element 110 can take the form shown in FIG.

For example, the processor 401 in FIG. 4 can execute the instruction by calling a computer stored in the memory 403, so that the policy and charging execution function network element 110 executes the charging method in the above method embodiment.

Specifically, the function/implementation process of the obtaining module 1101 and the processing module 1102 in FIG. 11 can be implemented by the processor 401 in FIG. 4 calling a computer executing instruction stored in the memory 403.

The policy and the charging and executing function network element provided in this embodiment can perform the above-mentioned charging method. Therefore, the technical effects that can be obtained can be referred to the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described herein again.

Optionally, the embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, where the chip system includes a processor, and is configured to support a policy and a charging execution function network element to implement the foregoing charging method, for example, acquiring the first data traffic. In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory. The memory is used to store program instructions and data necessary for the network element of the policy and charging execution function. Of course, the memory may not be in the chip system. The chip system may be composed of a chip, and may also include a chip and other discrete devices. This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, it may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in accordance with embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transferred from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions can be from a website site, computer, server or data center Transmission to another website site, computer, server or data center via wired (eg coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (eg infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer readable storage medium can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device that includes one or more servers, data centers, etc. that can be integrated with the media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state disk (SSD)) or the like.

Although the present application has been described herein in connection with the various embodiments, those skilled in the art can Other variations of the disclosed embodiments are achieved. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfill several of the functions recited in the claims. Certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims, but this does not mean that the measures are not combined to produce a good effect.

While the present invention has been described in connection with the specific embodiments and embodiments thereof, various modifications and combinations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Accordingly, the description and drawings are to be regarded as It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made in the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of the present invention.

Claims

A charging method, characterized in that the method comprises:

The policy execution network element obtains the first data traffic, where the first data traffic is the current data traffic of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs on the policy execution network element;

The policy execution network element determines that the first data traffic has reached the reported traffic of the first group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs;

The policy execution network element sends the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the first data traffic to the charging function network element, where the group identifier and the first data traffic are used for the requesting The second group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.
The method of claim 1 further comprising:

The policy enforcement network element receives the group identifier from the charging function network element and a second group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs;

The group identifier and the second group of charging traffic fragments are used to perform group charging processing on data traffic of terminals in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.
The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the charging group to which the first terminal belongs includes a session level charging group or a service level charging group.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the policy execution network element is a policy and charging execution function network element; and the policy execution network element acquires the first data traffic, including:

The policy and charging execution function network element receives a data packet from the first terminal;

Determining, by the network element, the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the data packet;

The policy and charging execution function network element determines the first data traffic according to the group identifier and the data traffic corresponding to the data packet.
The method according to claim 4, wherein the policy and charging execution function network element determines, according to the data packet, a group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, including:

Determining, by the policy and charging execution function network element, the identifier of the first terminal according to the data packet;

The policy and charging execution function network element determines, according to the identifier of the first terminal, a group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.
The method according to claim 4, wherein the policy and charging execution function network element determines, according to the data packet of the first terminal, the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, including:

Determining, by the policy and charging execution function network element, the identifier of the first terminal according to the data packet;

The policy and the charging and executing function network element determines the group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the identifier of the first terminal and the service corresponding to the data packet.
The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the policy execution network element is a session management network element; and correspondingly, the policy execution network element acquires the first data traffic, including:

The session management network element receives the second data traffic from the user plane function network element and the group identifier, where the second data traffic is the charging group of the first terminal belongs to the user plane function network element. Current data traffic;

The session management network element determines the first data traffic according to the second data traffic and the group identifier.
The method according to any one of claims 1-3 or 7, wherein the policy execution network element is a session management network element; correspondingly, the method further includes:

And sending, by the session management network element, the group identifier and the first terminal to the user plane function network element, where the first data traffic does not reach the reported traffic of the first group of charging traffic fragments. The third group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group, the group identifier and the third group of charging traffic fragments are used to group data traffic of terminals in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs The fee processing, wherein the third group of charging traffic fragments is smaller than the first group of charging traffic fragments.
The method according to any one of claims 1-3 or 7-8, wherein the policy execution network element is a session management network element; correspondingly, the method further comprises:

For any terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, processing is performed according to the following manner for the second terminal:

The session management network element receives a first message from the policy control network element, where the first message is used to indicate that the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is deleted;

Deleting, by the session management network element, the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the first message;

The session management network element sends a second message to the user plane function network element, where the second message is used to indicate that the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is deleted.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the policy execution network element is pre-configured with an association relationship between the first terminal and a charging group to which the first terminal belongs;

Alternatively, the method further includes:

The policy enforcement network element receives the group identifier from the policy control network element and an identifier of the first terminal;

The policy enforcement network element associates the first terminal with the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the group identifier and the identifier of the first terminal.
The method of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises:

The policy execution network element determines that a group charging session is not established with the charging function network element;

The policy enforcement network element sends a third message to the charging function network element, where the third message carries the group identifier, and is used to request to establish a charging session corresponding to the group identifier;

The policy enforcement network element receives a fourth group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs from the charging function network element.
A charging method, characterized in that the method comprises:

The policy and the charging execution function network element obtains the first data traffic, where the first data traffic is the current data traffic of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs to the policy and charging execution function network element;

The policy and the charging execution function network element determines that the first data traffic has reached the preset traffic corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs;

The policy and charging execution function network element generates an offline bill according to the first data traffic.
A policy enforcement network element, where the policy execution network element includes: a processing module and a transceiver module;

The processing module is configured to obtain a first data traffic, where the first data traffic is a current data traffic of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs on the policy execution network element;

The processing module is further configured to: determine that the first data traffic has reached the reported traffic of the first group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs;

The transceiver module is configured to send, to the charging function network element, a group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and the first data traffic, where the group identifier and the first data traffic are used for request The second group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.
The policy enforcement network element according to claim 13, wherein

The transceiver module is further configured to receive the group identifier from the charging function network element and a second group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs;

The group identifier and the second group of charging traffic fragments are used to perform group charging processing on data traffic of terminals in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.
The policy enforcement network element according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the policy execution network element is a policy and charging execution function network element;

The processing module is configured to: acquire the first data traffic, and include: receiving a data packet from the first terminal; determining, according to the data packet, a group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs; The group identifier and the data traffic corresponding to the data packet determine the first data traffic.
The policy enforcement network element according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the policy execution network element is a session management network element;

The processing module is configured to: acquire, by the processing module, the second data traffic from the user plane function network element, and the group identifier, where the second data traffic is the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. The current data traffic on the user plane function network element; determining the first data traffic according to the second data traffic and the group identifier.
The policy enforcement network element according to any one of claims 13, 14 or 16, wherein the policy execution network element is a session management network element;

The transceiver module is further configured to send the group identifier and the first to the user plane function network element if the first data traffic does not reach the reported traffic of the first group of charging traffic fragments The third group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the terminal belongs, the group identifier and the third group of charging traffic fragments are used to perform data traffic of the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. The group charging process, wherein the third group of charging traffic fragments is smaller than the first group of charging traffic fragments.
The policy enforcement network element according to any one of claims 13-17, wherein the policy execution network element is pre-configured with an association relationship between the first terminal and a charging group to which the first terminal belongs;

Or the transceiver module is further configured to receive the group identifier from the policy control network element and the identifier of the first terminal;

The processing module is further configured to associate the first terminal with the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the group identifier and the identifier of the first terminal.
A policy and charging execution function network element, wherein the policy and charging execution function network element comprises: an obtaining module and a processing module;

The acquiring module is configured to acquire a first data traffic, where the first data traffic is a current data traffic of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs to the policy and charging execution function network element;

The processing module is configured to determine that the first data traffic has reached a preset traffic corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, and generate an offline CDR according to the first data traffic.
A charging system, comprising: a policy execution network element and a charging function network element;

The policy execution network element is configured to acquire the first data traffic, where the first data traffic is the current data traffic of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs on the policy execution network element;

The policy enforcement network element is further configured to send, to the charging function network element, after determining that the first data traffic has reached the traffic of the first group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs. The group identifier of the charging group to which the first terminal belongs and the first data traffic, where the group identifier and the first data traffic are used to request the second group corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs Billing traffic fragmentation;

The charging function network element is configured to receive the group identifier and the first data traffic from the policy enforcement network element.
A billing system according to claim 20, wherein

The charging function network element is further configured to send, to the policy execution network element, the group identifier and the second group of charging traffic fragments corresponding to the charging group to which the first terminal belongs;

The policy enforcement network element is further configured to receive the group identifier from the charging function network element and the second group of charging traffic fragments, where the group identifier and the second group charging The traffic fragment is used to perform group charging processing on the data traffic of the terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs.
The charging system according to claim 20 or 21, wherein the charging system further comprises: a policy control network element;

The charging function network element is further configured to send the first indication information to the policy control network element, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the charging group to which the first terminal belongs has no available group charging traffic fragmentation. ;

The policy control network element is configured to receive the first indication information from the charging function network element, and determine, according to the first indication information, a terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs Conduct a policy update;

For any terminal in the charging group to which the first terminal belongs, processing is performed according to the following manner for the second terminal:

The policy control network element is further configured to send a first message to the policy execution network element, where the first message is used to indicate that the association relationship between the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs is deleted;

The policy enforcement network element is further configured to receive the first message from the policy control network element, and delete the second terminal and the charging group to which the first terminal belongs according to the first message. connection relation.
The charging system according to any one of claims 20 to 22, wherein the charging system further comprises: a policy control network element;

The policy control network element is configured to receive a fourth message from the policy enforcement network element, where the fourth message is used to carry the identifier of the first terminal, and is used to request charging corresponding to the first terminal. Strategy

The policy control network element determines, according to the identifier of the first terminal, that the first terminal is a group charging terminal, and that the first terminal needs to perform charging policy update according to a group charging account status;

The policy control network element associates the first terminal with a charging group to which the first terminal belongs.
A billing system according to claim 23, wherein

The policy control network element is further configured to determine that a group charging session is not established with the charging function network element;

The policy control network element is further configured to send a fifth message to the charging function network element, where the fifth message carries the group identifier, and is used to request to establish a charging session corresponding to the group identifier;

The charging function network element is further configured to receive the fifth message from the policy control network element, and associate the group identifier with a corresponding charging account status according to the fifth message;

The charging function network element is further configured to send a sixth message to the policy control network element, where the sixth message is used to indicate that the charging session establishment corresponding to the group identifier is completed.
A policy enforcement network element, comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store a computer execution instruction, when the policy execution network element is running, the processor executes the memory storage The computer executes the instructions to cause the policy enforcement network element to perform the charging method of any of claims 1-11.
A policy and charging execution function network element, comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store a computer execution instruction, and when the policy and charging execution function network element is running, the processor Executing the computer-executable instructions stored by the memory to cause the policy and charging enforcement function network element to perform the charging method of claim 12.
A processor, for performing the charging method according to any one of claims 1-11, or claim 12.
A computer readable storage medium, wherein the computer readable storage medium stores instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform any of claims 1-11, or claim 12. The charging method described.
A computer program product, wherein the computer program product stores instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1-11, or claim 12. Fee method.
An apparatus for performing the charging method of any of claims 1-11.
An apparatus for performing the charging method of claim 12.