KR20100080281A - Billing system and method having bypass function in a communication network - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A billing system and a method having bypass function in a communication network are provided to prepare an operation impossibility state in a billing system and operate substitution composition element or embody bypass function, thereby preventing service cutoff by operation impossibility of billing system comprised of an in-line. CONSTITUTION: A first gateway(110) provides interface for transmitting data packet which is transmitted from a first communication network to a second communication network. A first billing unit(210) performs billing according to regulation by receiving data packet which is transmitted from a first communication network. If the first billing unit is out of order, a switching unit(230) bypasses data packet which is transmitted from the first communication network by switching and transmits the packet to the second communication network. A first router(120) transmits data packet which is transmitted from the fist switching by passing through the switch unit to a service server.

Description

Billing system and method having bypass function in a communication network

The present invention relates to a bypass charging system and method, and more particularly, to a bypass charging system and method for preventing service interruption by bypass in response to an inoperable state of the charging system.

The demand for communication services is rapidly increasing, including the generalization of information and communication services, the emergence of various multimedia services, and the emergence of high quality services. Various mobile communication technologies are emerging to satisfy these demands.

Due to competition in the communication market and technological development, various types of packet-based services are provided in mobile communication, and various services based on packet services are being developed day by day.

Appropriate billing systems are needed for these various services. For example, the charging system may be down or the operation of the charging system may be interrupted or the user may not be able to efficiently process the traffic.

Therefore, various researches and developments have been attempted for stable and reliable charging processing while providing a service through a data packet. There is a need for a system and method for stably and reliably charging a variety of services provided by a service provider providing a communication network.

An object of the present invention is to provide a billing system and method capable of preventing service interruption when a billing process for user traffic cannot be provided with a bypass function.

The objects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned objects, and other objects that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

One aspect of the bypass charging system of the present invention for achieving the above object is a bypass charging system in which the billing is located inline on the communication path between the first communication network and the second communication network, which is transmitted from the first communication network A first gateway providing an interface for delivering a data packet to the second communication network; A first charging unit receiving the data packet transmitted from the first communication network and charging according to a predetermined rule; A first switching unit for bypassing a data packet transmitted from the first communication network by switching and transferring the first packet to the second communication network when it is determined that the first charging unit is inoperable; And a first router configured to transfer the data packet passed through the first switching unit to a predetermined service server.

One aspect of the bypass charging method of the present invention of the present invention for achieving the above object is a bypass charging method for charging on a communication path between the first communication network and the second communication network, the system diagnostic unit Detecting by; Bypassing the data packet transmitted from the first communication network by switching when the charging unit is determined to be inoperable; And transmitting the bypassed data packet to the second communication network.

Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and the drawings. Advantages and features of the present invention and methods for achieving them will be apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but can be implemented in various different forms, and only the embodiments make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and the general knowledge in the art to which the present invention belongs. It is provided to fully inform the person having the scope of the invention, which is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a WCDMA communication network according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a WCDMA communication network (aka UMTS network) according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected to a terminal 10, a wireless access network (UTRAN; UMTS Terrestrial RAN, 20), and a wireless access network. It may include a core network (Core Network) 60 in response to the connection with the. In this case, the WCDMA communication network of FIG. 1 may be understood as a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS) system, but is not limited thereto. For example, it can be applied not only to WCDMA communication networks but also to IMS communication networks or other next-generation communication networks.

The terminal 10 may include personal digital assistants (PDAs), computers, and the like capable of wireless communication as well as user equipment used for wireless communication. The terminal 10 may be divided into a calling terminal for making a call request, a message transmitting request, and a data transmitting request, and a called terminal serving as a destination for a call, a message, and data transmission.

A radio access network (RAN) 20 includes a base station 22 and a base station controller 24 that accommodates a 3GPP standard radio access standard to support WCDMA. The radio access network 20 transmits a call request signal, a data transmission signal, and the like from the terminal 100 to the core network.

The base station 22 sets a wireless physical channel necessary for data exchange with the terminal 10 according to the control information transmitted from the base station controller 24, and transfers the data transmitted from the upper layer protocol to the terminal 10 according to the wireless environment. send.

A base station controller (Radio network controller) 24 dynamically allocates radio resources of the wireless communication system and controls the base station 22.

The mobile switching center 31 transfers incoming and outgoing signals from the base station 22, and provides a function of switching between mobile subscribers and a fixed network subscriber such as PSTN and ISDN. . The circuit switch 31 may include a visitor location register (VLR) having subscriber information such as location information of the terminal 10 temporarily to process a call from the subscriber.

The circuit switched gateway (GMSC) 32 is a gateway at a point where the circuit switched 31 is connected to the external network 80. All circuit switched connections are made via circuit switched gateway 32.

The circuit switching unit 30 may be referred to as a circuit switching unit 30 including the circuit switch 31 and the circuit switching gateway 32. The circuit switching unit 30 establishes a communication path with the terminal 10 through a circuit switching connection. .

The Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 45 (SGSN) is a mobile station for managing GPRS services, a call management procedure for calling and receiving calls, and a session management, authentication and billing function for handling packet data transmission and reception. And so on. It also has a routing processing function of packet data.

A packet switching gateway (GGSN) 46 is a serving node of an IP (Internet Protocol) based packet network that provides a high speed packet data service for GPRS data service. It manages the packet data routing function of the packet data and provides an interface for connecting the WDCMA network and other network 300.

The packet exchange support node 45 and the packet exchange gateway 46 may be referred to as a packet exchange unit 40. The packet exchanger 40 transmits and receives data in packet units in the data transmission and reception of the terminal 10.

A home location register (HLR) 53 stores and manages location information of a subscriber, and an authentication center (AuC) (not shown) generates an authentication vector and performs a subscriber authentication function.

In addition, the subscriber database server 52 includes subscriber information, subscriber terminal information, and the like, and provides the subscriber information, the subscriber terminal information, and the like to other components that request the subscriber information.

The external network 80 is a network connected to the outside through the circuit switching unit 30 or the packet switching unit 40. The circuit switching unit 30 is related to transmission and reception of circuits such as voice calls. The circuit switching unit 30 may be a public switched telephone network (PSTN), an integrated services digital network (ISDN), or a public land mobile network (PLMN). The packet exchange unit 30 is related to the transmission and reception of packets. The other network 300 connected by the packet switching unit 40 may be, for example, an Internet Protocol (IP) network such as the Internet, an IMS network, a service provider building network, or the like.

The billing system 200 analyzes packet data entering and exiting through the packet exchanger 40 to perform a billing function. The billing system 200 is arranged inline on the access path of the packet data, and analyzes or temporarily stores the packet data in real time to perform billing processing for each terminal 10 or service provider in a predetermined unit. can do.

Figure 2 shows a predetermined network configuration including a billing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the structure of the communication network including the charging system may further include the charging system 200 as shown in FIG. 1.

The other network 300 may refer to a network that is connected to the general mobile communication network disclosed in FIG. 1 and transmits and receives data through packet units or IP. Meanwhile, the other network 300 may be connected to one or more service servers 150 providing various services by using a predetermined core network.

The service server 150 is a server connected to a predetermined core network and providing multimedia services such as voice, audio, video, and data based on the IP protocol. Therefore, the service server 150 may be configured in plurality according to the content and type of service. For example, a VOD service server is required to perform a video on demand (VOD) service, and a traffic situation providing server is required to perform a service providing a real-time traffic situation. It may include a content server for a variety of services to provide and an additional service server for providing an additional service.

The charging system 200 analyzes the packet data signal passing over a given interface between the packet switched gateway (GGSN) 46 and the other network 300. Here, the predetermined interface 41 refers to an interface supporting between the packet switched gateway 46 and the other network 300.

For example, suppose that when the video conferencing or the like is supported from the calling terminal 11 to the called terminal 12, it passes through the service server 150 via the IMS core network as another network 300 network. In this case, the packet data from the originating terminal 11 passes through the radio access network 20, the packet switching support node 45, the packet switching gateway 46, the IMS core network and the service server 150, and again the IMS core network. Then, the destination terminal 12 is reached via the packet switched gateway 46, the packet switched support node 45, and the wireless access network 20.

As described above, when performing a service through the service server 150 in the external network, such as a communication network (IMS network) of the IP multimedia subsystem, data packets passing through a predetermined interface may be analyzed. Can be. In the charging system 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the data packet passing through the interface may be analyzed to perform billing processing for each terminal 11 or 12 or a service provider.

The billing system 200 may be configured inline between communication networks that are transferred to another network 300. Accordingly, when the charging system 200 is in an inoperable state such as the power of the charging system 200 is turned off, the system according to the inoperation is down, or the possibility of part of the system is stopped, the packet switching gateway (GGSN) 46 and other networks are lost. It is not possible to handle user traffic passing over a given interface between the 300, so that the service provided may be disconnected.

Therefore, the billing system according to an embodiment of the present invention requires a billing system capable of preventing such service disconnection.

3 shows a block diagram of a bypass charging system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, the bypass charging system 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a gateway 110 and 111, a charging unit 210 and 220, a switching unit 230, 231, 240 and 241 and a router. 120 and 121 and the system diagnosis unit 250 may be included. The charging system 200 of one embodiment of the present invention may be located between a first communication network and a second communication network, which are different communication networks. In addition, the charging system 200 may be a configuration included in the first communication network, or may be a configuration included in the second communication network.

The gateways 110 and 111 serve to provide an interface for transferring data packets transmitted from the first communication network to the second communication network. For example, if the first communication network is a WCDMA communication network, the gateways 110 and 111 may be packet switched gateways. The gateways 110 and 111 may perform a router function informing the moving path to the destination of the data packet. The gateway may be composed of a first gateway 110 and a second gateway 111. The first gateway 110 is a gateway that performs a predetermined operation in an active mode, and the second gateway 110 is a gateway that suspends a predetermined operation in a standby mode. Therefore, when the first gateway 110 is in an inoperable state, the second gateway 110 may be converted into an active mode to perform a predetermined operation on behalf of the first gateway 110. In this case, the inoperable state refers to a state in which the power of the gateways 110 and 111 is turned off or fails to perform a role of a gateway such as a system down due to an overload or abnormal operation.

The charging units 210 and 220 perform charging processing according to a predetermined rule for data packets passing between the gateways 110 and 111 and the routers 120 and 121 to be described later. The charging unit 210 or 220 may change the charging process according to the charging policy of the service provider or the charging policy of the packet network. The charging unit 210 or 220 may receive data packets from the switching units 230, 231, 240, and 241 which will be described later, and analyze the data packets to generate charging data.

Meanwhile, the charging units 210 and 220 may be configured of the first charging unit 210 and the second charging unit 220. When the first charging unit 210 is in an inoperable state, the second charging unit 220 may be operated. Here, the inoperable state refers to a state in which the power of the charging unit 210 or 220 is turned off, or the charging unit such as a system down due to an overload or abnormal operation cannot perform a role of the charging unit.

The switching units 230, 231, 240, and 241 serve to adjust the path of the data packet by a predetermined switch. For example, when the first charging unit 210 operates normally, the first switching unit 230 transmits the data packet transmitted from the first gateway 110 to the first charging unit 210. However, when it is determined that the first charging unit 210 is in an inoperable state, the first switching unit 230 may transmit the data packet to the second communication network by switching without transferring the data packet to the first charging unit 210. have. This function may be referred to as a so-called bypass function. Here, switching means changing the existing data passing path by the switching element.

In addition, when the second gateway 111 normally operates, the second switching unit 231 transfers the data packet transmitted from the second gateway 111 to the first charging unit 210. However, when it is determined that the first charging unit 210 is in an inoperable state, the second switching unit 231 may transmit the data packet to the second communication network by switching without transferring the data packet to the first charging unit 210. have.

As described above, in an embodiment of the present invention, when the first charging unit 210 is switched to an inoperable state, the continuous passage through which the data packet passes by the switching units 230 and 231 performing the bypass function. By providing a service interruption can be prevented.

The routers 120 and 121 set a transmission path of the data packet for the destination to the service server of the second communication network. The data packet passing through the first charging unit 210 or 220 may be received and transmitted through the routers 120 and 121 to a service server providing a predetermined service.

The system diagnosis unit 250 diagnoses an operation state of at least one component of the first charging unit 210, the switching units 230 and 231, the transmission paths 115 and 117, and the gateways 110 and 111. do. For example, when diagnosing an operating state of the first charging unit 210, the system diagnosis unit 250 transmits a predetermined test packet to the first charging unit 210 to determine an operating state of the first charging unit 210. Can be. Alternatively, the first charging unit 210, the switching unit 230, 231, the transmission paths 115, 117, and the gateways 110, 111 detect the operation of each component, or periodically or non-operate the operation state of each component. It can be sent periodically to detect the operating status of each component. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above method, and the operation state of each component may be detected or determined by various methods. In addition, the system diagnosis unit 250 may also change the operation mode of each component to an active mode or a standby mode based on the detected operating state of each component.

When the first gateway 110 is in an inoperable state by operating state detection, the second gateway 111 may be switched to an active mode to operate instead of the first gateway 110.

As another example, when the first charging unit 210 is in an inoperative state, the first switching unit 230 switches the data packet transmitted to the first communication network immediately without passing through the first charging unit 210. It can be delivered to the second communication network.

As another example, when the first transmission path 115 that is a moving path of the data packet between the first gateway 110 and the first switching unit 230 is in an inoperative state, a second transmission path that replaces the second transmission path ( The data packet may be transmitted through 116. In addition, when the third transmission path 117, which is a movement path of the data packet, between the second gateway 111 and the second switching unit 231 is in an inoperative state, the fourth transmission path 118 that replaces the third transmission path 118 is inoperative. Through the data packet can be transmitted.

Similarly, when the second charging unit 220, the third switching unit 240, the fourth switching unit 241, and the transmission paths 125, 126, 127, and 128 are inoperable, they are replaced with other components. You can make the element work.

As described above, in an embodiment of the present invention, by operating an alternative component in preparation for an inoperable state, it is possible to prevent service interruption and to perform a reliable and stable service.

4 shows a flowchart of a bypass charging method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, first, an inoperable state of the charging unit is detected by the system diagnosis unit (S400). The charging unit is a device that performs charging processing according to a predetermined rule with respect to data packets passing between the first communication network and the second communication network. When the charging unit is switched to an inoperable state, service disconnection may occur.

If it is determined that the operation is disabled, the data packet is bypassed immediately without passing through the charging unit by the switching unit (S410). By not going through the charging section, it is possible to prevent the data packet from being interrupted by service interruption due to an interruption in transmission.

The bypassed data packet is transmitted to the service server of the second communication network (S420). The bypassed data packet may be transmitted to a predetermined service server via a router.

As described above, according to one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to prevent sudden service disconnection in preparation for the inoperable state of the charging unit required to operate stably and reliably.

5 shows a flowchart of a bypass charging method according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5, first, the system diagnosis unit determines whether the first gateway is in an inoperable state (S500). If the first gateway is in an inoperable state, the second gateway is switched to the active mode to transmit a data packet through the second gateway (S505).

In operation S510, it is determined whether the first transmission path is in an inoperable state. If the first transmission path is in an inoperable state, the data packet is transmitted through the second transmission path (S515).

In operation S520, it is determined whether the first charging unit is in an inoperable state. The first charging unit is determined to be in an inoperable state, and the first switching unit bypasses the data packet so as not to pass through the first charging unit (S525).

If the first charging unit is in normal operation, charging processing is performed on the data packet according to a predetermined rule (S530). The charged data packet is transmitted to the service server of the second communication network (S540).

However, when it is determined that the first charging unit is in an inoperable state, the charging process is not performed by the first charging unit, and the data packet is bypassed and transmitted to the service server of the second communication network (S540).

As described above, according to an embodiment of the present invention, in preparation for the inoperable state of the predetermined charging system, the inactive operation of the charging system configured inline by operating the alternative component or implementing the bypass function accordingly. It can prevent service interruption.

 On the other hand, the components or '~' used in this embodiment is software such as tasks, classes, subroutines, processes, objects, execution threads, programs, or FPGAs (field-) that are performed in a predetermined area on the memory. It may be implemented in hardware such as a programmable gate array or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or may be a combination of the software and hardware. The component or 'unit' may be included in a computer readable storage medium, or a part of the components may be distributed and distributed to a plurality of computers.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains have various permutations, modifications, and modifications without departing from the spirit or essential features of the present invention. It is to be understood that modifications are possible and can be embodied in other specific forms. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a WCDMA communication network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a predetermined network configuration including a charging system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a block diagram of a bypass charging system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flowchart of a bypass charging method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart of a bypass charging method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

* Description of the main parts of the drawings *

11: calling terminal 12: called terminal

22: base station 24: base station controller

45: packet switched support node 46: packet switched gateway

200: billing system

110, 111: gateway

115, 116, 117, 118, 125, 126, 127, 128: transmission path

230, 231, 240, 241: switching unit

120, 121: Router

210, 220: billing section 250: system diagnostic section

Claims (12)

In the bypass charging system for charging by placing inline on the communication path between the first communication network and the second communication network, A first gateway providing an interface for transferring a data packet transmitted from the first communication network to the second communication network; A first charging unit receiving the data packet transmitted from the first communication network and charging according to a predetermined rule; A first switching unit for bypassing a data packet transmitted from the first communication network by switching and transferring the first packet to the second communication network when it is determined that the first charging unit is inoperable; And And a first router configured to transfer the data packet passed through the first switching unit to a predetermined service server. The method of claim 1, A first transmission path providing a path for transmitting the data packet between the first gateway and the first switching unit; And And a second transmission path providing a passage for transmitting the data packet between the first gateway and the first switching unit when the data packet transmission is disabled in the first transmission path. The method of claim 1, And a system diagnostic unit configured to detect an inoperable state of the first charging unit. The method of claim 1, And a second gateway providing an interface for delivering a data packet transmitted from the first communication network to the second communication network when the first gateway is inoperable. The method of claim 4, wherein The data packet transmitted by the operation of the second gateway is transferred to the first charging unit, and when the first charging unit is determined to be inoperable, the data packet transmitted from the first communication network is bypassed by switching. Bypass charging device further comprises a second switching unit for transmitting to the second communication network. The method of claim 4, wherein And wherein the second gateway is switched from a standby mode to an active mode to operate. In the bypass charging method of charging on a communication path between a first communication network and a second communication network, Detecting an inoperable state of the charging unit by the system diagnosis unit; Bypassing the data packet transmitted from the first communication network by switching when the charging unit is determined to be inoperable; And And sending the bypassed data packet to the second communication network. The method of claim 6, If transmission of the data packet through the first transmission path providing a path for transmitting the data packet between the first gateway and the first switching unit of the first communication network is disabled, between the first gateway and the first switching unit. And transmitting the data packet through a second transmission path that is another transmission path of the. The method of claim 6, And if the charging unit is in normal operation, receiving the data packet transmitted from the first communication network and charging according to a predetermined rule. The method of claim 7, wherein And operating the second gateway by switching from the standby mode to the active mode when it is determined that the operation of the first gateway is disabled. The method of claim 10, And after operating the second gateway, operating the second switching unit to transfer the data packet to the charging unit. The method of claim 10, Bypassing, by switching, the data packet transmitted from the first communication network to the second communication network when the charging unit is determined to be inoperable.

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