CN103686654A - PCC session association method, and PCEF unit and PA unit - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a PCC conversation relating method, and further provides a PCEF unit and a PA unit. After receiving a business visit request including user identification, the PCEF unit located on a user side addresses a PCRF corresponding to the user identification in various PCRFs according to the user identification of the business visit request, and sends the user identification to the PA unit located on the business side, so that the PA unit can address the PCRF corresponding to the user identification according to the user identification, that is, the PCEF unit and the PA unit address the same PCRF.

Description

PCC session association method, and PCEF unit and PA unit

technical field

This application involves the PCC (Policy Control and Charging) session association method under the multi-PCRF (Policy and Charging Rules Function) deployment system, and the PCEF (Policy And Charging Enforcement Function; Policy and Charging executive function) unit and PA (Policy Agent, Policy Agent) unit.

Background technique

In order to provide users with differentiated services, the PCC architecture is introduced into the network. PCC mainly defines policy control and flow-based charging control functions, and has multiple functions based on services, users, accumulated usage traffic, location/time, and access types. The management and control capabilities of each dimension and the management and control methods such as end-to-end QoS (priority setting), flow control, gate control and differentiated billing.

The main interfaces in PCC are Rx and Gx. Among them, Rx is the reference point between the Policy Agent (PA) and PCRF, and is used to transmit service and session information (such as user IP address) from PA to PCRF, and PCRF makes policy decisions based on service and other information. Gx is the reference point between PCEF and PCRF. Through this interface, functions such as establishment and maintenance of IP-CAN session connection, initiation of PCC decision request from PCEF to PCRF, and dynamic control of PCC behavior on PCEF by PCRF can be realized. When requesting session establishment, the information transmitted from PCEF to PCRF includes private network IP, IMSI, MSISDN and other information, which can be used as user identification.

In the PCC architecture, when a user goes online, a Gx session is established between the PCEF and the PCRF. When the user accesses a service, the P-CSCF acts as a PA to establish an Rx session with the PCRF and transmits the service information to the PCRF. Only when the Gx session and Rx session of the same user are associated with the same PCRF, can the PCRF generate a control policy applicable to the user. Otherwise, the PCRF cannot generate policies based on user information, subscription information, and service information, and the PCC control process cannot be completed.

Due to the limitation of PCRF signaling processing capability and capacity, there is a scenario where multiple sets of PCRF are deployed in one province, which may cause the user's Gx session and Rx session to be associated with different PCRFs, making it impossible to formulate policies for users based on service information , so that the purpose of coordinating the network and business cannot be achieved. Therefore, there must be a method to ensure that the same PCRF can be correctly addressed to serve users on the Gx interface and the Rx interface, and solve the problem of PCC session association in a multi-PCRF deployment environment.

The key to solving the above PCC session association problem lies in the Gx interface and the Rx interface, so that the GGSN and the P-CSCF can find the same PCRF through an effective addressing mechanism. At present, the addressing methods can be roughly divided into two types: one is based on the user ID (IMSI, MSISDN), and the other is based on the user's IP address, but both methods have certain problems.

In the 3GPP specification, it is required to use DRA (Diameter Routing Agent) equipment to complete the addressing function. Through the same pair of DRA equipment on the Gx interface and Rx interface, the PCC of the same user can be realized according to the user's IP address, IMSI, MSISDN and other information. session association. In addition, the way the terminal reports the user's private network IP address cannot solve the problem of duplicate private network IP addresses of users on the live network.

Contents of the invention

The purpose of this application is to provide a PCC session association method that can at least partially improve the defects in the above-mentioned prior art, and provide a PCEF unit and a PA unit.

One aspect of the present application provides a PCC session association method under a multi-PCRF deployment system, including:

1) The PCEF on the user side receives a service access request, and the service access request includes a user ID;

2) The PCEF addresses the PCRF corresponding to the user identifier among the plurality of PCRFs based on the user identifier in the service access request; and

3) The PCEF sends the user identifier to the PA on the service side, so that the PA addresses the PCRF corresponding to the user identifier based on the user identifier.

Another aspect of the present application provides a PCEF comprising:

A parsing module, receiving a service access request from a user terminal, and parsing out a user identifier from the service access request;

The route determination module determines the PCRF corresponding to the user identifier among the plurality of PCRFs from a pre-configured static route list; and

The session module is configured to establish a Gx session between the PCEF and the corresponding PCRF based on the Gx interface, and send the user identifier to the PA located on the service side, so that the PA is addressed to the user identifier based on the user identifier. The corresponding PCRF described above.

In addition, the aforementioned PCEF may further include: a storage module, where the user stores the pre-configured static routing list.

According to another aspect of the present application, a kind of PA is also provided, which may include:

The parsing module receives the session message from the user side, and obtains the user identifier from the session message;

The route determination module determines the PCRF corresponding to the user identifier among the plurality of PCRFs from a pre-configured static route list; and

The conversion module converts the user identifier into a field conforming to the Rx message interface, so as to address the PCRF corresponding to the user identifier through the Rx session.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a multiple PCRF deployment system according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2 shows a flowchart of a PCC session association method in a multi-PCRF deployment system according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a system for deploying multiple PCRFs according to another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 4 shows a PCEF unit according to one embodiment of the present application.

Figure 5 shows a PA unit according to one embodiment of the application.

Detailed ways

For a better understanding of the application, various aspects of the application will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description are only descriptions of preferred embodiments of the present application, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application in any way.

Fig. 1 shows a multiple PCRF deployment system 1000 according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 1 , a multi-PCRF deployment system 1000 includes multiple PCRFs 100-1...100-n (n is an integer greater than or equal to 2), a PCEF unit 200 on the user side and a PA unit 300 on the user side. PCEF200 is usually located at the gateway, in the case of GPRS at GGSN (GatewayGPRS Support Node; network management GPRS support node), in the case of WLAN at PDG (Packet Data Gateway; packet data gateway). On the one hand, PCEF 200 receives a service access request including a user ID from a user end, and addresses a PCRF corresponding to the user ID among multiple PCRFs 100-1...100-n based on the user ID. On the other hand, PCEF200 sends the user ID to PA300 on the service side, so that PA300 addresses the PCRF corresponding to the user ID based on the user ID, that is, PCEF200 and PA300 address the same PCRF. The working principle of the above-mentioned system 1000 will be further described below in conjunction with the method for associating PCC sessions in a multi-PCRF deployment system shown in FIG. 2 .

FIG. 2 shows a PCC session association method 2000 in a multi-PCRF deployment system according to an embodiment of the present application. In step S210, the PCEF at the user side receives a service access request, where the service access request includes a user identifier. The user identity may eg be the user's IMSI or MSISDN. The service access request may be, for example, an IMS service access request or a non-IMS service access request.

After PCEF 200 receives the service access request, on the one hand, in step S220, based on the user ID in the service access request, it addresses the PCRF corresponding to the user ID among the multiple PCRFs. For example, PCEF 200 may determine the PCRF corresponding to the user identifier among the multiple PCRFs from the pre-configured static routing list. It should be understood that in the PCC architecture, when a user goes online, a Gx session will be established between the PCEF and the PCRF. Therefore, after the PCEF 200 determines the PCRF corresponding to the user identifier among the multiple PCRFs from the pre-configured static routing list, the PCEF 200 can address the corresponding PCRF through the Gx session.

On the other hand, PCEF200 sends the user ID to PA300 at the service side in step S230. Specifically, PCEF200 sends the user identification to PA300 via the connection between PCEF200 and PA300 through application layer signaling interaction. When the service access request is a non-IMS service access request, the session module 23 inserts the user ID into the HTTP message, and sends the HTTP message inserted with the user ID to the PA300. PA 300 can address the PCRF corresponding to the user identifier based on the user identifier. That is, PCEF200 and PA300 address to the same PCRF. In one embodiment, the PA 300 may determine the PCRF corresponding to the user identifier from a pre-configured static routing list, and address the corresponding PCRF through the Rx session. The user identifier and the corresponding PCRF can be correspondingly stored in the pre-configured static routing list. In addition, the pre-configured static routing lists can be separately configured in the above-mentioned PCEF200 and PA300, for example.

According to the solution defined in the above steps S210-230, the problem of overlapping private network IP addresses assigned to users by different PCEFs in the existing network can be solved. This problem may cause the same UE IP address to correspond to multiple different PCRFs on the Rx interface. Complete the addressing of the Rx interface PCEF.

A pair of DRA devices may also be included in the multi-PCRF deployment system 1000' according to another embodiment of the present application: a first DRA device 400-1 and a second DRA device 400-2. In addition, for the purpose of illustration, two PCEFs 200-1 and 200-2, and two PRCFs 100-1 and 100-2 are also shown in the figure. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited thereto.

In the scenario shown in Figure 3, in step S220, PCEF200-1/PCEF 200-2 sends the user identification to the first DRA device 400-1/second DRA device 400-2, so that the second DRA device 400-2 The first DRA device 400-1/the second DRA device 400-2 determines the PCRF 100-1/100-2 corresponding to the user identifier among the multiple PCRFs from the pre-configured static routing list, so that the PCEF is addressed through the Gx session to the identified PCRF. Then in step S230, PCEF200-1/PCEF 200-2 sends the user identification to PA300, and PA300 then sends the user identification to the second DRA device 400-2/first DRA device 400-1, so that the second DRA The device 400-2/the first DRA device 400-1 determines the PCRF corresponding to the user identifier from a pre-configured static route list, so that the PA 300 addresses the determined PCRF through the Rx session. In one embodiment, the pre-configured static routing list can be separately configured on the first DRA device 400-1 and the corresponding second DRA device 400-2. Since this solution uses static addressing through code numbers instead of dynamic addressing through IP addresses, the problem that a pair of DRA devices need to synchronize dynamic information can be avoided.

Finally, in step S240, the determined PCRF corresponding to the user ID associates the above-mentioned Rx session with the Gx session according to the user ID, so that the PCRF corresponding to the user ID sends a policy to PCEF200, and notifies PCEF200 of the user's The strategy is executed.

The PCEF 200 and the PA 300 according to an embodiment of the present application will be specifically described below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 .

As shown in FIG. 4 , PCEF200 includes an analysis module 21 , a route determination module 22 and a session module 23 . Specifically, the parsing module 21 is configured to receive a service access request from a user terminal, and parse out a user identifier from the service access request. The route determination module 22 determines the PCRF corresponding to the user identifier among the multiple PCRFs from the pre-configured static route list. In one embodiment, PCEF 200 may further include a storage module (not shown) for storing a static routing list. It should be understood that storing the static routing list may also be stored in any other storage device that can be addressed and accessed by the PCEF 200 . The session module 23 establishes a Gx session between the PCEF and the corresponding PCRF based on the Gx interface on the one hand, and sends the user identification to the PA300 on the service side on the other hand, so that the PA300 can address the user identification based on the user identification. A PCRF corresponding to the user identifier among the multiple PCRFs. Specifically, when the service access request is an IMS service access request, the PA 300 may be a P-CSCF. In this case, the session module 23 inserts the user ID into the SIP message, and sends the SIP message inserted with the user ID to the PA300. As mentioned above, when the service access request is a non-IMS service access request, the session module 23 inserts the user ID into the HTTP message, and sends the HTTP message inserted with the user ID to the PA300.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the PA 300 according to an embodiment of the present application includes: an analysis module 31 , a route determination module 32 and a conversion module 33 . The parsing module 31 is configured to receive a session message from the user side, and obtain a user identifier from the session message. The received session packet may be a SIP session packet or an HTTP session packet. The routing determination module 32 determines the PCRF corresponding to the user ID among the plurality of PCRFs from the pre-configured static routing list, but the conversion module 33 converts the user ID into a field conforming to the Rx message interface, thereby addressing the user ID through the Rx session Identifies the corresponding PCRF.

Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that all or part of the steps to realize the above method embodiments can be completed by hardware related to program instructions, and the aforementioned programs can be stored in computer-readable storage media. When the program is executed, the execution includes The above-mentioned steps in the implementation of the method; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: ROM, RAM, magnetic disk or optical disk and other various media that can store program codes.

While the present application has been specifically illustrated using the above description and examples, the present application is not limited thereto. The protection scope of the present application is defined by the claims in the appended claims, and any equivalent replacement of the technical features in the claims shall fall within the scope defined by the present application.

Claims (18)

1. A PCC session association method under multiple PCRF deployment systems, comprising: 1) The PCEF on the user side receives a service access request, and the service access request includes a user ID; 2) The PCEF addresses the PCRF corresponding to the user identifier among the plurality of PCRFs based on the user identifier in the service access request; and 3) The PCEF sends the user identifier to the PA on the service side, so that the PA addresses the PCRF corresponding to the user identifier based on the user identifier. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step 2) comprises: The PCEF determines from the pre-configured static routing list the PCRF corresponding to the user identifier among the multiple PCRFs, and addresses the corresponding PCRF through the Gx session. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said step 3) comprises: The PA determines the PCRF corresponding to the user identifier from the pre-configured static routing list, and addresses the corresponding PCRF through the Rx session. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said step 2) comprises: The PCEF sends the user identifier to the first DRA device, so that the first DRA device determines a PCRF corresponding to the user identifier among multiple PCRFs from a pre-configured static routing list, so that the PCEF The determined PCRF is addressed through the Gx session. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein said step 3) comprises: The PCEF sends the user identifier to the PA, so that the PA sends the user identifier to a second DRA device corresponding to the first DRA device, where the second DRA device receives the The configured static routing list determines the PCRF corresponding to the user identifier, so that the PA addresses the determined PCRF through the Rx session. 6. A method as claimed in claim 3 or 5, further comprising: The determined PCRF associates the Rx session with the Gx session according to the user identifier. 7. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the service access request is an IMS service access request, and the step of the PCEF sending the user identification to the PA includes: The PCEF inserts the user identifier into the SIP message, and sends the SIP message inserted with the user identifier to the PA. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the PA comprises a P-CSCF. 9. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, wherein the service access request is a non-IMS service access request, and the step of the PCEF sending the user identification to the PA includes: The PCEF inserts the user identifier into the HTTP message, and sends the HTTP message inserted with the user identifier to the PA. 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the user identification is the user's IMSI or MSISDN. 11. A PCEF comprising: A parsing module, receiving a service access request from a user terminal, and parsing out a user identifier from the service access request; The route determination module determines the PCRF corresponding to the user identifier among the plurality of PCRFs from a pre-configured static route list; and The session module is configured to establish a Gx session between the PCEF and the corresponding PCRF based on the Gx interface, and send the user identifier to the PA located on the service side, so that the PA is addressed to the user identifier based on the user identifier. The corresponding PCRF described above. 12. The PCEF of claim 11, further comprising: The storage module stores the pre-configured static routing list. 13. The PCEF according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the service access request is an IMS service access request, and the session module inserts the user identification into the SIP message, and inserts the user identification SIP packets are sent to the PA. 14. The PCEF according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the service access request is a non-IMS service access request, and the session module inserts the user identifier into the HTTP message, and inserts the user identifier The identified HTTP message is sent to the PA. 15. The method according to claim 11, wherein the user identification is the user's IMSI or MSISDN. 16. A PA comprising: The parsing module receives the session message from the user side, and obtains the user identifier from the session message; The route determination module determines the PCRF corresponding to the user identifier among the plurality of PCRFs from a pre-configured static route list; and The conversion module converts the user identifier into a field conforming to the Rx message interface, so as to address the PCRF corresponding to the user identifier through the Rx session. 17. The PA of claim 16, further comprising: A storage module, configured to store the static routing list. 18. The PA according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the user identity is the user's IMSI or MSISDN.

Images