Charging method and device

Abstract

The invention discloses a charging method and equipment. In the method, a first control node receives a first request for requesting to allocate resources; the first control node obtains a charging policy and charging information, the charging policy comprises a charging policy corresponding to at least one charging type, the charging information comprises charging information corresponding to at least one charging type, and the charging type comprises one or more of the following types: a function type, a value type, a resource type and a scenario type; and the first control node sends the charging strategy and the charging information to at least one execution node, so that the at least one execution node reports resource use information according to the charging strategy and the charging information, and the at least one execution node is an execution node which is allocated by the first control node and used for providing resources. According to the method, a single charging strategy and charging information are not adopted any more, different charging strategies and charging information can be adopted for different charging types, and diversified charging requirements of different services can be met.

Description

Billing method and device Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of wireless communications, and in particular to a billing method and device. Background Art

[0002] Traditional mobile communication networks mainly provide users with services such as data traffic, phone calls, and text messages. Therefore, the billing function is also mainly based on data traffic, phone calls, and text messages, reporting based on data traffic, call duration, and events to achieve credit control over users.

[0003] With the development of mobile communication technology, mobile communication networks can provide users with new data services. For example, future mobile communication networks (such as 6G) may also have new multi-dimensional capabilities such as computing, AI, and perception. Optionally, the more open and diversified mobile communication networks of the future may also introduce third parties such as integrators, and these parties will have different billing requirements in different security domains.

[0004] Therefore, the current billing model cannot support the billing requirements of new services and new capabilities of mobile communication networks.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a billing method and device for implementing integrated billing of multiple billing types.

[0007] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a billing method, including: a first control node receives a first request, the first request is used to request allocation of resources; the first control node obtains a billing policy and billing information, the billing policy includes a billing policy corresponding to at least one billing type, the billing information includes billing information corresponding to at least one billing type, and the billing type includes one or more of the following types: functional type, value type, resource type, and scenario type; the first control node sends a billing rule to at least one execution node, the billing rule includes the billing policy and the billing information, or the billing rule is generated based on the billing policy and the billing information, so that the at least one execution node reports resource usage information according to the billing rule, and the at least one execution node is an execution node assigned by the first control node for providing resources.

[0008] In the billing method provided in the embodiment of the present application, a single billing strategy and billing information are no longer used. Instead, different billing strategies and billing information can be used for different billing types. For example, the mobile communication network can configure billing strategies and billing information for traffic, duration, events, and tasks according to the function type; it can also configure billing strategies and billing information for computing resources, storage resources, AI model resources, algorithm resources, data resources, image resources, software package resources, and code resources according to the resource type; it can also configure billing strategies and billing information for high-precision positioning, game acceleration, video decoding, video acceleration, and in-stream computing according to the scenario, so as to meet the diverse billing needs of different services, thereby responding to the billing needs of new services and new capabilities.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first control node sending the charging rule to a second control node, where the first control node is a control node in a first charging domain and the second control node is a control node in a second charging domain.

[0010] Through this implementation method, the mobile communication network can also realize multi-billing domain converged billing, that is, billing policies and billing information can be shared in multiple billing domains, so that one billing domain can charge according to its own billing policies, billing information and the billing policies and billing information in other billing domains, which can meet the converged billing needs of emerging and future multi-domain communication scenarios.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the first control node sends indication information to the first execution node, the first execution node is an execution node in the first billing domain of the at least one execution node, and the indication information is used to instruct the at least one first execution node to send the resource usage information to the second execution node in the second billing domain.

[0012] In the scenario of multi-billing domain converged billing, the user's resource usage information can be shared in multiple billing domains. Specifically, the execution node in one billing domain can send the resource usage information to the execution nodes in other billing domains, and the above process can be triggered by the control node, so that the execution nodes in other billing domains report the resource usage information.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the first control node obtains the charging policy and charging information, including:

[0014] The first control node obtains the charging policy from a first policy node, and the first control node obtains the charging information from a first charging node; or the first control node obtains the charging policy and the charging information from a first charging node.

[0015] In an embodiment of the present application, the first control node can obtain the billing policy from the policy node and obtain the billing information from the billing node; or, it can also obtain the billing policy and billing information from the billing node. This implementation method helps to simplify the execution steps of the control node.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the first control node obtains a charging policy from a first policy node, including: the first control node sends a charging policy request to the first policy node, where the charging policy request includes charging type information; and the first control node receives the charging policy sent by the first policy node, where the charging policy is a charging policy corresponding to the charging type information.

[0017] In this implementation, the first control node may carry the charging type information in the charging policy request, thereby facilitating acquisition of a charging policy corresponding to the charging type.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the first control node obtaining the charging information from the first charging node includes:

[0019] The first control node sends a billing request to the first billing node, where the billing request includes one or more of the following billing configuration information: billing type, billing method information, and billing granularity information; the first control node receives billing information corresponding to the billing configuration information sent by the first billing node.

[0020] In this implementation, the first control node may carry the charging configuration information in the charging request, thereby facilitating acquisition of charging information corresponding to the charging configuration information.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the billing request also includes billing scenario information, and the billing scenario information includes at least one of the following: a billing scenario identifier, scenario parameters, a billing sub-scenario identifier, and sub-scenario parameters; the billing information corresponds to the billing scenario information.

[0022] In this implementation, the billing node is configured with billing information corresponding to different scenarios, so the billing request can also include billing scenario information, thereby requesting to obtain the billing information of the corresponding billing scenario, thereby meeting the billing requirements of different scenarios and sub-scenarios.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the first control node may send the charging rule to at least one execution node in, but not limited to, the following two ways:

[0024] Method 1: The first control node sends the charging rule to each execution node of the at least one execution node.

[0025] Method 2: The first control node sends the charging rule to the first execution node among the at least one execution node, so that the first execution node sends the charging policy and the charging information to other execution nodes among the at least one execution node except the first execution node.

[0026] Through method 2, the first control node does not have to send the billing policy and billing information to each execution node separately. It can first send them to an execution node, such as the execution node that first executes the business task according to business needs, and then the execution node forwards the billing policy and billing information, thereby simplifying the execution steps of the first control node and saving the signaling overhead of the first control node.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the first control node receives resource usage information of the requesting node sent by the at least one execution node; the first control node sends the resource usage information to a first billing node, and the first billing node is a billing node within the billing domain where the first control node is located.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: resource usage information of the requesting node sent by the at least one execution node of the first control node; the first control node sends the resource usage information to a second billing node or a settlement node in a second billing domain, and the first control node is a control node in the first billing domain.

[0029] In the scenario of multi-billing domain converged billing, the user's resource usage information can be shared in multiple billing domains, and the first control node can send the resource usage information to the second billing node or the second settlement node in the second billing domain, so that the billing nodes or settlement nodes in other billing domains can perform billing based on the resource usage information.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the function type includes one or more of the following types: traffic, duration, event, task, etc.; or, the value type includes one or more of the following types: rate, latency, slice guarantee, content; or, the resource type includes one or more of the following types: computing resources, storage resources, network resources, model resources, algorithm resources, data resources, image resources, software package resources, code resources, etc.; or, the scenario type includes one or more of the following types: positioning scenario, game acceleration scenario, video decoding scenario, video acceleration scenario, in-stream computing scenario, etc.

[0031] In second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a billing method, including: a first billing node sends billing information to a first control node, so that the first control node sends the billing information to at least one first execution node, the billing information includes billing information corresponding to at least one billing type, and the billing type includes one or more of the following types: business type, value type, resource type, scenario type; the first billing node receives first resource usage information reported based on the billing information.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first billing node sending the first resource usage information to a second billing node, where the first billing node is a billing node in a first billing domain, and the second billing node is a billing node in a second billing domain.

[0033] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the first billing node receives third resource usage information sent by a third control node or a third execution node, the third control node is a control node in a third billing domain, and the third execution node is a control node in the third billing domain.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the first billing node obtains a billing policy from a first policy node, the billing policy including a billing policy corresponding to at least one billing type; the first billing node sends the billing information to the first control node, including: the first billing node sends the billing policy and billing information to the first control node.

[0035] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a billing method, including: a first execution node receives a billing rule sent by a first control node, the billing rule includes a billing policy and billing information, or the billing rule is generated based on the billing policy and billing information, the billing policy includes a billing policy corresponding to at least one billing type, the billing information includes billing information corresponding to at least one billing type, and the billing type includes one or more of the following types: function type, value type, resource type, and scenario type; the first execution node reports resource usage information according to the billing rule.

[0036] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the first execution node sends the billing policy and billing information to the second execution node, so that the second execution node reports resource usage information based on the billing policy and billing information; the first execution node is an execution node in the first billing domain, and the second execution node is an execution node in the first billing domain or an execution node in the second billing domain.

[0037] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes a module / unit for executing the method of the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or includes a module / unit for executing the method of the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect, or includes a module / unit for executing the method of the third aspect and any possible implementation of the third aspect. The device can be a network device, or a component of a network device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of a network device. These modules / units can be implemented by hardware, or the corresponding software can be implemented by hardware.

[0038] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device includes: a processor, and a memory and a communication interface respectively coupled to the processor. The communication interface is used to communicate with other devices. The processor is used to run instructions or programs in the memory and, through the communication interface, execute the method of the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect; or, execute the method of the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect; or, execute the method of the third aspect and any possible implementation of the third aspect.

[0039] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method according to the first aspect and any implementation thereof, or the method according to the second aspect and any implementation thereof, or the method according to the third aspect and any implementation thereof.

[0040] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product comprising instructions. When executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to the first aspect and any one of its implementations, or the method according to the second aspect and any one of its implementations, or the method according to the third aspect and any one of its implementations.

[0041] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, comprising: a processor, the processor being coupled to a memory, the memory being used to store instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the processor, the chip implements the method described in the first aspect and any one of its implementations, or implements the method described in the second aspect and any one of its implementations, or implements the method described in the third aspect and any one of its implementations.

[0042] For the technical effects that can be achieved by any possible implementation method in any of the second to eighth aspects mentioned above, please refer to the description of the technical effects that can be achieved by the corresponding implementation scheme in the first aspect mentioned above, and repetitions will not be discussed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the network architecture;

[0044] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of billing granularity;

[0045] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the billing process and message interaction;

[0046] FIG4 is a flow chart of a billing method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG5 is a flow chart of another billing method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG6 is a flow chart of another billing method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] 7a and 7b are flowcharts of another billing method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] 8a and 8b are flowcharts of another billing method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] Billing, a core function of mobile communication networks, has existed since their inception. Operators establish fee settlement systems based on specific rules and bill users based on the amount of resources they use within the network.

[0054] The following uses 5G mobile network billing as an example and introduces the functional entities in the mobile communication network in conjunction with Figure 1.

[0055] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities. The terminal is connected to the wireless access network via wireless means, thereby accessing the communication system. A terminal may also be referred to as a terminal device, UE, mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. A terminal may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, a virtual reality terminal device, an augmented reality terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in remote surgery, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, or a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the terminal. As an example and not a limitation, the terminal may also be a wearable device, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not just hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. The terminal can also be a vehicle-mounted module, vehicle-mounted component, vehicle-mounted chip or vehicle-mounted unit built into the vehicle as one or more components or units. The vehicle can implement the method of the present application through the built-in vehicle-mounted module, vehicle-mounted module, vehicle-mounted component, vehicle-mounted chip or vehicle-mounted unit.

[0056] A radio access network (RAN) is used to connect terminal devices to a wireless network. The network equipment located in the RAN can be referred to as an access network device or a base station. For example, the network equipment can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB) in an LTE system or an evolved LTE system (LTE-Advanced, LTE-A), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5G communication system, a transmission reception point (TRP), a baseband unit (BBU), a WiFi access point (AP), a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. A radio access network can also be a module or unit that performs some of the functions of a base station, for example, a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the radio access network. For example, in a network structure, the radio access network can be a CU node, a DU node, or a radio access network including a CU node and a DU node. Specifically, the CU node is used to support protocols such as radio resource control (RRC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), and service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU node is used to support the radio link control (RLC) layer protocol, the medium access control (MAC) layer protocol, and the physical layer protocol.

[0057] The access and mobility management function (AMF) is mainly used for the attachment, mobility management, and tracking area update processes of terminal devices in mobile networks.

[0058] The session management function (SMF) is primarily responsible for session management in mobile networks, such as session establishment, modification, and release. Specific functions include allocating Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to terminals and selecting user-plane network elements that provide packet forwarding. The SMF also processes charging parameters issued by the CHF, collects user resource usage information when charging events occur and reports it to the CHF, monitors quotas for online charging services, issues resource quotas and charging parameters to the UPF via the N4 interface, and processes quota usage reports from the UPF via the N4 interface.

[0059] The user plane function (UPF) is mainly used to process user messages, such as forwarding and billing. For example, it measures the user's quota usage according to the billing parameters and quotas issued by the SMF, and reports the user's quota usage to the SMF when the conditions are met.

[0060] Charging function (CHF): This function is used to complete pricing, deductions, quotas, and billing parameter distribution for online charging, distribute billing parameters for offline charging, process quota usage reported by the session management function (SMF), and generate CHF call detail records (CDRs).

[0061] The technical concepts involved in this application are explained below.

[0062] The billing granularity may include billing based on the PDU session granularity, billing based on the service flow granularity, and billing based on the quality of service flow (QoS flow) granularity. A PDU session may contain multiple service flows, and may also contain multiple QoS flows, but service flows and QoS flows do not correspond one to one. Billing based on the PDU session granularity means that all traffic in the PDU session is billed uniformly, without distinguishing between QoS flows and service flows. Billing based on the service flow granularity means billing based on the service, and different service types can use different rates. Billing based on the QoS flow granularity means billing based on the QoS flow, and different QoS flows can use different rates.

[0063] Billing methods include online and offline billing. Online billing provides real-time online settlement, where quota usage information is factored into balance calculations in real time. Services are terminated when the balance is insufficient. Offline billing provides near-real-time offline settlement, where events trigger quota settlement without impacting real-time services. Traditional billing models primarily charge for traffic, call duration, and SMS messages. The corresponding billing quotas can include traffic quotas, call duration quotas, and SMS message quotas.

[0064] Billing events can include immediate reporting and delayed reporting. When an immediate reporting event occurs, the SMF closes the current billing container and immediately reports quota usage information to the CHF. When a delayed reporting billing event occurs, the SMF can temporarily cache the event information and report the cached information to the CHF the next time an immediate reporting billing event occurs.

[0065] In addition, the charging event can also be distinguished into PDU granularity and charging rate group (RG) granularity. The charging event of PDU granularity is effective for all RGs in the PDU session, and the charging event of RG granularity is effective only for a specified RG.

[0066] For example, a PDU session for four users can be shown in Figure 2. For user 1, billing is performed at the PDU session granularity. Therefore, the service flows and QoS flows (not shown) included in the PDU session will be billed at the same rate, and user 1's billing events will be reported online and immediately at the RG level. User 2's PDU session includes a video service flow and a news service flow. Since user 2 uses service flow granularity for billing, the video service flow and the news service flow will be billed separately at their respective rates. Billing events for video service flow RG1 will be reported online and immediately, and billing events for news service flow RG2 will be reported online and immediately. User 3's PDU session includes a video service flow and a news service flow. Since user 3 uses service flow granularity for billing, the video service flow and the news service flow will be billed separately at their respective rates. Billing events for video service flow RG1 will be reported offline and delayed, and billing events for news service flow RG2 will be reported offline and delayed. User 4's PDU session includes video service flow and news service flow. Since user 4 is charged based on service flow, the video service flow and news service flow will be charged separately according to their respective rates. The billing events of video service flow RG1 will be reported online with delay, and the billing events of news service flow RG2 will be reported online with delay.

[0067] A requesting node is a node that initiates a service request. For example, a node that initiates a session creation request or a task execution request is called a requesting node. For example, a requesting node can be an AMF or SMF. A requesting node can initiate service requests for its own needs; it can also initiate service requests for other nodes, such as an AMF initiating a service request for a UE; and it can also forward service requests from other nodes.

[0068] A control node is a node used to centrally control and schedule tasks, functions, resources, etc. For example, a control node can be an SMF.

[0069] A resource-using node is a node that actually uses resources. For example, when the AMF sends a service request to the SMF on behalf of the UE, the requesting node is the AMF, the controlling node is the SMF, and the resource-using node is the UE. In other words, the resources allocated by the SMF are the resources used by the UE, the execution nodes allocated by the SMF are used to provide services to the UE, and the SMF obtains the UE's billing policy and billing information. When the requesting node initiates a service request for itself, the requesting node is also the resource-using node.

[0070] Execution nodes are nodes that execute specific tasks / functions and hold the resources necessary to execute tasks / functions. For example, nodes with traffic forwarding and video encoding / decoding functions, such as UPF, can be execution nodes.

[0071] The billing node is a node that performs billing based on the usage information reported by the control node / execution node. For example, the billing node can be CHF.

[0072] Policy nodes are nodes used to store user service billing methods and schemes. For example, a policy node can be a PCF.

[0073] It should be understood that the upper node is a functional node, not a physical node. Different functional nodes can be deployed in a hybrid manner. The same physical node can also assume different logical functional roles in different scenarios. For example, when creating a session, the SMF can act as a control node; in scenarios where the network provides computing power, the SMF can also act as an execution node as a computing power provider.

[0074] Based on the 5G network architecture shown in Figure 1, the current traditional billing process and message interaction are shown in Figure 3:

[0075] Step 1: After receiving the session establishment request, the SMF applies to the PCF for a charging policy. The charging policy may include the charging granularity and the charging method.

[0076] Step 2: SMF applies to CHF for billing parameters such as billing quota and billing events.

[0077] Step 3: SMF sends billing parameters such as billing policy, billing quota and billing event to UPF.

[0078] Step 4: UPF performs quota usage statistics and reports quota usage information to SMF when a billing event occurs.

[0079] Step 5: SMF reports quota usage information to CHF (applying for new quotas if necessary).

[0080] The latest mobile communication networks have introduced a network data analytics function (NWDAF), which is used to store data collected by the network. However, the current billing model lacks the ability to bill and settle charges for this collected data. Future mobile communication networks may introduce new capabilities across multiple service planes, such as computing, AI, and perception. The current billing model, which is based on traffic, duration, and events, cannot support the billing and settlement of these new services.

[0081] In addition, more integrated businesses in the future will require the integration of multi-dimensional billing models. For example, an AI calculation may require computing resources, traffic, storage and other resources, and may need to be billed from multiple dimensions such as computing resources, traffic, storage, etc. However, a single billing strategy and billing information cannot meet the billing needs of new businesses and new capabilities.

[0082] Based on the above problems, the present invention provides a billing method to meet multi-dimensional billing requirements. Figure 4 exemplarily provides a flowchart of a billing method. As shown in the figure, the method may include the following steps:

[0083] Step 401: The requesting node requests the control node to establish resource information.

[0084] Optionally, the requesting node may send a resource establishment request to the control node, where the resource establishment request is used to request the control node to establish resources for the requesting node; the control node establishes resources for the resource-using node according to the resource establishment request and sends resource establishment information to the requesting node.

[0085] Among them, the requesting node can be one of the various functional entities in the network, such as UE / RAN / NF, etc.; correspondingly, the control node can also be one of the various functional entities. Taking the 5G scenario as an example, when the AMF requests the SMF to create a session, the requesting node is the AMF and the control node is the SMF; when the NEF requests the SMF to obtain the UE location event, the requesting node is the NEF and the control node is the SMF. Looking at possible future scenarios, if the UE requests network-assisted computing through a NAS message, the requesting node is the UE and the control node is a node with assisted computing, such as the SMF; or, if the UE forwards a data message through the UPF to trigger the network to encode and decode the message, the requesting node is the UE and the control node is the UPF. The requesting node can request to establish resources for itself; it can also request to establish resources for other nodes (i.e., resource-using nodes), for example, the AMF requests to establish resources for the UE; or the requesting node can also forward the resource establishment request of the resource-using node to the control node.

[0086] Step 402: The control node requests a charging policy from the policy node.

[0087] In one embodiment, the control node can send a charging request to the policy node to request the charging policy of the resource-using node. After receiving the charging request, the policy node returns the required charging policy to the control node based on the charging request. Optionally, the charging policy can include charging granularity, charging method, etc.

[0088] The billing granularity may include PDU session granularity, service flow granularity, and QoS flow granularity. It should be understood that in future communication scenarios, the billing granularity may also include other granularities in addition to the above granularities.

[0089] The billing method may include an online billing method, an offline billing method, or other billing methods that combine online billing and offline billing.

[0090] Step 403: The control node requests the billing node to create a billing context, and obtains billing information from the billing node.

[0091] Optionally, the control node may send a request to create a billing context to the billing node; the billing node creates a billing context for the resource-using node based on the request and sends the billing information of the resource-using node to the control node. The billing information may include resource quotas, billing events, etc.

[0092] In a possible implementation, if the control node does not perform step 402, when the control node requests the charging node to create a charging context, the charging node may also obtain the charging policy from the policy node and then send the charging policy and charging information to the control node.

[0093] Step 404: The control node sends the charging rules to the execution node. The charging rules include the above-mentioned charging policy and charging information, or the charging rules are generated based on the charging policy and charging information.

[0094] When establishing resources for a resource-using node, the control node can determine the execution node that will provide the resource to the resource-using node. After obtaining the billing rules, the control node sends the billing rules to the determined execution node, enabling the execution node to report the resource usage information of the resource-using node according to the billing rules. After obtaining the billing policy and billing information, the execution node can generate billing rules based on the billing policy and billing information, and then report the resource usage information of the resource-using node according to the billing rules. If the billing rules sent by the control node include the billing policy and billing information, the execution node can generate corresponding rules based on the billing policy and billing information, and then report the resource usage information according to the corresponding rules.

[0095] Step 405: The execution node reports the resource usage information to the control node.

[0096] If the allocated resource quota has been used up or is about to be used up, the execution node can also apply for allocation of new resource quota when reporting resource usage information.

[0097] Step 406: The control node reports the aggregated resource usage information to the charging node.

[0098] If the execution node requests allocation of a new resource quota when reporting resource usage information, the control node may request the billing node to allocate a new resource quota when reporting the aggregated resource usage information to the billing node.

[0099] Step 407: The billing node reports the resource usage information to the settlement node, and the settlement node deducts the fee based on the resource usage combined with the billing policy and the billing information.

[0100] In order to implement multi-billing type converged billing, the embodiment of the present application also provides a billing method as shown in FIG5 . As shown in the figure, the method may include the following steps:

[0101] Step 501: A first control node receives a first request, where the first request is used to request allocation of resources to a resource-using node.

[0102] The first control node is a control node in the first billing domain. The first control node receives the first request sent by the requesting node. The requesting node can be a requesting node in the first billing domain or a requesting node in another billing domain, such as a requesting node in the second billing domain. The requesting node can request resource allocation for itself, that is, the requesting node is a resource-using node. The requesting node can also request resource allocation for other nodes (that is, resource-using nodes).

[0103] In the embodiments of the present application, a billing domain represents a system with independent billing capabilities. Different billing domains can be different communication networks, different geographical regions, different service platforms, etc. For example, the communication network provided by communication operator 1 can be called billing domain 1, and the network provided by communication operator 2 can be called billing domain 2. For another example, the communication network provided by communication operator 1 can be called billing domain 1, and the communication network of industrial park 1 can be called billing domain 2. For another example, the communication network provided by the communication operator can be called billing domain 1, and the service system with billing capabilities provided by a third-party service platform can be called billing domain 2.

[0104] Optionally, the first request received by the first control node may be a resource establishment request sent by the requesting node, wherein the resource establishment request is used to request the first control node to establish resources for the resource-using node. After receiving the resource establishment request, the first control node establishes resources for the resource-using node and executes the billing method provided in the embodiments of the present application, thereby billing the resource-using node.

[0105] Step 502: The first control node obtains a charging policy and charging information, where the charging policy includes a charging policy corresponding to at least one charging type, and the charging information includes charging information corresponding to at least one charging type.

[0106] Optionally, the billing policy may include billing granularity and billing methods. As previously mentioned, billing granularity may include PDU session granularity, service flow granularity, and QoS flow granularity. It should be understood that in future-oriented communication scenarios, billing granularity may include other granularities in addition to the above. Billing methods may include online billing, offline billing, or other billing methods that combine online and offline billing.

[0107] Billing information may include billing events and resource quotas. Billing events may include immediately reported billing events, delayed reported billing events, and billing events of different granularities, such as PDU-granularity billing events and RG-granularity billing events; or, other types of billing events. Resource quotas represent the resource quotas allocated to users (i.e., the users served by the first request). For example, a traffic quota of 10G is allocated to user A. When user A's traffic reaches 10G, user A's traffic service is suspended or a new traffic quota is allocated to user A.

[0108] The charging policy / charging information acquired by the first control node includes charging policy / charging information corresponding to at least one charging type. Optionally, the charging type may include:

[0109] Function type: such as traffic, duration, event, task, etc.

[0110] Value type: such as rate, latency, slice guarantee, high-value content, etc.

[0111] Resource types: such as computing resources, storage resources, network resources, AI model resources, algorithm resources, data resources, image resources, software package resources, code resources, etc.

[0112] Scenario-based types: such as high-precision positioning, game acceleration, video decoding, video acceleration, and streaming computing.

[0113] For example, the billing policy / billing information obtained by the first control node may include the billing policy / billing information corresponding to the traffic, the billing policy / billing information when performing slice protection, the billing policy / billing information when using computing resources, the billing policy / billing information when performing video decoding, etc.

[0114] It should be understood that each billing type may include but is not limited to the above examples, and the above type classifications are not completely orthogonal. For the same resource / function, there may be other different types in different scenarios.

[0115] In one possible implementation, the first control node may obtain a charging policy from a first policy node in a first charging domain, and obtain charging information from the first charging node in the first charging domain. For example, the first control node may send a charging policy request to the first policy node to request the charging policy of the resource-using node; after receiving the charging policy request, the first policy node returns the required charging policy to the control node according to the charging policy request. For another example, when the first control node obtains the charging information from the first charging node, it may send a charging request to the first charging node to request the charging information. The charging request may be the create charging context request in the aforementioned embodiment, or other requests for obtaining charging information.

[0116] Optionally, the charging policy request sent by the first control node to the first policy node may include a charging type; accordingly, after receiving the charging policy request, the first policy node may send the charging policy corresponding to the billing type to the first control node based on the billing type included in the charging policy request. For example, if the charging policy request sent by the first control node includes billing type information indicating traffic, then after receiving the request, the first policy node will send the user's traffic billing policy to the first control node. For another example, if the charging policy request sent by the first control node does not include billing type information, then the first policy node may send all types of charging policies to the first control node.

[0117] In addition, the charging policy request may also include resource specifications, where the resource specifications may include QoS, latency, computing capacity, data type, and the like.

[0118] Optionally, the create charging context request sent by the first control node to the first charging node may include a charging type; accordingly, the first charging node sends charging information corresponding to the charging type to the first control node.

[0119] Furthermore, the billing request may also include one or more of the following billing scenario information: billing scenario identifier, scenario parameters, billing sub-scenario identifier, sub-scenario parameters, resource type, resource usage, etc. For example, the billing request includes a billing scenario identifier: indicating video decoding (or indicating a video decoding service ID); sub-scenario identifier: live video decoding; scenario parameters: live video decoding algorithm, whether hardware acceleration, etc. When the billing request includes the above information, the resource type in the billing request may also indicate the resource quality limit required to ensure that the scenario task meets the quality requirements. For example, if the video decoding service requires a decoding rate of X Mbps / s, the resource usage can be Y Mbps / s. If the resource type and resource usage are not additionally specified, the execution quality of the scenario service may not be guaranteed.

[0120] Accordingly, upon receiving a billing request including the above-mentioned billing scenario information, the first billing node determines billing information corresponding to the above-mentioned billing scenario information and transmits it to the first control node. For example, when the billing request includes information such as live video decoding, a decoding rate of X Mbps / s, and resource usage of Y Mbps / s, the first billing node determines the billing information for the live video decoding scenario and determines the resource quota allocated to the user based on the decoding rate and resource usage.

[0121] In another possible implementation, the first control node may also obtain the charging policy and charging information from the first charging node. For example, when the first control node sends a charging request to the first charging node, the first charging node may also obtain the charging policy from the policy node and then send the charging policy and charging information to the control node. The charging request sent by the first control node may include a charging type; the first charging node then sends the charging policy and charging information corresponding to the charging type to the first control node.

[0122] Step 503: The first control node sends the charging rule to at least one execution node, so that the at least one execution node reports the resource usage information according to the charging policy and the charging information.

[0123] The charging rule includes a charging policy and charging information, or the charging rule is generated based on the charging policy and charging information.

[0124] After receiving the first request, the first control node may determine at least one execution node providing services to the resource-using node, and after acquiring the charging rule, send the charging rule to the at least one execution node providing services to the resource-using node.

[0125] The at least one execution node determined by the first control node may include at least one first execution node, that is, the execution node in the first billing domain, and may also include at least one second execution node, that is, the execution node in the second billing domain, or may include both the first execution node and the second execution node.

[0126] When there are multiple execution nodes provided for the resource-using node, in one possible implementation, the first control node may send the billing rules to each execution node providing services for the resource-using node, so that each execution node can report the resource usage information according to the billing rules.

[0127] In another possible implementation, the first control node may send the charging rules to the target execution node (one of the multiple execution nodes providing services to the resource-using node), and the target execution node may then send the charging rules to other execution nodes (i.e., other execution nodes other than the target execution node among the multiple execution nodes providing services to the resource-using node). For example, there are three execution nodes providing services to the resource-using node, which are execution node A, execution node B, and execution node C in the order of service execution, wherein execution node A receives the charging rules sent by the first control node, and execution node A may send the rules to execution node B and execution node C respectively; or, execution node A may also send the charging rules to execution node B, and then execution node B may send the charging rules to execution node C, so that execution node A, execution node B, and execution node C can all report the resource usage information of the resource-using node according to the charging rules. For another example, the first control node sends the charging rules including the charging policy and charging information to execution node A, and execution node A generates corresponding rules based on the charging policy and charging information, and then sends the generated corresponding rules to execution node B, which in turn sends the corresponding rules to execution node C. Among them, the execution node A can be a node in the first billing domain together with the first control node; the execution node B can be an execution node in the first billing domain or an execution node in the second billing domain; the execution node C can be an execution node in the first billing domain or an execution node in the second billing domain.

[0128] Furthermore, each execution node may report information about resource usage by the resource-using node through the execution node to the first control node, and the first control node may aggregate the resource usage information reported by each execution node. The first control node may report the aggregated resource usage information to the first billing node in the first billing domain. If the first control node determines, based on the aggregated information, that a new resource quota needs to be applied for the resource-using node, the first control node may also apply for a new resource quota from the first billing node in the first billing domain.

[0129] Optionally, each execution node may also directly report the information on resource usage by the resource-using node through the execution node to the first billing node, and the first billing node may summarize the resource usage information.

[0130] Taking into account the need to aggregate and temporarily store resource usage information, the execution node can also report the resource usage information to the first billing node through the resource reporting center. For example, the execution node sends the resource usage information to the resource reporting center, and the resource reporting center aggregates and processes the resource usage information sent by each execution node, and then sends the aggregated resource usage information to the computing node. In this implementation, the resource reporting center can aggregate and cache a user's resource usage information in different slices and different network spaces. The resource reporting center can serve as a storage unit, thereby achieving decoupling from the main business process, and will not cause resource usage information to be lost due to failure of the business NF or the storage center NF.

[0131] After receiving the aggregated resource usage information from the first control node or the resource reporting center, the first billing node may send the received resource usage information to the first settlement node in the first billing domain; the first settlement node may deduct fees based on the user's resource usage information and the user's billing rules. If the first billing node directly receives resource usage information reported by each execution node, the first billing node may aggregate and process the resource usage information reported by each execution node, and then deduct fees based on the aggregated and processed resource usage information and the billing rules.

[0132] When the execution nodes providing services to the resource-using node include both the first execution node in the first billing domain and the second execution node in the second billing domain, the first execution node may report the resource usage information to the first control node or other nodes in the first billing domain, and the second execution node may report the resource usage information to the second control node in the second billing domain or other nodes in the second billing domain.

[0133] In emerging or future business scenarios, there may be a need for multi-domain converged billing. For example, when the user served by the first request is a subscriber of the second billing domain, or when the user served by the first request needs to use the resources provided by both the first billing domain and the second billing domain, joint billing of the first billing domain and the second billing domain is required. Although different billing domains can be billed independently, the current billing method cannot achieve joint billing of multiple billing domains. In order to solve the above problems, billing policies and billing information can be shared among multiple billing domains, thereby achieving multi-domain converged billing.

[0134] In one possible implementation, the first control node in the first billing domain sends the billing policy and billing information to the second control node in the second billing domain, so that the second control node in the second billing domain can also obtain the corresponding billing rules and billing information, so that the second billing domain can bill and settle the resource-using node according to the billing rules and billing information.

[0135] In another possible implementation, if the second billing domain also provides resources to the resource-using node, the execution node in the first billing domain can also send the billing rules and billing information to the execution node in the second billing domain; after receiving the billing rules and billing information, the execution node in the second billing domain collects statistics on the user's resource usage information based on the billing rules and billing information, and reports it to the second control node, the resource reporting center or the second billing node.

[0136] Optionally, in the above implementation, the first control node may send instruction information to the first execution node, where the instruction information is used to instruct the first execution node to send the charging policy and charging information to the second execution node in the second charging domain. The first execution node may send the acquired charging policy and charging information to the second execution node, or the first execution node may generate charging rules based on the acquired charging policy and charging information, and then send the charging rules to the second execution node.

[0137] It should be understood that in the above embodiments, the first control node obtains the billing policy and billing information from the first policy node and the first billing node as an example; in the scenario of multi-domain converged billing, the first control node can also obtain the billing policy and billing information of other billing domains from the policy node, billing node or control node of other billing domains; or, when the first control node obtains the billing policy and billing information from the first policy node and the first billing node, the first policy node and / or the first billing node can also obtain the billing policy and billing information of other billing domains from the policy node and / or billing node of other billing domains, and then send it to the first control node.

[0138] Furthermore, the first billing domain may also send the resource usage information of the resource-using node to the second billing domain, so that the second billing domain performs billing and fee deduction based on the resource usage information. The method of sending the resource usage information of the resource-using node in the first billing domain to the second billing domain may include but is not limited to the following methods:

[0139] Method 1: After receiving the resource usage information reported by each execution node, the first control node may send the aggregated and processed resource usage information to the second billing node in the second billing domain. After receiving the user's resource usage information sent by the first control node, the second billing node may send the user's resource usage information to the second settlement node in the second billing domain, so that the second billing node deducts fees from the user. For example, if the user is a subscriber in the second billing domain, when the user roams to the first billing domain, the first execution node in the first billing domain provides services and resources to the user. The first execution node reports the user's resource usage information to the first control node, which then sends the resource usage information to the second control node in the second billing domain, so that the second control node reports the user's resource usage information in the first billing domain to the second billing node, so that the second billing node reports the user's resource usage information to the second settlement node in the second billing domain, so that the second settlement node deducts fees from the user.

[0140] Method 2: When the first execution node in the first billing domain reports the resource usage information to the resource reporting center, the resource reporting center can also send the summarized resource usage information to the second billing node in the second billing domain, and then the second billing node sends the resource usage information to the second settlement node in the second billing domain; or, the resource reporting center can also send the resource usage information to the second settlement node, so that the second settlement node deducts fees from the user.

[0141] Method three: After receiving the resource usage information reported by each first execution node, the first control node sends the summarized resource usage information to the first billing node, and then the first billing node sends the resource usage information to the second billing node or the second settlement node in the second billing domain, so that the second billing node / second settlement node deducts the fees.

[0142] In order to more clearly understand the above embodiments of the present application, examples are given below with reference to Figures 6 to 8b.

[0143] In the embodiment shown in Figure 6, the services involved by the user have multi-domain billing requirements, such as roaming scenarios, co-construction and sharing scenarios, etc.; or, the user may belong to an organization such as a vertical industry, a park, or an integrator. Different types of organizations may have different assets. For example, operator A may have complete network resources (including independent billing nodes, policy nodes, control nodes, execution nodes, etc.); while an integrator may not have any network assets. For example, an OTT manufacturer has no network assets but has independent billing requirements for the services it cooperates with operator A. As shown in the figure, this embodiment may include the following steps:

[0144] Step 601: The requesting node requests the control node 1 to establish resource information.

[0145] The resource-using node needs to use resources in the billing domain 1, so the requesting node requests the control node 1 in the billing domain 1 to establish resource information and allocate resources to the resource-using node.

[0146] The requesting node and the resource using node can be the same node or different nodes.

[0147] Step 602: Control node 1 requests a charging policy from policy node 1. This step is optional.

[0148] After receiving the request to establish resource information, control node 1 establishes resources for the requesting node and may also send a charging request to policy node 1 in charging domain 1 to request a charging policy. After receiving the charging request, policy node 1 returns the required charging policy to control node 1 based on the charging request. The charging policy may include charging granularity, charging method, etc.

[0149] Step 603: Control node 1 requests billing node 1 to create a billing context, and obtains billing information from the billing node.

[0150] Control node 1 may send a create charging context request to charging node 1 in charging domain 1; charging node 1 creates a charging context for requesting node 1 according to the request and sends charging information to control node 1. The charging information may include resource quotas, charging events, etc.

[0151] In a possible implementation, if control node 1 does not perform step 602 , when control node 1 requests charging node 1 to create a charging context, charging node 1 may also obtain a charging policy from policy node 1 and then send the charging policy and charging information to control node 1 .

[0152] Step 604 : Control node 1 sends the charging rule to execution node 1 , and execution node 1 sends the charging rule to execution node 2 .

[0153] The charging rule includes a charging policy and charging information, or the charging rule is generated based on the charging policy and charging information.

[0154] When establishing resources for a resource-using node, control node 1 may determine that the execution nodes of the resource-using node include execution node 1 and execution node 2 in billing domain 1. After obtaining the billing rules, control node 1 sends the billing rules to execution node 1, so that execution node 1 sends the billing policy and billing information to execution node 2. Alternatively, control node 1 may send the obtained billing policy and billing information to execution node 1 and execution node 2 respectively.

[0155] Step 605a: Execution node 2 sends the charging policy and charging information to execution node 3.

[0156] Execution node 3 is an execution node in billing domain 2.

[0157] The sending by execution node 2 is only an example. Execution node 1 may also send the charging policy and charging information to execution node 3.

[0158] Step 605b: When requesting control node 2 to create network resources, control node 1 sends charging information to control node 2.

[0159] Control node 2 is a control node in charging domain 2.

[0160] Either step 605a or step 605b can be performed. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the execution order of step 605b, which may occur before or after step 604.

[0161] Step 606 : Execution node 1 and / or execution node 2 reports the resource usage information of the resource-using node to control node 1 .

[0162] Execution node 1 and / or execution node 2 may also apply for a new resource quota when reporting resource usage information. For example, when the resource quota allocated by billing node 1 has been fully used, execution node 1 and / or execution node 2 may apply for a new resource quota.

[0163] Step 607: Control node 1 reports the aggregated resource usage information to charging node 1.

[0164] If the execution node 1 and / or the execution node 2 applies for a new resource quota from the control node 1 in step 605 , the control node 1 may apply for a new resource quota from the billing node 1 .

[0165] Step 608: Billing node 1 reports the aggregated resource usage information to settlement node 1, and settlement node 1 deducts fees based on the resource usage information and the billing rules.

[0166] Step 609a: Control node 1 sends the aggregated resource usage information to charging node 2 or settlement node 2.

[0167] Billing node 2 and settlement node 2 are billing nodes and settlement nodes in billing domain 2.

[0168] Step 609b: Billing node 1 sends the resource usage information to billing node 2 or settlement node 2.

[0169] Either step 609a or step 609b can be performed; alternatively, execution node 1 and execution node 2 send the resource usage information to a resource reporting center (not shown in the figure), and the resource reporting center sends the aggregated resource usage information to billing node 2 or settlement node 2.

[0170] In the embodiment shown in FIG7a, a billing domain is used as an example to describe the billing policy and billing information in detail. It should be understood that the embodiment shown in FIG7a can be combined with any of the embodiments shown in FIG4 to FIG6. As shown in FIG7a, this embodiment may include the following steps:

[0171] Step 701: The requesting node sends a resource establishment request to the control node.

[0172] The resource establishment request is used to request the control node to find a suitable execution node and allocate resources required for service execution.

[0173] Step 702: The control node allocates resources and determines the execution node, and sends a charging request to the policy node.

[0174] The charging request is used to obtain the charging policy of the user in the service state. The charging request may include information about the charging type so that the policy node returns the charging policy of the corresponding charging type.

[0175] Step 703: The policy node sends the charging policy to the control node.

[0176] The billing policy may include billing method, billing granularity, etc.

[0177] For example, if the billing request can include a traffic flow identifier and a call duration identifier, the policy node will return the traffic flow and call duration billing policies to the control node. Of course, the billing request can also not include a billing type, in which case the policy node can send all billing policies for the user's potential billing types to the control node.

[0178] Step 704: The control node sends a create charging context request to the charging node.

[0179] The create billing context request is used to obtain the billing information of the user for the service when executing the service; the create billing context request may include information such as billing type, resource specifications (such as QoS, latency, computing power, data type, etc.), so that the billing node returns billing information of the corresponding type.

[0180] Step 705: The charging node sends charging information to the control node.

[0181] For example, if the request to create a charging context includes information such as a flow identifier and a QoS requirement, the charging node will send charging information related to the flow that meets the QoS requirement to the control node.

[0182] It should be understood that the above-mentioned policy nodes and billing nodes can be deployed separately or in combination. In a multi-domain billing scenario, the control node can request billing policies and billing information from the billing domain where the service is located, and the billing domain where the service is located can obtain the billing policies and billing information of other billing domains; alternatively, the control node can obtain billing policies and billing information from multiple billing domains separately.

[0183] In another possible implementation, the process for the control node to obtain the charging policy and charging information can also be shown in Figure 7b. The requesting node sends a resource establishment request to the control node; the control node allocates resources and determines the execution node; the control node sends a create charging context request to the charging node; the charging node obtains the charging policy from the policy node based on the create charging context request; and the charging node sends the charging policy and charging information to the control node.

[0184] Step 706: The control node sends the charging rules to the determined execution node.

[0185] The charging rule may include a charging policy and charging information, or the charging rule may be generated based on the charging policy and charging information.

[0186] If there are multiple execution nodes, the control node can send charging rules to each execution node separately. For example, it can send corresponding charging policies and charging information based on the specific service types that each execution node is responsible for. Alternatively, the control node can send the charging rules to one execution node, which then sends the charging rules to the other execution nodes.

[0187] Step 707: The execution node reports resource usage information and applies for a new resource quota.

[0188] When trigger conditions are met, execution nodes can report resource usage information to the control node, resource reporting center, or billing node. When new resource quotas are needed, execution nodes can report them to the control node, which in turn requests a new resource quota from the billing node. Alternatively, execution nodes can directly request a new resource quota from the billing node.

[0189] In the embodiment shown in FIG8a, billing is performed based on scenario-based user services, without paying attention to the specific resource combination used by the user in performing the scenario-based services (for example, when billing a user's video encoding and decoding, only the size of the encoded and decoded video stream is considered, without paying attention to the CPU, memory, network resources, etc. used when decoding the video stream). As shown in FIG8a, this embodiment may include the following steps:

[0190] Steps 801 to 803 are similar to steps 701 to 703 and are not described again here.

[0191] Step 804: The control node sends a scenario-based execution charging request to the charging node. The request may include one or more of the following charging scenario information: scenario identification, sub-scenario identification, scenario parameters, charging type, resource usage, etc.

[0192] Step 805: The billing node sends a scenario-based execution billing response to the control node, where the response includes billing information corresponding to the scenario-based identifier, sub-scenario identifier, scenario-based parameters, billing type, and resource usage in the request.

[0193] In another possible implementation, the process for the control node to obtain the charging policy and charging information can also be shown in Figure 8b. The requesting node sends a resource establishment request to the control node; the control node allocates resources and determines the execution node; the control node sends a scenario-based charging execution request to the charging node, which may include charging type information, charging scenario information, etc.; the charging node obtains the charging policy from the policy node based on the scenario-based charging execution request, namely, the charging policy corresponding to the charging type information and charging scenario information; and the charging node sends the charging policy and charging information to the control node.

[0194] Step 806: The control node sends the charging rules to the execution node.

[0195] The charging rule may include a charging policy and charging information, or the charging rule may be generated based on the charging policy and charging information.

[0196] In scenario-based service billing, the control node can send the billing policy and billing information involved in each execution node in the execution order of the execution nodes. Alternatively, the control node can send the billing policy and billing information to the execution node that first executes the task. When the execution of the task of the execution node is completed, the control node will send the billing policy and billing information to the execution node that executes the next task, and so on.

[0197] Step 807 may refer to step 707 and will not be described again here.

[0198] In the billing method provided in the embodiment of the present application, a single billing strategy and billing information are no longer used. Instead, different billing strategies and billing information can be used for different billing types. For example, the billing strategy and billing information for traffic, duration, and events can be configured separately according to the function type. The billing strategy and billing information for computing resources, storage resources, and AI model resources can also be configured separately according to the resource type. The billing strategy and billing information for high-precision positioning, games, and video decoding can also be configured separately according to the scenario, thereby meeting the diverse billing needs of different services. In addition, the embodiment of the present application can also realize multi-billing domain converged billing, which can meet the converged billing needs of emerging and future multi-domain communication scenarios.

[0199] Based on the same technical concept, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, including a module / unit for executing the network device in the above method embodiment. The device can be a network device, or a component of a network device (such as a processor, chip, or chip system, etc.), or a logical node, logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the network device functions. These modules / units can be implemented in hardware, or they can be implemented in software by hardware.

[0200] Exemplarily, the communication device may include a communication module 901 and a processing module 902 as shown in FIG9 . The communication module 901 is used for message transmission and reception processing, and the processing module 902 is used to implement message processing by the communication device. It should be understood that the processing module 902 in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by a processor or a processor-related circuit component (or, referred to as a processing circuit), and the communication module 901 can be implemented by a transceiver or a transceiver-related circuit component.

[0201] When the communication device is a first control node, the processing module 902 can be used to receive a first request through the communication module 901, where the first request is used to request resource allocation; obtain a billing policy and billing information, where the billing policy includes a billing policy corresponding to at least one billing type, and the billing information includes billing information corresponding to at least one billing type, where the billing type includes one or more of the following types: functional type, value type, resource type, and scenario type; send a billing rule to at least one execution node, where the billing rule includes the billing policy and the billing information, or the billing rule is generated based on the billing policy and the billing information, so that the at least one execution node reports resource usage information based on the billing rule, and the at least one execution node is an execution node allocated by the first control node for providing resources.

[0202] In addition, the above modules can also be used to support other processes executed by the first control node in the embodiments shown in Figures 4 to 8b. The beneficial effects can be referred to the above description and will not be repeated here.

[0203] When the communication device is a first billing node, the processing module 902 can be used to send billing information to the first control node through the communication module 901, so that the first control node sends the billing information to at least one first execution node, and the billing information includes billing information corresponding to at least one billing type, and the billing type includes one or more of the following types: business type, value type, resource type, and scenario type; receive the first resource usage information reported based on the billing information.

[0204] In addition, the above modules can also be used to support other processes executed by the first charging node in the embodiments shown in Figures 4 to 8b. The beneficial effects can be referred to the previous description and will not be repeated here.

[0205] When the communication device is the first execution node, the processing module 902 can be used to receive the billing rules sent by the first control node through the communication module 901, where the billing rules include billing policies and billing information, or the billing rules are generated based on the billing policies and billing information, where the billing policies include billing policies corresponding to at least one billing type, and the billing information includes billing information corresponding to at least one billing type, where the billing types include one or more of the following types: functional type, value type, resource type, and scenario type; and resource usage information is reported according to the billing rules.

[0206] In addition, the above modules can also be used to support other processes executed by the first execution node in the embodiments shown in Figures 4 to 8b. The beneficial effects can be referred to the previous description and will not be repeated here.

[0207] Based on the same technical concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device. The communication device includes a processor 1001 as shown in FIG10 , and the processor 1001 is coupled to a memory 1002 . Furthermore, the communication device may also include a communication interface 1003 and a communication bus 1004 .

[0208] Processor 1001 can be a general-purpose processor, a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the program of the present application. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly implemented as a hardware processor, or can be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0209] The memory 1002 is used to store program instructions and / or data so that the processor 1001 can call the instructions and / or data stored in the memory 1002 to implement the above-mentioned functions of the processor 1001. The memory 1002 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to these. The memory 1002 can exist independently, such as an off-chip memory, connected to the processor 1001 via the communication bus 1004. The memory 1002 can also be integrated with the processor 1001.

[0210] The communication interface 1003 uses any transceiver-like device for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, radio access networks (RAN), and wireless local area networks (WLAN). In this embodiment of the present application, the processor 1001 is configured to invoke the communication interface 1003 to perform receiving and / or sending functions and execute the method described in any of the preceding possible implementations.

[0211] The communication bus 1004 may include a pathway for transmitting information between the aforementioned components.

[0212] The communication device may be a first control node, a first charging node, or a first execution node.

[0213] When the communication device is a first control node, the processor 1001 can perform the following steps through the communication interface 1003: receiving a first request, the first request is used to request resource allocation; obtaining a billing policy and billing information, the billing policy includes a billing policy corresponding to at least one billing type, the billing information includes billing information corresponding to at least one billing type, the billing type includes one or more of the following types: functional type, value type, resource type, scenario type; sending a billing rule to at least one execution node, the billing rule includes the billing policy and the billing information, or the billing rule is generated based on the billing policy and the billing information, so that the at least one execution node reports resource usage information according to the billing rule, and the at least one execution node is an execution node allocated by the first control node for providing resources.

[0214] In addition, the above components can also be used to support other processes executed by the first control node in the embodiments shown in Figures 4 to 8b. The beneficial effects can be referred to the previous description and will not be repeated here.

[0215] When the communication device is a first billing node, the processor 1001 can perform the following steps through the communication interface 1003: sending billing information to the first control node, so that the first control node sends the billing information to at least one first execution node, the billing information includes billing information corresponding to at least one billing type, and the billing type includes one or more of the following types: business type, value type, resource type, scenario type; receiving first resource usage information reported based on the billing information.

[0216] In addition, the above components can also be used to support other processes executed by the first charging node in the embodiments shown in Figures 4 to 8b. The beneficial effects can be referred to the previous description and will not be repeated here.

[0217] When the communication device is the first execution node, the processor 1001 can perform the following steps through the communication interface 1003: receive the billing rules sent by the first control node, the billing rules include billing policies and billing information, or the billing rules are generated based on the billing policies and billing information, the billing policies include billing policies corresponding to at least one billing type, the billing information includes billing information corresponding to at least one billing type, and the billing types include one or more of the following types: function type, value type, resource type, and scenario type; and report resource usage information according to the billing rules.

[0218] In addition, the above components can also be used to support other processes executed by the first execution node in the embodiments shown in Figures 4 to 8b. The beneficial effects can be referred to the previous description and will not be repeated here.

[0219] Based on the same technical concept, an embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer-readable instructions are stored. When the computer-readable instructions are executed on a computer, the method described in any possible implementation method described above is executed.

[0220] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the above method embodiment to be executed.

[0221] An embodiment of the present application provides a chip, including: a processor, the processor is coupled to a memory, the memory is used to store instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the processor, the chip implements the method steps executed by any of the above nodes.

[0222] In the description of the embodiments of this application, "and / or" describes the association relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent three situations: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The term "plurality" used in this application refers to two or more.

[0223] In addition, it should be understood that, in the description of the present application, words such as "first" and "second" are only used for the purpose of distinguishing the description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance, nor can they be understood as indicating or implying an order. References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" described in this specification mean that one or more embodiments of the present application include specific features, structures or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment. Therefore, the statements "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments", "in some other embodiments", "in some other embodiments", etc. that appear in different places in this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but mean "one or more but not all embodiments", unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "including", "comprising", "having" and their variations all mean "including but not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0224] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. Of course, the processor and the storage medium can also exist in a base station or a terminal as discrete components.

[0225] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions may be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0226] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0227] It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A charging method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The first control node receives a first request, where the first request is used to request allocation of resources; The first control node acquires a charging policy and charging information, the charging policy including a charging policy corresponding to at least one charging type, the charging information including charging information corresponding to at least one charging type, and the charging type including one or more of the following types: function type, value type, resource type, and scenario type; The first control node sends a charging rule to at least one execution node, where the charging rule includes the charging policy and the charging information, or the charging rule is generated based on the charging policy and the charging information, so that the at least one execution node reports the resource usage information based on the charging rule, and the at least one execution node is an execution node allocated by the first control node to provide resources.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first control node sends the charging rule to a second control node, the first control node is a control node in a first charging domain, and the second control node is a control node in a second charging domain.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first control node sends indication information to a first execution node, where the first execution node is an execution node in a first billing domain among the at least one execution node, and the indication information is used to instruct the first execution node to send the billing policy and billing information to a second execution node in a second billing domain.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The first control node obtains the charging policy and the charging information, including: The first control node obtains the charging policy from a first policy node, and the first control node obtains the charging information from a first charging node; or The first control node obtains the charging policy and the charging information from a first charging node.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The first control node obtains the charging policy from the first policy node, including: The first control node sends a charging policy request to the first policy node, where the charging policy request includes charging type information; The first control node receives a charging policy sent by the first policy node, where the charging policy is a charging policy corresponding to the charging type information.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The first control node acquiring the charging information from the first charging node includes: The first control node sends a charging request to the first charging node, where the charging request includes one or more of the following charging configuration information: charging type, charging method information, and charging granularity information; The first control node receives the charging information corresponding to the charging configuration information sent by the first charging node.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The charging request further includes charging scenario information, where the charging scenario information includes at least one of the following: a scenario identification and scenario parameters of charging, a sub-scenario identification and sub-scenario parameters of charging; The charging information corresponds to the charging scenario information.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The first control node sending the charging rule to at least one execution node includes: The first control node sends the charging rule to each execution node of the at least one execution node; or The first control node sends the charging rule to a target execution node among the at least one execution node, so that the target execution node sends the charging rule to other execution nodes among the at least one execution node except the target execution node.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first control node receives the resource usage information of the requesting node sent by the at least one execution node; The first control node sends the resource usage information to a first billing node, where the first billing node is a billing node in a billing domain where the first control node is located.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first control node receives the resource usage information of the requesting node sent by the at least one execution node; The first control node sends the resource usage information to a second charging node or a settlement node in a second charging domain, and the first The control node is a control node in the first charging domain.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: The function type includes one or more of the following types: flow, duration, event; Alternatively, the value type includes one or more of the following types: rate, latency, slice guarantee, content; Alternatively, the resource type includes one or more of the following types: computing resources, storage resources, network resources, model resources; Alternatively, the scenario type includes one or more of the following types: a positioning scenario, a game acceleration scenario, and a video decoding scenario.

12. A charging method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The first charging node sends the charging information to the first control node, so that the first control node sends the charging information to at least one first execution node, where the charging information includes charging information corresponding to at least one charging type, where the charging type includes one or more of the following types: business type, value type, resource type, and scenario type; The first charging node receives first resource usage information reported according to the charging information.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first billing node sends the first resource usage information to a second billing node, the first billing node is a billing node in a first billing domain, and the second billing node is a billing node in a second billing domain.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first charging node receives third resource usage information sent by a third control node or a third execution node, the third control node is a control node in a third charging domain, and the third execution node is a control node in the third charging domain.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first charging node obtains a charging policy from the first policy node, where the charging policy includes a charging policy corresponding to at least one charging type; The first charging node sending the charging information to the first control node includes: The first charging node sends the charging policy and the charging information to the first control node.

16. A charging method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The first execution node receives a charging rule sent by the first control node, where the charging rule includes a charging policy and charging information, or the charging rule is generated according to the charging policy and the charging information, the charging policy includes a charging policy corresponding to at least one charging type, the charging information includes charging information corresponding to at least one charging type, and the charging type includes one or more of the following types: function type, value type, resource type, and scenario type; The first execution node reports the resource usage information according to the charging rule.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first execution node sends the charging rule to the second execution node, so that the second execution node reports the resource usage information according to the charging rule; The first execution node is an execution node in a first charging domain, and the second execution node is an execution node in the first charging domain or an execution node in a second charging domain.

18. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processing module and a communication module, wherein the processing module is used to send and receive messages through the communication module to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-17.

19. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor, wherein the processor is coupled to a memory, wherein the memory is used to store programs or instructions, and when the programs or instructions are executed by the processor, the device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

20. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

21. A computer program product comprising instructions, characterized in that When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

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