Method and device for processing data packets

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method and apparatus for processing data packets. This method involves providing a storage device on the network side to store the correspondence between identifiers and data flow characteristic information. When configuring a policy for a data packet containing a first identifier, the network-side device requests the storage device for the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier. A PCEF receives a data packet sent by a UE, matches the data packet with the data flow characteristic information, and, if a match is found, executes the policy on the data packet according to the policy information corresponding to the first identifier. The method provided by an embodiment of the present invention avoids the transmission of a large amount of data flow characteristic information on the SCEF interface, thereby reducing the load on the SCEF.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for processing a data packet. Background Art

[0002] The core network of the System Architecture Evolution (SAE) network mainly includes three logical functional bodies: Mobility Management Entity (MME), Serving Gateway (SGW) and Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (PGW).

[0003] The MME is responsible for Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling transmission, NAS signaling encryption, roaming, tracking, allocation of temporary user identities, and security. The SGW is responsible for local mobility anchors and mobility anchors within the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) system, as well as lawful interception-related information. The PGW is responsible for policy enforcement, billing, and lawful interception-related functions.

[0004] The SAE network can also include HSS, PCRF, etc. The Home Subscriber Server (HSS) is used to store user subscription information; the Policy and Charging Rule Function (PCRF) is a functional entity in the Policy and Charging Control (PCC) architecture, used to set policy and charging rules for service flows in the network, including Quality of Service (QoS) rules.

[0005] In addition, the PCC architecture may also include a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF), which is used to implement policy and charging enforcement functions. This functional entity is usually deployed in conjunction with the PGW. The PCC architecture may also include a Subscription Profile Repository (SPR), which is a database used to store parameters of user service data flows.

[0006] In order to open up relevant information of the 3GPP network to third-party application servers (3rd Application), an existing technology provides an enhanced network architecture. That is, a logical functional entity, the Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF), is introduced. This logical function has an interface with the network element equipment of the SAE network. The upper layer of the SCEF is the application layer, that is, the third-party application server (AS). The third-party application server can establish a connection with the SCEF, and the 3GPP network can send information to the third-party application server through the SCEF, and the third-party application server can also send information to the 3GPP network through the SCEF.

[0007] In this enhanced network architecture, data flow billing and other policy enforcement related information is transmitted at the user equipment (UE) granularity level between the AS, SCEF, and PCRF. This results in a large amount of billing and other policy-related information, placing a heavy burden on the SCEF interface. This is especially true if the UE's corresponding billing and other policy-related information changes frequently, requiring frequent transmission of these information across the interface. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The embodiments of the present invention provide a method and apparatus for processing data packets, which can avoid transmitting a huge amount of data flow characteristic information on the SCEF interface, thereby reducing the load of the SCEF.

[0009] In a first aspect, a method for processing a data packet is provided. From the perspective of a PCEF, the method includes:

[0010] The policy and charging enforcement function PCEF receives a fourth message sent by the policy and charging rules function PCRF, where the fourth message includes the first identifier and policy information corresponding to the first identifier;

[0011] The PCEF sends a fifth message to the storage device, where the fifth message includes the first identifier, wherein the storage device stores a correspondence between the identifier and the data flow characteristic information, and the fifth message is used to request the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier from the storage device;

[0012] The PCEF receives a sixth message sent by the storage device, where the sixth message includes data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier;

[0013] The PCEF receives a data packet sent by a user equipment UE, and matches the data flow characteristic information with information carried in the data packet;

[0014] When the information carried by the data packet matches the data flow characteristic information, the PCEF executes a policy on the data packet according to the policy information.

[0015] In a feasible implementation manner of the first aspect, the data stream characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier includes five-tuple information and / or a uniform resource locator (URL) corresponding to the first identifier, and the method may further include:

[0016] The PCEF determines whether the quintuple information and / or URL included in the data packet is the quintuple information and / or URL corresponding to the first identifier;

[0017] When the PCEF determines that the five-tuple information and / or URL included in the data packet is the five-tuple information and / or URL corresponding to the first identifier, the PCEF executes a policy on the data packet according to the policy information.

[0018] In another feasible implementation manner of the first aspect, the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier includes application detection information corresponding to the first identifier;

[0019] The PCEF receives a data packet sent by a user equipment UE, and matches the data flow characteristic information with information carried in the data packet, including:

[0020] The PCEF receives the data packet sent by the UE, and detects the data packet according to the application detection information corresponding to the first identifier to determine whether the data packet belongs to the application corresponding to the first identifier;

[0021] When the information carried by the data packet matches the data flow characteristic information, the PCEF executes a policy on the data packet according to the policy information, including:

[0022] When the PCEF determines that the data packet belongs to the application corresponding to the first identifier, the PCEF executes a policy on the data packet according to the policy information.

[0023] In the first aspect and corresponding implementations, the method may further include:

[0024] The PCEF determines that the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier is not stored locally.

[0025] A second aspect provides a method for processing a data packet, the method comprising:

[0026] The storage device receives a first message sent by the third-party application server AS through the service capability exposure function SCEF, where the first message includes information indicating a correspondence between the identifier and the data flow characteristic information;

[0027] The storage device receives a fifth message sent by a policy and charging enforcement function (PCEF), where the fifth message includes a first identifier, and the fifth message is used to request data flow feature information corresponding to the first identifier from the storage device;

[0028] The storage device determines, according to the first identifier and the corresponding relationship, data stream characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier;

[0029] The storage device sends a sixth message to the PCEF, where the sixth message includes data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0030] In a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the corresponding relationship may include a corresponding relationship between an identifier and application detection information.

[0031] In this implementation, the storage device determining, according to the first identifier and the corresponding relationship, the data stream characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier may include:

[0032] The storage device determines the application detection information corresponding to the first identifier based on the first identifier and the correspondence between the identifier and the application detection information, and uses the application detection information corresponding to the first identifier as the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier, wherein the application detection information corresponding to the first identifier is used to detect whether the corresponding data packet belongs to the application corresponding to the first identifier.

[0033] In another possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the corresponding relationship may include a corresponding relationship between an identifier and at least one of five-tuple information and a uniform resource locator (URL).

[0034] In this implementation, the storage device determining, according to the first identifier and the corresponding relationship, the data stream characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier may include:

[0035] The storage device determines the quintuple information and / or URL corresponding to the first identifier based on the first identifier and the correspondence between the identifier and at least one of the quintuple information and the URL, and uses the quintuple information and / or URL corresponding to the first identifier as the data stream characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0036] A third aspect provides a method for processing a data packet. From the perspective of an AS, the method includes:

[0037] The third-party application server AS sends a second message to the service capability exposure function SCEF, where the second message includes the first identifier and policy information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0038] In a possible implementation of the third aspect, the method may further include:

[0039] The AS sends a first message to the SCEF, where the first message includes a correspondence between an identifier and data flow characteristic information.

[0040] In this implementation, the second message also includes a first user equipment UE list, and the first UE list includes at least two UEs.

[0041] In another possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the correspondence may include a correspondence between an identifier and application detection information.

[0042] In this implementation, the corresponding relationship includes a corresponding relationship between at least one of an identifier and five-tuple information and a uniform resource locator (URL).

[0043] A fourth aspect provides a method for processing a data packet. From the perspective of the SCEF, the method includes:

[0044] The service capability exposure function SCEF receives a second message sent by the third-party application server AS, where the second message includes the first identifier and policy information corresponding to the first identifier;

[0045] The SCEF sends a third message to the Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), where the third message includes the first identifier and the policy information.

[0046] In a possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the second message may further include a first user equipment UE list, where the first UE list includes at least two UEs;

[0047] The third message also includes a second UE list, and the second UE list includes at least one UE.

[0048] In this implementation, the first UE list and the second UE list are exactly the same.

[0049] In a possible implementation of the fourth aspect, the method may further include:

[0050] The SCEF receives a first message sent by the AS, where the first message includes a correspondence between an identifier and data flow characteristic information;

[0051] The SCEF sends the first message to the storage device.

[0052] In a feasible solution of this implementation, the corresponding relationship includes a corresponding relationship between an identifier and application detection information.

[0053] In another feasible solution of this implementation, the corresponding relationship includes a corresponding relationship between at least one of an identifier and five-tuple information and a uniform resource locator (URL).

[0054] A fifth aspect provides a method for processing a data packet. From the perspective of the PCRF, the method includes:

[0055] The policy and charging rules function PCRF receives a third message sent by the service capability exposure function SCEF, where the third message includes the first identifier and policy information corresponding to the first identifier;

[0056] The PCRF sends a fourth message to a policy and charging enforcement function (PCEF), where the fourth message includes the first identifier and the policy information.

[0057] In a possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the third message may further include a user equipment UE list, and the PCRF sending a fourth message to the policy and charging enforcement function PCEF may include:

[0058] The PCRF sends the fourth message to the PCEF according to the UE list, instructing the PCEF to execute the policy according to the policy information on the UEs included in the UE list.

[0059] Based on the above technical solution, the method for processing data packets in an embodiment of the present invention sets a storage device on the network side to store the correspondence between the identifier and the data flow characteristic information. In the process of configuring a policy for a data packet containing a first identifier, the network side device requests the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier from the storage device, thereby avoiding the transmission of a huge amount of data flow characteristic information on the SCEF interface, thereby reducing the load on the SCEF.

[0060] A sixth aspect provides another method for processing a data packet. From the perspective of the SCEF, the method includes:

[0061] The service capability exposure function SCEF receives a first message sent by a third-party application server AS, where the first message includes data flow information, policy information corresponding to the data flow information, and a first user equipment UE list, where the first UE list includes at least two UEs;

[0062] The SCEF sends a second message to the policy and charging rules function PCRF, where the second message includes the data flow information, the policy information and a second UE list, where the second UE list includes at least one UE, so that the PCRF executes the policy corresponding to the policy information on the UE included in the second UE list according to the second UE list.

[0063] In a possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the first UE list and the second UE list may be exactly the same.

[0064] A seventh aspect provides another method for processing a data packet. From the perspective of an AS, the method includes:

[0065] The third-party application server AS sends a first message to the service capability exposure function SCEF, where the first message includes data flow information, policy information corresponding to the data flow information, and a first user equipment UE list, where the first UE list includes at least two UEs.

[0066] An eighth aspect provides another method for processing a data packet. From the PCRF perspective, the method includes:

[0067] The policy and charging rules function PCRF receives a second message sent by the service capability exposure function SCEF, the second message including the data flow information, the policy information corresponding to the data flow information, and the second UE list, where the second UE list includes at least one UE;

[0068] The PCRF executes the policy corresponding to the policy information on the UEs included in the second UE list according to the second UE list.

[0069] Based on the above technical solution, in another embodiment of the present invention, a method for processing data packets is provided in which the AS sends data flow information and corresponding policy information of multiple UEs to the network side device through the SCEF at one time during the data packet processing process, thereby avoiding the transmission of a large amount of data flow characteristic information on the SCEF interface multiple times, thereby reducing the load on the SCEF.

[0070] The present invention also provides a device for processing data packets to implement the above eight aspects, including a PCEF, a storage device, an AS, a SCEF and a PCRF, for implementing the above aspects and corresponding implementation methods.

[0071] A ninth aspect provides a storage device, including:

[0072] A receiving module, configured to receive a first message sent by a third-party application server AS through a service capability exposure function SCEF, where the first message includes information indicating a correspondence between an identifier and data flow characteristic information;

[0073] The receiving module is further configured to receive a fifth message sent by a policy and charging enforcement function (PCEF), wherein the fifth message includes a first identifier, and the fifth message is configured to request data flow feature information corresponding to the first identifier from the storage device;

[0074] a processing module, configured to determine data stream characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier based on the first identifier and the corresponding relationship;

[0075] The sending module is configured to send a sixth message to the PCEF, where the sixth message includes data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0076] In one possible design, the correspondence includes a correspondence between an identifier and application detection information.

[0077] In one possible design, the processing module is specifically used to: determine the application detection information corresponding to the first identifier based on the first identifier and the correspondence between the identifier and the application detection information, and use the application detection information corresponding to the first identifier as the data flow feature information corresponding to the first identifier, wherein the application detection information corresponding to the first identifier is used to detect whether the corresponding data packet belongs to the application corresponding to the first identifier.

[0078] In a possible design, the correspondence includes a correspondence between an identifier and five-tuple information and at least one of a uniform resource locator (URL).

[0079] In one possible design, the processing module is specifically used to: determine the quintuple information and / or URL corresponding to the first identifier based on the first identifier and the correspondence between the identifier and at least one of the quintuple information and the URL, and use the quintuple information and / or URL corresponding to the first identifier as the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0080] In one possible design, the first identifier includes an application name.

[0081] The tenth aspect provides a policy and charging execution function PCEF, including a receiving module, a sending module and a processing module, the receiving module is used to receive a fourth message sent by a policy and charging rules function PCRF, the fourth message including a first identifier and policy information corresponding to the first identifier; the sending module is used to send a fifth message to a storage device, the fifth message including the first identifier, wherein the storage device stores a correspondence between the identifier and the data flow characteristic information, and the fifth message is used to request the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier from the storage device; the receiving module is also used to receive a sixth message sent by the storage device, the sixth message including the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier; the receiving module is also used to receive a data packet sent by a user equipment UE; the processing module is used to match the data flow characteristic information according to the information carried by the data packet; the processing module is also used to execute a policy on the data packet according to the policy information when the information carried by the data packet received by the receiving module matches the data flow characteristic information.

[0082] In one possible design, the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier includes the five-tuple information and / or uniform resource locator URL corresponding to the first identifier, and the processing module is specifically used to: determine whether the five-tuple information and / or URL contained in the data packet is the five-tuple information and / or URL corresponding to the first identifier; when it is determined that the five-tuple information and / or URL contained in the data packet is the five-tuple information and / or URL corresponding to the first identifier, the PCEF executes the policy on the data packet according to the policy information.

[0083] In one possible design, the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier includes application detection information corresponding to the first identifier; the processing module is specifically used to: detect the data packet according to the application detection information corresponding to the first identifier, and determine whether the data packet belongs to the application corresponding to the first identifier; when it is determined that the data packet belongs to the application corresponding to the first identifier, the PCEF executes the policy on the data packet according to the policy information.

[0084] In one possible design, the policy information includes at least one of payer information, quality of service (QoS) information, and service chain information.

[0085] In one possible design, the first identifier includes an application name.

[0086] The eleventh aspect provides a service capability exposure function SCEF, including: a receiving module for receiving a second message sent by a third-party application server AS, the second message including a first identifier and policy information corresponding to the first identifier; a sending module for sending a third message to a policy and charging rules function PCRF, the third message including the first identifier and the policy information.

[0087] In one possible design, the second message also includes a first user equipment UE list, and the first UE list includes at least two UEs; the third message also includes a second UE list, and the second UE list includes at least one UE.

[0088] In one possible design, the first UE list and the second UE list are exactly the same.

[0089] In one possible design, the policy information includes at least one of payer information, quality of service (QoS) information, and service chain information.

[0090] In one possible design, the receiving module is further used to: receive a first message sent by the AS, the first message including a correspondence between an identifier and data flow characteristic information; the sending module is further used to: send the first message to the storage device.

[0091] In one possible design, the correspondence includes a correspondence between an identifier and application detection information.

[0092] In a possible design, the correspondence includes a correspondence between an identifier and five-tuple information and at least one of a uniform resource locator (URL).

[0093] The twelfth aspect provides a policy and charging rules function PCRF, including: a receiving module for receiving a third message sent by a service capability exposure function SCEF, the third message including a first identifier and policy information corresponding to the first identifier; a sending module for sending a fourth message to a policy and charging execution function PCEF, the fourth message including the first identifier and the policy information.

[0094] In one possible design, the third message also includes a user equipment UE list, and the sending module is specifically used to: send the fourth message to the PCEF according to the UE list, instructing the PCEF to execute the policy on the UE included in the UE list according to the policy information.

[0095] In one possible design, the policy information includes at least one of payer information, quality of service (QoS) information, and service chain information.

[0096] The thirteenth aspect provides a service capability exposure function SCEF, including: a receiving module for receiving a first message sent by a third-party application server AS, the first message including data flow information, policy information corresponding to the data flow information and a first user equipment UE list, the first UE list including at least two UEs; a sending module for sending a second message to a policy and charging rules function PCRF, the second message including the data flow information, the policy information and a second UE list, the second UE list including at least one UE, so that the PCRF executes the policy corresponding to the policy information on the UEs included in the second UE list according to the second UE list.

[0097] In one possible design, the first UE list and the second UE list are exactly the same.

[0098] In one possible design, the policy information includes at least one of payer information, quality of service (QoS) information, and service chain information.

[0099] The fourteenth aspect provides a third-party application server AS, including: a sending module for sending a first message to a service capability exposure function SCEF, wherein the first message includes data flow information, policy information corresponding to the data flow information, and a first user equipment UE list, wherein the first UE list includes at least two UEs.

[0100] In one possible design, the policy information includes at least one of payer information, quality of service (QoS) information, and service chain information.

[0101] The fifteenth aspect provides a policy and charging rules function PCRF, including: a receiving module for receiving a second message sent by a service capability exposure function SCEF, the second message including data flow information, policy information corresponding to the data flow information and a second UE list, the second UE list including at least one UE; a processing module for executing the policy corresponding to the policy information on the UE included in the second UE list according to the second UE list.

[0102] In one possible design, the policy information includes at least one of payer information, quality of service (QoS) information, and service chain information.

[0103] The present invention also provides a system comprising a third-party application server (AS), a service capability exposure function (SCEF), and a policy and charging rules function (PCRF) for implementing the first to fifth aspects. The system may also include a policy and charging enforcement function (PCEF). The PCEF, SCEF, PCRF, and AS respectively correspond to the devices described above for processing data packets to implement the eight aspects.

[0104] The present invention also provides a system comprising a third-party application server (AS), a service capability exposure function (SCEF), and a policy and charging rules function (PCRF) for implementing aspects 6 to 8. The system may also include a policy and charging enforcement function (PCEF). The PCEF, SCEF, PCRF, and AS respectively correspond to the devices described above for processing data packets to implement the eight aspects.

[0105] It should be understood that the policy information may include at least one of payer information, quality of service (QoS) information, and service chain information.

[0106] In addition, the first identifier may include an application name. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0107] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or descriptions of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0108] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the existing billing process.

[0109] Figure 2 It is a schematic flow chart of a method for processing data packets according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0110] Figure 3 is a schematic flow chart of a method for processing data packets according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0111] Figure 4 is a schematic flow chart of a method for processing data packets according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0112] Figure 5 is a schematic flow chart of a method for processing data packets according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0113] Figure 6 is a schematic flow chart of a method for processing data packets according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0114] Figure 7 is a schematic flow chart of a method for processing data packets according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0115] Figure 8 is a schematic flow chart of a method for processing data packets according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0116] Figure 9is a schematic flow chart of a method for processing data packets according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0117] Figure 10 is a schematic flow chart of a method for processing data packets according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0118] Figure 11 is a schematic flow chart of a method for processing data packets according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0119] Figure 12 FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a PCEF according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0120] Figure 13 FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a PCEF according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0121] Figure 14 is a schematic block diagram of a storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0122] Figure 15 is a schematic block diagram of a storage device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0123] Figure 16 FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of an AS according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0124] Figure 17 FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of an AS according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0125] Figure 18 FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a SCEF according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0126] Figure 19 FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a SCEF according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0127] Figure 20 FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a PCRF according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0128] Figure 21 FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a PCRF according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0129] Figure 22 FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a SCEF according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0130] Figure 23 FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a SCEF according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0131] Figure 24 FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of an AS according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0132] Figure 25 FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of an AS according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0133] Figure 26 FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a PCRF according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0134] Figure 27 FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a PCRF according to another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0135] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. All other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field based on the embodiments of the present invention without making any creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0136] As used in this specification, the terms "component," "module," "system," and the like are used to represent computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component can be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, an execution thread, a program, and / or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and a computing device can be a component. One or more components can reside in a process and / or an execution thread, and a component can be located on a computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can be executed from various computer-readable media having various data structures stored thereon. Components can communicate, for example, via local and / or remote processes based on signals having one or more data packets (e.g., data from two components interacting with another component on a local system, a distributed system, and / or a network, such as the Internet interacting with other systems via signals).

[0137] It should be understood that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention can be applied to the Long Term Evolution (LTE) architecture, the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) architecture, or the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) / Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution (EDGE) system radio access network (GERAN) architecture. In the UTRAN architecture or the GERAN architecture, the functions of the MME are performed by the Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN), and the functions of the SGW / PGW are performed by the Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN). The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention can also be applied to other communication systems, even future 5G communication systems, and the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

[0138] The embodiments of the present invention are used to execute various policies, such as charging policy, Quality of Service (QoS) policy, and service chain policy, etc. The following briefly introduces the charging process in an existing enhanced network architecture, namely, a network architecture including SCEF.

[0139] like Figure 1 As shown, the network architecture includes AS 11, SCEF 12, PCRF 13 and PCEF 14. The charging process 100 includes:

[0140] S101: After AS11 establishes a connection with a UE, AS11 sends a Set Billing Sponsor Request message to SCEF12, requesting to become the billing party for the data flow. The Set Billing Sponsor Request message includes sponsor information and a five-tuple of IP filter information. IP filter information is a type of data flow information, specifically, information about the data flow billed by AS11.

[0141] S102, SCEF12 authorizes AS11 to charge for the data flow.

[0142] S103, SCEF12 determines the PCRF13 corresponding to the UE, and SCEF12 sends a payment request message to PCRF13, where the message includes IP Filter Information and Sponsor Information.

[0143] S104, PCRF 13 sends a response message to SCEF 12;

[0144] S105, PCRF 13 activates the PCC rule on PCEF 14 according to protocol 23.203, and performs charging of the UE on the data packet containing the IP filter information;

[0145] S106, S107, and S108 are subsequent routine steps for billing. S106 includes PCRF13 reporting a status message to SCEF12, S107 includes SCEF12 feeding back an acknowledgment (ACK) message to PCRF13, and S108 includes SCEF12 feeding back a response message to AS11, which will not be repeated here.

[0146] The above process is based on UE granularity. IP Filter Information typically contains a large amount of information, which can result in a heavy load on the SCEF interface. In particular, if the UE's IP Filter Information changes frequently and requires frequent updates, IP Filter Information must be frequently transmitted across the interface, further increasing the load on the SCEF interface.

[0147] In addition, the above process uses IP Filter Information as an example to illustrate the billing process. In actual applications, there may also be scenarios where the AS performs billing for certain applications. The AS requests the PCRF and PCEF through the SCEF to become the payer of a certain application. At this time, the AS sends relevant information about the application, such as the application name, etc. The corresponding functional module detects the data packet and determines the application to which the data packet belongs. When the data packet belongs to the corresponding application, the corresponding billing processing is performed on the data packet. The specific execution method is not limited here. On this basis, the amount of application detection information required for detecting the application is relatively large. The existing technology generally stores it in the PCEF or the data packet detection function (Traffic Detection Function, TDF). The application detection information includes information such as detection algorithms and application characteristics. When it needs to be updated frequently, it will also cause a large load on the SCEF interface.

[0148] In addition to billing, when executing other policies, there is also the problem of large amount of information transmitted, which puts a heavy load on the SCEF interface.

[0149] Figure 2 A method 200 for processing data packets according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Compared to the prior art, method 200 includes a storage device. This storage device is provided on the network side and can be integrated with the PCRF, PCEF, TDF, MME, SGW, or PGW, or can be provided separately. This is not limited in the embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the name of the storage device is not limited and can be other names. Method 200 includes:

[0150] S201, AS21 sends a first message to SCEF22, where the first message includes an identifier and corresponding data flow characteristic information, that is, the first message includes information indicating a correspondence between the identifier and the data flow characteristic information.

[0151] The identifier may include an application name or a character string.

[0152] Data flow characteristic information can be used to characterize the characteristics of a data flow. For example, data flow characteristic information can be application detection information. Application detection information is used to detect applications and may include application characteristic information or application detection algorithms. Based on the application detection information, the application to which the data packet belongs can be determined.

[0153] The data stream characteristic information may also be at least one of quintuple information and a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) (ie, it may be quintuple information, or URL, or quintuple information and URL).

[0154] The SCEF 22 forwards the first message to the storage device 25 so that the storage device 25 stores the correspondence between the identifier and the data flow characteristic information.

[0155] It should be understood that the first message in S201 may only include the identifier and its corresponding application detection information (that is, the first message may only include information on the correspondence between the identifier and the application detection information), or may only include the identifier and its corresponding five-tuple information and at least one of the URLs (that is, the first message may also only include information on the correspondence between the identifier and the five-tuple information and at least one of the URLs), or may also include the above two correspondences at the same time, and the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to this.

[0156] Correspondingly, the storage device receives the first message sent by the AS through the SCEF. According to the first message, the storage device 25 stores the corresponding relationship between the identifier and the data flow characteristic information.

[0157] In this way, the data flow characteristic information that is transmitted multiple times and consumes a large amount of network traffic in the prior art is stored on the storage device 25 on the network side, reducing the pressure on the SCEF interface in the subsequent process.

[0158] The storage device 25 stores the identifier in the first message and its corresponding data stream characteristic information (ie, the storage device 25 stores the correspondence between the identifier and the data stream characteristic information). In a specific example, it can be as shown in Table 1.

[0159] Table 1

[0160]

[0161] S202: AS 21 sends a second message to SCEF 22. The second message includes the first identifier and policy information corresponding to the first identifier. The second message is used to request the network side to execute the corresponding policy. Correspondingly, the SCEF receives the second message sent by the AS.

[0162] For example, if the policy information is for executing a billing process, the second message can be used to request setting a payer. The second message can include payer information and a first identifier for billing request. The first identifier can include an application name. The second message is an application programming interface (API) request message.

[0163] It should be understood that the second message may further include a UE identifier or a first UE list to identify the UEs to be charged. When the second message includes the first UE list, the first UE list includes at least two UEs.

[0164] In step S203, SCEF 22 may authorize the network to execute the corresponding policy in response to the second message. For example, if the policy information is for executing a billing process, SCEF 22 may authorize AS 21 to bill for the data flow. It should be understood that in this embodiment of the present invention, step S203 is optional and may be omitted in a specific implementation.

[0165] At step S204, SCEF 22 sends a third message to PCRF 23. The third message includes the first identifier and the policy information corresponding to the first identifier. Accordingly, the PCRF receives the third message sent by the SCEF. Similar to the second message, the third message is used to request the network to execute the corresponding policy. The second and third messages are messages transmitted between different devices on the network.

[0166] For example, if the policy information is for executing a billing process, the third message can be used to request setting a payer. The third message includes the payer information in the second message and the first identifier for the billing request. If the second message also includes a UE identifier, the third message may also include the UE identifier; if the second message also includes a first UE list, the third message may also include a second UE list.

[0167] It should be understood that the above process (S202 to S204) can occur during the process of the first UE attaching to the network. At the same time, AS21 also notifies PCRF23 of the policy information of other UEs (UEs in the UE list) through SCEF22, so that PCRF23 can perform policy operations on the data flows corresponding to the identifiers of the UEs in the UE list. At this time, SCEF22 notifies all PCRF23 of the UE list, that is, the first UE list and the second UE list can be exactly the same.

[0168] It should be understood that the above process (S202 to S204) may also occur after the UE is attached. When the data flow feature information or policy information needs to be modified, the SCEF 22 determines the PCRF 23 where the UE in the UE list is located, and then sends different third messages to different PCRFs 23 where different UEs are located. In this case, the UEs included in the second UE list in the third message are attached to the PCRF 24, and all the UEs included in the second UE list are included in the first UE list. The first UE list also includes UEs attached to PCRFs other than PCRF 24.

[0169] S205 , PCRF 23 sends a response message of the third message to SCEF 22 .

[0170] S206: For the UE identifier or the UE corresponding to the second UE list, PCRF 23 sends a fourth message to PCEF 24, the fourth message including the first identifier and the policy information. This allows PCEF 24 to execute the policy corresponding to the first identifier. For example, if the policy information is for executing a billing process, the fourth message includes the payer information and the first identifier for billing by the payer. Specifically, the payer information and the first identifier for billing by the payer can be included in a PCC rule. When PCEF 24 installs and activates the PCC rule, billing by the payer identified in the payer information is executed for the data flow identified by the first identifier for billing by the payer.

[0171] It should be understood that the sending of the fourth message by PCRF to PCEF may occur in the process of issuing PCC rules, that is, PCRF simultaneously issues the first identifier and the policy information corresponding to the first identifier in the process of issuing PCC rules; the sending of the fourth message by PCRF to PCEF may also occur in the process of PCEF requesting rules from PCRF based on the user identifier. Method 200 is only a possible implementation method, and the embodiment of the present invention does not limit the timing of sending the fourth message.

[0172] S207: PCEF 24 sends a fifth message to storage device 25 based on the first identifier and policy information in the fourth message received in S206, to request data flow feature information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0173] Taking the policy information for executing the charging process as an example, the fourth message includes the payer information and the first identifier of the payer for charging. PCEF 24 sends a fifth message to storage device 25 to request data flow feature information corresponding to the first identifier of the payer for charging.

[0174] It should be understood that in this embodiment of the present invention, PCEF 24 may locally store the correspondence between the partial identifier and the data flow characteristic information. This correspondence may be retrieved and stored by PCEF 24 from a storage device during system startup. Alternatively, upon receiving a fourth message from PCRF 23 containing the first identifier and policy information, PCEF 24 requests the storage device 25 via a fifth message, and stores the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier received via a sixth message. This embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0175] Before PCEF 24 sends the fifth message to storage device 25, PCEF 24 must confirm that the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier is not locally stored. Specifically, in the billing process, if PCEF 24 finds that the payer information and the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier billed by the payer are already stored locally, S207 is omitted. In this case, the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier billed by the payer is marked as "in use" to ensure that the data flow characteristic information is not deleted when the UE that previously used this data flow characteristic information deactivates the PCC rule. The specific name of the identifier is not limited and can be, for example, "activated" or "in use."

[0176] When PCEF24 receives a data packet from the UE, it determines, based on the PCC rules for the UE received from PCEF23, that the data packet identified by the UE's first identifier (i.e., the data packet contains the first identifier) to be billed by the payer, rather than the UE. PCEF23 then first determines whether the data flow is a data packet identified by the first identifier. If the PCEF has data flow characteristic information corresponding to the data packet identified by the first identifier, it then determines whether the data packet is a data packet identified by the first identifier based on the data flow characteristic information. If PCEF24 does not have data flow characteristic information corresponding to the data packet identified by the first identifier, PCEF24 requests the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier from storage device 25. It then detects, based on the data flow characteristic information, whether the data packet belongs to the data flow identified by the first identifier. If so, the data packet is billed by the payer indicated by the payer information.

[0177] Specifically, PCEF 24 may detect whether the data packet includes the five-tuple information and / or URL information corresponding to the first identifier. If so, PCEF 24 may determine that the detected data packet should be paid for by the payee corresponding to the payee information in the fourth message. Alternatively, PCEF 24 may detect the data packet based on the application detection information and detect whether the data packet is the data packet identified by the first identifier based on the application detection information. If so, PCEF 24 may determine that the detected data packet should be paid for by the payee corresponding to the payee information in the fourth message.

[0178] When the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier is not stored in PCEF 24 , PCEF 24 sends a fifth message to the storage device 25 to request the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0179] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present invention, the entity executing the steps of PCEF 24 may also be a TDF. The PCEF or TDF is typically located within the PGW, so solutions where the PGW is the executing entity are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. Furthermore, the PCEF in the embodiments of the present invention may be co-located with the TDF. In scenarios where the PCEF and TDF are separately located, the TDF, like the PCEF, needs to perform corresponding steps.

[0180] At step S208, PCEF 24 receives the sixth message sent by storage device 25. The sixth message includes the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier. Using the billing process as an example, the sixth message includes the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier, which is billed by the payer. PCEF 24 stores the received data flow characteristic information. PCEF 24 then performs billing for the data packets corresponding to the data flow characteristic information, using the payer information corresponding to the payer information.

[0181] In summary, when the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier includes the five-tuple information and / or uniform resource locator (URL) corresponding to the first identifier, the PCEF determines whether the five-tuple information and / or URL contained in the data packet is the five-tuple information and / or URL corresponding to the first identifier; when the PCEF determines that the five-tuple information and / or URL contained in the data packet is the five-tuple information and / or URL corresponding to the first identifier, the PCEF executes the policy on the data packet according to the policy information. When the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier includes the application detection information corresponding to the first identifier, the PCEF detects the data packet based on the application detection information corresponding to the first identifier to determine whether the data packet belongs to the application corresponding to the first identifier; when the PCEF determines that the data packet belongs to the application corresponding to the first identifier, the PCEF executes the policy on the data packet according to the policy information.

[0182] In short, the PCEF receives a data packet sent by the user equipment UE and matches the information carried in the data packet with the data flow characteristic information; when the information carried in the data packet matches the data flow characteristic information, the PCEF executes the policy on the data packet according to the policy information.

[0183] S209, PCRF 23 sends a Status message to SCEF 22.

[0184] S210 , SCEF 22 sends an ACK message to PCRF 23 .

[0185] S211 , SCEF 22 sends an API response message to AS 21 .

[0186] The method for processing data packets in an embodiment of the present invention sets a storage device on the network side to store the correspondence between the identifier and the data flow characteristic information. In the process of configuring the policy for the data packet containing the first identifier, the network side device requests the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier from the storage device. The PCEF receives the data packet sent by the UE, matches the data packet with the data flow characteristic information, and executes the policy on the data packet according to the policy information corresponding to the first identifier when a match is found, thereby avoiding the transmission of a huge amount of data flow characteristic information on the SCEF interface, thereby reducing the load on the SCEF.

[0187] The above describes in detail the method for processing data packets according to an embodiment of the present invention from the perspective of the entire process. The following describes the method for processing data packets according to an embodiment of the present invention from the perspective of each subject executing the method.

[0188] Figure 3 FIG3 is a schematic flow chart of a method 300 for processing a data packet according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method 300 is executed by a PCEF and includes:

[0189] S310, the PCEF receives a fourth message sent by the PCRF, where the fourth message includes a first identifier and policy information corresponding to the first identifier;

[0190] S320: The PCEF sends a fifth message to the storage device, where the fifth message includes the first identifier. The storage device stores a correspondence between identifiers and data flow characteristic information. The fifth message is used to request the storage device for the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0191] S330: The PCEF receives a sixth message sent by the storage device, where the sixth message includes data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier;

[0192] S340: The PCEF receives a data packet sent by the user equipment UE, and matches the data flow characteristic information with information carried in the data packet.

[0193] S350: When the information carried by the data packet matches the data flow characteristic information, the PCEF executes a policy on the data packet according to the policy information.

[0194] Optionally, as an embodiment, the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier includes the five-tuple information and / or uniform resource locator URL corresponding to the first identifier, and the method 300 may also include: the PCEF determines whether the five-tuple information and / or URL contained in the data packet is the five-tuple information and / or URL corresponding to the first identifier; when the PCEF determines that the five-tuple information and / or URL contained in the data packet is the five-tuple information and / or URL corresponding to the first identifier, the PCEF executes the policy on the data packet according to the policy information.

[0195] Optionally, as another embodiment, the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier includes application detection information corresponding to the first identifier; S340 PCEF receives a data packet sent by a user equipment UE, and matches the data flow characteristic information according to information carried by the data packet, including: the PCEF receives the data packet sent by the UE, detects the data packet according to the application detection information corresponding to the first identifier, and determines whether the data packet belongs to the application corresponding to the first identifier; S350 when the information carried by the data packet matches the data flow characteristic information, the PCEF executes a policy on the data packet according to the policy information, including: when the PCEF determines that the data packet belongs to the application corresponding to the first identifier, the PCEF executes a policy on the data packet according to the policy information.

[0196] In the embodiment of the present invention, optionally, before the PCEF sends the fifth message to the storage device at S320, the method 300 may further include: the PCEF determining that the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier is not stored locally.

[0197] In the embodiment of the present invention, preferably, the first identifier includes an application name.

[0198] The method for processing data packets in an embodiment of the present invention sets a storage device on the network side to store the correspondence between the identifier and the data flow characteristic information. In the process of executing the policy on the data packet containing the first identifier, the PCEF requests the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier from the storage device. The PCEF receives the data packet sent by the UE, matches the data packet with the data flow characteristic information, and executes the policy on the data packet according to the policy information corresponding to the first identifier when a match is found, thereby avoiding the transmission of a huge amount of data flow characteristic information at the SCEF interface, thereby reducing the load on the SCEF.

[0199] Figure 4 FIG4 is a schematic flow chart of a method 400 for processing a data packet according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method 400 is executed by a storage device and includes:

[0200] S410, the storage device receives a first message sent by a third-party application server AS through a service capability exposure function SCEF, where the first message includes information indicating a correspondence between an identifier and data flow characteristic information;

[0201] S420, the storage device receives a fifth message sent by the Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF), the fifth message including the first identifier, and the fifth message is used to request data flow feature information corresponding to the first identifier from the storage device;

[0202] S430, the storage device determines data stream characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier based on the first identifier and the corresponding relationship;

[0203] S440: The storage device sends a sixth message to the PCEF, where the sixth message includes data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0204] Optionally, as an embodiment, the correspondence may include a correspondence between an identifier and application detection information.

[0205] In an embodiment of the present invention, the S430 storage device determines the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier based on the first identifier and the corresponding relationship, which may include: the storage device determines the application detection information corresponding to the first identifier based on the first identifier and the corresponding relationship between the identifier and the application detection information, and uses the application detection information corresponding to the first identifier as the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier, wherein the application detection information corresponding to the first identifier is used to detect whether the corresponding data packet belongs to the application corresponding to the first identifier.

[0206] Optionally, as an embodiment, the corresponding relationship may include a corresponding relationship between an identifier and five-tuple information and at least one of a uniform resource locator (URL).

[0207] In an embodiment of the present invention, the S430 storage device determines the data stream characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier based on the first identifier and the corresponding relationship, including: the storage device determines the quintuple information and / or URL corresponding to the first identifier based on the first identifier and the corresponding relationship between the identifier and at least one of the quintuple information and the URL, and uses the quintuple information and / or URL corresponding to the first identifier as the data stream characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0208] In the embodiment of the present invention, preferably, the first identifier includes an application name.

[0209] The method for processing data packets in an embodiment of the present invention sets a storage device on the network side to store the correspondence between the identifier and the data flow characteristic information. During the process of configuring a policy for a data packet containing a first identifier, the network side device requests the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier from the storage device, thereby avoiding the transmission of a huge amount of data flow characteristic information on the SCEF interface, thereby reducing the load on the SCEF.

[0210] Figure 5 FIG. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a method 500 for processing a data packet according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method 500 is executed by an AS and includes:

[0211] S510, the AS sends a second message to the service capability exposure function SCEF, where the second message includes a first identifier and policy information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0212] Optionally, as an embodiment, the method 500 may further include: the AS sends a first message to the SCEF, where the first message includes a correspondence between the identifier and the data flow characteristic information.

[0213] Optionally, as an embodiment, the second message may further include a first user equipment UE list, where the first UE list includes at least two UEs.

[0214] Optionally, as an embodiment, the correspondence may include a correspondence between an identifier and application detection information.

[0215] Optionally, as another embodiment, the corresponding relationship may include a corresponding relationship between an identifier and at least one of five-tuple information and a uniform resource locator (URL).

[0216] Figure 6 FIG6 is a schematic flow chart of a method 600 for processing a data packet according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method 600 is executed by the SCEF and includes:

[0217] S610, the SCEF receives a second message sent by a third-party application server AS, where the second message includes a first identifier and policy information corresponding to the first identifier;

[0218] S620: The SCEF sends a third message to the Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), where the third message includes the first identifier and the policy information.

[0219] Optionally, as an embodiment, the second message may further include a first user equipment UE list, where the first UE list includes at least two UEs; the third message may further include a second UE list, where the second UE list includes at least one UE.

[0220] In this embodiment of the present invention, the first UE list and the second UE list may be completely identical.

[0221] In the embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the policy information may include at least one of payer information, quality of service (QoS) information, and service chain information.

[0222] Optionally, as an embodiment, the method 600 may further include: the SCEF receives a first message sent by the AS, the first message including a correspondence between an identifier and data flow characteristic information; and the SCEF sends the first message to the storage device.

[0223] In the embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the correspondence may include a correspondence between an identifier and application detection information.

[0224] In the embodiment of the present invention, optionally, the corresponding relationship may include a corresponding relationship between at least one of an identifier and five-tuple information and a uniform resource locator (URL).

[0225] Figure 7 FIG2 is a schematic flow chart of a method 700 for processing a data packet according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method 700 is executed by a PCRF and includes:

[0226] S710, the PCRF receives a third message sent by the SCEF, where the third message includes a first identifier and policy information corresponding to the first identifier;

[0227] S720: The PCRF sends a fourth message to the Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF), where the fourth message includes the first identifier and the policy information.

[0228] Optionally, as an embodiment, the third message may also include a user equipment UE list, and S720 PCRF sends a fourth message to the policy and charging execution function PCEF, which may include: the PCRF sends the fourth message to the PCEF based on the UE list, instructing the UE included in the UE list to execute the policy according to the policy information.

[0229] Figure 8 A method 800 for processing a data packet according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The method 800 includes:

[0230] S801, AS81 sends a first message to SCEF82, the first message including data flow information, policy information corresponding to the data flow information, and a first user equipment UE list, the first UE list including at least two UEs. The first message is used to request policy execution.

[0231] Taking the billing process as an example, the first message is used to request the setting of a payer. The first message includes payer information, a five-tuple and / or URL, and a first user equipment (UE) list, which includes at least two UEs. Specifically, a method other than a UE list can also be used to indicate that the policy information applies to all UEs, such as "ALL users." The specific name is not limited.

[0232] The method 800 of the embodiment of the present invention adds first UE list information to the prior art. The first UE list is used to indicate which user equipments are to be paid for by the payer for the data flow of the five-tuple information and / or URL.

[0233] At step S802, SCEF 82 may authorize the network to execute the corresponding policy in response to the first message request. For example, if the policy information is for executing a billing process, SCEF 82 may authorize AS 81 to perform billing for the data flow. It should be understood that in this embodiment of the present invention, step S802 is optional and may be omitted in a specific implementation.

[0234] S803, SCEF82 sends a second message to PCRF83, which includes the data flow information, the policy information corresponding to the data flow information and the second UE list, and the second UE list includes at least one UE. Similarly, a non-UE list method can also be used to indicate that the policy information applies to all UEs, such as ALL users. The specific name is not limited. This is to facilitate PCRF and PCEF to execute policies on the UEs included in the second UE list according to the second UE list. The second message is an API request information to set the billing party (sponsor information, IP filter information, UE list). The second message is used to request the setting of the payer. The second message includes payer information, five-tuple information and / or URL, and the second UE list. The second UE list includes at least one UE, so that PCRF can perform policy and charging control PCC on the UEs included in the second UE list according to the second UE list.

[0235] It should be understood that the above process can occur when the first UE attaches to the network. AS81 also notifies PCRF83 of the information of other UEs (UE list) through SCEF82, so that PCRF83 can perform charging operations on the data flow identified by the data flow identifier for each UE in the UE list. In this case, SCEF82 notifies all PCRFs83 of the UE list, that is, the first UE list and the second UE list can be exactly the same.

[0236] It should be understood that the above process may also occur after the UE is attached. When the data flow feature information or policy information needs to be modified, the SCEF determines the PCRF where the UE in the UE list is located, and then sends different second messages to different PCRFs where different UEs are located. In this case, the UEs included in the second UE list in the second message are attached to the PCRF 83, and all the UEs included in the second UE list are included in the first UE list. The first UE list also includes UEs attached to PCRFs other than PCRF 83.

[0237] S804, PCRF83 sends a response message to SCEF82.

[0238] S805, PCRF83 performs PCC on the UEs included in the second UE list according to the second UE list.

[0239] S806, PCRF 83 sends a Status message to SCEF 82.

[0240] S807, SCEF82 sends an ACK message to PCRF83.

[0241] S808 , SCEF 82 sends an API response message to AS 81 .

[0242] In the method for processing data packets in an embodiment of the present invention, during the data packet processing process, the AS sends the data flow information and corresponding policy information of multiple UEs to the network side device through the SCEF at one time, thereby avoiding the multiple transmission of data flow characteristic information with a huge amount of information on the SCEF interface, thereby reducing the load on the SCEF.

[0243] The above describes in detail the method for processing data packets according to another embodiment of the present invention from the perspective of the entire process. The following describes the method for processing data packets according to an embodiment of the present invention from the perspective of each subject executing the method.

[0244] Figure 9 FIG. 9 is a schematic flow chart of a method 900 for processing a data packet according to another embodiment of the present invention. The method 900 is executed by the SCEF and includes:

[0245] S910, the SCEF receives a first message sent by the AS, where the first message includes data flow information, policy information corresponding to the data flow information, and a first user equipment (UE) list, where the first UE list includes at least two UEs;

[0246] S920, SCEF sends a second message to the policy and charging rules function PCRF, which includes the data flow information, the policy information and a second UE list, and the second UE list includes at least one UE, so that the PCRF executes the policy corresponding to the policy information for the UE included in the second UE list according to the second UE list.

[0247] Optionally, as an embodiment, the first UE list and the second UE list may be exactly the same.

[0248] In the method for processing data packets in an embodiment of the present invention, during the data packet processing process, the AS sends the data flow information and corresponding policy information of multiple UEs to the network side device through the SCEF at one time, thereby avoiding the multiple transmission of data flow characteristic information with a huge amount of information on the SCEF interface, thereby reducing the load on the SCEF.

[0249] Figure 10 FIG1 is a schematic flow chart of a method 1000 for processing a data packet according to another embodiment of the present invention. The method 1000 is executed by an AS and includes:

[0250] S1010, the AS sends a first message to the service capability exposure function SCEF, where the first message includes data flow information, policy information corresponding to the data flow information, and a first user equipment UE list, where the first UE list includes at least two UEs.

[0251] In the method for processing data packets in an embodiment of the present invention, during the data packet processing process, the AS sends the data flow information and corresponding policy information of multiple UEs to the network side device through the SCEF at one time, thereby avoiding the multiple transmission of data flow characteristic information with a huge amount of information on the SCEF interface, thereby reducing the load on the SCEF.

[0252] Figure 11 FIG1 is a schematic flow chart of a method 1100 for processing a data packet according to another embodiment of the present invention. The method 1100 is executed by a PCRF and includes:

[0253] S1110, the PCRF receives a second message sent by a service capability exposure function (SCEF), the second message including the data flow information, policy information corresponding to the data flow information, and a second UE list, where the second UE list includes at least one UE;

[0254] S1120: The PCRF executes the policy corresponding to the policy information on the UEs included in the second UE list according to the second UE list.

[0255] In the method for processing data packets in an embodiment of the present invention, during the data packet processing process, the AS sends the data flow information and corresponding policy information of multiple UEs to the network side device through the SCEF at one time, thereby avoiding the multiple transmission of data flow characteristic information with a huge amount of information on the SCEF interface, thereby reducing the load on the SCEF.

[0256] It should be understood that although the various embodiments of the present invention are described using the billing process as an example, the solutions of the present invention can be used to implement various policies, for example, Quality of Service (QoS) policies and service chain policies, etc.

[0257] Among them, QoS policy refers to the service quality control policy adopted for different UEs or different data. Service chain policy refers to the sequence of service function processing functions that a data flow must pass through, which is formulated for a data flow. The service functions that a certain data flow needs to pass through and the order of the service functions that need to be passed through are defined as service chains, for example: (anti-virus, firewall, NAT address translation), (application cache and acceleration, firewall, NAT address translation) and (firewall, NAT address translation, anti-virus) belong to different service chains respectively, so that according to the service chain, the data flow can be sent to the corresponding service function processing device that the data flow needs to pass through. Among them, the specific content of QoS information and service chain information can refer to existing standards and technologies, and the embodiments of the present invention do not limit this and will not be repeated.

[0258] In various embodiments of the present invention, when executing one or more policies, the policy information may include at least one of payer information, QoS information, and service chain information.

[0259] It should be understood that in various embodiments of the present invention, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0260] The above describes in detail the method for processing a data packet according to an embodiment of the present invention. The following describes the apparatus for processing a data packet according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0261] Figure 12 1 is a schematic block diagram of a PCEF 1200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The PCEF 1200 includes a receiving module 1210, a sending module 1220, and a processing module 1230.

[0262] The receiving module 1210 is configured to receive a fourth message sent by a policy and charging rules function (PCRF), where the fourth message includes a first identifier and policy information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0263] The sending module 1220 is configured to send a fifth message to a storage device, where the fifth message includes the first identifier, wherein the storage device stores a correspondence between the identifier and the data flow characteristic information, and the fifth message is used to request the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier from the storage device;

[0264] The receiving module 1210 is further configured to receive a sixth message sent by the storage device, where the sixth message includes data stream feature information corresponding to the first identifier;

[0265] The receiving module 1210 is further configured to receive a data packet sent by a user equipment UE;

[0266] The processing module 1230 is used to match the data flow characteristic information with the information carried by the data packet;

[0267] The processing module 1230 is further configured to execute a policy on the data packet according to the policy information when the information carried by the data packet received by the receiving module matches the data flow characteristic information.

[0268] Optionally, as an embodiment, the data stream characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier may include quintuple information and / or a uniform resource locator (URL) corresponding to the first identifier, and the processing module 1230 is specifically configured to:

[0269] Determining whether the quintuple information and / or URL included in the data packet is the quintuple information and / or URL corresponding to the first identifier;

[0270] When it is determined that the five-tuple information and / or URL included in the data packet is the five-tuple information and / or URL corresponding to the first identifier, the PCEF executes a policy on the data packet according to the policy information.

[0271] Optionally, as an embodiment, the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier may include application detection information corresponding to the first identifier; the processing module 1230 is specifically configured to:

[0272] Detecting a data packet according to the application detection information corresponding to the first identifier to determine whether the data packet belongs to the application corresponding to the first identifier;

[0273] When it is determined that the data packet belongs to the application corresponding to the first identifier, the PCEF executes a policy on the data packet according to the policy information.

[0274] Optionally, as an embodiment, the PCEF 1200 may further include a processing module configured to:

[0275] Before the sending module sends the fifth message to the storage device, it is determined that no data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier is stored locally.

[0276] In this embodiment of the present invention, the first identifier may include an application name.

[0277] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present invention, the receiving module 1210 can be implemented by a receiver, and the sending module 1220 can be implemented by a transmitter. Figure 13 As shown, PCEF 1300 may include a processor 1310, a receiver 1320, a transmitter 1330, and a memory 1340. The memory 1340 may be used to store codes executed by the processor 1310, etc.

[0278] The various components in the PCEF 1300 are coupled together via a bus system 1350 , wherein the bus system 1350 includes, in addition to a data bus, a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus.

[0279] Figure 12 The PCEF 1200 shown or Figure 13 The PCEF 1300 shown can implement the aforementioned Figures 2 to 7 To avoid repetition, the various processes implemented in the embodiments are not described here.

[0280] It should be noted that the above-described method embodiments of the present invention can be applied to or implemented by a processor. The processor may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above-described method embodiments can be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits in the processor or by software instructions. The above-described processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. The methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present invention can be directly implemented and executed by a hardware decoding processor, or by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules can be located in a storage medium well-known in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, or registers. The storage medium is located in a memory, and the processor reads information from the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above-described method.

[0281] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present invention may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus random access memory (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0282] Figure 14 FIG1 is a schematic block diagram of a storage device 1400 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The storage device 1400 includes:

[0283] A receiving module 1410 is configured to receive a first message sent by a third-party application server AS through a service capability exposure function SCEF, where the first message includes information indicating a correspondence between an identifier and data flow characteristic information;

[0284] The receiving module 1410 is further configured to receive a fifth message sent by a policy and charging enforcement function (PCEF), wherein the fifth message includes a first identifier, and the fifth message is configured to request data flow feature information corresponding to the first identifier from the storage device;

[0285] The processing module 1420 is configured to determine data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier according to the first identifier and the corresponding relationship;

[0286] The sending module 1430 is configured to send a sixth message to the PCEF, where the sixth message includes data flow feature information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0287] Optionally, as an embodiment, the correspondence may include a correspondence between an identifier and application detection information.

[0288] Optionally, as an embodiment, the processing module 1420 may be specifically configured to:

[0289] Based on the first identifier and the correspondence between the identifier and the application detection information, determine the application detection information corresponding to the first identifier, and use the application detection information corresponding to the first identifier as the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier, wherein the application detection information corresponding to the first identifier is used to detect whether the corresponding data packet belongs to the application corresponding to the first identifier.

[0290] Optionally, as an embodiment, the corresponding relationship may include a corresponding relationship between an identifier and five-tuple information and at least one of a uniform resource locator (URL).

[0291] Optionally, as an embodiment, the processing module 1420 may be specifically configured to:

[0292] According to the correspondence between the first identifier and at least one of the identifier, quintuple information and URL, determine the quintuple information and / or URL corresponding to the first identifier, and use the quintuple information and / or URL corresponding to the first identifier as the data flow characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0293] In this embodiment of the present invention, the first identifier may include an application name.

[0294] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present invention, the receiving module 1410 can be implemented by a receiver, the sending module 1430 can be implemented by a transmitter, and the processing module 1420 can be implemented by a processor. Figure 15 As shown, the storage device 1500 may include a processor 1510, a receiver 1520, a transmitter 1530, and a memory 1540. The memory 1540 may be used to store codes executed by the processor 1510, etc.

[0295] The various components in the storage device 1500 are coupled together via a bus system 1550 , wherein the bus system 1550 includes, in addition to a data bus, a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus.

[0296] Figure 14 The storage device 1400 or Figure 15 The storage device 1500 shown can realize the aforementioned Figures 2 to 7To avoid repetition, the various processes implemented in the embodiments are not described here.

[0297] Figure 16 FIG1 is a schematic block diagram of an AS 1600 according to an embodiment of the present invention. AS 1600 includes:

[0298] The sending module 1610 is configured to send a second message to the service capability exposure function SCEF, where the second message includes a first identifier and policy information corresponding to the first identifier.

[0299] Optionally, as an embodiment, the sending module 1610 may also be configured to:

[0300] A first message is sent to the SCEF, where the first message includes a correspondence between an identifier and data flow characteristic information.

[0301] Optionally, as an embodiment, the second message may further include a first user equipment UE list, where the first UE list includes at least two UEs.

[0302] Optionally, as an embodiment, the correspondence may include a correspondence between an identifier and application detection information.

[0303] Optionally, as an embodiment, the corresponding relationship may include a corresponding relationship between an identifier and five-tuple information and at least one of a uniform resource locator (URL).

[0304] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present invention, the sending module 1610 can be implemented by a transmitter. Figure 15 As shown, AS 1700 may include a processor 1710, a transmitter 1720, and a memory 1730. The memory 1730 may be used for codes executed by the processor 1710, etc.

[0305] The various components in the AS 1700 are coupled together via a bus system 1740 , wherein the bus system 1740 includes, in addition to a data bus, a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus.

[0306] Figure 16 AS 1600 or Figure 17 The AS 1700 shown can achieve the above Figures 2 to 7 To avoid repetition, the various processes implemented in the embodiments are not described here.

[0307] Figure 18 FIG1 is a schematic block diagram of a SCEF 1800 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The SCEF 1800 includes:

[0308] A receiving module 1810 is configured to receive a second message sent by a third-party application server AS, where the second message includes a first identifier and policy information corresponding to the first identifier;

[0309] The sending module 1820 is configured to send a third message to a policy and charging rules function (PCRF), where the third message includes the first identifier and the policy information.

[0310] Optionally, as an embodiment, the second message may further include a first user equipment UE list, where the first UE list includes at least two UEs;

[0311] The third message also includes a second UE list, and the second UE list includes at least one UE.

[0312] Optionally, as an embodiment, the first UE list and the second UE list may be exactly the same.

[0313] Optionally, as an embodiment, the receiving module 1810 may also be configured to:

[0314] receiving a first message sent by the AS, where the first message includes a correspondence between an identifier and data flow characteristic information;

[0315] The sending module 1820 is further configured to:

[0316] The first message is sent to the storage device.

[0317] Optionally, as an embodiment, the correspondence may include a correspondence between an identifier and application detection information.

[0318] Optionally, as an embodiment, the corresponding relationship may include a corresponding relationship between an identifier and five-tuple information and at least one of a uniform resource locator (URL).

[0319] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present invention, the receiving module 1810 can be implemented by a receiver, and the sending module 1820 can be implemented by a transmitter. Figure 19 As shown, the SCEF 1900 may include a processor 1910, a receiver 1920, a transmitter 1930, and a memory 1940. The memory 1940 may be used to store codes executed by the processor 1910, etc.

[0320] The various components in the SCEF 1900 are coupled together via a bus system 1950 , wherein the bus system 1950 includes, in addition to a data bus, a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus.

[0321] Figure 18 SCEF 1800 or Figure 19 The SCEF 1900 shown can achieve the aforementioned Figures 2 to 7 To avoid repetition, the various processes implemented in the embodiments are not described here.

[0322] Figure 20 FIG2 is a schematic block diagram of a PCRF 2000 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The PCRF 2000 includes:

[0323] The receiving module 2010 is configured to receive a third message sent by the service capability exposure function SCEF, where the third message includes the first identifier and policy information corresponding to the first identifier;

[0324] The sending module 2020 is configured to send a fourth message to a policy and charging enforcement function (PCEF), where the fourth message includes the first identifier and the policy information.

[0325] Optionally, as an embodiment, the third message may further include a user equipment UE list, and the sending module 2020 may be specifically configured to:

[0326] According to the UE list, the fourth message is sent to the PCEF, instructing to execute a policy according to the policy information on the UEs included in the UE list.

[0327] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present invention, the receiving module 2010 can be implemented by a receiver, and the sending module 2020 can be implemented by a transmitter. Figure 21 As shown, PCRF 2100 may include a processor 2110, a receiver 2120, a transmitter 2130, and a memory 2140. The memory 2140 may be used to store codes executed by the processor 2110, etc.

[0328] The various components in the PCRF 2100 are coupled together via a bus system 2150 , wherein the bus system 2150 includes, in addition to a data bus, a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus.

[0329] Figure 20 PCRF 2000 or Figure 21 The PCRF 2100 shown can implement the aforementioned Figures 2 to 7 To avoid repetition, the various processes implemented in the embodiments are not described here.

[0330] The embodiment of the present invention also provides a system, including a storage device, a policy and charging enforcement function PCEF, a service capability exposure function SCEF, and a policy and charging rule function PCRF. The system may also include a third-party application server AS. The storage device, PCEF, SCEF, PCRF, and AS respectively correspond to the above Figures 2 to 7 The corresponding devices, functions or equipment in the embodiments may also correspond to Figures 12 to 21 To avoid repetition, the corresponding devices, functions or equipment will not be described here.

[0331] Figure 22 FIG2 is a schematic block diagram of a SCEF 2200 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The SCEF 2200 includes:

[0332] A receiving module 2210 is configured to receive a first message sent by a third-party application server AS, where the first message includes data flow information, policy information corresponding to the data flow information, and a first user equipment UE list, where the first UE list includes at least two UEs;

[0333] The sending module 2220 is used to send a second message to the policy and charging rules function PCRF, where the second message includes the data flow information, the policy information and a second UE list, where the second UE list includes at least one UE, so that the PCRF executes the policy corresponding to the policy information on the UE included in the second UE list according to the second UE list.

[0334] Optionally, as an embodiment, the first UE list and the second UE list may be exactly the same.

[0335] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present invention, the receiving module 2210 can be implemented by a receiver, and the sending module 2220 can be implemented by a transmitter. Figure 23 As shown, the SCEF 2300 may include a processor 2310, a receiver 2320, a transmitter 2330, and a memory 2340. The memory 2340 may be used to store codes executed by the processor 2310, etc.

[0336] The various components in the SCEF 2300 are coupled together via a bus system 2350 , wherein the bus system 2350 includes, in addition to a data bus, a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus.

[0337] Figure 22 SCEF 2200 or Figure 23 The SCEF 2300 shown can achieve the aforementioned Figures 8 to 11 To avoid repetition, the various processes implemented in the embodiments are not described here.

[0338] Figure 24 FIG2 is a schematic block diagram of an AS 2400 according to another embodiment of the present invention. AS 2400 includes:

[0339] The sending module 2410 is used to send a first message to the service capability exposure function SCEF, where the first message includes data flow information, policy information corresponding to the data flow information, and a first user equipment UE list, where the first UE list includes at least two UEs.

[0340] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present invention, the sending module 2410 can be implemented by a transmitter. Figure 25 As shown, AS 2500 may include a processor 2510, a transmitter 2520, and a memory 2530. The memory 2530 may be used to store codes executed by the processor 2510, etc.

[0341] The various components in the AS 2500 are coupled together via a bus system 2540 , wherein the bus system 2540 includes, in addition to a data bus, a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus.

[0342] Figure 24 AS 2400 or Figure 25 The AS 2500 shown can achieve the above Figures 8 to 11 To avoid repetition, the various processes implemented in the embodiments are not described here.

[0343] Figure 26 FIG2 is a schematic block diagram of a PCRF 2600 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The PCRF 2600 includes:

[0344] The receiving module 2610 is configured to receive a second message sent by a service capability exposure function (SCEF), including the data flow information, policy information corresponding to the data flow information, and a second UE list, where the second UE list includes at least one UE.

[0345] The processing module 2620 is configured to execute the policy corresponding to the policy information on the UEs included in the second UE list according to the second UE list.

[0346] It should be noted that in the embodiment of the present invention, the receiving module 2610 can be implemented by a receiver, and the processing module 2620 can be implemented by a processor. Figure 27 As shown, PCRF 2700 may include a processor 2710, a receiver 2720, and a memory 2730. The memory 2730 may be used to store codes executed by the processor 2710, etc.

[0347] The various components in the PCRF 2700 are coupled together via a bus system 2740 , wherein the bus system 2740 includes, in addition to a data bus, a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus.

[0348] Figure 26PCRF 2600 or Figure 27 The PCRF 2700 shown can implement the aforementioned Figures 8 to 11 To avoid repetition, the various processes implemented in the embodiments are not described here.

[0349] The embodiment of the present invention also provides a system, including a third-party application server AS, a service capability exposure function SCEF and a policy and charging rule function PCRF. The system may also include a policy and charging execution function PCEF. Among them, PCEF, SCEF, PCRF and AS respectively correspond to the above Figures 8 to 11 The corresponding devices, functions or equipment in the embodiments may also correspond to Figures 22 to 27 To avoid repetition, the corresponding devices, functions or equipment will not be described here.

[0350] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present invention.

[0351] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0352] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0353] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0354] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0355] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0356] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any modifications or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for processing a data packet, characterized in that: include: The storage device receives information sent by the application server that indicates a correspondence between the identifier and the data stream characteristic information; The policy and charging execution function receives a fourth message sent by the policy and charging rules function, where the fourth message includes the first identifier and policy information corresponding to the first identifier; The policy and charging enforcement function sends a fifth message to the storage device, where the fifth message includes the first identifier, wherein the fifth message is used to request data flow feature information corresponding to the first identifier from the storage device; The storage device determines, according to the first identifier and the corresponding relationship, data stream characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier; The storage device sends a sixth message to the policy and charging enforcement function, where the sixth message includes data flow feature information corresponding to the first identifier.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: The policy and charging execution function receives a data packet sent by the user equipment and matches the data flow characteristic information with the information carried in the data packet; When the information carried by the data packet matches the data flow characteristic information, the policy and charging execution function executes a policy on the data packet according to the policy information.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The information received by the storage device from the application server and used to indicate the correspondence between the identifier and the data stream characteristic information includes: The storage device receives the information indicating the correspondence between the identifier and the data flow characteristic information, which is sent by the application server through the service capability exposure function.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The corresponding relationship includes a corresponding relationship between the first identifier and at least one of the five-tuple information and the uniform resource locator.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The storage device determines, according to the first identifier and the corresponding relationship, data stream characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier, including: The storage device determines the quintuple information and / or uniform resource locator corresponding to the first identifier based on the correspondence between the first identifier and at least one of the quintuple information and the uniform resource locator, and uses the quintuple information and / or uniform resource locator corresponding to the first identifier as the data stream characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The information received by the storage device from the application server and used to indicate the correspondence between the identifier and the data stream characteristic information includes: The storage device receives a first message sent by the application server through a service capability exposure function, where the first message includes the information indicating the correspondence between the identifier and the data flow characteristic information.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and 6, characterized in that: The policy information includes at least one of payer information, quality of service (QoS) information, and service chain information.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and 6, characterized in that The first identifier includes an application name.

9. A policy and billing execution function, characterized by: Including receiving module, sending module and processing module, The receiving module is configured to receive a fourth message sent by the policy and charging rules function, the fourth message including the first identifier and policy information corresponding to the first identifier; The sending module is configured to send a fifth message to the storage device, where the fifth message includes the first identifier, and the fifth message is configured to request data stream feature information corresponding to the first identifier from the storage device; The receiving module is further configured to receive a sixth message sent by the storage device, where the sixth message includes data stream feature information corresponding to the first identifier.

10. The policy and charging execution function according to claim 9, characterized in that: The receiving module is further configured to receive data packets sent by user equipment; The processing module is used to match the data flow characteristic information with the information carried by the data packet; The processing module is further configured to execute a policy on the data packet according to the policy information when the information carried by the data packet received by the receiving module matches the data flow characteristic information.

11. The policy and charging enforcement function according to claim 9, characterized in that: The data stream characteristic information corresponding to the first identifier includes quintuple information and / or a uniform resource locator corresponding to the first identifier, and the processing module is specifically configured to: Determining whether the quintuple information and / or uniform resource locator included in the data packet is the quintuple information and / or uniform resource locator corresponding to the first identifier; When it is determined that the five-tuple information and / or uniform resource locator included in the data packet is the five-tuple information and / or uniform resource locator corresponding to the first identifier, the policy and charging execution function executes the policy on the data packet according to the policy information.

12. The policy and charging enforcement function according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that: The policy information includes at least one of payer information, quality of service (QoS) information, and service chain information.

13. The policy and charging enforcement function according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that: The first identifier includes an application name.

14. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor, wherein the processor is coupled to a memory, and after reading instructions in the memory, executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 according to the instructions.

15. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The method comprises instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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