CN110890967A

CN110890967A - Charging processing method, network element and network system

Info

Publication number: CN110890967A
Application number: CN201811055155.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 董嘉; 周欣; 魏彬; 杜晓宁; 孙兴
Original assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Current assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Priority date: 2018-09-11
Filing date: 2018-09-11
Publication date: 2020-03-17
Anticipated expiration: 2038-09-11
Also published as: CN110890967B

Abstract

The invention provides a charging processing method, a network element and a network system, wherein the method comprises the following steps: acquiring an IP address of a base station corresponding to a bearer in a non-independent networking scene; determining the Radio Access Technology (RAT) type of the bearer according to the IP address; and sending the RAT type to a packet data network gateway (PGW) so that the PGW carries out charging according to the RAT type. In this way, traffic statistics and billing marking that distinguish RAT types may be achieved.

Description

Charging processing method, network element and network system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a charging processing method, a network element, and a network system.

Background

The 5G non-independent networking refers to a mode of performing combined networking on Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 5G based on a dual connection technology, and when dual connection is adopted in an LTE system, after Data is divided in a core network or a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, user Data streams are simultaneously transmitted to users through a plurality of base stations. When the LTE and the 5G system are combined to form the network, a plurality of options exist in the core network and the wireless network. The Core network adopts a 4G Core network (EPC for short), LTE Evolved Node B (eNB) and 5G base station gNB user planes may be directly connected to the EPC, and the control plane is connected to the EPC only through the LTE eNB. The user plane may be shunted via LTE eNB, EPC or gNB, respectively, corresponding to Option3/3a/3 x:

1. the 5G user plane corresponds to Option3 when connected to the EPC via LTE eNB;

2. the 5G and LTE user planes are directly connected to the EPC and correspond to Option3 a;

3. the LTE user plane corresponds to Option3x when connected to the EPC via the 5G gbb.

Defined in the 3GPP specifications: the eNB reports uplink and downlink usage of a secondary RAT (NR) (Radio access technologies, abbreviated as RAT, New Radio, abbreviated as NR) to a Mobile Management Entity (MME), and the MME forwards the uplink and downlink usage to a Serving GateWay (SGW) and further forwards the uplink and downlink usage to a PDN GateWay (PGW), where the triggering condition may be usage reporting triggered by flows such as S1 connection release, session deletion, handover, and the like, or may be periodic usage reporting.

Under the current Long Term Evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE for short) charging architecture: both the SGW and PGW may collect charging information. The SGW collects related charging information of a wireless network used by each User Equipment (UE), and generates a Call Detail Record (Call Detail Record) (CDR), the PGW collects related charging information of an external network used by each UE, and generates a PGW-CDR ticket, and the SGW and the PGW together collect related charging information using EPC network resources. The charging information collected by the SGW can be used for charging among operation enterprises, and the charging information collected by the PGW is used for charging users. The PGW-CDR is the charging basis, and the PGW is the content charging implementation point.

The existing PGW supports statistics of total user traffic for a period of time, and can implement charging according to content (for example, distinguishing traffic for accessing a website a from traffic for accessing a website B), but when access technology types include 4G and 5G, the PGW cannot distinguish traffic with an access type of 5G from traffic with other access types, so that the PGW cannot charge according to a radio access technology type.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide a charging processing method, a network element, and a network system, so as to solve a problem that a PGW in the prior art cannot distinguish a traffic with an access type of 5G from a traffic with other access types, so that the PGW cannot perform charging according to a radio access technology type.

In order to solve the technical problem, the invention is realized as follows:

in a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a charging processing method, applied to a serving gateway SGW, including:

acquiring an IP address of a base station corresponding to a bearer in a non-independent networking scene;

determining the Radio Access Technology (RAT) type of the bearer according to the IP address;

and sending the RAT type to a packet data network gateway (PGW) so that the PGW carries out charging according to the RAT type.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a charging processing method, applied to a packet data network gateway PGW, including:

receiving an RAT type of a bearer sent by a Service Gateway (SGW) under a non-independent networking scene, wherein the SGW determines the RAT type of the bearer according to an acquired IP address of a base station corresponding to the bearer;

and charging the bearer according to the RAT type.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a service gateway, including:

the base station IP address acquisition module is used for acquiring the IP address of the base station corresponding to the bearer in a non-independent networking scene;

a RAT type determining module, configured to determine, according to the IP address, a Radio Access Technology (RAT) type of the bearer;

and a RAT type sending module, configured to send the RAT type to a packet data network gateway PGW, so that the PGW performs charging according to the RAT type.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a packet data network gateway, including:

a RAT type receiving module, configured to receive a RAT type of a bearer sent by a serving gateway SGW in a non-independent networking scenario, where the SGW determines the RAT type of the bearer according to an acquired IP address of a base station corresponding to the bearer;

and the charging module is used for charging the bearing according to the RAT type.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network system, including the serving gateway and the packet data network gateway.

In the embodiment of the invention, firstly, under the scene of non-independent networking, the IP address of the base station corresponding to the bearer is obtained; determining the Radio Access Technology (RAT) type of the bearer according to the IP address; and sending the RAT type to a packet data network gateway (PGW) so that the PGW carries out charging according to the RAT type. Through the steps, the SGW can obtain the loaded RAT type according to the IP address of the base station and send the RAT type to the PGW, so that the PGW counts data traffic according to the RAT type, and the purpose of charging according to the RAT type is achieved.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments of the present invention will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art that other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without inventive exercise.

Fig. 1 is a flowchart of a charging processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a flowchart of a charging processing method according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is one of the structural diagrams of the service gateway according to the third embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a second structural diagram of a service gateway according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is one of the structural diagrams of the packet data network gateway according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, not all, embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Example one

Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 is a flowchart of a charging processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 1, the charging processing method according to the embodiment is applied to a serving gateway SGW, and includes the following steps:

step 101, acquiring an IP address of a base station corresponding to a bearer in a non-independent networking scene.

In the scenarios of User attachment, handover, a service request initiated by User Equipment (UE), and the like, the SGW may record, update, and store a corresponding relationship between an EPS Bearer ID (i.e., an EPS Bearer ID) and an S1eNodeB F-TEID (including an IP address of an eNB/gNB data plane), that is, when data transmission is performed through Bearer, the SGW records the EPS Bearer ID of the Bearer and the IP address of a base station that sends data in the Bearer context.

In this step, the IP address of the base station that establishes the bearer with the SGW, that is, the IP address of the base station corresponding to the bearer, needs to be obtained.

And step 102, determining the Radio Access Technology (RAT) type of the bearer according to the IP address.

When determining the type of the RAT to be loaded according to the IP address, the SGW may obtain a target IP address list in advance, and if the obtained IP address is in the IP address list, it indicates that the type of the RAT to be loaded is the RAT type corresponding to the target IP address list. In addition, the RAT type may also be added to the GTP packet header of the data packet sent by the base station, and the SGW determines the RAT type of the bearer according to the GTP packet header and the IP address of the base station.

And 103, sending the RAT type to a packet data network gateway (PGW) so that the PGW can charge according to the RAT type.

Specifically, in an attach procedure, a Public Data Network (PDN) connection procedure initiated by the UE, and a Bearer migration procedure, the SGW sends a Modify Bearer Request (Modify Bearer Request) to the PGW. In the dedicated bearer establishment procedure, the SGW sends a Create bearer response (Create bearer response) to the PGW.

In the 3GPP specification, the modify bearer request or the create bearer response carries the type of RAT of the bearer, where the modify bearer request or the create bearer response includes a RAT type field, where the RAT type field is used to identify the type of RAT of the bearer, and the RAT type that can be identified by the RAT type field is specified in 3 GPP. But for the new RAT type, the RAT type field in the 3GPP specification is not identifiable. Based on this, in order to identify the newly added RAT type, in this step, the newly added RAT type of the bearer is added to the request for modifying the bearer or the response for creating the bearer in two ways.

The first way is to add a Secondary RAT Type (i.e., Secondary RAT Type) field in the modify bearer request or create bearer response, where the Secondary RAT Type field is at least used to identify the newly added RAT Type of the bearer, that is, the Secondary RAT Type field may be used to identify not only the newly added RAT Type of the bearer (e.g., 5G), but also RAT types that can be identified by the RAT Type field (e.g., 2G, 2.75G, 3G, 4G, and so on), for example, when the value of the Secondary RAT Type field is 1, it indicates that the RAT Type of the bearer is 5G; when the value of the secondary RAT type field is 0, it indicates that the carried RAT type is 4G. The newly added RAT type is a RAT type other than the loaded RAT type identified by the RAT type field.

The second way is to add a value range of the RAT type in the modified bearer request or the created bearer response, so that the RAT type field is also used to identify the newly added RAT type of the bearer, for example, an added value 9 (a value greater than or equal to 9 may be used), and when the value of the RAT type field is 9, the RAT type of the bearer is identified as 5G.

After acquiring the RAT type, the PGW may acquire what RAT type is used for data transmitted on the bearer, and then count data traffic according to the RAT type, thereby achieving the purpose of charging according to the RAT type.

It should be noted that the charging processing method in this embodiment is preferably applied to a Non-independent Networking (NSA) Option3a scheme.

In the charging processing method provided by this embodiment, first, in a non-independent networking scenario, an IP address of a base station corresponding to a bearer is obtained; determining the Radio Access Technology (RAT) type of the bearer according to the IP address; and sending the RAT type to a packet data network gateway (PGW) so that the PGW carries out charging according to the RAT type. Through the steps, the SGW can obtain the loaded RAT type according to the IP address of the base station and send the RAT type to the PGW, so that the PGW counts data traffic according to the RAT type, and the purpose of charging according to the RAT type is achieved.

Further, in an embodiment of the present invention, step 102, the step of determining a radio access technology, RAT, type of the bearer according to the IP address includes:

and if the IP address is in a target IP address list, determining that the carried RAT type is the RAT type corresponding to the target IP address list.

The target IP address list may be configured on the SGW or may be configured on an external device, that is, the target IP address list is preconfigured in the SGW, or the target IP address list is preconfigured in the external device, and the external device establishes a communication connection with the SGW.

And when the SGW needs to use the target IP address list, the SGW can obtain the target IP address list from local or external equipment. The target IP address list includes IP addresses of base stations that use a certain RAT type for data transmission, for example, when the RAT type is 5G, the target IP address list includes IP addresses of base stations that use 5G for data transmission.

When the bearer is established and migrated, the SGW acquires an S1eNodeB F-TEID (i.e., an IP address of a base station that transmits data) corresponding to the bearer through a signaling message (sent to the SGW by a Mobility Management Entity (MME)), and analyzes whether the IP of the base station is in a pre-acquired target IP address list. If so, the access technology type corresponding to the bearer is the RAT type corresponding to the target IP address list.

For example, for currently used 4G and 5GRAT types, a target IP address list of the gNB is configured on the SGW, and the SGW acquires an S1eNodeB F-TEID corresponding to a bearer through a signaling message during bearer establishment and migration, and determines whether the IP of the base station is in the configured target IP address list of the gNB. If yes, the RAT type corresponding to the bearer is gNB; if not, the RAT type corresponding to the bearing is eNB. The SGW may configure only the target IP address list of the gnbs within a preset range.

Besides determining the type of RAT carried in the foregoing manner, an embodiment of the present invention further provides another manner for determining the type of RAT carried: before step 102, further comprising:

receiving a data message sent by a base station, wherein a general packet radio service technology (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packet header of the data message comprises an identification information bearer for identifying the RAT type; then the SGW determines the RAT type of the load according to the IP address and the identification information.

In this embodiment, the 4G and 5GRAT types used at present are also described as examples. When the base station sends the data message, a newly added field identifier is added in a GTP packet header of the data message and used for identifying the RAT type. That is, a newly added field identifier is added in a GTP header of a data packet to identify an eNB or a gNB, the SGW obtains whether the data packet is routed by the eNB or the gNB by identifying the identifier, the RAT type corresponding to the bearer used by the data packet routed by the eNB is the eNB, and the RAT type corresponding to the bearer used by the data packet routed by the gNB is the gNB. And the RAT type corresponding to the bearer can be obtained by associating the bearer context with the added field identifier and the IP address of the base station.

Further, in another embodiment of the present invention, in step 103, the step of sending the RAT type to a packet data network gateway PGW includes:

sending a modify bearer request or a create bearer response to the PGW, wherein the modify bearer request or the create bearer response is at least used for indicating the RAT type.

When the RAT type of the bearer is changed from 4G to 5G or the RAT type of the bearer is changed from 5G to 4G, modifying the value of the secondary RAT type field in the modified bearer request or modifying the value of the RAT type field to identify the current RAT type of the bearer;

specifically, in the 3GPP specification, if the Secondary RAT usage reporting is not involved, the bearer modification request sent by the MME is only sent to the SGW, and is not forwarded to the PGW, and at this time, an error occurs in traffic charging performed by the PGW according to the RAT type, so in this embodiment, when the RAT type of the bearer is changed from 4G to 5G, or the RAT type of the bearer is changed from 5G to 4G, the bearer modification request is sent to the PGW, and the bearer modification request carries the current RAT type to notify the current RAT type of the bearer to notify the PGW of the RAT type of the current bearer, thereby implementing traffic statistics and charging marking for distinguishing 4G from 5G by the PGW.

Further, before the step of sending a bearer modification request or a bearer creation response to the PGW, the method further includes:

and determining the value of the RAT type field in the modification bearing request or the creation bearing response according to the RAT type.

Further, determining a value of a RAT type field in the modified bearer request includes:

modifying the value of the RAT type field in the modified bearer request when the RAT type of the bearer changes.

For example, when the RAT type of the bearer is changed from 4G to 5G, or the RAT type of the bearer is changed from 5G to 4G, the value of the secondary RAT type field in the modified bearer request is modified, or the value of the RAT type field is modified, so as to identify the current RAT type of the bearer.

Further, after the step of sending a bearer modification request or a bearer creation response to the PGW, the method further includes:

and when the RAT type of the bearer is changed, deleting or adding a secondary RAT type field in the bearer modification request or bearer creation response, or modifying the value of the secondary RAT type field.

For example, when the RAT type of the bearer is changed from 4G to 5G, the secondary RAT type field needs to be added, and the secondary RAT type field is used to identify 5G. When the loaded RAT type is changed from 5G to 4G, the RAT type field is used for identifying 4G, the auxiliary RAT type field can be deleted, or the value of the auxiliary RAT type field is modified, so that the value of the auxiliary RAT type field is 0, which indicates that the loaded RAT type is 4G.

Example two

Referring to fig. 2, fig. 2 is a flowchart of a charging processing method according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 2, the charging processing method according to the present embodiment is applied to a packet data network gateway PGW, and includes:

step 201, in a non-independent networking scenario, receiving a RAT type of a bearer sent by a serving gateway SGW, where the SGW determines the RAT type of the bearer according to an acquired IP address of a base station corresponding to the bearer.

In an attach procedure, a Public Data Network (PDN) connection procedure initiated by the UE, and a Bearer migration procedure, the PGW receives a Modify Bearer Request (Modify Bearer Request) sent by the SGW. In the dedicated bearer establishment procedure, the PGW may receive a Create bearer response (Create bearer response) sent by the SGW.

Step 202, charging the bearer according to the RAT type.

After receiving the request for modifying the bearer or the response for creating the bearer, the PGW obtains a corresponding field value from the secondary RAT type field or the RAT type field, and obtains the RAT type of the bearer according to the field value.

After acquiring the RAT type, the PGW counts data traffic according to the RAT type, thereby realizing the purpose of charging according to the RAT type.

In the charging processing method provided in this embodiment, in a non-independent networking scenario, a RAT type of a bearer sent by a serving gateway SGW is received, and the bearer is charged according to the RAT type. Through the steps, the PGW can acquire the loaded RAT type, and the traffic statistics and charging marking for distinguishing the RAT type are realized.

In an embodiment of the present invention, step 201, the step of receiving the RAT type of the bearer sent by the serving gateway SGW includes:

receiving a bearer modification request or a bearer creation response sent by the SGW; wherein the modify bearer request or create bearer response is at least to indicate the RAT type.

In an attach procedure, a Public Data Network (PDN) connection procedure initiated by the UE, and a bearer migration procedure, the PGW receives a bearer modification request sent by the SGW. In the dedicated bearer establishment procedure, the PGW receives a bearer establishment response sent by the SGW. The modify bearer request or create bearer response includes a field to indicate the RAT type.

The value of the RAT type field in the modify bearer request or create bearer response is used to indicate the RAT type, e.g., 2G, 2.75G, 3G, and 4G, etc., and the secondary RAT type field in the modify bearer request or create bearer response is used to indicate the RAT type, e.g., 4G and 5G.

If the request for modifying the bearer or the response for creating the bearer comprises the secondary RAT type field, acquiring the RAT type according to the secondary RAT type field or the RAT type field; and if the request for modifying the bearing or the response for creating the bearing does not comprise the secondary RAT type field, obtaining the RAT type according to the RAT type field.

When the modification of the bearer request or the creation of the bearer response includes the secondary RAT type field, the RAT type of the bearer is obtained through the secondary RAT type field or the RAT type field at this time, for example, when the RAT type is 5G, the RAT type of the bearer can be known through the secondary RAT type field; when the RAT type is 3G, the RAT type of the bearer may be known through the RAT type field.

And when the modification bearing request or the creation bearing response does not comprise the secondary RAT type field, directly acquiring the RAT type according to the RAT type field.

Further, in an embodiment of the present invention, step 201, the step of charging for the bearer according to the RAT type includes:

when the RAT type changes, triggering a PGW-CDR call list to close, and recording the RAT type before changing in the PGW-CDR for offline charging, wherein the recording of the RAT type before changing in the PGW-CDR comprises: modifying the value of the RAT type field of the PGW-CDR, or deleting the Secondary RAT type field in the PGW-CDR, or adding the Secondary RAT type field in the PGW-CDR, or modifying the value of the Secondary RAT type field of the PGW-CDR, wherein the RAT type field or the Secondary RAT type field of the PGW-CDR is used for indicating the RAT type before change.

If the RAT type field of the modified bearing request or the created bearing response is used for identifying the newly added RAT type, increasing the value range of the RAT type field of the PGW-CDR ticket so as to identify the newly added RAT type of the bearing; if the RAT type field of the modified bearing request or the created bearing response is not used for identifying the newly added RAT type, adding a secondary RAT type field in a PGW-CDR ticket to identify the newly added RAT type of the bearing.

Specifically, in the 3GPP specification, the PGW-CDR ticket includes an RAT type field for identifying a supported RAT type, and the RAT type that can be identified by the RAT type field of the PGW-CDR ticket is specified in the 3 GPP. However, for the new RAT type, the RAT type field of the PGW-CDR ticket in the 3GPP specification cannot be identified.

When the RAT type field of the modified bearing request or the created bearing response is used for identifying the newly added RAT type, correspondingly, the value range of the RAT type field of the PGW-CDR ticket is increased so as to identify the newly added RAT type of the bearing. At this time, the PGW obtains the value of the field according to the RAT type field, and fills the value into the RAT type field of the PGW-CDR ticket, so that the RAT type of the RAT type field identifier of the PGW-CDR ticket is consistent with the RAT type of the RAT type field identifier of the modified bearer request (or the created bearer response).

And when the RAT type field of the modification bearing request or the creation bearing response is not used for identifying the newly added RAT type, indicating that the modification bearing request or the creation bearing response adopts a field increasing mode to identify the newly added RAT type, and correspondingly, adding a secondary RAT type field in a PGW-CDR (packet data network-related radio access control) ticket to identify the newly added RAT type of the bearing. At this time, the PGW obtains the value of the field according to the secondary RAT type field, and fills the value into the secondary RAT type field of the PGW-CDR ticket, so that the RAT type identified by the secondary RAT type field of the PGW-CDR ticket is consistent with the RAT type identified by the secondary RAT type field of the modified bearer request (or the created bearer response).

It should be noted that, the PGW needs to support triggering part of call ticket closing when the bearer is migrated from the first RAT type (e.g. 4G) to the second RAT type (e.g. 5G), or from the second RAT type to the first RAT type, where the triggering condition is RAT type change.

According to the charging processing method in the embodiment, the PGW-CDR bill includes the loaded RAT type, and offline flow statistics and charging marking for distinguishing the RAT type can be realized.

Further, in an embodiment of the present invention, step 201, the step of charging for the bearer according to the RAT type, further includes:

updating the RAT type in a credit control request update message CCR-U when the RAT type changes, and sends the updated CCR-U message to a business operation support system BOSS, to perform online charging, updating the RAT Type in the CCR-U message comprises modifying the value of the 3GPP-RAT-Type AVP in the CCR-U message, or delete the 3GPP-Secondary-RAT-Type AVP in the CCR-U message, or adding 3GPP-Secondary-RAT-Type AVP in the CCR-U message, or modifying the value of the 3GPP-Secondary-RAT-Type AVP in the CCR-U message, wherein, a 3GPP-RAT-Type field or a 3GPP-Secondary-RAT-Type AVP in the CCR-U message is used for indicating the changed RAT Type.

Specifically, when the RAT type changes, for example, when the RAT type of the bearer changes from 4G to 5G, the secondary RAT type field needs to be added, and the secondary RAT type field is used to identify the 5G. When the loaded RAT type is changed from 5G to 4G, the RAT type field is used for identifying 4G, the auxiliary RAT type field can be deleted, or the value of the auxiliary RAT type field is modified, so that the value of the auxiliary RAT type field is 0, which indicates that the loaded RAT type is 4G.

For the changed RAT type as the new RAT type, the CCR-U message is processed by adopting the following two modes.

When the RAT Type field of the modified bearing request or the created bearing response is used for identifying the newly added RAT Type, correspondingly, the value of the 3GPP-RAT-Type field in the PS-Information AVP in the CCR-U is increased so as to identify the newly added RAT Type of the bearing. At this time, the PGW acquires the value of the field according to the RAT Type field of the PGW-CDR ticket, and fills the value into the 3GPP-RAT-Type field in the PS-Information AVP in the CCR-U message to inform the BOSS of the RAT Type currently carried, so as to realize charging according to the RAT Type.

And when the RAT Type field of the bearer modification request or the bearer creation response is not used for identifying the newly added RAT Type, indicating that the bearer modification request or the bearer creation response identifies the newly added RAT Type by adopting a field adding mode, and correspondingly, adding a 3GPP-Secondary-RAT-Type AVP field in the CCR-U message to identify the newly added RAT Type of the bearer. At this time, the PGW obtains the value of the field according to the RAT Type field of the PGW-CDR ticket, and fills the value into a new identification field (i.e., 3GPP-Secondary-RAT-Type AVP) added in the CCR-U message, so that the RAT Type identified by the new identification field of the PGW-CDR ticket is consistent with the RAT Type identified by the Secondary RAT Type field of the modified bearer request (or the created bearer response).

It should be noted that the PGW needs to support triggering part of the call ticket to close when the bearer is migrated from the first RAT type (e.g. 4G) to the second RAT type (e.g. 5G), or from the second RAT type to the first RAT type, where the triggering condition is that the RAT type is changed, and meanwhile, the PGW needs to support sending a CCR-U message to the BOSS to apply for a new quota.

In the charging processing method in this embodiment, the CCR-U message sent to the BOSS includes the supported RAT type, so that online traffic statistics and charging marking for distinguishing RAT types can be implemented.

EXAMPLE III

The service gateway in this embodiment is an embodiment of an apparatus corresponding to the embodiment.

Referring to fig. 3, fig. 3 is a structural diagram of a service gateway provided in a third embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 3, a service gateway 300 provided in this embodiment includes:

a base station IP address obtaining module 301, configured to obtain an IP address of a base station corresponding to a bearer in a non-independent networking scenario;

a RAT type determining module 302, configured to determine, according to the IP address, a radio access technology RAT type of the bearer;

a RAT type sending module 303, configured to send the RAT type to a packet data network gateway PGW, so that the PGW performs charging according to the RAT type.

In the service gateway 300 provided in this embodiment, first, in a non-independent networking scenario, an IP address of a base station corresponding to a bearer is obtained; determining the Radio Access Technology (RAT) type of the bearer according to the IP address; and sending the RAT type to a packet data network gateway (PGW) so that the PGW carries out charging according to the RAT type. Through the steps, the SGW can obtain the loaded RAT type according to the IP address of the base station and send the RAT type to the PGW, so that the PGW counts data traffic according to the RAT type, and the purpose of charging according to the RAT type is achieved.

Further, the RAT type determining module 302 is configured to: and if the IP address is in a target IP address list, determining that the carried RAT type is the RAT type corresponding to the target IP address list.

Further, the target IP address list is preconfigured in the SGW, or the target IP address list is preconfigured in an external device, and the external device establishes a communication connection with the SGW.

Further, the service gateway 300 further includes: the device comprises a message receiving module, a message sending module and a message sending module, wherein the message receiving module is used for receiving a data message sent by a base station, and a general packet radio service technology (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packet header of the data message comprises an identification information bearer for identifying the type of the RAT;

a RAT type determining module 302, configured to determine a RAT type of the bearer according to the IP address and the identification information.

Further, the RAT type sending module 303 is configured to send a modify bearer request or a create bearer response to the PGW, where the modify bearer request or the create bearer response is at least used to indicate the RAT type.

Further, as shown in fig. 4, the serving gateway 300 further includes a sending message determining module 304, configured to determine, according to the RAT type, a value of a RAT type field in the modify bearer request or the create bearer response.

Further, the sending message determining module 304 is configured to modify a value of the RAT type field in the modified bearer request when the RAT type of the bearer changes.

Further, as shown in fig. 4, the service gateway 300 further includes:

a modifying module 305, configured to delete or add the secondary RAT type field in the bearer modifying request or the bearer creating response, or modify a value of the secondary RAT type field when the RAT type of the bearer changes.

Since the service gateway 300 in this embodiment is an embodiment of an apparatus corresponding to the first embodiment, each step in the first embodiment can be implemented, and is not described herein again to avoid repetition.

Example four

The packet data network gateway in this embodiment is an embodiment of an apparatus corresponding to the embodiment.

Referring to fig. 5, fig. 5 is a diagram of a structure of a packet data network gateway according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 5, the packet data network gateway 400 according to the present embodiment includes:

a RAT type receiving module 401, configured to receive a RAT type that a serving gateway SGW sends a bearer in a non-independent networking scenario, where the SGW determines the RAT type of the bearer according to an obtained IP address of a base station corresponding to the bearer;

a charging module 402, configured to charge the bearer according to the RAT type.

In the packet data network gateway 400 provided in this embodiment, in a non-independent networking scenario, the RAT type of the bearer sent by the serving gateway SGW is received, and the bearer is charged according to the RAT type. Through the steps, the PGW can acquire the loaded RAT type, and the traffic statistics and charging marking for distinguishing the RAT type are realized.

Further, the RAT type receiving module 401 is configured to:

Further, the value of the RAT type field in the modify bearer request or create bearer response is used to indicate the RAT type.

Further, a secondary RAT type field in the modify bearer request or create bearer response is used to indicate the RAT type.

Further, the charging module 402 is configured to trigger a PGW-CDR ticket to close when the RAT type changes, and record the RAT type before the change in the PGW-CDR for offline charging, where the recording of the RAT type before the change in the PGW-CDR includes: modifying the value of the RAT type field of the PGW-CDR, or deleting the Secondary RAT type field in the PGW-CDR, or adding the Secondary RAT type field in the PGW-CDR, or modifying the value of the Secondary RAT type field of the PGW-CDR, wherein the RAT type field or the Secondary RAT type field of the PGW-CDR is used for indicating the RAT type before change.

Further, the charging module 402 is further configured to:

Since the packet data network gateway 400 in this embodiment is an embodiment of an apparatus corresponding to the embodiment, each step in the second embodiment can be implemented, and is not described herein again to avoid repetition.

Further, the present invention also provides a network system, which includes the serving gateway 300 in the third embodiment and the packet data network gateway 400 in the fourth embodiment.

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where a computer program is stored on the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the computer program implements each process of the charging processing method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect, and in order to avoid repetition, details are not repeated here. The computer-readable storage medium may be a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising an … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will clearly understand that the method of the above embodiments can be implemented by software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and certainly can also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases, the former is a better implementation manner. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) and includes instructions for enabling a terminal (such as a mobile phone, a computer, a server, an air conditioner, or a network device) to execute the method according to the embodiments of the present invention.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, which are illustrative and not restrictive, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A charging processing method is applied to a Service Gateway (SGW), and is characterized by comprising the following steps:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining the radio access technology, RAT, type of the bearer according to the IP address comprises:

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the list of target IP addresses is preconfigured in the SGW, or wherein the list of target IP addresses is preconfigured in an external device that establishes a communication connection with the SGW.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining the radio access technology, RAT, type of the bearer according to the IP address is preceded by the step of:

receiving a data message sent by a base station, wherein a general packet radio service technology (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packet header of the data message comprises an identification information bearer for identifying the RAT type;

determining the Radio Access Technology (RAT) type of the bearer according to the IP address, comprising:

and determining the RAT type of the bearer according to the IP address and the identification information.

5. The method according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the step of sending the RAT type to a packet data network gateway (PGW) comprises:

6. The method of claim 5, wherein after determining the RAT type of the bearer according to the IP address, before the step of sending a modify bearer request or create bearer response to the PGW, further comprising:

7. The method of claim 6, wherein determining the value of the RAT type field in the modify bearer request according to the RAT type comprises:

8. The method of claim 5, wherein after the step of sending a modify bearer request or create bearer response to the PGW, further comprising:

9. A charging processing method is applied to a packet data network gateway (PGW), and is characterized by comprising the following steps:

receiving a Radio Access Technology (RAT) type of a bearer sent by a Serving Gateway (SGW) in a non-independent networking scene, wherein the SGW determines the RAT type of the bearer according to an acquired IP address of a base station corresponding to the bearer;

and charging the bearer according to the RAT type.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the step of receiving the RAT type of the serving gateway SGW send bearer comprises:

11. The method of claim 10, wherein a value of a RAT type field in the modify bearer request or create bearer response is used to indicate the RAT type.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein a secondary RAT type field in the modify bearer request or create bearer response is used to indicate the RAT type.

13. The method according to any of claims 9 to 12, wherein the step of charging for the bearer according to the RAT type comprises:

when the RAT type changes, triggering a PGW-CDR call ticket to close, and recording the RAT type before changing in the PGW-CDR for offline charging;

wherein the recording of the RAT type before the change in the PGW-CDR includes updating the RAT type in the PGW-CDR including: modifying the value of the RAT type field of the PGW-CDR, or deleting the Secondary RAT type field in the PGW-CDR, or adding the Secondary RAT type field in the PGW-CDR, or modifying the value of the Secondary RAT type field of the PGW-CDR, wherein the RAT type field or the Secondary RAT type field of the PGW-CDR is used for indicating the RAT type before change.

14. The method according to any of claims 9 to 12, wherein the step of charging for the bearer according to the RAT type further comprises:

15. A serving gateway, comprising:

16. The serving gateway of claim 15, wherein the RAT type determination module is configured to:

17. The serving gateway of claim 16, wherein the target IP address list is preconfigured in the SGW, or wherein the target IP address list is preconfigured in an external device that establishes a communication connection with the SGW.

18. The serving gateway of claim 15, further comprising:

the device comprises a message receiving module, a message sending module and a message sending module, wherein the message receiving module is used for receiving a data message sent by a base station, and a general packet radio service technology (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packet header of the data message comprises an identification information bearer for identifying the type of the RAT;

and the RAT type determining module is used for determining the RAT type of the load according to the IP address and the identification information.

19. The serving gateway of any one of claims 15 to 18, wherein the RAT type sending module is configured to send a modify bearer request or a create bearer response to the PGW, wherein the modify bearer request or the create bearer response is at least used for indicating the RAT type.

20. The serving gateway of claim 19, further comprising a send message determination module configured to determine a value of a RAT type field in the modify bearer request or create bearer response according to the RAT type.

21. The serving gateway of claim 20, wherein the sent message determination module is configured to:

22. The serving gateway of claim 19, further comprising:

and a modification module, configured to delete or add a secondary RAT type field in the bearer modification request or the bearer creation response, or modify a value of the secondary RAT type field, when the RAT type of the bearer changes.

23. A packet data network gateway, comprising:

a RAT type receiving module, configured to receive a radio access technology RAT type of a bearer sent by a serving gateway SGW in a non-independent networking scenario, where the SGW determines the RAT type of the bearer according to an acquired IP address of a base station corresponding to the bearer;

24. The packet data network gateway of claim 23, wherein the RAT type receiving module is configured to:

25. A packet data network gateway according to claim 24, wherein the value of the RAT type field in the modify bearer request or create bearer response is used to indicate the RAT type.

26. A packet data network gateway according to claim 24, wherein a secondary RAT type field in the modify bearer request or create bearer response is used to indicate the RAT type.

27. The packet data network gateway according to any of claims 23 to 26, wherein the charging module is configured to trigger a PGW-CDR ticket to be closed when the RAT type changes, and record the RAT type before the change in the PGW-CDR for offline charging;

wherein the recording of the RAT type before change in the PGW-CDR includes: modifying the value of the RAT type field of the PGW-CDR, or deleting the Secondary RAT type field in the PGW-CDR, or adding the Secondary RAT type field in the PGW-CDR, or modifying the value of the Secondary RAT type field of the PGW-CDR, wherein the RAT type field or the Secondary RAT type field of the PGW-CDR is used for indicating the RAT type before change.

28. A packet data network gateway according to any of claims 23 to 26, wherein the charging module is further configured to:

updating the RAT type in a credit control request update message CCR-U when the RAT type changes, and sends the updated CCR-U message to a business operation support system BOSS, to perform online charging, updating the RAT Type in the CCR-U message comprises modifying the value of the 3GPP-RAT-Type AVP in the CCR-U message, or delete the 3GPP-Secondary-RAT-Type AVP in the CCR-U message, or adding 3GPP-Secondary-RAT-Type AVP in the CCR-U message, or modifying the value of the 3GPP-Secondary-RAT-Type AVP in the CCR-U message, and the 3GPP-RAT-Type field or the 3GPP-Secondary-RAT-Type field in the CCR-U message is used for indicating the changed RAT Type.

29. A network system comprising a serving gateway according to any of claims 15 to 22 and a packet data network gateway according to any of claims 23 to 28.